In this section you will complete the following:

• Create your project directory

• Create a .env file and store your Hedera testnet account ID and private key

• Set-up your Hedera testnet client

Pre-requisites:

Step 1: Set-up your node.js environment

1.1 Create a new directory for our sample & move into it

Open your terminal and create a directory called hello-hedera-js-sdk. After you create the project directory navigate into the directory.

mkdir hello-hedera-js-sdk && cd hello-hedera-js-sdk

1.2. Initialize a node.js project in this new directory

npm init

Note: you can just say “yes” to all of the defaults and/or plugin what makes sense. It’s an example!

{
  "name": "hello-hedera-js-sdk",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "",
  "main": "index.js",
  "scripts": {
    "test": "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1"
  },
  "author": "",
  "license": "ISC"
}
​

Step 2: Install the Hedera Hashgraph JavaScript SDK

Now that you have your node environment setup, we can get started with Hedera’s JS SDK! You can open this project in your favorite text editor like Visual Studio Code.

• Install it with your favorite package manager.

// install Hedera's JS SDK with NPM
// This example uses Hedera JavaScript SDK v1.1.12
npm install --save @hashgraph/sdk
​
// Install with Yarn
yarn add @hashgraph/sdk

• Install dotenv with your favorite package manager. This will allow our node environment to use your testnet account ID and private key that we will store in a .env file next.

// install with NPM
npm install dotenv
​
// Install with Yarn
yarn add dotenv

Step 3: Create a .env file in your project

The .env file will store your Hedera testnet account ID and private key. Create this file in the root directory of your project and save it as .env file.

Now you can add your testnet account ID and private key provided from your Hedera Portal Account.

MY_ACCOUNT_ID= TESTNET ACCOUNT ID (0.0.x)
MY_PRIVATE_KEY= TESTNET PRIVATE KEY (302e...)

Step 4: Create an index.js file in the 'root' directory

This file will contain the code we will right in the following samples. Your project structure should look something like this after:

Grab your Hedera testnet account ID and private key from the .env file.

index.js
const { Client } = require("@hashgraph/sdk");
require("dotenv").config();
​
async function main() {
​
    //Grab your Hedera testnet account ID and private key from your .env file
    const myAccountId = process.env.MY_ACCOUNT_ID;
    const myPrivateKey = process.env.MY_PRIVATE_KEY;
​
    // If we weren't able to grab it, we should throw a new error
    if (myAccountId == null ||
        myPrivateKey == null ) {
        throw new Error("Environment variables myAccountId and myPrivateKey must be present");
    }
}
main();

Step 5: Create your Hedera testnet client

You have the option to create a client for the Hedera mainnet or testnet. Since we are using a Hedera testnet account ID and private key, we will create a client for the Hedera testnet.

After you create your Hedera testnet client, you will need to set the operator information. The operator is the account that will pay for the transaction and query fees. You will need to sign the transaction or query with the private key of the account to authorize the payment.

index.js
// Create our connection to the Hedera network
// The Hedera JS SDK makes this reallyyy easy!
const client = Client.forTestnet();
​
client.setOperator(myAccountId, myPrivateKey);

Your project environment is now set-up to successfully submit transactions/queries to the Hedera test network!

Next, you will learn how to create a Hedera testnet account.

Code Check ✅

What your index.js file should look like at this point:

index.js
const { Client } = require("@hashgraph/sdk");
require("dotenv").config();
​
async function main() {
​
    //Grab your Hedera testnet account ID and private key from your .env file
    const myAccountId = process.env.MY_ACCOUNT_ID;
    const myPrivateKey = process.env.MY_PRIVATE_KEY;
​
    // If we weren't able to grab it, we should throw a new error
    if (myAccountId == null ||
        myPrivateKey == null ) {
        throw new Error("Environment variables myAccountId and myPrivateKey must be present");
    }
    
    // Create our connection to the Hedera network
    // The Hedera JS SDK makes this reallyyy easy!
    const client = Client.forTestnet();
​
    client.setOperator(myAccountId, myPrivateKey);
}
main();