# Quickstart

Five minutes from zero to reading the chain and sending a transaction. Pick the language that matches your stack.

## 1. Read the chain (curl)

```bash
# Current block height
curl -X POST https://rpc.aeredium.io \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_blockNumber","params":[],"id":1}'

# Account balance (in wei)
curl -X POST https://rpc.aeredium.io \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_getBalance","params":["0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc9e7595f3bA21","latest"],"id":1}'

# Chain ID (should return "0x3e8" → 1000)
curl -X POST https://rpc.aeredium.io \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_chainId","params":[],"id":1}'
```

## 2. Read the chain (viem)

```ts
import { createPublicClient, http, defineChain } from "viem";

export const aeredium = defineChain({
  id: 1000,
  name: "AEREDIUM",
  nativeCurrency: { name: "AER", symbol: "AER", decimals: 18 },
  rpcUrls: {
    default: { http: ["https://rpc.aeredium.io"], webSocket: ["wss://rpc.aeredium.io"] },
  },
});

const client = createPublicClient({ chain: aeredium, transport: http() });

const block = await client.getBlockNumber();
const balance = await client.getBalance({ address: "0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc9e7595f3bA21" });
console.log({ block, balance });
```

## 3. Read the chain (ethers v6)

```ts
import { JsonRpcProvider } from "ethers";

const provider = new JsonRpcProvider("https://rpc.aeredium.io", {
  chainId: 1000,
  name: "aeredium",
});

const block = await provider.getBlockNumber();
const balance = await provider.getBalance("0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc9e7595f3bA21");
console.log({ block, balance: balance.toString() });
```

## 4. Read the chain (web3.py)

```python
from web3 import Web3

w3 = Web3(Web3.HTTPProvider("https://rpc.aeredium.io"))
print("connected:", w3.is_connected())
print("block:", w3.eth.block_number)
print("balance:", w3.eth.get_balance("0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc9e7595f3bA21"))
```

## 5. Send your first transaction (viem)

```ts
import { createWalletClient, http, parseEther } from "viem";
import { privateKeyToAccount } from "viem/accounts";
import { aeredium } from "./chain"; // from step 2

const account = privateKeyToAccount(process.env.PRIVATE_KEY as `0x${string}`);

const wallet = createWalletClient({
  account,
  chain: aeredium,
  transport: http(),
});

const hash = await wallet.sendTransaction({
  to: "0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc9e7595f3bA21",
  value: parseEther("0.01"),
});

console.log("tx hash:", hash);
```

Because AEREDIUM has 1-block (2-second) finality, you can call `eth_getTransactionReceipt` once and trust the result — no need to wait for N confirmations like on Ethereum mainnet.

## What's next

* [Connect MetaMask](/developer.aeredium.io/network/metamask.md) for browser-based testing
* [Deploy a smart contract](/developer.aeredium.io/examples/deploy-contract.md) with Hardhat or Foundry
* [Browse the JSON-RPC reference](/developer.aeredium.io/json-rpc-api/json-rpc.md) for every supported method


---

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