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Transfer AE

Introduction

The whole script is located in the repository and this page explains in detail how to:

  • initialize an instance of the SDK with a pre-funded account
  • transfer AE to another account

1. Specify imports

You need to import AeSdk, Node and MemoryAccount classes from the SDK. 

import { AeSdk, Node, MemoryAccount } from '@aeternity/aepp-sdk';
Note:

  • You need to have the SDK installed via npm i @aetenity/aepp-sdk -g to run that example code.

2. Define constants

The following constants are used in the subsequent code snippets. 

const ACCOUNT_KEYPAIR = {
  publicKey: 'ak_21A27UVVt3hDkBE5J7rhhqnH5YNb4Y1dqo4PnSybrH85pnWo7E',
  secretKey: 'sk_2CuofqWZHrABCrM7GY95YSQn8PyFvKQadnvFnpwhjUnDCFAWmf',
};
const NODE_URL = 'https://testnet.aeternity.io';
const [amount = 1, recipient = ACCOUNT_KEYPAIR.publicKey] = process.argv.slice(2);
Note:

  • The secret key of the account is pre-funded and only used for demonstration purpose
  • In case the account runs out of funds you can always request AE using the Faucet
  • By default the script will transfer 1 aetto and use the demo account itself as recipient
    • Optionally you can provide the amount and a different recipient by providing the arguments when executing the script, e.g. node transfer-ae.js 3 ak_6D2uyunJaERXfgbsc94G8vrp79nZrbtorL7VCRXk3sWiFK5jb

3. Create object instances

const account = new MemoryAccount(ACCOUNT_KEYPAIR.secretKey);
const node = new Node(NODE_URL);
const aeSdk = new AeSdk({
  nodes: [{ name: 'testnet', instance: node }],
  accounts: [account],
});

4. Get AE balance of recipient (before transfer)

Before the transfer of AE you can check the AE balance of the recipient. 

const balanceBefore = await aeSdk.getBalance(recipient);
console.log(`Balance of ${recipient} (before): ${balanceBefore} aettos`);

5. Transfer AE

Calling the spend function will create, sign and broadcast a SpendTx to the network. 

const tx = await aeSdk.spend(amount, recipient);
console.log('Transaction mined', tx);
Alternatively, you can use transferFunds method to transfer a fraction of your AE to another account.

6. Get AE balance of recipient (after transfer)

const balanceAfter = await aeSdk.getBalance(recipient);
console.log(`Balance of ${recipient} (after): ${balanceAfter} aettos`);
Note:

  • If the recipient is the same account as the sender (default of the script if no arguments provided) the balance will be lower after transfer because a transaction fee has been paid to the miners.