FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. What is NEAR by Example?
NEAR by Example is an interactive learning platform designed to teach NEAR Protocol smart contract development through hands-on, executable code examples. It features 60+ categorized examples ranging from beginner-level "Hello World" contracts to advanced topics like NFT marketplaces, cross-contract calls, and security patterns. The platform includes a live code editor where you can modify, compile, and deploy contracts directly to NEAR TestNet, all within your browser.
2. What technologies and frameworks does this project use?
Frontend:
Vite - Fast build tool and development server
React 18 - UI framework with React Router for navigation
Tailwind CSS - Utility-first styling with custom dark mode theming
NEAR Wallet Selector - Wallet integration supporting MyNearWallet and Meteor Wallet
Lucide React - Icon library
AOS - Scroll animations
Radix UI - Accessible dialog and sheet components
Backend & Infrastructure:
Cloudflare Pages - Static site hosting
Cloudflare Functions - Edge middleware for API proxying and SPA routing
Express.js backends - Two backend services (Rust and JS compilation) deployed on Fly.io
near-api-js - NEAR blockchain integration
3. How do I run this project locally?
To run the project locally, you need Node.js 18+ and npm installed. Here's the quickest way to get started:# Install dependenciesnpm install# Start the development server (runs on port 5173)npm run devThe platform will connect to the existing backend services deployed on Fly.io (near-by-example-backend.fly.dev for Rust and learn-near-backend.fly.dev for JavaScript), so you don't need to run the backend locally unless you're developing backend features. Access the application at http://localhost:5173.
4. What categories of NEAR smart contract examples are available?
The platform organizes examples into the following categories:
Basics - Hello World, contract structure, view/change methods, storage, state management (12 examples)
Access Control & Security - Owner patterns, role-based access, pausable contracts, multi-signature, reentrancy guards (6 examples)
Collections & Data - Storage keys, todo lists, user profiles, voting systems, batch operations (6 examples)
NFTs - NFT standards, minting, transfers, metadata, royalties, marketplace (8 examples)
Fungible Tokens - Token standards, transfers, allowances, vesting (examples available)
Cross-Contract Calls - Inter-contract communication and callbacks
Advanced Patterns - Oracle patterns, factory contracts, indexing
Each example is tagged with difficulty level (Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced) and language (Rust/JavaScript/TypeScript).
5. Do I need a NEAR wallet to use the platform?
You can browse and view all examples without a wallet, but you'll need a NEAR wallet to:
Deploy contracts to NEAR TestNet
Execute contract methods that modify state
Test transactions with real blockchain interactions
The platform supports MyNearWallet and Meteor Wallet through the NEAR Wallet Selector. You can create a free testnet wallet at testnet.mynearwallet.com. The wallet connection is seamlessly integrated - just click "Connect Wallet" in the navigation bar.
6. How does the middleware handle routing and API requests?
The Cloudflare Functions middleware (functions/_middleware.js) serves three key purposes:
API Proxying - Routes /api/backend-rust/* requests to the Rust compilation backend and /api/backend-js/* to the JavaScript backend, avoiding CORS issues
Static Asset Handling - Directly serves files with extensions like .js, .css, .png, .wasm, etc., and anything in the /assets/ directory
SPA Routing - Implements client-side routing by serving index.html for all non-static routes, while preserving query parameters (critical for wallet redirect handling with transactionHashes parameters)
This setup ensures the React SPA works correctly when deployed to Cloudflare Pages with proper deep-linking support.
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