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Version: v28

React frontend

Welcome to this tutorial on using Ignite to develop a web application for your blockchain with React. Ignite is a tool that simplifies the process of building a blockchain application by providing a set of templates and generators that can be used to get up and running quickly.

One of the features of Ignite is its support for React, a popular JavaScript framework for building user interfaces. In this tutorial, you will learn how to use Ignite to create a new blockchain and scaffold a React frontend template. This will give you a basic foundation for your web application and make it easier to get started building out the rest of your application.

Once you have your blockchain and React template set up, the next step is to generate an API client. This will allow you to easily interact with your blockchain from your web application, enabling you to retrieve data and make transactions. By the end of this tutorial, you will have a fully functional web application that is connected to your own blockchain.

Prerequisites:

Create a blockchain and a React app​

Create a new blockchain project:

ignite scaffold chain example

To create a React frontend template, go to the example directory and run the following command:

ignite scaffold react

This will create a new React project in the react directory. This project can be used with any blockchain, but it depends on an API client to interact with the blockchain. To generate an API client, run the following command in the example directory:

ignite generate hooks

This command generates two directories:

  • ts-client: a framework-agnostic TypeScript client that can be used to interact with your blockchain. You can learn more about how to use this client in the TypeScript client tutorial.
  • react/src/hooks: a collection of React Hooks that wrap the TypeScript client and make it easier to interact with your blockchain from your React application.

Set up Keplr and an account​

Open your browser with the Keplr wallet extension installed. Follow the instructions to create a new account or use an existing one. Make sure to save the mnemonic phrase as you will need it in the next step.

Do not use a mnemonic phrase that is associated with an account that holds assets you care about. If you do, you risk losing those assets. It's a good practice to create a new account for development purposes.

Add the account you're using in Keplr to your blockchain's config.yml file:

accounts:
  - name: alice
    coins: [20000token, 200000000stake]
  - name: bob
    coins: [10000token, 100000000stake]
  - name: frank
    coins: [10000token, 100000000stake]
    mnemonic: struggle since inmate safe logic kite tag web win stay security wonder

Replace the struggle since... mnemonic with the one you saved in the previous step.

Adding an account with a mnemonic to the config file will tell Ignite CLI to add the account to the blockchain when you start it. This is useful for development purposes, but you should not do this in production.

Start a blockchain and a React app​

In the example directory run the following command to start your blockchain:

ignite chain serve

To start your React application, go to the react directory and run the following command in a separate terminal window:

npm install && npm run dev

It is recommended to run npm install before starting your app with npm run dev to ensure that all dependencies are installed (including the ones that the API client has, see react/postinstall.js).

Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:5173/.

Web app

Press "Connect wallet", enter your password into Keplr and press "Approve" to add your blockchain to Keplr.

Make sure to select the account you're using for development purposes and the "Example Network" in Keplr's blockchain dropdown. You should see a list of assets in your React app.

Web app

Congratulations! You have successfully created a client-side React application and connected it to your blockchain. You can modify the source code of your React application to build out the rest of your project.