node-stipend v0.4.0

A Node.js Stipend Client

node-stipend is a Stipend client for node.js

It is a fork of node-xsh which is a fork of the excellent Kapitalize Bitcoin Client (now removed from GitHub), and intended for use with stipendd. The purpose of this repository is:

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

Dependencies

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

Then, install the node-stipend NPM package.

npm install node-stipend

Examples

Some code examples follow below

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

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

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

Chaining

Pretty much everything is chainable.

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

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

Methods

The Litecoin API is supported as direct methods. Use either camelcase or lowercase. TODO: make own API wiki

stipend.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!

stipend.exec('getNewAddress')

stipend.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.

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

.get(key string)

Returns the specified option's value

stipend.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 stipend = require('stipend')({
    user:'user'
})

stipend.set('pass', 'somn')
stipend.set({port:46979})

Available options and default values:

• host localhost
• port 46979
• 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-stipend 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 stipend = require('node-stipend')({
    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 stipend = require('node-stipend')({
  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 stipendd 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 stipendd with a self-signed SSL certificate and an associated private key to enable HTTPS. For example, in your stipend.conf:

rpcssl=1
rpcsslcertificatechainfile=/etc/ssl/certs/stipendd.crt
rpcsslprivatekeyfile=/etc/ssl/private/stipendd.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 stipendd.crt. Pass your self-signed certificate in the ca option and set https: true and node-stipend is secured!

var fs = require('fs')

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

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

Testing

npm install

npm test