# Create NFTs from the backend on Solana

We have already seen how we can [create NFTs from the front end using SHYFT APIs](https://docs.shyft.to/tutorials/build-your-first-nft-dapp) efficiently. Sometimes, we may have a different use-case scenario where we have all the data available in the backend and we have to create the NFT directly from the backend. This tutorial shows one such use-case scenario where we create NFTs directly from the backend using SHYFT APIs.

## Pre-requisites <a href="#id-8a9e" id="id-8a9e"></a>

**Authentication: Getting your Shyft API key**

`x-api-key` is an authentication parameter, which gives you access to SHYFT APIs. You can get your own API Key from the [SHYFT website](https://shyft.to/get-api-key). Just signup with your email id [here](https://shyft.to/get-api-key) and you can get it for free.

**NPM Packages Required**

* path — This package is used to read the image from a specified path.
* axios — This package is used to make the API call, you can also use any other method or package as per your requirement.

## The API call <a href="#id-0d1b" id="id-0d1b"></a>

For creating NFTs from the backend. we will use the following API :

```
POST https://api.shyft.to/sol/v1/nft/create
```

This API accepts the following details of the NFT that is to be created in `multipart/form-data` format:

* `network`: Specifies the Solana network instance, which can be devnet, testnet or mainnet-beta.
* `name`: Name of the NFT to be created.
* `symbol`: Symbol of the NFT to be created.
* `description`: A short description about the NFT that we are creating.
* `attributes`: Accepts the NFT attributes according to their trait-type and value. Check below sample for the format.
* `external_url`: any external URL associated with the NFT.
* `max_supply`: Number of editions of the currently created NFT that can be minted. If set to `0`, creates one-of-a-kind NFTs.
* `royalty`: Specifies the creator royalty in percentage, a value between 0 - 100.
* `nft_receiver`: Specifies the wallet to which the NFT will be minted, if left blank, will be minted to the wallet whose `private_key` has been provided.
* `service_charge`: Specifies an amount in SOL, which can be charged while creating the NFTs
* `private_key`: Private Key of the user who is attempting to create the NFT.

For more details about our APIs, check out [SHYFT’s API Documentation](https://docs.shyft.to/) or you can also check out our postman documentation [here](https://documenter.getpostman.com/view/18419720/UzQvt5Kf).

Assuming we have all the data available in the backend, let’s create a new `FormData object` and append all the data required to create the NFT. (we have used static data for demo purposes)

```javascript
const data = new FormData();
  
data.append('network', 'devnet');
data.append('name', 'GirlDrags');
data.append('symbol', 'GDG');
data.append('description', 'hair on fire problem solving');
data.append('attributes', '[{"trait_type": "speed", "value": 100},\\n{"trait_type": "aggression", "value": "crazy"},\\n{"trait_type": "energy", "value": "very high"}]');
data.append('external_url', 'https://shyft.to/');
data.append('max_supply', '1');
data.append('royalty', '10');
data.append('file', fs.createReadStream(path.resolve(__dirname, './images/index.png')));
data.append('nft_receiver', '5KW2twHzRsAaiLeEx4zYNV35CV2hRrZGw7NYbwMfL4a2');
data.append('service_charge', '{ "receiver": "2fmz8SuNVyxEP6QwKQs6LNaT2ATszySPEJdhUDesxktc", "amount": 0.1 }');
data.append('private_key', YOUR-PRIVATE-KEY);
```

## Sending Image Data <a href="#id-9374" id="id-9374"></a>

Note that, we have used the `createReadStream` function, with the image path to open and read the data in the file/stream. the function `path.resolve()` has been used to resolve the relative path provided for the image. Alternatively, for using absolute paths such as 'D:/index.png’, we will have to use the `path.join()` function.

```
data.append('file', fs.createReadStream(path.join('D:/index.png')));
```

We can also get the image data in a readable stream format from an external URI, but for that, we would require a few extra steps. First, we will have to fetch the image data in a readable stream format, somewhat like this

```
const imgData = await axios.get('https://www.arweave.net/GZtct3fpYUlB9ZT92SMkVEp7TUvLlFV-kke4f5I5D9E?ext=jpg', { responseType: 'stream' });
```

Once this request has been executed successfully, we go on and append the `imgData.data` to the FormData object, so that it can be passed on as a parameter for making the create NFT API call.

```
data.append('file', imgData.data, 'test.jpg');
```

Once done, now we are ready to make the API call. We have used the `axios` package to make the API call, but you can use any other method as per your requirement. Also, note that we have to set the `Content_type` to `multipart/form-data` in the header, and we have to pass the `x-api-key` obtained from the [SHYFT website](https://shyft.to/get-api-key).

Here is the API call:

```javascript
const response = await axios.post('https://api.shyft.to/sol/v1/nft/create', data, { headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'multipart/form-data',
    'x-api-key': YOUR_API_KEY,
  } });
console.log('data', response.data); // displaying the response
```

Once successfully executed, it should return a response somewhat similar to this. The `mint` returned in the response is the NFT address of the NFT just created.

```json
data {
  success: true,
  message: 'NFT created successfully',
  result: {
    txId: '4gs1ffsGHtvxLKV4D6vmTUfjNvisPS82iJjB8DNyeKmL9cUBX8VKvkFUX3nXtUUUNcA5TQ8vZzu5GaoT7CeEwWpp',
    mint: '7LjUNQ9gDydqy5kbVppFomNSRnRnE8cgf8zvFRHp39nz',
    metadata: '4W333HyXhLsX16rZYaHgUbfapv6dTB9KtFqpMSdcMsx9',
    edition: '9WbVRGgHRCXNTA8WfU31AussJxRSptW8Vyic2RaFafSh'
  }
}
```

That’s pretty much everything about this tutorial. If you follow this tutorial step by step, you will be able to create a new NFT successfully from the backend.

If you enjoyed this tutorial, please feel free to check out our API tutorials on [Building your first NFT dApp](https://docs.shyft.to/tutorials/build-your-first-nft-dapp) or [Building your own NFT marketplace](https://medium.com/shyft-to/build-your-first-nft-marketplace-2e52f24ae7ec).

## Resources <a href="#id-35ff" id="id-35ff"></a>

[SHYFT API Documentation](https://docs.shyft.to/)

[Shyft Website](https://shyft.to/)

[Get API Key](https://shyft.to/get-api-key)

[GitHub](https://github.com/Shyft-to)

Join our [Discord](https://discord.com/invite/VS5ThWVRMn)

Hope you have a great time building dApps with [SHYFT](https://shyft.to/) APIs. Happy Hacking!! 😇

<br>