Get Started
Azle helps you to build secure decentralized/replicated servers in TypeScript or JavaScript on ICP. The current replication factor is 13-40 times.
Please remember that the HTTP Server functionality is only accessible in Azle's experimental mode.
Azle runs in experimental mode through explicitly enabling a flag in dfx.json or certain CLI commands.
This mode is intended for developers who are willing to accept the risk of using an alpha or beta project. Its focus is on quickly enabling new features and functionality without requiring the time and other resources necessary to advance them to the stable mode. The Node.js standard libary, npm ecosystem, and HTTP server functionality are also major areas of focus.
NOTE: Keep clearly in mind that the experimental mode fundamentally changes the Azle Wasm binary. It is not guaranteed to be secure or stable in API changes or runtime behavior. If you enable the experimental mode, even if you only use APIs from the stable mode, you are accepting a higher risk of bugs, errors, crashes, security exploits, breaking API changes, etc.
Installation
Windows is only supported through a Linux virtual environment of some kind, such as WSL
You will need Node.js 22 and dfx to develop ICP applications with Azle:
Node.js 22
It's recommended to use nvm to install Node.js 22:
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.7/install.sh | bash
Restart your terminal and then run:
nvm install 22
Check that the installation went smoothly by looking for clean output from the following command:
node --version
dfx
Install the dfx command line tools for managing ICP applications:
DFX_VERSION=0.24.3 sh -ci "$(curl -fsSL https://internetcomputer.org/install.sh)"
Check that the installation went smoothly by looking for clean output from the following command:
dfx --version
Deployment
To create and deploy a simple sample application called hello_world:
# create a new default project called hello_world
npx azle new hello_world --http-server --experimental
cd hello_world
# install all npm dependencies including azle
npm install
# start up a local ICP replica
dfx start --clean
In a separate terminal in the hello_world directory:
# deploy your canister
dfx deploy
If you would like your canister to autoreload on file changes:
AZLE_AUTORELOAD=true dfx deploy
View your frontend in a web browser at http://[canisterId].raw.localhost:8000.
To obtain your application's [canisterId]:
dfx canister id backend
Communicate with your canister using any HTTP client library, for example using curl:
curl http://[canisterId].raw.localhost:8000/db
curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d "{ \"hello\": \"world\" }" http://[canisterId].raw.localhost:8000/db/update