Your First Transaction

This section is a quick start guide for interacting with the Algorand network using Python. This guide will help to install Algorand sandbox, which provides a node for testing and development. This guide will also help to install the Python SDK, create an account and submit your first transaction on Algorand.

Install Sandbox

Info

This step is only required if you are not using AlgoKit. If you are using AlgoKit, you can spin up a sandbox using the LocalNet, see AlgoKit getting started guide for more information.

Prerequisites

• Docker Compose (install guide)
• Git (install guide)

Algorand provides a docker instance for setting up a node, which can be used to get started developing quickly. To install and use this instance, follow these instructions.

git clone https://github.com/algorand/sandbox.git
cd sandbox
./sandbox up dev 

This will install and start private network. To read more about Algorand networks see Algorand Networks.

More Information about the sandbox and how to use it.

Install Go SDK

Algorand provides an SDK for Go.

Prerequisites

• Go programming language (install guide)

From a terminal window, install the Go SDK:

go get -u github.com/algorand/go-algorand-sdk/v2

The GitHub repository contains additional documentation and examples.

See the JavaScript SDK reference documentation for more information on methods.

The SDK is installed and can now interact with the running Algorand Sandbox environment, as configured above.

Create an account

In order to interact with the Algorand blockchain, you must have a funded account on the network. To quickly create a test account use the following code.

account := crypto.GenerateAccount()
mn, err := mnemonic.FromPrivateKey(account.PrivateKey)

if err != nil {
    log.Fatalf("failed to generate account: %s", err)
}

log.Printf("Address: %s\n", account.Address)
log.Printf("Mnemonic: %s\n", mn)

Snippet Source

More Information

Warning

Never share your mnemonic passphrase or private keys. Production environments require stringent private key management. For more information on key management in community Wallets, click here. For the open source Algorand Wallet, click here.

Fund the account

Before sending transactions to the Algorand network, the account must be funded to cover the minimal transaction fees that exist on Algorand. In this example, we'll be using prefunded accounts available in the Sandbox. To fund an account on Testnet account use the Algorand faucet.

Info

All Algorand accounts require a minimum balance to be registered in the ledger. To read more about Algorand minimum balance see Account Overview

Connect Your Client

An Algod client must be instantiated prior to making calls to the API endpoints. You must provide values for <algod-address> and <algod-token>. The CLI tools implement the client natively. By default, the algodToken for each sandbox is set to its aaa... value and the algodAddress corresponds to http://localhost:4001.

// Create a new algod client, configured to connect to out local sandbox
var algodAddress = "http://localhost:4001"
var algodToken = strings.Repeat("a", 64)
algodClient, _ := algod.MakeClient(
    algodAddress,
    algodToken,
)

// Or, if necessary, pass alternate headers

var algodHeader common.Header
algodHeader.Key = "X-API-Key"
algodHeader.Value = algodToken
algodClientWithHeaders, _ := algod.MakeClientWithHeaders(
    algodAddress,
    algodToken,
    []*common.Header{&algodHeader},
)

Snippet Source

Info

The example code connects to the sandbox Algod client. If you want to connect to a public API client, change the host, port, and token parameters to match the API service. See some service available here

Info

If you are connecting to the Testnet, a dispenser is available here

Check Your Balance

Before moving on to the next step, make sure your account has been funded.

acctInfo, err := algodClient.AccountInformation(acct.Address.String()).Do(context.Background())
if err != nil {
    log.Fatalf("failed to fetch account info: %s", err)
}
log.Printf("Account balance: %d microAlgos", acctInfo.Amount)

Snippet Source

Build First Transaction

Transactions are used to interact with the Algorand network. To create a payment transaction use the following code.

sp, err := algodClient.SuggestedParams().Do(context.Background())
if err != nil {
    log.Fatalf("failed to get suggested params: %s", err)
}
// payment from account to itself
ptxn, err := transaction.MakePaymentTxn(acct.Address.String(), acct.Address.String(), 100000, nil, "", sp)
if err != nil {
    log.Fatalf("failed creating transaction: %s", err)
}

Snippet Source

Info

Algorand supports many transaction types. To see what types are supported see Transactions.

Sign First transaction

Before the transaction is considered valid, it must be signed by a private key. Use the following code to sign the transaction.

_, sptxn, err := crypto.SignTransaction(acct.PrivateKey, ptxn)
if err != nil {
    fmt.Printf("Failed to sign transaction: %s\n", err)
    return
}

Snippet Source

Info

Algorand provides many ways to sign transactions. To see other ways see Authorization.

Submit transaction

The signed transaction can now be broadcast to the network for validation and inclusion in a future block. The waitForConfirmation SDK method polls the algod node for the transaction ID to ensure it succeeded.

pendingTxID, err := algodClient.SendRawTransaction(sptxn).Do(context.Background())
if err != nil {
    fmt.Printf("failed to send transaction: %s\n", err)
    return
}
confirmedTxn, err := transaction.WaitForConfirmation(algodClient, pendingTxID, 4, context.Background())
if err != nil {
    fmt.Printf("Error waiting for confirmation on txID: %s\n", pendingTxID)
    return
}
fmt.Printf("Confirmed Transaction: %s in Round %d\n", pendingTxID, confirmedTxn.ConfirmedRound)

Snippet Source

Viewing the Transaction

To view the transaction we submitted to the sandbox Algod, open DappFlow and choose Sandbox configuration option, then search for the transaction ID.

To view a transaction submitted to public network like testnet, open the Algorand Blockchain Explorer or Goal Seeker and paste the transaction ID into the search bar or simply click on the funded transaction link on the dispenser page.