NEAR Protocol offers a comprehensive suite of tools and resources designed to streamline the development of decentralized applications (dApps). Whether you’re building smart contracts, integrating wallets, or analyzing on-chain data, NEAR provides robust solutions to support your development journey.
Smart Contract Development
NEAR SDKs
NEAR supports smart contract development in both Rust and JavaScript through its Software Development Kits (SDKs).
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Rust SDK: Ideal for performance-critical applications, the Rust SDK provides a secure, production-grade environment for smart contract development.
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JavaScript SDK: Designed for accessibility, the JavaScript SDK allows web developers to build and deploy contracts without needing to learn a new language.
Both SDKs come with detailed documentation and example projects to help developers get started quickly.
NEAR CLI
The NEAR Command Line Interface (CLI) is a powerful tool that allows developers to interact with the NEAR network directly from the terminal. With NEAR CLI, you can:
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Create and manage accounts
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Deploy and interact with smart contracts
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Send tokens and manage access keys
It supports various installation methods and is essential for both testing and production deployment workflows.
Frontend & Backend Integration
NEAR API Libraries
NEAR provides official and community-supported API libraries in JavaScript, Python, and Rust, enabling seamless interaction with the blockchain from a variety of environments.
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JavaScript (
near-api-js)
The most mature and widely used NEAR API. It allows you to:-
Call smart contract functions
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Manage user keys and sessions
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Handle wallet authentication and transactions
Ideal for frontend web apps using frameworks like React or Vue.
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Python (
near-api-py)
A growing library for backend services, bots, or server-side tools written in Python.
Supports:-
Viewing account state and transaction history
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Querying contracts and sending signed transactions
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Creating and managing access keys
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Rust (
near-jsonrpc-client-rs)
A low-level Rust client for interacting with NEAR’s JSON-RPC endpoints.
Used mainly in Rust-based infrastructure tools or indexers.
Suitable for performance-sensitive applications and native integration.
Each library provides robust access to NEAR’s core functionalities: transaction signing, contract calls, querying state, and working with keys.
Wallet Integration
Wallet Selector
The Wallet Selector simplifies integrating NEAR wallets into dApps. It provides a modular interface where users can choose their preferred wallet for authentication and transactions. It supports various wallet providers and can be integrated into JavaScript frameworks like React and Next.js, reducing the complexity of onboarding new users.
Data Access and Indexing
Explorers
NEAR offers several blockchain explorers to access on-chain data:
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NearBlocks: A feature-rich explorer for viewing accounts, blocks, and contract interactions.
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Nearscope: Focused on validator and delegator metrics.
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Pikespeak: Offers real-time and historical on-chain insights.
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NEARCatalog: Curated listing of trending NEAR dApps.
Indexing Solutions
For custom data querying and analytics, developers can choose from several solutions:
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Indexer.xyz: Provides GraphQL APIs for transaction and contract data across chains.
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The Graph: Allows building subgraphs for event-driven indexing.
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GetBlock: A multi-chain node service offering reliable RPC access.
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NEAR Indexer Framework: For building custom stream processors using Rust.
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SubQuery: A powerful end-to-end solution for indexing NEAR data and exposing it via APIs.
Ecosystem Tools
NEAR offers additional utilities to aid development:
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Testnet Faucet: Get free NEAR tokens for testing on the testnet.
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Developer Portal: Centralized resources including news, tutorials, and starter templates.
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Lanstool
Community and Support
The NEAR developer community is active and well-supported:
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Community channels like Discord and Telegram provide real-time help.
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Developer Hub aggregates updates, tutorials, and community highlights.
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Learn NEAR Club and other platforms offer structured learning paths and interactive guides for beginners and advanced users.
Conclusion
NEAR Protocol offers an extensive and developer-friendly ecosystem packed with SDKs, APIs, wallet tools, explorers, indexers, and learning resources. Whether you’re building a lightweight web app or a full-scale Web3 platform, NEAR’s tooling is designed to get you from concept to deployment smoothly and securely.
Updated: June 5, 2025
