# Read Accounts

An account can be classified as either an externally owned account or a smart contract. Externally owned accounts typically consist of private keys generated in wallets, whereas smart contracts are deployed with specific program code.

The distinction between the two can be made by examining an account's `hasCode` flag. If it's `true`, it indicates that a smart contract is deployed at that address. For smart contracts, the byte code can also be retrieved.

An account possesses three key attributes:

* **hasCode** to indicate a smart contract at the address
* **balance** to represent the VET balance
* **energy** to denote the VTHO balance

The balance is stored as a hex-encoded BigInt, which can be converted into a human-readable format using `BigInt(balance)`. It's important to note that numbers are stored with all their decimals, and for a more readable version, 18 decimal places should be considered.

Here's an example snippet for accessing account details for the VTHO contract:

```js
const contract = await thor.accounts.getAccount(
  '0x0000000000000000000000000000456e65726779' // <- whatever EOA or Smart contract
);
const bytecode = await thor.accounts.getBytecode(
  '0x0000000000000000000000000000456e65726779' // <- whatever Smart contract
);
```

Test it yourself:

{% embed url="<https://stackblitz.com/edit/ts-vechain-academy-get-account-info?embed=1&file=index.ts&hideExplorer=1&hideNavigation=1&view=editor>" %}

Type definition and documentation of all attributes:

* [Account Detail](https://vechain.github.io/vechain-sdk-js/classes/_vechain_sdk_network.AccountDetail.html)

The same information is available using the JSON-API:

* [GET /accounts/{address}](https://mainnet.vechain.org/accounts/0x0000000000000000000000000000456e65726779)
* [GET /accounts/{address}/code](https://mainnet.vechain.org/accounts/0x0000000000000000000000000000456e65726779/code)


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.vechain.org/developer-resources/how-to-build-on-vechain/read-data/read-accounts.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.