> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.anyone.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.anyone.io/sdk/npm/tutorials/iii.md).

# Circuit Control I

So far, we've seen two libraries as part of the Anyone NPM SDK: 

* **Anon** - the Anyone Client, which negotiates and maintains circuits through the network and runs a proxy server to forward traffic
* **AnonSocksClient** - used in place of a typical requests library to forward get, post and other methods to the Anyone client!

Now, we will introduce one of the most powerful libraries - **AnonControlClient** - which interacts with the **control port** of the Anyone client and provides a new level of configurability. You can see circuit information that is hidden from most applications, send commands and manage circuits. Let's dive in!

### Starting and Authenticating

For obvious reasons, not every app running locally alongside the Anyone Client can see or modify its behavior. Processes need to *authenticate* themselves on the client's **control port** and the AnonControlClient is no exception. Let's import it, much like the other libraries. 

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

The control client is then instantiated much like anon, specifying the host and port number of the client to bind to. `127.0.0.1` and `9051` are the default values and will work with the default Anon object.

```javascript
const anonControlClient = new AnonControlClient(); 

// You can also specify your host and port:
// const anonControlClient = new AnonControlClient(host: '127.0.0.1', port: 9051);
```

From there, assuming you have anon running anywhere in the local network, authenticating to the control port is simple

```javascript
await anonControlClient.authenticate();
```

Let's create a new file `control.js` and put this all together. Notice that, unlike the SOCKS client, the AnonControlClient is only instantiated after we have given the Anyone client time to establish itself. In addition, best practices are also to call `.end()` on the control client once it is complete. 

{% code title="control.js" %}

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


async function main() {
   const anon = new Anon();
   
    try {
        await anon.start();
        await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 12000));

        const anonControlClient = new AnonControlClient(); 
        await anonControlClient.authenticate() 
        
        anonControlClient.end()
        
    } catch(error) {
        console.log(error)
    } finally {
        
        await anon.stop()
    }
}

main()
```

{% endcode %}

Running `node control.js` should yield the following success message:

<figure><img src="/files/8xeLBoXeSCZu44QXJts4" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Reading Circuit Info

Now that we have authenticated, lets see what circuits have been created. The Anyone client often maintains multiple circuits within the network, and these can be seen as a JSON file with the `circuitsStatus()` function.&#x20;

```javascript
const circuits = await anonControlClient.circuitStatus();
console.log(JSON.stringify(circuits, null, 2));
```

Adding the above two lines after `.authenticate` and running as before will see a new JSON file outputted, like below:

<pre class="language-json" data-overflow="wrap"><code class="lang-json"><strong>[{
</strong>    "circuitId": 1,
    "state": "BUILT",
    "relays": [
      {
        "fingerprint": "54849A361F8CED0D1B70B722CB8B33E9071E5561",
        "nickname": "ATORDAuselive"
      }
    ],
    "buildFlags": [
      "ONEHOP_TUNNEL",
      "IS_INTERNAL",
      "NEED_CAPACITY"
    ],
    "purpose": "GENERAL",
    "timeCreated": "2024-11-08T12:10:46.596Z"
  },
...
</code></pre>

This shows a list of objects, each representing a single circuit - that shows the circuit's status and the first relay within it!&#x20;

To get further relay info, you could call `getRelayInfo`&#x20;

```javascript
const relayInfo0 = await anonControlClient.getRelayInfo(circuits[0].relays[0].fingerprint);
console.log('Relay [0] info:', relayInfo0);
```


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