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getBlock -SDK

Returns the block from the network based on the provided block number or hash.

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Description

Returns the block from the network based on the provided block number or hash. Transactions on the block are represented as an array of transaction hashes. To get the full transaction details on the block, use getBlockWithTransactions instead.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
blockHashOrBlockTagstringThe block hash or one of the following block tags:

- pending: A sample next block built by the client on top of latest and containing the set of transactions usually taken from local mempool. Intuitively, you can think of this as block that have not been mined yet.

- latest: The most recent block in the chain observed by the client, this block may be re-orged out of the chain even under normal conditions.

- earliest: The lowest numbered block the client has available. Intuitively, you can think of this as the first block created.

Response

PropertyTypeDescription
Promise<Block>objectReturns a block object with the following fields or null when no block was found.

Block response object parameters

ParameterTypeDescription
hashstring32 Bytes - hash of the block. null when its pending block.
parentHashstring32 Bytes - hash of the parent block.
numbernumberThe block number. null when its pending block.
timestampnumberThe unix timestamp for when the block was collated.
noncestringA nonce is a value that represents the number of transactions sent by the sender's address, ensuring the transactions are processed in order and preventing replay attacks.
difficultynumberInteger of the difficulty for this block.
gasLimitBigNumberThe maximum gas allowed in this block.
gasUsedBigNumberThe total used gas by all transactions in this block.
minerstring20 Bytes - the address of the beneficiary to whom the mining rewards were given.
transactionsarrayAn arrray containing transactions.

Example Request and Response

Prerequisite: You will need to install the Alchemy SDK before making requests with it.

The commands for installing it using npm or yarn are given below:

npm install alchemy-sdk

yarn add alchemy-sdk

Request

Here is an example of how to make a getBlock request using the Alchemy SDK:

// Imports the Alchemy SDK
const { Alchemy, Network } = require("alchemy-sdk");

// Configures the Alchemy SDK
const config = {
  apiKey: "alchemy-replit", // Replace with your API key
  network: Network.ETH_MAINNET, // Replace with your network
};

// Creates an Alchemy object instance with the config to use for making requests
const alchemy = new Alchemy(config);

const main = async () => {
  // using the block tag "latest" to get the latest block 
  // could've used a block hash to get a particualr block as well
  let blockTagOrHash = "latest"

  // calling the getBlock method to get the latest block
  let response = await alchemy.core.getBlock(blockTagOrHash);

  // logging the response to the console
  console.log(response)
};

main();

Response

{
  hash: '0x92fc42b9642023f2ee2e88094df80ce87e15d91afa812fef383e6e5cd96e2ed3',
  parentHash: '0x6890edf8ad6900a5472c2a7ee3ef795f020ef6f907afb7f4ebf6a92d6aeb1804',
  number: 15221026,
  timestamp: 1658877717,
  nonce: '0xd8c399035d6e6e8f',
  difficulty: null,
  gasLimit: BigNumber { _hex: '0x01ca35d2', _isBigNumber: true },
  gasUsed: BigNumber { _hex: '0x01ca1ae1', _isBigNumber: true },
  miner: '0x52bc44d5378309EE2abF1539BF71dE1b7d7bE3b5',
  extraData: '0x6e616e6f706f6f6c2e6f7267',
  transactions: [
    '0xba4938ea41154427c8cb424ea89d9f150f139ed10065fe43ce11102dc82e1c37',
    '0x98cc6b4b66453e184f65728fee265a726b030c5ddcfc1311a01ea5345c3959ab',
    '0x2cbb4968cce66c73f2755fe7ef177981962afa7943f658b323e61850f31e4163',
    '0x34e65a26b58ec93ec3a35c5c3269f1179801604e027cfd6a7cad8bef78e4fe62',
    '0x745e34c019f924316863e5af9f2cfbe6f660071310054e8331e9dc1fcdfc26a8',
    ... 253 more items
  ],
  baseFeePerGas: BigNumber { _hex: '0x02aa2d1d80', _isBigNumber: true },
  _difficulty: BigNumber { _hex: '0x2a31d8a2cf4dd7', _isBigNumber: true }
}

Code Sandbox

You can test out the getBlock method using the code sandbox below:

Related Methods

Here are the methods related to getBlock:

  • getBlockWithTransactions: Returns the block from the network based on the provided block number or hash. Includes full transactions from the block.
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