bitcoinjs-lib/README.md

BitcoinJS (bitcoinjs-lib)

The pure JavaScript Bitcoin library for node.js and browsers. A continued implementation of the original 0.1.3 version used by over a million wallet users; the backbone for almost all Bitcoin web wallets in production today.

Features

• Clean: Pure JavaScript, concise code, easy to read.
• Tested: Coverage > 90%, third-party integration tests.
• Careful: Two person approval process for small, focused pull requests.
• Compatible: Works on Node.js and all modern browsers.
• Powerful: Support for advanced features, such as multi-sig, HD Wallets.
• Secure: Strong random number generation, PGP signed releases, trusted developers.
• Principled: No support for browsers with crap RNG (IE < 11)
• Standardized: Node community coding style, Browserify, Node's stdlib and Buffers.
• Fast: Optimized code, uses typed arrays instead of byte arrays for performance.
• Experiment-friendly: Bitcoin Mainnet and Testnet support.
• Altcoin-ready: Capable of working with bitcoin-derived cryptocurrencies (such as Dogecoin).

Should I use this in production?

If you are thinking of using the master branch of this library in production, stop. Master is not stable; it is our development branch, and only tagged releases may be classified as stable.

If you are looking for the original, it is tagged as 0.1.3. Unless you need it for dependency reasons, it is strongly recommended that you use (or upgrade to) the newest version, which adds major functionality, cleans up the interface, fixes many bugs, and adds over 1,300 more tests.

Installation

npm install bitcoinjs-lib

Setup

Node.js

var bitcoin = require('bitcoinjs-lib')

From the repo:

var bitcoin = require('./src/index.js')

Browser

From the repository: Compile bitcoinjs-min.js with the following command:

$ npm run-script compile

From NPM:

$ npm -g install bitcoinjs-lib browserify uglify-js
$ browserify -r bitcoinjs-lib -s Bitcoin | uglifyjs > bitcoinjs.min.js

After loading this file in your browser, you will be able to use the global bitcoin object.

Usage

These examples assume you are running bitcoinjs-lib in the browser.

Generating a Bitcoin address

key = bitcoin.ECKey.makeRandom()

// Print your private key (in WIF format)
console.log(key.toWIF())
// => 8c112cf628362ecf4d482f68af2dbb50c8a2cb90d226215de925417aa9336a48

// Print your public key (toString defaults to a Bitcoin address)
console.log(key.pub.getAddress().toString())
// => 14bZ7YWde4KdRb5YN7GYkToz3EHVCvRxkF

Creating a Transaction

tx = new bitcoin.Transaction()

// Add the input (who is paying) of the form [previous transaction hash, index of the output to use]
tx.addInput("aa94ab02c182214f090e99a0d57021caffd0f195a81c24602b1028b130b63e31", 0)

// Add the output (who to pay to) of the form [payee's address, amount in satoshis]
tx.addOutput("1Gokm82v6DmtwKEB8AiVhm82hyFSsEvBDK", 15000)

// Initialize a private key using WIF
key = bitcoin.ECKey.fromWIF("L1uyy5qTuGrVXrmrsvHWHgVzW9kKdrp27wBC7Vs6nZDTF2BRUVwy")

// Sign the first input with the new key
tx.sign(0, key)

// Print transaction serialized as hex
console.log(tx.toHex())
// => 0100000001313eb630b128102b60241ca895f1d0ffca2170d5a0990e094f2182c102ab94aa000000008a47304402200169f1f844936dc60df54e812345f5dd3e6681fea52e33c25154ad9cc23a330402204381ed8e73d74a95b15f312f33d5a0072c7a12dd6c3294df6e8efbe4aff27426014104e75628573696aed32d7656fb35e9c71ea08eb6492837e13d2662b9a36821d0fff992692fd14d74fdec20fae29128ba12653249cbeef521fc5eba84dde0689f27ffffffff01983a0000000000001976a914ad618cf4333b3b248f9744e8e81db2964d0ae39788ac00000000

// You could now push the transaction onto the Bitcoin network manually (see https://blockchain.info/pushtx)

Projects utilizing BitcoinJS

• Coinpunk
• Hive Wallet
• Justchain Exchange
• Skyhook ATM
• BitAddress
• Blockchain.info
• Brainwallet
• Dark Wallet
• Dogechain Wallet
• GreenAddress
• DecentralBank

Contributors

Stefan Thomas is the inventor and creator of this project. His pioneering work made Bitcoin web wallets possible.

Since then, many people have contributed. Click here to see the comprehensive list.

Daniel Cousens, Wei Lu, JP Richardson and Kyle Drake lead the major refactor of the library from 0.1.3 to 1.0.0.

Contributing

Instructions

1. Fork the repo
2. Push changes to your fork
3. Create a pull request

Running the test suite

$ npm test
$ npm run-script coverage

Complementing Libraries

• bip39 - Wei Lu's Mnemonic code generator
• BCoin - BIP37 / Bloom Filters / SPV client
• scryptsy - Private key encryption (BIP38)
• insight - A bitcoin blockchain API for web wallets.

Alternatives

• Bitcore
• Cryptocoin

License

This library is free and open-source software released under the MIT license.

Copyright

BitcoinJS (c) 2011-2012 Stefan Thomas Released under MIT license