# Bitcore

## Principles

Bitcoin is a powerful new peer-to-peer platform for the next generation of financial technology. The decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network allows for highly resilient bitcoin infrastructure, and the developer community needs reliable, open-source tools to implement bitcoin apps and services. Bitcore provides a reliable API for JavaScript apps that need to interface with Bitcoin.

To get started, just `npm install bitcore` or `bower install bitcore`.

## Documentation Index

### Addresses and Key Management

- [Addresses](address.md)
- [Using Different Networks](networks.md)
- [Private Keys](privatekey.md) and [Public Keys](publickey.md)
- [Hierarchically-derived Private and Public Keys](hierarchical.md)

### Payment Handling

- [Using Different Units](unit.md)
- [Acknowledging and Requesting Payments: Bitcoin URIs](uri.md)
- [The Transaction Class](transaction.md)

### Bitcoin Internals

- [Scripts](script.md)
- [Block](block.md)

### Extra

- [Crypto](crypto.md)
- [Encoding](encoding.md)

### Module Development

- [Browser Builds](browser.md)

### Modules

Some functionality is implemented as a module that can be installed separately:

- [Peer to Peer Networking](https://github.com/bitpay/bitcore/tree/master/packages/bitcore-p2p)
- [Bitcoin Core JSON-RPC](https://github.com/bitpay/bitcoind-rpc)
- [Payment Channels](https://github.com/bitpay/bitcore-channel)
- [Mnemonics](https://github.com/bitpay/bitcore/tree/master/packages/bitcore-mnemonic)
- [Elliptical Curve Integrated Encryption Scheme](https://github.com/bitpay/bitcore-ecies)
- [Blockchain Explorers](https://github.com/bitpay/bitcore-explorers)
- [Signed Messages](https://github.com/bitpay/bitcore-message)

## Examples

### Create and Save a Private Key

```javascript
var privateKey = new bitcore.PrivateKey();

var exported = privateKey.toWIF();
// e.g. L3T1s1TYP9oyhHpXgkyLoJFGniEgkv2Jhi138d7R2yJ9F4QdDU2m
var imported = bitcore.PrivateKey.fromWIF(exported);
var hexa = privateKey.toString();
// e.g. 'b9de6e778fe92aa7edb69395556f843f1dce0448350112e14906efc2a80fa61a'
```

### Create an Address

```javascript
var address = privateKey.toAddress();
```

### Create a Multisig Address

```javascript
// Build a 2-of-3 address from public keys
var p2shAddress = new bitcore.Address([publicKey1, publicKey2, publicKey3], 2);
```

### Request a Payment

```javascript
var paymentInfo = {
  address: '1DNtTk4PUCGAdiNETAzQFWZiy2fCHtGnPx',
  amount: 120000 //satoshis
};
var uri = new bitcore.URI(paymentInfo).toString();
```

### Create a Transaction

```javascript
var transaction = new Transaction()
  .from(utxos) // Feed information about what unspent outputs one can use
  .to(address, amount) // Add an output with the given amount of satoshis
  .change(address) // Sets up a change address where the rest of the funds will go
  .sign(privkeySet); // Signs all the inputs it can
```

### Connect to the Network

```javascript
var peer = new Peer('5.9.85.34');

peer.on('inv', function(message) {
  // new inventory
});

peer.connect();
```