node-htmlcoin v1.0.0

A Node.js Htmlcoin Client!

node-htmlcoin is a htmlcoin client for Node.js. It is a fork of the excellent Kapitalize Bitcoin Client (now removed from GitHub) intended for use with htmlcoin. The purpose of this repository is:

• Provide a one-stop resource for the Node.js developer to get started with htmlcoin integration.
• Prevent would-be htmlcoin web developers worrying whether a Htmlcoin client will work out of the box.
• Promote Node.js development of htmlcoin web apps.
• Identify and address any incompatibilities with the htmlcoin and Bitcoin APIs that exist now and/or in the future.

Dependencies

You'll need a running instance of htmlcoind to connect with.

Then, install the node-htmlcoin NPM package.

npm install node-htmlcoin

Examples

Some code examples follow below:

var htmlcoin = require('node-htmlcoin')()

twitcoin.auth('myusername', 'mypassword')

twitcoin.getDifficulty(function() {
    console.log(arguments);
})

Chaining

Pretty much everything is chainable.

var htmlcoin = require('node-htmlcoin')()

htmlcoin
.auth('MyUserName', 'mypassword')
.getNewAddress()
.getBalance()

Methods

The Litecoin API (Bitcoin etc.) is supported as direct methods. Use either camelcase or lowercase.

htmlcoin.getNewAddress(function(err, address) {
    this.validateaddress(address, function(err, info) {

    })
})

.exec(command string, ...arguments..., callback function)

Executes the given command with optional arguments. Function callback defaults to console.log. All of the API commands are supported in lowercase or camelcase. Or uppercase. Anycase!

htmlcoin.exec('getNewAddress')

htmlcoin.exec('getbalance', function(err, balance) {

})

.set(key string, object, value optional)

Accepts either key & value strings or an Object containing settings, returns this for chainability.

htmlcoin.set('host', '127.0.0.1')

.get(key string)

Returns the specified option's value

htmlcoin.get('user')

.auth(user string, pass string)

Generates authorization header, returns this for chainability

Commands

TODO: Write tests for these.

All Litecoin API commands are supported, in lowercase or camelcase form.

Generation is limited to genproclimit processors, -1 is unlimited.

Options

You may pass options to the initialization function or to the set method.

var htmlcoin = require('htmlcoin')({
    user:'user'
})

htmlcoin.set('pass', 'somn')
htmlcoin.set({port:4888})

Available options and default values:

• host localhost
• port 4888
• user
• pass
• passphrasecallback
• https
• ca

Passphrase Callback

With an encryped wallet, any operation that accesses private keys requires a wallet unlock. A wallet is unlocked using the walletpassphrase <passphrase> <timeout> JSON-RPC method: the wallet will relock after timeout seconds.

You may pass an optional function passphrasecallback to the node-twitcoin initialization function to manage wallet unlocks. passphrasecallback should be a function accepting three arguments:

function(command, args, callback) {}

• command is the command that failed due to a locked wallet.
• args is the arguments for the failed command.
• callback is a typical node-style continuation callback of the form function(err, passphrase, timeout) {}. Call callback with the wallet passphrase and desired timeout from within your passphrasecallback to unlock the wallet.

You may hard code your passphrase (not recommended) as follows:

var htmlcoin = require('node-htmlcoin')({
    passphrasecallback: function(command, args, callback) {
        callback(null, 'passphrase', 30);
    }
})

Because passphrasecallback is a continuation, you can retrieve the passphrase in an asynchronous manner. For example, by prompting the user:

var readline = require('readline')

var rl = readline.createInterface({
  input: process.stdin,
  output: process.stdout
})

var htmlcoin = require('noHtmlcoin-htmlcoin')({
  passphrasecallback: function(command, args, callback) {
    rl.question('Enter passphrase for "' + command + '" operation: ', function(passphrase) {
      if (passphrase) {
        callback(null, passphrase, 1)
      } else {
        callback(new Error('no passphrase entered'))
      }
    })
  }
})

Secure RPC with SSL

By default htmlcoind exposes its JSON-RPC interface via HTTP; that is, all RPC commands are transmitted in plain text across the network! To secure the JSON-RPC channel you can supply htmlcoind with a self-signed SSL certificate and an associated private key to enable HTTPS. For example, in your htmlcoin.conf:

rpcssl=1
rpcsslcertificatechainfile=/etc/ssl/certs/htmlcoind.crt
rpcsslprivatekeyfile=/etc/ssl/private/htmlcoind.pem

In order to securely access an SSL encrypted JSON-RPC interface you need a copy of the self-signed certificate from the server: in this case htmlcoind.crt. Pass your self-signed certificate in the ca option and set https: true and node-htmlcoin is secured!

var fs = require('fs')

var ca = fs.readFileSync('htmlcoind.crt')

var twitcoin = require('node-htmlcoin')({
  user: 'rpcusername',
  pass: 'rpcpassword',
  https: true,
  ca: ca
})

Testing

npm install -g nodeunit

nodeunit test/test-node-htmlcoin.js