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Network Provider

The CashScript SDK needs to connect to the BCH network to perform certain operations, like retrieving the contract's balance, or sending transactions. By default the network provider is an ElectrumNetworkProvider.

ElectrumNetworkProvider​

The ElectrumNetworkProvider uses electrum-cash to connect to the BCH network. Both network and electrum parameters are optional, and they default to mainnet and a 2-of-3 ElectrumCluster with a number of reliable electrum servers.

new ElectrumNetworkProvider(network?: Network, electrum?: ElectrumCluster)
note

In some cases it might be desirable to overwrite the 2-of-3 ElectrumCluster default to use only a 1-of-1 cluster because of network latency.

Network​

type Network = 'mainnet' | 'testnet3' | 'testnet4' | 'chipnet' | 'regtest';

The network parameter can be one of 5 different options.

Example​

const provider = new ElectrumProvider('chipnet');

getUtxos​

async provider.getUtxos(address: string): Promise<Utxo[]>;

Returns all UTXOs on specific address. Both confirmed and unconfirmed UTXOs are included.

interface Utxo {
  txid: string;
  vout: number;
  satoshis: bigint;
  token?: TokenDetails;
}

Example​

const userUtxos = await provider.getUtxos(userAddress)

getBlockHeight​

async provider.getBlockHeight(): Promise<number>;

Get the current blockHeight.

Example​

const currentBlockHeight = await provider.getBlockHeight()

getRawTransaction​

async provider.getRawTransaction(txid: string): Promise<string>;

Retrieve the Hex transaction details for a given transaction ID.

Example​

const rawTransaction = await provider.getRawTransaction(txid)

sendRawTransaction​

async provider.sendRawTransaction(txHex: string): Promise<string>;

Broadcast a raw hex transaction to the network.

Example​

const txId = await provider.sendRawTransaction(txHex)

performRequest​

Perform an arbitrary electrum request, refer to the docs at electrum-cash-protocol.

Example​

const verbose = true // get parsed transaction as json result
const txId = await provider.performRequest('blockchain.transaction.get', txid, verbose)

Advanced Options​

All network functionality that the CashScript SDK needs is encapsulated in a network provider. This allows different network providers to be used and makes it easy to swap out dependencies.

MockNetworkProvider​

new MockNetworkProvider()

The MockNetworkProvider is a special network provider that allows you to evaluate transactions locally without interacting with the Bitcoin Cash network. This is useful when writing automated tests for your contracts, or when debugging your contract locally. You can read more about the MockNetworkProvider and automated tests on the testing setup page.

Example​

const provider = new MockNetworkProvider();
const newUtxo = randomUtxo({satoshis: 10_000n})
provider.addUtxo(contractAddress, newUtxo);

Other NetworkProviders​

There are alternative network providers implemented:

  • BitcoinRpcNetworkProvider: uses a direct connection to a Bitcoin Cash node.

Custom NetworkProviders​

A big strength of the NetworkProvider setup is that it allows you to implement custom providers. So if new BCH libraries are created in the future, it is simple to use them with CashScript. Custom NetworkProviders also potentially enables the CashScript SDK to be used with other (partially) compatible networks, such as BTC or BSV.

info

To implement a Custom NetworkProvider, refer to the NetworkProvider interface.