116 lines
3.1 KiB
Plaintext
116 lines
3.1 KiB
Plaintext
---
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title: Quick Start
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date: 2021-12-09T14:00:00+01:00
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weight: 20
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---
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# Quick Start
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In this guide, you will learn how to integrate Waku into an **existing** JavaScript project.
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If you're looking to build a Waku app from scratch, check out our [Build a Chat App](./build-chat-app) guide.
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## 1. Install Waku Libraries
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To begin, install the required Waku libraries with the following command:
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```shell
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npm i @waku/core @waku/create @waku/utils
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```
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## 2. Start a Waku Node
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Next, create and start a Waku Node:
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```js
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import {createLightNode} from "@waku/create"
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const waku = await createLightNode({defaultBootstrap: true})
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await waku.start()
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```
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:::info
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Setting the `defaultBootstrap` option to true allows your Waku node to connect to a set of pre-defined nodes.
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:::
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## 3. Wait for Connection to be Established
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Your Waku node needs to connect to a remote node in order to access the network.
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To wait for this, use the `waitForRemotePeer` function:
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```js
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import * as waku from "@waku/core"
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await waku.waitForRemotePeer(wakuNode)
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```
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## 4. Define a Content Topic
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The `contentTopic` is a metadata `string` used for categorizing messages on the Waku Network.
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Depending on your use case, you can create one or more new `contentTopic`(s).
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Refer to our [How to Choose a Content Topic](/) guide more details.
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For this guide, we'll use `/quick-start/1/message/utf8`.
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Note that our payload will be encoded using `utf-8`.
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We recommended using Protobuf for production purposes.
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```js
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const contentTopic = `/quick-start/1/message/utf8`
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```
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## 5. Create a Decoder
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Waku supports various encryption protocols.
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A decoder allows you to specify the content topic to use and how to decrypt messages.
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For the chosen content topic, create a plain text decoder (without encryption):
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```js
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const decoder = waku.createDecoder(contentTopic)
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```
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## 6. Listen for Incoming Messages
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Messages sent over the network are `Waku Message`s,
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as defined in the [14/WAKU2-MESSAGE](https://rfc.vac.dev/spec/14/#wire-format) RFC.
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Messages returned by the plain text decoder implement the [`DecodedMessage`](https://js.waku.org/classes/_waku_core.DecodedMessage.html) interface.
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For now, we will just use the `payload` field.
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It is a byte array field that can be used to encode any data.
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We will store messages as a `utf-8` string.
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To listen for messages using the decoder, use the following code:
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```js
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wakuNode.filter.subscribe([decoder], (message) => {
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const str = utils.bytesToUtf8(message.payload)
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// str is a string, render it in your app as desired
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})
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```
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## 7. Send Messages
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Finally, create a `sendMessage` function that sends messages over Waku:
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```js
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import * as utils from "@waku/utils"
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const encoder = waku.createEncoder(contentTopic)
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const sendMessage = async (textMsg) => {
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await wakuNode.lightPush.push(encoder, {
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payload: utils.utf8ToBytes(textMsg),
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});
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};
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```
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Now, you can use the `sendMessage` function in your app to send messages.
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## Conclusion
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Congratulations! You've successfully added decentralized communication features to your app.
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Continue learning by exploring how to [build a chat app](./build-chat-app) from scratch using Waku.
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