Skip to content

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 Universal, Node and MemoryAccount Stamps from the SDK. 

const { Universal, Node, MemoryAccount } = require('@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_2dATVcZ9KJU5a8hdsVtTv21pYiGWiPbmVcU1Pz72FFqpk9pSRR',
  secretKey: 'bf66e1c256931870908a649572ed0257876bb84e3cdf71efb12f56c7335fad54d5cf08400e988222f26eb4b02c8f89077457467211a6e6d955edb70749c6a33b'
}
const NODE_URL = 'https://testnet.aeternity.io'
const [amount = 1, recipient = ACCOUNT_KEYPAIR.publicKey] = process.argv.slice(2);
Note:

  • The keypair 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. Open async codeblock

Most functions of the SDK return Promises, so the recommended way of dealing with subsequent actions is running them one by one using await. Therefore we are putting our logic into an async code block 

(async () => {

4. Create object instances

  const account = MemoryAccount({ keypair: ACCOUNT_KEYPAIR })
  const node = await Node({ url: NODE_URL })
  const aeSdk = await Universal({
    nodes: [{ name: 'testnet', instance: node }],
    accounts: [account]
  })
The Universal Stamp itself is asynchronous as it determines the node's version and rest interface automatically. Only once the Promise is fulfilled, you know you have a working object instance which is assigned to the aeSdk constant in this case.

Note:

  • Universal is not a constructor but a factory, which means it's not invoked with new.

5. 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`)

6. 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)

7. 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.

8. Close and run async codeblock

Now you can close the async codeblock and execute it at the same time. 

})()