Learn how to create a new topic and submit your first message on Hedera testnet using the JavaScript, Java, Go SDK, or Python. A topic on the Hedera Consensus Service (HCS) is like a public channel: anyone who knows the topic ID can publish timestamped messages, and anyone can subscribe to the stream from a mirror node.
A Hedera testnet operator account ID and DER-encoded private key (from the Quickstart).
A small amount of testnet HBAR (ℏ) to cover the fees
Topic creation: ≈ $0.01
Each message: < $0.001
NoteYou can always check the ”✅ Code Check” section at the bottom of each page to view the entire code if you run into issues. You can also post your issue to the respective SDK channel in our Discord communityhere.
Set your operator credentials as environment variables. Your OPERATOR_ID is your testnet account ID. Your OPERATOR_KEY is your testnet account’s corresponding ECDSA private key.
Load your operator credentials from environment variables and configure your Hedera testnet client. The client manages your connection to the Hedera test network and uses your operator account to sign transactions and pay transaction fees.
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// Load your operator credentialsconst operatorId = process.env.OPERATOR_ID;const operatorKey = process.env.OPERATOR_KEY;// Initialize your testnet client and set operatorconst client = Client.forTestnet().setOperator(operatorId, operatorKey);
TopicCreateTransaction builds and sends the transaction to register a new HCS topic with the provided memo, and once it reaches consensus you retrieve the transaction receipt to extract the new topicId.
Messages on HCS are consensus-timestamped and immutable. Once published, they become part of the permanent record that anyone can verify and subscribe to in real-time.
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// Build and send the transactionconst txResponse = await new TopicCreateTransaction() .setTopicMemo("My first HCS topic") // optional description .execute(client);const receipt = await txResponse.getReceipt(client);const topicId = receipt.topicId;console.log(`\nTopic created: ${topicId.toString()}`);
TopicMessageSubmitTransaction constructs and sends a transaction that submits your payload (string, bytes, or Uint8Array) as a message to a specified HCS topic. Once it reaches consensus, the message becomes part of that topic’s immutable record.
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// Build & execute the message submission transactionconst message = "Hello, Hedera!";const messageTransaction = new TopicMessageSubmitTransaction().setTopicId(topicId).setMessage(message);await messageTransaction.execute(client);console.log(`\nMessage submitted: ${message}\n`);
NoteMessages can be up to 1 KiB each. Larger payloads must be chunked automatically by the SDK or split manually
Use the Mirror Node REST API to verify your message was published to the topic. Mirror nodes provide free access to network data without transaction fees. Mirror nodes stream every consensus-timestamped message in order, letting your app react in real time.API endpoint:
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/api/v1/topics/{topicId}/messages
Replace the placeholder:
{topicId} - Your topic ID from the creation transaction
Why this endpoint?This endpoint retrieves all messages published to a specific topic, ordered by consensus timestamp. It returns detailed information including message content, timestamp, and sequence number, making it ideal for verifying your message was published successfully.
| Error message | Likely cause | Fix | | ---------------------------- |
---------------------------------------------- |
-------------------------------------------------------------- | |
INSUFFICIENT_PAYER_BALANCE | Not enough HBAR for topic creation fee | Top up
your operator account on the testnet faucet | | INVALID_SIGNATURE | Operator
key doesn’t match operator account | Verify OPERATOR_KEY matches your
OPERATOR_ID | | INVALID_ACCOUNT_ID | Malformed account ID in environment
variables | Verify OPERATOR_ID format is 0.0.1234 | | INVALID_PRIVATE_KEY |
Malformed private key in environment variables | Verify OPERATOR_KEY is a
valid DER-encoded private key string | | INVALID_TOPIC_ID | Topic ID not
found or malformed | Ensure topic was created successfully and ID is correct |
| No messages found yet | Mirror Node sync delay | Wait a few more seconds
and try again - this is normal |