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Provider Setup Comparison

Providers are your bridge to the Cardano blockchain—they handle querying UTxOs, submitting transactions, and fetching protocol parameters. Evolution SDK supports multiple providers with different trade-offs in setup complexity, hosting requirements, and performance characteristics.

Choose Blockfrost for quick setup with hosted infrastructure, or Kupmios for self-hosted control with lower latency. Both provide the same API interface, so switching later is just a configuration change.

Blockfrost​

Blockfrost offers hosted infrastructure with a free tier, perfect for development and small-scale applications. Setup takes minutes—just get an API key and connect.

import { preprod, Client } from "@evolution-sdk/evolution"

const client = Client.make(preprod)
  .withBlockfrost({
    baseUrl: "https://cardano-preprod.blockfrost.io/api/v0",
    projectId: process.env.BLOCKFROST_API_KEY!
  })
  .withSeed({
    mnemonic: process.env.WALLET_MNEMONIC!,
    accountIndex: 0
  })

Setup:

  1. Get a free API key at blockfrost.io
  2. Add to environment: BLOCKFROST_API_KEY=your_key
  3. Use the endpoint URL above

Kupmios​

Run your own Cardano node infrastructure for complete control and privacy. Kupmios combines Kupo (UTxO indexing) and Ogmios (node queries) for a fully local setup. Ideal for production applications that need guaranteed uptime and don't want external dependencies.

import { preprod, Client } from "@evolution-sdk/evolution"

const client = Client.make(preprod)
  .withKupmios({
    kupoUrl: "http://localhost:1442",
    ogmiosUrl: "http://localhost:1337"
  })
  .withSeed({
    mnemonic: process.env.WALLET_MNEMONIC!,
    accountIndex: 0
  })

Choosing a Provider​

Here's how the providers compare across key dimensions:

FeatureBlockfrostKupmios
Setup Time5 minutes30+ minutes
HostingHostedSelf-hosted
CostFree tier availableInfrastructure cost
LatencyNetwork dependentVery low (local)
PrivacyRequests visible to providerFully private
Rate LimitsYes (tier-based)None
MaintenanceZeroNode sync & updates

Use Blockfrost for rapid prototyping and development. Switch to Kupmios when you need production-level control, privacy, or performance.

Switching Between Providers​

The beauty of Evolution SDK's provider abstraction: your transaction code doesn't change. Only the configuration does:

import { preprod, Client } from "@evolution-sdk/evolution"

// Start with Blockfrost
const blockfrostClient = Client.make(preprod)
  .withBlockfrost({
    baseUrl: "https://cardano-preprod.blockfrost.io/api/v0",
    projectId: process.env.BLOCKFROST_API_KEY!
  })
  .withSeed({
    mnemonic: process.env.WALLET_MNEMONIC!,
    accountIndex: 0
  })

// Switch to Kupmios — same wallet, different provider
const kupmiosClient = Client.make(preprod)
  .withKupmios({
    kupoUrl: "http://localhost:1442",
    ogmiosUrl: "http://localhost:1337"
  })
  .withSeed({
    mnemonic: process.env.WALLET_MNEMONIC!,
    accountIndex: 0
  })

Environment Configuration​

Use environment variables to manage provider credentials:

# .env.local
BLOCKFROST_API_KEY=your_key_here
KUPO_URL=http://localhost:1442
OGMIOS_URL=http://localhost:1337

Then in your code:

import { preprod, Client } from "@evolution-sdk/evolution"

const client = process.env.BLOCKFROST_API_KEY
  ? Client.make(preprod)
      .withBlockfrost({
        baseUrl: "https://cardano-preprod.blockfrost.io/api/v0",
        projectId: process.env.BLOCKFROST_API_KEY
      })
      .withSeed({
        mnemonic: process.env.WALLET_MNEMONIC!,
        accountIndex: 0
      })
  : Client.make(preprod)
      .withKupmios({
        kupoUrl: process.env.KUPO_URL!,
        ogmiosUrl: process.env.OGMIOS_URL!
      })
      .withSeed({
        mnemonic: process.env.WALLET_MNEMONIC!,
        accountIndex: 0
      })

Next Steps​