Create an Account

Learn how to create a new Hedera account on testnet using the JavaScript, Java, Go, SDK, or Python. A Hedera account is your identity on‑chain. It holds your HBAR (the network’s currency) and lets you sign transactions.

Prerequisites

A Hedera testnet operator account ID and ECDSA DER-encoded private key (from the Quickstart).
A small amount of testnet HBAR (ℏ) to pay the $0.05 account‑creation fee.

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 community here.

Install the SDK

JavaScript
Java
Go
Python

Open your terminal and create a directory hedera-examples directory. Then change into the newly created directory:

mkdir hedera-examples && cd hedera-examples

Initialize a node.js project in this new directory:

npm init -y

Ensure you have Node.js v18 or later installed on your machine. Then, install the JavaScript SDK.

npm install --save @hashgraph/sdk

Update your package.json file to enable ES6 modules and configure the project:

{
  "name": "hedera-examples",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "type": "module",
  "main": "createAccountDemo.js",
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node createAccountDemo.js"
  },
  "keywords": [],
  "author": "",
  "license": "ISC",
  "dependencies": {
    "@hashgraph/sdk": "^2.69.0"
  }
}

Create a createAccountDemo.js file and add the following imports:

import {
  Client,
  PrivateKey,
  AccountCreateTransaction,
  Hbar,
} from "@hashgraph/sdk";

Environment Variables

Set your testnet 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.

export OPERATOR_ID="0.0.1234"
export OPERATOR_KEY="3030020100300506032b657004220420..."

Step 1: Initialize Hedera Client

Load your operator credentials from environment variables and initialize your Hedera testnet client. This client will connect to the Hedera test network and use your operator account to sign transactions and pay transaction fees.

// Load your operator credentials
const operatorId  = process.env.OPERATOR_ID;
const operatorKey = process.env.OPERATOR_KEY;

// Initialize your testnet client and set operator
const client = Client.forTestnet()
.setOperator(operatorId, operatorKey);

Step 2: Generate a New Key Pair

Generate a new ECDSA private/public key pair for the account you’ll create.

Why keys?

On the Hedera network, a private key allows you to sign transactions, ensuring only you control your assets, while a public key, shared on-chain, verifies your identity. This key pair is essential for account security.

// generates a new ECDSA key pair in memory
const newPrivateKey = PrivateKey.generateECDSA();
const newPublicKey = newPrivateKey.publicKey;

‼️ Security reminder: Keep your private keys secure - anyone with access can control your account and funds.

Step 3: Create Your First Account on Hedera

Build an AccountCreateTransaction with the new public key and initial balance, then execute it. Specify the public key , an optional initial HBAR balance, and once you execute it, the network creates the account and returns the new AccountId in the receipt.

// Build & execute the account creation transaction
const transaction = new AccountCreateTransaction()
  .setECDSAKeyWithAlias(newPublicKey)  // set the account key
  .setInitialBalance(new Hbar(20));    // fund with 20 HBAR

const txResponse = await transaction.execute(client);
const receipt = await txResponse.getReceipt(client);
const newAccountId = receipt.accountId;

console.log(`\nHedera Account created: ${newAccountId}`);
console.log(`EVM Address: 0x${newPublicKey.toEvmAddress()}`);

Step 4: Query the Account Balance Using Mirror Node API

Use the Mirror Node REST API to check your new account’s HBAR balance. Mirror nodes provide free access to network data without transaction fees. API endpoint:

/api/v1/balances?account.id={accountId}

Replace the placeholder:

{accountId} - Your new account ID from the creation transaction

Why this endpoint? This endpoint queries account balances directly by account ID. It returns detailed information including HBAR balance in tinybars, making it ideal for verifying the new account was funded with the expected initial balance.

Example URLs:

const mirrorNodeUrl = `https://testnet.mirrornode.hedera.com/api/v1/balances?account.id=${newAccountId}`;

Complete Implementation:

// Wait for Mirror Node to populate data
console.log("\nWaiting for Mirror Node to update...");
await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 6000));

// Query balance using Mirror Node
const mirrorNodeUrl = `https://testnet.mirrornode.hedera.com/api/v1/balances?account.id=${newAccountId}`;

const response = await fetch(mirrorNodeUrl);
const data = await response.json();

if (data.balances && data.balances.length > 0) {
  const balanceInTinybars = data.balances[0].balance;
  const balanceInHbar = balanceInTinybars / 100000000;
  console.log(`\nAccount balance: ${balanceInHbar} ℏ\n`);
} else {
  console.log("Account balance not yet available in Mirror Node");
}

client.close();

✅ Code check

Before running your project, verify your code matches the complete example:

JavaScript

import {
  Client,
  PrivateKey,
  AccountCreateTransaction,
  Hbar
} from "@hashgraph/sdk";

async function createAccountDemo() {
// load your operator credentials
const operatorId = process.env.OPERATOR_ID;
const operatorKey = process.env.OPERATOR_KEY;

// initialize the client for testnet
const client = Client.forTestnet()
.setOperator(operatorId, operatorKey);

// generate a new key pair
const newPrivateKey = PrivateKey.generateECDSA();
const newPublicKey = newPrivateKey.publicKey;

// build & execute the account creation transaction
const transaction = new AccountCreateTransaction()
.setECDSAKeyWithAlias(newPublicKey) // set the account key with alias
.setInitialBalance(new Hbar(20)); // fund with 20 HBAR

const txResponse = await transaction.execute(client);
const receipt = await txResponse.getReceipt(client);
const newAccountId = receipt.accountId;

console.log(`\nHedera account created: ${newAccountId}`);
console.log(`EVM Address: 0x${newPublicKey.toEvmAddress()}`);

// Wait for Mirror Node to populate data
console.log("\nWaiting for Mirror Node to update...");
await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 6000));

// query balance using Mirror Node
const mirrorNodeUrl = `https://testnet.mirrornode.hedera.com/api/v1/balances?account.id=${newAccountId}`;

const response = await fetch(mirrorNodeUrl);
const data = await response.json();

if (data.balances && data.balances.length > 0) {
const balanceInTinybars = data.balances[0].balance;
const balanceInHbar = balanceInTinybars / 100000000;

    console.log(`\nAccount balance: ${balanceInHbar} ℏ\n`);

} else {
console.log("Account balance not yet available in Mirror Node");
}

client.close();
}

createAccountDemo().catch(console.error);

Java

import com.hedera.hashgraph.sdk.*;
import java.net.http.HttpClient;
import java.net.http.HttpRequest;
import java.net.http.HttpResponse;
import java.net.URI;
import com.google.gson.Gson;
import com.google.gson.JsonObject;
import com.google.gson.JsonArray;

public class CreateAccountDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        // load your operator credentials
        String operatorId = System.getenv("OPERATOR_ID");
        String operatorKey = System.getenv("OPERATOR_KEY");

        // initialize the client for testnet
        Client client = Client.forTestnet()
            .setOperator(AccountId.fromString(operatorId),         PrivateKey.fromString(operatorKey));

        // generate a new key pair
        PrivateKey newPrivateKey = PrivateKey.generateECDSA();
        PublicKey newPublicKey = newPrivateKey.getPublicKey();

        // build & execute the account creation transaction
        AccountCreateTransaction transaction = new AccountCreateTransaction()
            // set the account key with alias
            .setKeyWithAlias(newPublicKey)
            .setInitialBalance(new Hbar(20)); // fund with 20 HBAR

        TransactionResponse txResponse = transaction.execute(client);
        TransactionReceipt receipt = txResponse.getReceipt(client);
        AccountId newAccountId = receipt.accountId;

        System.out.println("\nHedera account created: " + newAccountId);
        System.out.println("EVM Address: 0x" + newPublicKey.toEvmAddress() + "\n");

        // Wait for Mirror Node to populate data
        System.out.println("\nWaiting for Mirror Node to update...\n");
        Thread.sleep(6000);

        // query balance using Mirror Node
        String mirrorNodeUrl = "https://testnet.mirrornode.hedera.com/api/v1/balances?account.id=" + newAccountId;

        HttpClient httpClient = HttpClient.newHttpClient();
        HttpRequest request = HttpRequest.newBuilder()
            .uri(URI.create(mirrorNodeUrl))
            .build();

        HttpResponse<String> response = httpClient.send(request, HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofString());
        Gson gson = new Gson();
        JsonObject data = gson.fromJson(response.body(), JsonObject.class);

        if (data.has("balances") && data.getAsJsonArray("balances").size() > 0) {
            JsonArray balances = data.getAsJsonArray("balances");
            JsonObject accountBalance = balances.get(0).getAsJsonObject();
            long balanceInTinybars = accountBalance.get("balance").getAsLong();
            double balanceInHbar = balanceInTinybars / 100000000.0;

            System.out.println("Account balance: " + balanceInHbar + " ℏ\n");
        } else {
            System.out.println("Account balance not yet available in Mirror Node");
        }

        client.close();
    }
}

package main

import (
	"encoding/json"
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
	"os"
	"time"

    hedera "github.com/hiero-ledger/hiero-sdk-go/v2/sdk"

)

func main() {
// load your operator credentials
operatorId, _ := hedera.AccountIDFromString(os.Getenv("OPERATOR_ID"))
operatorKey, _ := hedera.PrivateKeyFromString(os.Getenv("OPERATOR_KEY"))

    // initialize the client for testnet
    client := hedera.ClientForTestnet()
    client.SetOperator(operatorId, operatorKey)

    // generate a new key pair
    newPrivateKey, _ := hedera.PrivateKeyGenerateEcdsa()
    newPublicKey := newPrivateKey.PublicKey()

    // build & execute the account creation transaction
    transaction := hedera.NewAccountCreateTransaction().
    	SetECDSAKeyWithAlias(newPublicKey).   // set the account key with alias
    	SetInitialBalance(hedera.NewHbar(20)) // fund with 20 HBAR

    txResponse, _ := transaction.Execute(client)
    receipt, _ := txResponse.GetReceipt(client)
    newAccountId := *receipt.AccountID

    fmt.Printf("\nHedera account created: %s\n", newAccountId.String())
    fmt.Printf("EVM Address: 0x%s\n", newPublicKey.ToEvmAddress())

    // wait for Mirror Node to populate data
    fmt.Println("\nWaiting for Mirror Node to update...")
    time.Sleep(6 * time.Second)

    // query balance using Mirror Node
    mirrorNodeUrl := "https://testnet.mirrornode.hedera.com/api/v1/balances?account.id=" + newAccountId.String()
    resp, _ := http.Get(mirrorNodeUrl)
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)

    var data struct {
    	Balances []struct {
    		Balance int64 `json:"balance"`
    	} `json:"balances"`
    }

    json.Unmarshal(body, &data)

    if len(data.Balances) > 0 {
    	balanceInTinybars := data.Balances[0].Balance
    	balanceInHbar := float64(balanceInTinybars) / 100000000.0
    	fmt.Printf("\nAccount balance: %g ℏ\n\n", balanceInHbar)
    } else {
    	fmt.Println("\nAccount balance not yet available in Mirror Node")
    }

    client.Close()

}

Python

import os
import time
import requests
from hiero_sdk_python import (
    Client, AccountId, PrivateKey, AccountCreateTransaction, Hbar
)
from hiero_sdk_python.utils.crypto_utils import keccak256

# load your operator credentials
operatorId = AccountId.from_string(os.getenv("OPERATOR_ID", ""))
operatorKey = PrivateKey.from_string(os.getenv("OPERATOR_KEY", ""))

# initialize the client for testnet
client = Client()
client.set_operator(operatorId, operatorKey)

# generate a new key pair
newPrivateKey = PrivateKey.generate_ecdsa()
newPublicKey = newPrivateKey.public_key()

# build & execute the account creation transaction
transaction = (
    AccountCreateTransaction()
      .set_key(newPublicKey)            # set the account key
      .set_initial_balance(Hbar(20))    # fund with 20 HBAR
)
receipt = transaction.execute(client)
newAccountId = receipt.account_id
evm_address = keccak256(newPublicKey.to_bytes_ecdsa(compressed=False)[1:])[-20:].hex()

print(f"\nHedera account created: {newAccountId}")
print(f"EVM Address: 0x{evm_address}")

# wait for Mirror Node to populate data
print("\nWaiting for Mirror Node to update...\n")
time.sleep(6)

# query balance using Mirror Node
mirrorNodeUrl = f"https://testnet.mirrornode.hedera.com/api/v1/balances?account.id={newAccountId}"
response = requests.get(mirrorNodeUrl, timeout=10)
response.raise_for_status()
data = response.json()
balances = data.get("balances", [])

if balances:
    balanceInTinybars = balances[0].get("balance", 0)
    balanceInHbar = balanceInTinybars / 100_000_000
    print(f"Account balance: {balanceInHbar:g} ℏ\n")
else:
    print("Account balance not yet available in Mirror Node")

client.close()

Run Your Project

Ensure your environment variables are set:

export OPERATOR_ID="0.0.1234"
export OPERATOR_KEY="3030020100300506032b657004220420..."

JavaScript
Java Maven
Java Gradle
Go
Python

node createAccountDemo.js

Expected sample output:

Hedera account created: 0.0.12345
EVM Address: 0xabcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef01

Waiting for Mirror Node to update...

Account balance: 20 ℏ

‼️ Troubleshooting

Common ERROR messages and solutions ⬇️

Error message	Likely cause	Fix
`INSUFFICIENT_PAYER_BALANCE`	Operator account lacks enough ℏ for the fee.	Top‑up your testnet account with the HBAR 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
`KEY_REQUIRED`	Missing key in AccountCreateTransaction	Ensure you call `.setECDSAKeyWithAlias(newPublicKey)`
`OPERATOR_ID and OPERATOR_KEY must be set`	Environment variables not accessible	Check environment variables are set and accessible to your application
`Cannot read properties of undefined`	Missing imports or undefined variables	Verify all imports are included and variables are defined

What just happened?

The SDK built an AccountCreateTransaction and signed it with your operator key.
A consensus node validated the signature and charged the account creation fee.
After network consensus, a unique account ID and EVM address were assigned and returned in the receipt.
The account was funded with 20 HBAR from your operator account.
The Mirror Node API confirmed your new account exists with the expected balance.

Next steps

Learn more about accounts
Create a Token
Explore more examples in the SDK repos (JavaScript, Java, Go)

🎉 Great work! You now control a brand new Hedera account secured by your fresh key pair. Keep the private key safe and never commit it to source control.

Have a question? Ask it on StackOverflow

Create an Account

Prerequisites

Install the SDK

Environment Variables

Step 1: Initialize Hedera Client

Step 2: Generate a New Key Pair

Why keys?

Step 3: Create Your First Account on Hedera

Step 4: Query the Account Balance Using Mirror Node API

✅ Code check

Run Your Project

Expected sample output:

‼️ Troubleshooting

What just happened?

Next steps

Additional resources

Accounts | Hedera

​Prerequisites

​Install the SDK

​Environment Variables

​Step 1: Initialize Hedera Client

​Step 2: Generate a New Key Pair

​Why keys?

​Step 3: Create Your First Account on Hedera

​Step 4: Query the Account Balance Using Mirror Node API

​✅ Code check

​Run Your Project

​Expected sample output:

​‼️ Troubleshooting

​What just happened?

​Next steps

​Additional resources

Accounts | Hedera

Prerequisites

Install the SDK

Environment Variables

Step 1: Initialize Hedera Client

Step 2: Generate a New Key Pair

Why keys?

Step 3: Create Your First Account on Hedera

Step 4: Query the Account Balance Using Mirror Node API

✅ Code check

Run Your Project

Expected sample output:

‼️ Troubleshooting

What just happened?

Next steps

Additional resources