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Setup

In order to use the RPC API you will need to setup the correct RPC endpoints.

RPC Endpoint Setup​

  • POST for all methods
  • JSON RPC 2.0
  • id: "dontcare"
  • endpoint URL varies by network:
    • mainnet https://rpc.mainnet.near.org
    • testnet https://rpc.testnet.near.org
    • betanet https://rpc.betanet.near.org (may be unstable)
    • localnet http://localhost:3030

Limits​

  • Maximum number of requests per IP: 600 req/min

Querying Historical Data​

Querying historical data (older than 5 epochs or ~2.5 days), you may get responses that the data is not available anymore. In that case, archival RPC nodes will come to your rescue:

  • mainnet https://archival-rpc.mainnet.near.org
  • testnet https://archival-rpc.testnet.near.org

You can see this interface defined in nearcore here.

Limits​

  • Maximum number of requests per IP: 600 req/min

Postman Setup​

An easy way to test the queries in this documentation page is to use an API request tool such as Postman. You only need to configure two things:

  1. Make sure you add a header with a key of Content-Type and value of application/json. postman-setup-header

  2. Then select the Body tab and choose the raw radio button and ensure JSON is the selected format. postman-setup-header

After that is set up, just copy/paste the JSON object example snippets below into the body of your request, on Postman, and click send.

JavaScript Setup​

All of the queries listed in this documentation page can be called using near-api-js.

  • For near-api-js installation and setup please refer to near-api-js quick reference documentation.
  • All JavaScript code snippets require a near object. For examples of how to instantiate, click here.

HTTPie Setup​

If you prefer to use a command line interface, we have provided RPC examples you can use with HTTPie. Please note that params take either an object or array passed as a string.

http post https://rpc.testnet.near.org jsonrpc=2.0 id=dontcare method=network_info params:='[]'

Using block_id param​

The block_id param can take either the block number (e.g. 27912554) or the block hash (e.g. '3Xz2wM9rigMXzA2c5vgCP8wTgFBaePucgUmVYPkMqhRL' ) as an argument.

caution

The block IDs of transactions shown in NearBlocks Explorer are not necessarily the block ID of the executed transaction. Transactions may execute a block or two after its recorded, and in some cases, can take place over several blocks. Due to this, it is important to check subsequent blocks to be sure all results related to the queried transaction are discovered.

Using finality param​

The finality param has three options: optimistic, near-final and final:

  1. optimistic the transaction is in a block that - though unlikely - might be skipped (~1s after submission)
  2. near-final the transaction is in a block that is irreversible, unless at least one block producer is slashed (~2s after submission)
  3. final the block is final and irreversible (~3s after submission)

The near-final finallity has enough guarantees for any normal operations, and thus should be preferred for most applications, you can learn more about it in this official blog post

How Is Finality Calculated?

After a simple transaction (no cross-contract calls) is submitted it is included in a block B and converted into a receipt. At this point, the transaction will be in an "optimistic" state. This means that the transaction could still be skipped, but only if another block is .

The receipt for the transaction will execute in the following block (B+1), at which point the transaction is now "near-final". This means that the transaction is now irreversible, unless at least one block producer is slashed (because they produced a malign block).

The transaction will be in a "final" state after a new block (B+2) is produced, meaning that it is now irreversible.

Cross-Contract Calls

For cross-contract calls, the transaction might take longer to be in its final state, as each call to a contract will create a new receipt, and each receipt will be executed in the next block