Overview
Quicknode Marketplace provides developers with the opportunity to create and offer their own external add-ons to users. These add-ons can include REST APIs, GraphQL APIs, standalone products like explorers, dApps, or financial planning apps. This guide will walk you through the process of creating an external add-on for Quicknode Marketplace, from creating a marketplace account to getting your add-on approved and going live.
Creating a Marketplace Account
To get started, you'll need to create a marketplace account. Simply click on the "Developers" tab in the left navigation bar and fill out the marketplace account application form. Make sure to read and agree to the terms and conditions. Once you've submitted your application, it will go through an approval process. You can expect a response within 5-10 business days.
Creating an Add-On
After your marketplace account is approved, you can proceed to create your add-on. This involves providing information about your add-on, such as its purpose, icons, screenshots, supported chains and networks, provisioning details, customer support contact, and JWT secret for Single Sign-On (SSO). The add-on creation process is straightforward and can be completed by filling out a form.
Getting Your Add-On Approved
Once you have created your add-on, it will be pending. Quicknode Marketplace has an approval process to ensure the quality and suitability of add-ons. Your add-on will be evaluated based on various criteria. Quicknode tends to approve add-ons that can handle high traffic, offer specialized or innovative functionalities, or serve as critical infrastructure for users. If your add-on meets one or more of these requirements, there's a high likelihood that it will be fast-tracked for approval.
Learn About How To Join Our Marketplace
Provisioning
Provisioning is an essential aspect of the add-on creation process. It involves setting up the infrastructure required for your add-on to function correctly within the Quicknode Marketplace ecosystem. Quicknode provides detailed documentation on how provisioning, updating, and de-provisioning of add-ons work. Proper authentication is used for these operations to ensure secure and seamless integration.
Testing
Before going live with your add-on, it's crucial to thoroughly test it to ensure its functionality and performance. Quicknode recommends using ngrok, a tool that allows you to expose your local development server to the internet. By setting up ngrok and forwarding the address to your service running on your local machine, you can test the provisioning, update, and de-provisioning steps of the process. Quicknode provides provision testing software to facilitate this testing phase.
To set up ngrok, if you’re using a Mac, run this:
brew install ngrok/ngrok/ngrok
On Windows:
choco install ngrok
On Linux:
curl -s https://ngrok-agent.s3.amazonaws.com/ngrok.asc | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/ngrok.asc >/dev/null && echo "deb https://ngrok-agent.s3.amazonaws.com buster main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ngrok.list && sudo apt update && sudo apt install ngrok
Once you have completed the setup, if your service is running locally on your machine, you can effortlessly initiate ngrok. Direct it to a specific port, and you will instantly receive a hostname. This hostname will resemble the following format:
Single Sign-On (SSO) Login
Quicknode Marketplace supports Single Sign-On (SSO) functionality, which allows users to log in to your add-on using their Quicknode credentials. Quicknode provides extensive documentation on how to integrate SSO into your add-on and retrieve customer details securely. Implementing SSO ensures a seamless user experience and eliminates the need for users to create separate accounts for your add-on.
Going Live!
After successfully completing the approval process and testing phase, your add-on is ready to go live! Quicknode Marketplace will promote your add-on by featuring it in the app's checkout page, the add-ons tab for endpoints, and the public website. Quicknode will also recommend your add-on to customers when appropriate. As a partner, Quicknode is committed to providing support and assistance to ensure the success of your add-on.
Conclusion
Creating an external add-on for Quicknode Marketplace allows developers to showcase their innovative solutions and reach a wider audience. Following the steps outlined in this guide, you can successfully create and launch your add-on. Remember to provide all the necessary information, thoroughly test your add-on, and leverage the support and resources provided by Quicknode. Start building your add-on today and join the thriving Quicknode Marketplace ecosystem.
I'd love to connect with you on Twitter | LinkedIn | Portfolio.
About QuickNode
QuickNode is building infrastructure to support the future of Web3. Since 2017, we've worked with hundreds of developers and companies, helping scale dApps and providing high-performance access to 24+ blockchains. Subscribe to our newsletter for more content like this, and stay in the loop with what's happening in Web3!