Getting Started

To get started, install the thirdweb SDK using your preferred package manager.

Get a project secret key from https://thirdweb.com/create-api-key by creating a new project and add it to your .env.

THIRDWEB_SECRET_KEY=[YOUR PROJECT SECRET KEY]

Create a thirdweb client in your script.

import { createThirdwebClient } from "thirdweb";
 
const client = createThirdwebClient({
  // use `secretKey` for server side or script usage
  secretKey: process.env.THIRDWEB_SECRET_KEY,
});

A client is all you need to start reading blockchain data.

• Import the extensions you want to use.
• Define a contract with getContract at a given address and chain.
• Call the extension function to read the data.

import { getContract } from "thirdweb";
import { sepolia } from "thirdweb/chains";
// 1. import the extension you want to use
import { getNFTs } from "thirdweb/extensions/erc1155";
 
// 2. get the contract
const contract = getContract({
  client,
  address: "0x1234...",
  chain: sepolia,
});
 
// 3. call the extension function
const nfts = await getNFTs({
  contract,
});
 
console.log(nfts);

To perform transactions from your script, you'll need an account. Let's generate a wallet from your project secret key.

import { inAppWallet } from "thirdweb/wallets";
 
// create or access a wallet
const wallet = inAppWallet();
const account = await wallet.connect({
  client: TEST_CLIENT,
  strategy: "backend", // we use backend strategy to generate a wallet from a secret key
  walletSecret: "my-test-wallet-secret", // use this secret to access the same wallet across multiple scripts
});
 
// Get the address of the account
const address = account.address;
console.log("Connected as", address);

Let's read balance of the account you just created, you'll need funds to perform transactions.

import { getWalletBalance } from "thirdweb/wallets";
 
// Get the balance of the account
const balance = await getWalletBalance({
  account,
  chain: sepolia,
});
console.log("Balance:", balance.displayValue, balance.symbol);

With the account created and funded, you can now send a transaction.

• Import the extension you want to use.
• Define a contract with getContract at a given address and chain.
• Call the extension function to prepare the transaction.
• Send the transaction.

import { getContract, sendTransaction } from "thirdweb";
// 1. Import the extension you want to use
import { transfer } from "thirdweb/extensions/erc20";
 
// 2. Define the contract
const contract = getContract({
  client,
  address: "0x1234...",
  chain: sepolia,
});
 
// 3. Call the extension function to prepare the transaction
const transaction = transfer({
  contract,
  to: "0x1234...",
  amount: "0.01",
});
 
// 4. Send the transaction
const result = await sendTransaction({
  transaction,
  account,
});
 
console.log("Transaction hash:", result.transactionHash);

You can also call generic contract functions using the prepareContractCall function by just specifying the solidity method signature you want to call. The arguments will be automatically inferred based on the method signature.

import {
  getContract,
  prepareContractCall,
  sendTransaction,
} from "thirdweb";
import { sepolia } from "thirdweb/chains";
import { toWei } from "thirdweb/utils";
 
// 1. Define the contract
const contract = getContract({
  client,
  address: "0x1234...",
  chain: sepolia,
});
 
// 2. Prepare the transaction
const transaction = prepareContractCall({
  contract,
  // Pass the method signature that you want to call
  method: "function mintTo(address to, uint256 amount)",
  // and the params for that method
  // Their types are automatically inferred based on the method signature
  params: ["0x123...", toWei("100")],
});
 
// 3. Send the transaction
const result = await sendTransaction({
  transaction,
  account,
});
 
console.log("Transaction hash:", result.transactionHash);

You've now learned the basics of how to use the thirdweb SDK to read and write to the blockchain. You can now start building your own applications and explore the full potential of the SDK.

View the full SDK reference.