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Stellar Stack

The Stellar stack is made up of four software components (Stellar Core, Horizon API, SDKs, and the testnet & pubnet), each of which plays a specific part in providing financial infrastructure that is resilient to failures, available to anyone, and fast and cheap enough to serve real-world use cases.

Stellar Stack Diagram

Stellar Core​

Stellar Core is the program used by the individual nodes (or computers) that make up the network. Stellar Core keeps a common distributed ledger and engages in consensus to validate and process transactions. Generally, nodes reach consensus, apply a transaction set, and update the ledger every 5-7 seconds.

Nodes reach consensus using the Stellar Consensus Protocol, which can you can learn more about here: Stellar Consensus Protocol

Anyone can run a Stellar Core node, but you don’t have to in order to build on Stellar. We recommend you do so if you issue an asset and want to ensure the accuracy of the ledger and/or if you want to contribute to Stellar’s overall health and decentralization. Check out our tutorial on installing, configuring, and maintaining your own node here: Run a Core Node Tutorial

Horizon API​

Horizon is the client-facing RESTful HTTP API server that allows programmatic access to submit transactions and query the network’s historical data. It acts as the interface for applications that want to access the Stellar network. You can communicate with Horizon using an SDK, a web browser, or with simple command tools like cURL.

You do not need to run your own Horizon instance — when you're getting started, you can use the free SDF Horizon instance to access the network — but it is recommended that you do when you’re ready to launch a finished product. Check out how to do so here: Run an API Server Tutorial

Learn all there is to know about using Horizon in the Horizon API Reference documentation.

SDKs​

SDKs simplify some of the work of accessing Horizon by converting the data into friendlier formats and allowing you to program in the language of your choice. Stellar’s SDKs show you how to request data and create and submit transactions.

Check out our SDK library to access our SDKs and their documentation.