Overview

Introduction to the Python SDK for building Hive blockchain applications

The WAX Python SDK provides a comprehensive toolkit for building Hive blockchain applications in Python. It wraps the core C++ Hive protocol implementation with a high-level, Pythonic API.

Key features

The Python SDK offers two main interfaces:

• Offline operations via create_wax_foundation() - Transaction building, signing, and validation without network access
• Online operations via create_hive_chain() - Full blockchain interaction including API calls and broadcasting

Core capabilities

Transaction management

Build, sign, validate, and broadcast transactions with full type safety:

from wax import create_hive_chain
from wax.proto.operations import transfer

wax = create_hive_chain()
tx = await wax.create_transaction()
tx.push_operation(
    transfer(
        from_account="alice",
        to_account="bob",
        amount=wax.hive.satoshis(1000),
        memo="Payment"
    )
)

Asset handling

Work with HIVE, HBD, and VESTS using intuitive asset factories:

# Create assets
hive_amount = wax.hive.satoshis(1000)  # 0.001 HIVE
hbd_amount = wax.hbd.pretty("5.000 HBD")
vests_amount = wax.vests.nai({"amount": "1000000", "precision": 6, "nai": "@@000000037"})

# Convert between asset types
hp = wax.vests_to_hp(
    vests=account_vests,
    total_vesting_fund_hive=dgpo.total_vesting_fund_hive,
    total_vesting_shares=dgpo.total_vesting_shares
)

API integration

Access Hive blockchain APIs with full async support:

# Query blockchain data
accounts = await wax.api.database_api.find_accounts(
    accounts=["alice", "bob"]
)

# Get dynamic global properties
dgpo = await wax.api.database_api.get_dynamic_global_properties()

# Query resource credits
rc_accounts = await wax.api.rc_api.find_rc_accounts(
    accounts=["alice"]
)

Wallet integration

Seamless integration with Beekeeper wallet for secure key management:

from beekeepy import AsyncBeekeeper

async with await AsyncBeekeeper.factory() as beekeeper:
    session = await beekeeper.create_session(salt="")
    wallet = await session.create_wallet(name="my_wallet", password="password")
    await tx.sign(wallet=wallet, public_key="STM...")

Installation

Install the SDK via pip:

pip install hiveio-wax

See the installation guide for detailed setup instructions.

Getting started

Choose your approach based on your needs:

Offline operations

Build and sign transactions without network access

Online operations

Full blockchain interaction with API calls

Transactions

Learn transaction building and management

API calls

Query blockchain data and state

Architecture

The Python SDK uses Cython bindings to wrap the high-performance C++ Hive protocol implementation. This provides:

• Native performance - Transaction signing and validation at C++ speeds
• Type safety - Full type hints and Protocol Buffer message validation
• Protocol compliance - Direct use of Hive’s canonical protocol implementation

Package structure

from wax import (
    create_wax_foundation,  # Offline operations factory
    create_hive_chain,      # Online operations factory
    WaxOptions,             # Configuration for offline mode
    WaxChainOptions,        # Configuration for online mode
)

from wax.proto.operations import (  # Protocol Buffer operations
    transfer,
    vote,
    comment,
    # ... all Hive operations
)

from wax.complex_operations import (  # High-level operation builders
    AccountAuthorityUpdateOperation,
    RecurrentTransferOperation,
)

Next steps

1. Install the SDK

   Follow the installation guide to set up your environment

2. Choose your interface

   Use create_wax_foundation for offline operations or create_hive_chain for full blockchain access

3. Build transactions

   Learn transaction management to create and sign operations

4. Explore examples

   Check out complete examples for common use cases