Build Your First Schema

Before you can publish or read structured data on the Somnia Network using Somnia Data Streams, you must first define a Schema. A schema acts as the blueprint or data contract between your publisher and all subscribers who wish to interpret your data correctly.

In the Somnia Data Streams system, every schema is expressed as a canonical string. A strict, ordered list of fields with Solidity compatible types.

For example, a chat application schema:

uint64 timestamp, bytes32 roomId, string content, string senderName, address sender

This simple definition:

• Establishes how data should be encoded and decoded on-chain.

• Produces a unique schemaId derived from its exact string representation.

• Enables multiple publishers and readers to exchange data consistently, without needing to redeploy contracts or agree on custom ABIs.

Each schema you define becomes a typed, reusable data model, similar to a table definition in a database or an ABI for events, but far simpler. Once created, schemas can be:

• Reused across many applications.

• Extended to create hierarchical data definitions (e.g., “GPS coordinates” → “Vehicle telemetry”).

• Versioned by creating new schemas when structure changes occur.

This tutorial will walk you through building, registering, and validating your first schema step by step.

Prerequisites

Before continuing, ensure you have the following:

1. Node.js 18+ (with npm or yarn)

2. TypeScript configured in your project

3. .env.local file for environment variables

   Add your credentials to .env.local:

   RPC_URL=https://dream-rpc.somnia.network
   PRIVATE_KEY=0xYOUR_FUNDED_PRIVATE_KEY

4. A Funded Testnet Account. You’ll need an address with test tokens on the Somnia Testnet to register schemas or publish data.

NOTE: The Private Key is only required if connecting a Private Key via a Viem wallet account. Important: Never expose your private key to a client-side environment. Keep it in server scripts or backend environments only.

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What You’ll Build

In this tutorial, you will:

• Create a canonical schema string (your “data ABI”)

• Compute the schema ID

• Register your schema on-chain (idempotently)

• Validate your schema with a simple encode/decode test

We’ll use a chat message schema as a running example:

uint64 timestamp, bytes32 roomId, string content, string senderName, address sender

This schema represents a single chat message, which can be used later to build a full on-chain chat application.

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Project Setup

Install dependencies

npm i @somnia-chain/streams viem
npm i -D @types/node

Define Chain configuration

// src/lib/chain.ts
import { defineChain } from 'viem'

export const somniaTestnet = defineChain({
  id: 50312,
  name: 'Somnia Testnet',
  network: 'somnia-testnet',
  nativeCurrency: { name: 'STT', symbol: 'STT', decimals: 18 },
  rpcUrls: {
    default: { http: ['https://dream-rpc.somnia.network'] },
    public:  { http: ['https://dream-rpc.somnia.network'] },
  },
})

Set up your clients

// src/lib/clients.ts
import { createPublicClient, createWalletClient, http } from 'viem'
import { privateKeyToAccount } from 'viem/accounts'
import { somniaTestnet } from './chain'

function need(key: 'RPC_URL' | 'PRIVATE_KEY') {
  const v = process.env[key]
  if (!v) throw new Error(`Missing ${key} in .env.local`)
  return v
}

export const publicClient = createPublicClient({
  chain: somniaTestnet,
  transport: http(need('RPC_URL')),
})

export const walletClient = createWalletClient({
  account: privateKeyToAccount(need('PRIVATE_KEY') as `0x${string}`),
  chain: somniaTestnet,
  transport: http(need('RPC_URL')),
})

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Define the Schema String

// src/lib/chatSchema.ts
export const chatSchema =
  'uint64 timestamp, bytes32 roomId, string content, string senderName, address sender'

Field order matters, and ensure to always use Solidity-compatible types. It is important to keep the string fields short to minimize gas. Note that changing type or order creates a new schema ID.

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Compute the schemaId

// scripts/compute-schema-id.ts
import 'dotenv/config'
import { SDK } from '@somnia-chain/streams'
import { publicClient } from '../src/lib/clients'
import { chatSchema } from '../src/lib/chatSchema'

async function main() {
  const sdk = new SDK({ public: publicClient })
  const id = await sdk.streams.computeSchemaId(chatSchema)
  console.log('Schema ID:', id)
}

main().catch((e) => {
  console.error(e)
  process.exit(1)
})

The SDK computes a unique hash of the schema string. This schemaId is your permanent identifier. Anyone using the same schema string will derive the same ID [confirm with Vincent for correctness].

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Register the Schema

Registration makes your schema discoverable and reusable by others. [confirm with Vincent for correctness].

// scripts/register-schema.ts
import 'dotenv/config'
import { SDK, zeroBytes32 } from '@somnia-chain/streams'
import { publicClient, walletClient } from '../src/lib/clients'
import { chatSchema } from '../src/lib/chatSchema'
import { waitForTransactionReceipt } from 'viem/actions'

async function main() {
  const sdk = new SDK({ public: publicClient, wallet: walletClient })
  const id = await sdk.streams.computeSchemaId(chatSchema)

  const isRegistered = await sdk.streams.isSchemaRegistered(id)
  if (isRegistered) {
    console.log('Schema already registered.')
    return
  }

  const txHash = await sdk.streams.registerDataSchemas({ id: "chat", schema: chatSchema })
  console.log('Register tx:', txHash)

  const receipt = await waitForTransactionReceipt(publicClient, { hash: txHash })
  console.log('Registered in block:', receipt.blockNumber)
}

main().catch((e) => {
  console.error(e)
  process.exit(1)
})

isSchemaRegistered() checks chain state. registerSchema() publishes the schema definition to Streams. Thus, the transaction is idempotent, meaning that it is safe to re-run.

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Encode and Decode a Sample Payload

Test your schema locally before publishing any data.

// scripts/encode-decode.ts
import 'dotenv/config'
import { SchemaEncoder } from '@somnia-chain/streams'
import { toHex, type Hex } from 'viem'
import { chatSchema } from '../src/lib/chatSchema'

const encoder = new SchemaEncoder(chatSchema)

const encodedData: Hex = encoder.encodeData([
  { name: 'timestamp',  value: Date.now().toString(),     type: 'uint64' },
  { name: 'roomId',     value: toHex('general', { size: 32 }), type: 'bytes32' },
  { name: 'content',    value: 'Hello Somnia!',           type: 'string' },
  { name: 'senderName', value: 'Victory',                 type: 'string' },
  { name: 'sender',     value: '0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000001', type: 'address' },
])

console.log('Encoded:', encodedData)
console.log('Decoded:', encoder.decodeData(encodedData))

encodeData() serializes the payload according to the schema definition. decodeData() restores readable field values from the encoded hex. This step ensures your schema fields align correctly.

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Conclusion

You’ve just built and registered your first schema on Somnia Data Streams.

Your schema now acts as a public data contract between any publisher and subscriber that wants to communicate using this structure.