Decoding HyperBEAM from Scratch
Welcome to the complete guide to understanding HyperBEAM from the ground up.
What This Tutorial Is For
This tutorial series takes you on a deep dive into HyperBEAM internals, teaching you everything from basic concepts to advanced implementations. You'll learn by doing - writing tests with WAO (HyperBEAM SDK in JS) that interact directly with HyperBEAM nodes.
Why WAO + HyperBEAM?
WAO transforms the complex world of HyperBEAM development into something approachable:
- JavaScript-First Development: Everything is JavaScript - no need to context-switch between languages during testing
- Sandbox Testing Environment: WAO automatically spins up isolated HyperBEAM nodes for each test suite, ensuring clean, reproducible tests
- Simplified APIs with Syntactic Sugar: WAO's succinct API abstracts away complexity while giving you full control when needed
- Automatic Codec & Signing Handling: Complex encoding/decoding pipelines and HTTP message signatures are handled seamlessly in the background
What You'll Master
By working through this tutorial series, you'll gain:
- Deep Protocol Knowledge: Understand how messages flow through HyperBEAM's codec pipeline, from structured encoding to HTTP signatures
- Device Development Skills: Build custom HyperBEAM devices that extend the platform's capabilities
- Process Management Expertise: Learn to spawn, schedule, and manage stateful computations
- AOS Integration Know-How: Connect HyperBEAM with the broader AO ecosystem
- Payment System Understanding: Implement complex payment flows using HyperBEAM's built-in devices
This isn't just theoretical knowledge - you'll have practical tools and patterns to build production-ready applications on HyperBEAM and interact seamlessly with AOS processes.
The Journey Ahead
This series follows a carefully crafted path from basics to advanced topics. Each chapter builds on the previous ones, so it's important to follow them in order:
Part 1: Foundations
| Chapter | Topic |
|---|---|
| 1 | Installing HyperBEAM and WAO - Setting up your development environment |
| 2 | Devices and Pathing - Understanding HyperBEAM's URL routing and device system |
| 3 | Custom Devices and Codecs - Building your first custom device and learning about codecs |
Part 2: The Codec System
| Chapter | Topic |
|---|---|
| 4 | Flat Codec - Deep dive into path flattening for HTTP compatibility |
| 5 | Structured Codec - Handling complex data types with AO's type system |
| 6 | Httpsig Codec - Preparing messages for HTTP signatures |
Part 3: Security & Verification
| Chapter | Topic |
|---|---|
| 7 | HTTP Message Signatures - Implementing RFC-9421 for message verification |
| 8 | Hashpaths - Understanding compute verification through chained hashes |
Part 4: Advanced Concepts
| Chapter | Topic |
|---|---|
| 9 | Device Composition - Combining devices for powerful workflows |
| 10 | Processes and Scheduler - Managing stateful computations |
| 11 | Legacynet Compatible AOS - Integrating with the AOS ecosystem |
| 12 | Payment System - Building complex payment systems with p4@1.0 |
Resources
- Working Test Suite - Complete test files for all chapters
- HyperBEAM Implementation with Tutorial Devices - HyperBEAM fork with all custom devices from this tutorial