TON API reference: The Open Network JSON-RPC quickstart

Use the TON API on Chainstack to query The Open Network, send transactions, work with jettons and NFTs, and build apps on the high-throughput layer-1.

What is the TON protocol

TON (The Open Network) is a fully decentralized layer-1 blockchain designed for fast transactions and scalability. It was originally designed by Telegram and later developed by the open TON Community. TON uses a unique sharding mechanism to achieve high throughput and low latency.

TON employs a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism where validators stake TON coins to participate in block production and validation. The network is designed to support millions of transactions per second through its dynamic sharding system.

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What is the TON API

Both TON API v2 and v3 are supported

Chainstack supports both v2 and v3 APIs:

• TON API v2 — node API that can also run JSON-RPC methods.
• TON API v3 — an indexer.

TON billing: full vs archive

v2 and v3 are priced the same, and all data is available. Most TON requests are billed as full (1 request unit); requests that read historical data are archive (2 request units) — getTransactions and getTransactionsStd are always archive, and block/seqno methods are archive when the requested block is 128 or more seqno behind the tip. See Request units — TON method scope for the full method list.

ADNL protocol support on dedicated nodes

TON dedicated nodes on Chainstack support the ADNL protocol for secure, low-level network communication. This enables advanced use cases requiring direct interaction with the TON network layer.

The TON API allows developers to interact with the TON blockchain to build decentralized applications. It provides methods to read data from the blockchain, send transactions, and interact with smart contracts.

To communicate with the TON blockchain, an application must connect to a TON node. Chainstack provides managed TON nodes that developers can use to access the network.

When communicating with a TON node, clients use HTTP requests to interact with the API, which follows RESTful & JSON-RPC principles for most operations.

Note that interactive examples are REST on each of the TOP API reference pages, but the Chainstack TON endpoints also support JSON-RPC calls. Each of the pages has a JSON-RPC curl example counterpart

How to start using the TON API

To use the TON API, you need access to a TON node.

Follow these steps to sign up on Chainstack, deploy a TON node, and find your endpoint credentials:

1. Sign up with Chainstack.

2. Deploy a node.

3. View node access and credentials.

Now you are ready to connect to the TON blockchain and use the TON API to build your decentralized applications.