lbry.tech/documents/build.md

---
title: Build
description: Learn how to build your own app via LBRY in this comprehensive guide! The future of content freedom begins with you. *patriotic music plays*
---

## THIS IS NOT DONE AT ALL AND IF YOU CONTINUE TO READ IT YOU MENTALLY ASSENT TO COMMITTING AT LEAST ONE CHANGE THAT MAKES IT BETTER

## Introduction

Want to build something on top of LBRY? This is the place to get started.

At least, it's the place to get started so long as you have some idea of what LBRY _is_. If you don't, you should read the
[Overview](/overview) and the [spec](/spec) for more technical details. 

Want to build with us rather than on your own? Check out our [Contributing Guide](/contribute).

### When to Use LBRY

- You want to build an application that contributes to the world's knowledge, or benefits from global, shared discovery.
- You want to replace an existing centralized service related to digital content distribution with a decentralized or community-controlled one.
- You want to build an application that is permissionless to interact with.
- You want to further openness, freedom of information, and/or personal choice on the internet.

### When Not to Use LBRY

- You want to privately distribute data or information. LBRY is designed for publishing and sharing information in an open fashion.
- You want to do illegal things.

## Application Basics

You can build many types of apps. Fat apps, short apps, tall apps, skinny apps!

Most end-user applications will use the [lbry-sdk](https://github.com/lbryio/lbry) as a way of accessing and communicating with the LBRY network. A look at the [APIs](/api/sdk) provided by the SDK will help you understand what facilities the SDK provides.

Some applications do not need to access content available on the network (e.g. a wallet-only app, or a blockchain visualizer). These applications might use [lbrycrd](https://github.com/lbryio/lbrycrd), the blockchain daemon, or [chainquery](https://github.com/lbryio/chainquery), which parses blockchain data into SQL.

Let's look at some specific types of applications and the basic design for each.

### Web Applications

#### Full Web Applications

By full web application, we mean a centrally-hosted web application that uses most or all of the suite of capabilities the LBRY protocol provides.

1. Pick your favorite language and stack and do your typical setup to get a "Hello World" application running.
1. Install [lbry-sdk](https://github.com/lbryio/lbry). You can keep this separate from your app, or install it as one of your dependencies. The LBRY desktop app installs it automatically after all the other dependencies are installed. See it in action [here](https://github.com/lbryio/lbry-desktop/blob/master/build/download-sdk.js).
1. Once [lbry-sdk](https://github.com/lbryio/lbry) is installed, run `lbrynet start` at some point in your startup process.
1. There are a number of [api wrappers](https://lbry.tech/resources/api-wrappers) available in several different languages. Most of these have been created by community members! These allow you to easily send commands to the SDK in the language of your choice. If a wrapper for the language you would like to use doesn't exist, contact [someone?]. (All of the bounties we have on https://lbry.io/bounty/lbry-binding are claimed, should this be linked at all?)
1. See [SDK Basics](#SDK-basics) for more info on using the API.

#### Blockchain Applications

Sometimes you don't need the [SDK](https://github.com/lbryio/lbry). For applications that only need blockchain data, such as a block explorer, check out [lbrycrd](#lbrycrd) and [Chainquery](#Chainquery).

#### Other Web Applications

It is also possible to create a browser extension similar to Joule and Metamask. Generally there are two ways to do this:

1. Have the user run [lbry-sdk](https://github.com/lbryio/lbry) on their computer and send commands from the browser that interact with the user's personal wallet.

2. Run [lbry-sdk](https://github.com/lbryio/lbry) on a centrally hosted server and manage keys or funds for each user.

Going through a centralized server can be safer (with added authentication), but it also comes with more responsibility to keep your user's funds secure.

#### Desktop Applications

If you are looking for more decentralization, a full desktop app can achieve that. If that is not something you care about, there are still a number of features that are desirable over a traditional web application, with full access to the file system being one of those. This allows users to be in control of how they view their files, and if they want to help strengthen LBRY network through seeding.

If you would like to create a desktop application, there are a few ways to do so.

##### Electron Apps

The [official LBRY desktop app](https://github.com/lbryio/lbry-desktop) is built with electron. It is very easy to build with, and allows web developers to easily start creating "native" desktop applications. You can use a plain html document with a `<script>` tag, or build out a large web app. The official desktop app uses React and Redux.

If you want to write an electron app, check out the [electron-starter project](https://github.com/lbryio/electron-starter) for a bare bones setup that is very similar to how [lbry-desktop](https://github.com/lbryio/lbry-desktop) is structured. It's also a simple way to explore the [SDK api](<(https://https://lbry.tech/api/sdk)>).

Check out [this video](https://spee.ch/6/lbry-electron-starter) for a brief overview and guide to get it running. If you just want the source code, go [here](https://github.com/lbryio/electron-starter). Or, if you really really want to see it in action _now_, just paste these commands into your terminal:

```
git clone https://github.com/lbryio/electron-starter
cd electron-starter
yarn
yarn dev
```

##### Other Applications

Who needs javascript? You can use any language to develop your own LBRY desktop application. Just use the SDK (see [SDK Basics](#SDK-basics)).

### Mobile Applications

#### Android Applications

1. (Whatever magic you have to do to get a daemon running on Android.)

#### iOS Applications

We do not currently have tooling available to build LBRY apps on iOS.

## Application Tooling

### SDK

Talk about using SDK, docs, etc.

#### When To Use

#### Tips / Best Practices

1. Always leave a tip.

#### Pitfalls

1. Lex

### Chainquery

#### When To Use

1. You want blockchain data.

#### Tips / Best Practices

1. Use it.

#### Pitfalls

1. mempool

### lbrycrd

#### When To Use

#### Tips and Best Practices

1. use chainquery and lbrycrd together
1. use types to get structured data

#### Pitfalls

1. API naming

## Community and Support

Interact with other devs! Share your app!