Hydra API Documentation

Complete documentation for the Hydra gRPC-Web API.

Quick Links

Getting Started - Learn the basics and make your first API call
Common Patterns - Master complex data structures and avoid common pitfalls
Examples - Real-world examples from the Hydra Dashboard
API Reference - Complete API reference

Overview

The Hydra Dashboard communicates with the Hydra backend using gRPC-Web with Protocol Buffers. This provides type-safe, efficient communication between the frontend and backend.

Future Support: JSON-RPC support is planned to provide an alternative API interface alongside gRPC-Web for easier integration with tools and libraries that prefer REST-like APIs.

Architecture

┌─────────────────┐         gRPC-Web          ┌──────────────────┐
│                 │  ◄────────────────────►   │                  │
│  React Frontend │     Protocol Buffers      │  Hydra Backend   │
│                 │                            │   (Rust)         │
└─────────────────┘                            └──────────────────┘
        │                                               │
        │                                               │
   grpcWebClient.ts                              gRPC Services
        │                                               │
        ├── AppService                                  ├── Network management
        ├── WalletService                               ├── Balance & transactions
        ├── NodeService                                 ├── Channels & payments
        ├── RentalService                               ├── Channel rentals
        ├── OrderbookService                            ├── Market trading
        ├── AssetService                                ├── Asset queries
        ├── BlockchainService                           ├── Fee estimates
        └── PricingService                              └── Price conversions

Services Overview

Core Services

Service	Purpose	Key Operations
AppService	Network configuration	Get networks, check sync status
WalletService	Wallet management	Get balances, transactions, deposit addresses
NodeService	Channel operations	Open/close channels, send payments, manage peers

Trading Services

Service	Purpose	Key Operations
OrderbookService	Market operations	Initialize markets, get orderbook data
RentalService	Channel rentals	Rent inbound liquidity
AssetService	Asset queries	Get asset info, available assets

Utility Services

Service	Purpose	Key Operations
BlockchainService	Blockchain data	Get fee estimates, block info
PricingService	Price conversions	Get fiat prices, USD conversions

Resources

Internal Documentation

Getting Started Guide - First steps with the API
Common Patterns - Data structure patterns
Examples - Real-world usage examples
API Reference - Complete method reference

External Resources

Protocol Buffers - Proto language guide
gRPC-Web - gRPC-Web documentation

Contributing

When adding new API calls:

Check the API Reference for the correct structure
Use proper request/response types from @/proto/*
Handle errors appropriately
Add examples to this documentation
Update relevant documentation sections

Support

For issues or questions:

Check the Common Patterns guide
Review the Examples
Consult the API Reference
Review the specific service documentation (e.g., Node API, Wallet API)

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Introduction

Overview and key concepts