Introduction

Welcome to the new Algorand Developer Portal 👋 Whether you have been waiting for this or are surprised by it, please have a look around. We think you’re going to enjoy reading—or chatting with—these docs.

Guiding Principles

In reimagining the Algorand Developer Portal, we set out to address challenges from the past, cater to what developers expect today, and plan for how technical documentation will be used in the future. Our work has been guided by a set of key principles:

1. One-stop shop: The portal should consolidate all of the resources developers need to build with Algorand technologies. If something cannot be found, it may as well not exist. Therefore, the portal should colocate documentation and examples for all of our tools, libraries, and languages under a single site. In some cases, content is directly imported from external repositories; in other cases, we aim to include links to a rich array of external resources, from community-maintained SDKs to third-party learning materials.

2. Correct and current: The content of the documentation needs to accurately reflect the current state of the art of Algorand code and tools. The old portal did not always include the latest libraries, abstractions, and paths-of-least-resistance that are available. Also, this site no longer showcases examples using old or deprecated languages and libraries. Rather, you will learn how to apply various concepts using the latest versions of AlgoKit libraries, which we believe to be the happiest path for developers to follow.

3. Diátaxis framework: These docs have been designed loosely following the Diátaxis approach to technical documentation, which conceptualizes content along the axes of action vs. cognition and acquisition vs. application. The four quadrants which emerge from a plot of these axes are:

   • Tutorials, for learning (acquisition + action), such as in the Getting Started section
   • How-To Guides, for accomplishing specific goals (action + application), such as the Running a Node section
   • Explanation, for understanding concepts (cognition + cognition), in the Concepts section
   • Reference, for finding information (application + cognition), in the Reference section

4. First-class AI support: Artificial intelligence tools such as Large Language Models (LLMs) have recently and swiftly revolutionized how many software developers work. This site embraces AI workflows in two key ways:

   • Embedded AI chat lets you ask questions about the content of the site and receive answers in real time, at any time. With refreshed content, the AI bot should be much better now at answering Algorand code and conceptual questions.
   • Abridged site contents are available at /llms-small.txt, and full site content at /llms-full.txt at the site root, for consumption by your preferred AI tools.

How to Use This Portal

The portal is organized into the following sections:

Getting Started

Want to get your hands on Algorand code as quickly as possible? This section is for you. Install AlgoKit and deploy your first smart contract, follow a guided code tutorial in your browser, or browse a gallery of examples to see what Algorand apps look like in practice, all in just minutes.

Concepts

Developing software for blockchain requires understanding and applying a different programming paradigm than one might be accustomed to in other types of systems. Use this section as a way to build your mental model of Algorand and how the distributed ledger’s accounts, transactions, assets, smart contracts, and the consensus protocol work, both on their own and as a complex, composable system. Throughout this section, you will find concrete examples of how to apply these concepts in practice using the most current libraries, languages, and tools.

Build with AlgoKit

AlgoKit is a collection of developer tools to make it easy to build, test, and deploy applications on Algorand, and this section contains the user manuals for the tools in the kit. This section documents each of these tools, from the CLI to Lora to the smart contract languages and other code libraries.

Running A Node

Discover how to set up an Algorand node of various types in this section. Follow the NodeKit Quick Start to use Algorand Foundations’ terminal user interface to install and manage your node. You can also find documentation on Indexer and Conduit, node management practices, and how to configure the node software in various ways.

Reference

This section of the site imports API reference documentation for a number of tools, languages, libraries, and more. Additionally, the ARC Standards section contains information about our Algorand Request for Comments (ARC) standards that guide the developer ecosystem to apply Algorand technical capabilities in consistent and interoperable ways.

Feedback

If you’re reading this portal, then the portal is for you. Whether you are actively building applications on Algorand, performing formal research, or just following your curiosity, we appreciate your feedback. All our docs are open source under the Algorand Foundation organization on GitHub, and you are welcome to submit documentation feedback, bug reports, or other issues using the GitHub Issues templates here.

Technology Stack

This site is built using the Starlight documentation theme for Astro, an industry-leading static site generation framework. The integrated AI bot is provided by kapa.ai.