# Hello Anon World I

Welcome to our **npm** tutorial series, walking you through using **Anyone** with **Javascript**. We'll walk you through starting the Anyone client, routing your first request through and some cool features built into the SDK! Let's get started.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Installing NPM Package**

This tutorial assumes you have already installed npm and the anyone-client package (either globally or in your local development folder). If you haven't, check out [Installation and CLI usage](/sdk/npm/install.md)
{% endhint %}

## Setting Up Your Environment

For this tutorial, we will be using[ Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/) to view and edit code, but you can choose any IDE. Create a new directory for this tutorial, in our case `sdk-test.`

We will be running our code as a node module, which can be instantiated using npm. In addition to your IDE, you will need a terminal window open in the same directory (this can also be done from within VS Code). 

From your terminal, run 

```
npm init es6 --save  
```

This will setup your project directory as an npm module, creating a `package.json` file and configuring it as a module. Next, from your IDE, create a local file to run your code. In our case, this is `hello.js.`

<div data-full-width="true"><figure><img src="/files/9Yo8Ev85eGmsJVHDCnto" alt="" width="318"><figcaption><p>Creating file hello.js within the project directory</p></figcaption></figure></div>

## Importing and Starting Anon

We will be importing **anon**, the underlying software binary for Anyone, into our newly created `hello.js` file:

```javascript
import { Anon } from "@anyone-protocol/anyone-client";
```

The simplest way to start the anon binary is to create a new *instance* of the imported library, and calling its first function `.start()`&#x20;

<pre class="language-javascript"><code class="lang-javascript"><strong>import { Anon } from "@anyone-protocol/anyone-client";
</strong>
const anon = new Anon();
anon.start();
</code></pre>

To run your program, return to your terminal, and run `node` followed by your program name:

{% code title="Your Terminal" fullWidth="false" %}

```
node hello.js
```

{% endcode %}

This starts the client, which will automatically negotiate a circuit within the Anyone Network! You can see this happen in real time. Once the client has started, it won't shut off automatically - it will continue to run until stopped.&#x20;

<figure><img src="/files/TbFFJ3sDxoriCvyrONTx" alt="" width="563"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

To terminate, type `Ctrl-C` or `Cmd-C` into the terminal window depending on your OS. You've now created your first circuit from code!

<details>

<summary>I get an error!</summary>

Make sure that you have npm and anyone-client installed. Check out [Installation and CLI usage](/sdk/npm/install.md)

</details>

## Starting and Stopping&#x20;

Let's make our code a little more robust, and give ourselves the ability to stop the client.&#x20;

The anon binary should be called from **asynchronous** functions to ensure the client can continue to run without blocking the rest of your application, and called within a **try-catch** block so that network issues can be handled gracefully. We will structure a simple asynchronous function **main** and run the same code.&#x20;

```javascript
import { Anon } from "@anyone-protocol/anyone-client";

async function main() {
    const anon = new Anon();
    try {
        await anon.start();    
    } catch(error) {
        console.log(error)
    }
}

main()
```

We now introduce our second client function `.stop()` - for now, let's stop the client 15 seconds after the circuit is created.

Lets put an **await** statement before the start function so the program waits for it to complete before stopping (though currently, this resolves immediately), add a 15 second wait, and put the stop function within the **finally** clause of the try-catch block (so that it runs regardless of any issues). In the future, we can replace this 15 second wait with some real commands!&#x20;

```javascript
    try {
        await anon.start();
        await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 15000));
    } catch(error) {
        console.log(error)
    } finally {
        await anon.stop()
    }
```

Check out the full source on [GitHub](https://github.com/anyone-protocol).&#x20;

And that's a wrap! You have now successfully started and stopped **anon** from JavaScript code! If you're ready to explore the range of functions available yourself, head straight to the API reference at [Library methods](/sdk/npm/library.md). If not, let's start making some requests over the internet!

{% content-ref url="/pages/CZUkttsockHsVXf1hmLG" %}
[Hello Anon World II](/sdk/npm/tutorials/ii.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.anyone.io/sdk/npm/tutorials/i.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.