Connect to the Network

Connecting to the VeChainThor Blockchain

Interacting with VeChainThor requires only an instance of ThorClient that is configured for the relevant network. Before continuing with this course, you must understand how to establish a connection with either the Mainnet or Testnet. Once the connection is established, this instance can be utilized to interact asynchronously. Below is a snippet that demonstrates importing the library and initializing a client:

import { ThorClient } from "@vechain/sdk-network";
const thor = ThorClient.at("https://mainnet.vechain.org");

The snippet connects to the Mainnet, where all production-related activity is found.

In addition to the Mainnet, VeChain provides a Testnet for testing and development purposes. This allows developers to experiment safely without risking real assets. To connect to the Testnet, use the following endpoint:

const thorTestnet = ThorClient.at("https://testnet.vechain.org");

For additional Testnet setup instructions, visit the VeChain Testnet Portal. There, you can:

Access the API documentation for interacting with the Testnet

• Obtain test VET for simulating transactions

  • Remember to set up your VeWorld Wallet to claim Testnet tokens

• Explore available blockchain data for testing smart contracts

If you have deployed a solo node of VeChain, it is normally available on http://localhost:8669

The ThorClient uses an HttpClient underneath to communicate with the VeChain nodes with a REST API.

The default HttpClient is a Fetch implementation and can be replaced with any custom implementation as long as the interfaces are met.

Confirm Connection

To test the connectivity, you'll request the first and last block from the chain and output their number & id:

// get the current latest & best block from the chain
const bestBlock = await thor.blocks.getBestBlockCompressed();
console.log("Best Block:", bestBlock?.number, bestBlock?.id);

// get the first and genesis block from the chain
const genesisBlock = await thor.blocks.getBlockCompressed(0);
console.log("Genesis Block:", genesisBlock?.number, genesisBlock?.id);

Test It Yourself

The snippet below shows how you can connect to the VeChain Mainnet to test connectivity:

import { ThorClient } from '@vechain/sdk-network';
const nodeUrl = 'https://mainnet.vechain.org';

console.log('Connecting to', nodeUrl);
const thor = ThorClient.at(nodeUrl);

const bestBlock = await thor.blocks.getBestBlockCompressed();
const genesisBlock = await thor.blocks.getBlockCompressed(0);

console.table(
  [
    { Block: 'Genesis', ...genesisBlock },
    { Block: 'Best', ...bestBlock },
  ],
  ['Block', 'number', 'id']
);