> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://cosmos-docs-cosmjs-docs.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Querying Contracts

> Query smart contract state, metadata, and code info on CosmWasm-enabled chains

`CosmWasmClient` provides multiple ways to read contract state: JSON smart queries that execute the contract's query entry point, raw binary reads against storage keys, and metadata lookups for contracts and uploaded code.

## Smart Queries

Smart queries execute the contract's query entry point and return parsed JSON. The query message shape depends on the contract.

```typescript theme={"system"}
import { CosmWasmClient } from "@cosmjs/cosmwasm";

const client = await CosmWasmClient.connect("https://rpc.my-chain.network");

const count = await client.queryContractSmart("osmo1contractaddr...", {
  get_count: {},
});

const balance = await client.queryContractSmart("osmo1tokencontract...", {
  balance: { address: "osmo1useraddr..." },
});
```

<Warning>
  Smart queries are rejected if the contract address does not exist or the query message does not match the contract's schema. Both cases throw an error.
</Warning>

## Raw State Access

For direct storage reads, use `queryContractRaw` with the binary storage key:

```typescript theme={"system"}
import { toAscii } from "@cosmjs/encoding";

const raw = await client.queryContractRaw("osmo1contractaddr...", toAscii("config"));
if (raw) {
  const config = JSON.parse(new TextDecoder().decode(raw));
}
```

## Contract Metadata

Retrieve a contract's on-chain metadata including its code ID, creator, admin, and label:

```typescript theme={"system"}
const info = await client.getContract("osmo1contractaddr...");
// { address, codeId, creator, admin, label, ibcPortId }

const history = await client.getContractCodeHistory("osmo1contractaddr...");
// [{ operation: "Init" | "Migrate" | "Genesis", codeId, msg }]
```

## Code and Contract Discovery

List uploaded codes and find contracts by code ID or creator:

```typescript theme={"system"}
const codes = await client.getCodes();
// [{ id, creator, checksum }]

const codeDetails = await client.getCodeDetails(1);
// { id, creator, checksum, data (Uint8Array of original wasm) }

const contracts = await client.getContracts(1);
// ["osmo1abc...", "osmo1def..."]

const byCreator = await client.getContractsByCreator("osmo1creatoraddr...");
// ["osmo1abc...", "osmo1def..."]
```

<Note>
  `getCodes()`, `getContracts()`, and `getContractsByCreator()` loop through all pagination pages internally. For large result sets, consider using the wasm query extension directly with manual pagination.
</Note>

## Using the Wasm Query Extension

For fine-grained control over pagination or when building a custom query client, use the wasm extension directly:

```typescript theme={"system"}
import { QueryClient } from "@cosmjs/stargate";
import { setupWasmExtension } from "@cosmjs/cosmwasm";
import { connectComet } from "@cosmjs/tendermint-rpc";

const cometClient = await connectComet("https://rpc.my-chain.network");
const queryClient = QueryClient.withExtensions(cometClient, setupWasmExtension);

const { codeInfos, pagination } = await queryClient.wasm.listCodeInfo();
const contracts = await queryClient.wasm.listContractsByCodeId(1);
const contractInfo = await queryClient.wasm.getContractInfo("osmo1contractaddr...");
const history = await queryClient.wasm.getContractCodeHistory("osmo1contractaddr...");
const allState = await queryClient.wasm.getAllContractState("osmo1contractaddr...");
```

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Uploading Code" icon="upload" href="/cosmjs/v0.38.x/guides/cosmwasm/uploading">
    Deploy Wasm binaries to chain.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Executing Contracts" icon="play" href="/cosmjs/v0.38.x/guides/cosmwasm/executing">
    Execute contract messages and parse events.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>