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Formatters provide a powerful way to transform API responses and blockchain data into human-readable formats. WAX includes a flexible formatting system based on template literals.

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Understanding formatters

WAX formatters allow you to:
  • Format numbers with locale-specific separators and precision
  • Transform asset amounts from satoshis to decimal values
  • Customize output based on data properties
  • Create reusable formatting rules
  • Match specific values with custom formatters
Formatters are primarily available in TypeScript. Python uses simpler formatting utilities.

​
Creating a formatter

The waxify function creates formatters for template literals. 
import { createHiveChain } from '@hiveio/wax';
import { WaxFormatter } from '@hiveio/wax';

const chain = await createHiveChain();

// Create a formatter with default settings
const formatter = WaxFormatter.create(chain);

// Or with custom options
const customFormatter = WaxFormatter.create(chain, {
  locales: 'en-US',
  createDefaultFormatters: true
});

​
Using waxify

The waxify function creates tagged template literals for formatting. 
import { createHiveChain } from '@hiveio/wax';
import { WaxFormatter } from '@hiveio/wax';

const chain = await createHiveChain();
const formatter = WaxFormatter.create(chain);
const waxify = formatter.createTemplateTag();

// Get account data
const accounts = await chain.api.database_api.find_accounts({
  accounts: ['alice']
});
const account = accounts.accounts[0];

// Format with waxify template
const formatted = waxify`
  Account: ${account.name}
  Balance: ${account.balance}
  Voting Power: ${account.voting_power}
`;

console.log(formatted);
// Output:
// Account: alice
// Balance: 1,000.000 HIVE
// Voting Power: 10,000

​
Formatting numbers

Format numbers with locale-specific separators and precision. 
import { createHiveChain } from '@hiveio/wax';
import { WaxFormatter } from '@hiveio/wax';

const chain = await createHiveChain();
const formatter = WaxFormatter.create(chain);

// Format a number with precision
const formatted = formatter.formatNumber(
  1234567.89,
  3,  // precision
  'en-US'  // locale
);
console.log(formatted);  // "1,234,567.890"

// Different locales
const frenchFormat = formatter.formatNumber(
  1234567.89,
  2,
  'fr-FR'
);
console.log(frenchFormat);  // "1 234 567,89"

// Format large numbers (beyond MAX_SAFE_INTEGER)
const bigNumber = formatter.formatNumber(
  "123456789012345678901234567890",
  6
);
console.log(bigNumber);
WAX formatters can handle numbers larger than JavaScript’s MAX_SAFE_INTEGER by working with string representations.

​
Formatting assets

Format cryptocurrency amounts from satoshis to human-readable values. 
import { createHiveChain } from '@hiveio/wax';
import { WaxFormatter } from '@hiveio/wax';

const chain = await createHiveChain();
const formatter = WaxFormatter.create(chain);
const waxify = formatter.createTemplateTag();

// Get account balance
const accounts = await chain.api.database_api.find_accounts({
  accounts: ['alice']
});
const account = accounts.accounts[0];

// Format asset amounts
const formatted = waxify`
  HIVE Balance: ${account.balance}
  HBD Balance: ${account.hbd_balance}
  Savings: ${account.savings_hbd_balance}
  Vesting: ${account.vesting_shares}
`;

console.log(formatted);
// Output:
// HIVE Balance: 1,234.567 HIVE
// HBD Balance: 89.012 HBD
// Savings: 100.000 HBD
// Vesting: 1,234,567.890123 VESTS

​
Custom formatters

Create custom formatters for specific data types or patterns. 
import { createHiveChain } from '@hiveio/wax';
import { WaxFormatter, WaxFormatterBase } from '@hiveio/wax';
import type { IWaxBaseInterface } from '@hiveio/wax';

// Define custom formatter class
class MyCustomFormatter extends WaxFormatterBase {
  constructor(private readonly wax: IWaxBaseInterface) {
    super();
  }

  // Format timestamp to readable date
  @WaxFormatterBase.matchProperty('timestamp')
  formatTimestamp({ source, target }: any): string {
    const date = new Date(source.timestamp);
    return date.toLocaleString();
  }

  // Format reputation score
  @WaxFormatterBase.matchProperty('reputation')
  formatReputation({ source }: any): string {
    const reputation = source.reputation;
    // Convert Hive reputation to readable format
    const rep = Math.log10(reputation) * 9 - 56;
    return rep.toFixed(2);
  }

  // Format voting power percentage
  @WaxFormatterBase.matchProperty('voting_power')
  formatVotingPower({ source }: any): string {
    const power = source.voting_power / 100;
    return `${power.toFixed(2)}%`;
  }
}

// Use custom formatter
const chain = await createHiveChain();
const formatter = WaxFormatter.create(chain).extend(MyCustomFormatter);
const waxify = formatter.createTemplateTag();

const accounts = await chain.api.database_api.find_accounts({
  accounts: ['alice']
});
const account = accounts.accounts[0];

const formatted = waxify`
  Account: ${account.name}
  Reputation: ${account.reputation}
  Voting Power: ${account.voting_power}
  Last Update: ${account.last_vote_time}
`;

console.log(formatted);

​
Property matchers

Match specific property names for custom formatting. 
import { WaxFormatterBase } from '@hiveio/wax';

class PropertyMatcherFormatter extends WaxFormatterBase {
  // Match any property named 'balance'
  @WaxFormatterBase.matchProperty('balance')
  formatBalance({ source }: any): string {
    return `${source.balance.amount} ${source.balance.symbol}`;
  }

  // Match specific value of a property
  @WaxFormatterBase.matchProperty('type', 'transfer')
  formatTransferOperation({ source }: any): string {
    return `Transfer: ${source.amount} from ${source.from} to ${source.to}`;
  }

  // Require property to be defined
  @WaxFormatterBase.matchProperty('memo', { requireDefined: true })
  formatMemo({ source }: any): string {
    return `Memo: ${source.memo}`;
  }
}

​
Instance matchers

Match specific object types or classes. 
import { WaxFormatterBase } from '@hiveio/wax';

class InstanceMatcherFormatter extends WaxFormatterBase {
  // Match Date instances
  @WaxFormatterBase.matchInstanceOf(Date)
  formatDate({ source }: any): string {
    return source.toLocaleDateString();
  }

  // Match Error instances
  @WaxFormatterBase.matchInstanceOf(Error)
  formatError({ source }: any): string {
    return `Error: ${source.message}`;
  }

  // Match custom class instances
  @WaxFormatterBase.matchInstanceOf(MyCustomClass)
  formatCustomClass({ source }: any): string {
    return source.toString();
  }
}

​
Formatter options

Customize formatter behavior with options. 
import { createHiveChain } from '@hiveio/wax';
import { WaxFormatter } from '@hiveio/wax';

const chain = await createHiveChain();

// Create formatter with custom options
const formatter = WaxFormatter.create(chain, {
  // Set locale for number formatting
  locales: 'en-US',
  
  // Create default formatters for common types
  createDefaultFormatters: true,
  
  // Custom decimal separator
  decimalSeparator: ',',
  
  // Custom thousand separator
  thousandSeparator: ' '
});

// Extend with additional options
const extendedFormatter = formatter.extend({
  locales: 'de-DE'
});

​
Complete example

Here’s a complete example using formatters to display account information. 
import { createHiveChain } from '@hiveio/wax';
import { WaxFormatter, WaxFormatterBase } from '@hiveio/wax';
import type { IWaxBaseInterface } from '@hiveio/wax';

// Define custom formatter
class AccountFormatter extends WaxFormatterBase {
  constructor(private readonly wax: IWaxBaseInterface) {
    super();
  }

  @WaxFormatterBase.matchProperty('reputation')
  formatReputation({ source }: any): string {
    const rep = Math.log10(source.reputation) * 9 - 56;
    return rep.toFixed(0);
  }

  @WaxFormatterBase.matchProperty('voting_power')
  formatVotingPower({ source }: any): string {
    return `${(source.voting_power / 100).toFixed(2)}%`;
  }

  @WaxFormatterBase.matchProperty('created')
  formatDate({ source }: any): string {
    const date = new Date(source.created);
    return date.toLocaleDateString('en-US', {
      year: 'numeric',
      month: 'long',
      day: 'numeric'
    });
  }
}

// Main function
async function displayAccountInfo(username: string) {
  // Initialize chain and formatter
  const chain = await createHiveChain();
  const formatter = WaxFormatter.create(chain).extend(AccountFormatter);
  const waxify = formatter.createTemplateTag();

  // Fetch account data
  const accounts = await chain.api.database_api.find_accounts({
    accounts: [username]
  });
  
  if (accounts.accounts.length === 0) {
    console.log(`Account ${username} not found`);
    return;
  }

  const account = accounts.accounts[0];

  // Format and display
  const info = waxify`
    ╔════════════════════════════════════╗
    ║  Account Information               ║
    ╠════════════════════════════════════╣
    ║ Username:      ${account.name}
    ║ Reputation:    ${account.reputation}
    ║ Created:       ${account.created}
    ║ 
    ║ Balances:
    ║   HIVE:        ${account.balance}
    ║   HBD:         ${account.hbd_balance}
    ║   Savings:     ${account.savings_hbd_balance}
    ║
    ║ Voting:
    ║   Power:       ${account.voting_power}
    ║   Mana:        ${account.voting_manabar.current_mana}
    ║
    ║ Vesting:
    ║   Shares:      ${account.vesting_shares}
    ╚════════════════════════════════════╝
  `;

  console.log(info);
}

// Run
displayAccountInfo('alice').catch(console.error);

​
Best practices

Template tags ensure consistent formatting across your application.
const waxify = formatter.createTemplateTag();

// Consistent formatting everywhere
const msg1 = waxify`Balance: ${account.balance}`;
const msg2 = waxify`Amount: ${transfer.amount}`;
Group related formatting logic into reusable classes.
class CurrencyFormatter extends WaxFormatterBase {
  // All currency-related formatting
}

class DateFormatter extends WaxFormatterBase {
  // All date-related formatting
}

const formatter = WaxFormatter.create(chain)
  .extend(CurrencyFormatter)
  .extend(DateFormatter);
Always handle undefined, null, or invalid values.
@WaxFormatterBase.matchProperty('balance')
formatBalance({ source }: any): string {
  if (!source.balance || !source.balance.amount) {
    return 'N/A';
  }
  return `${source.balance.amount} ${source.balance.symbol}`;
}
If your app supports multiple locales, test formatting with each.
const locales = ['en-US', 'de-DE', 'fr-FR', 'ja-JP'];

for (const locale of locales) {
  const formatter = WaxFormatter.create(chain, { locales: locale });
  const formatted = formatter.formatNumber(1234567.89, 2, locale);
  console.log(`${locale}: ${formatted}`);
}

​
Next steps

Building transactions

Start building transactions with WAX

Complex operations

Use high-level operation helpers

TypeScript API

Explore the full API reference

Examples

See more formatting examples

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