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Index API

MetalGo can be configured to run with an indexer. That is, it saves (indexes) every container (a block, vertex or transaction) it accepts on the X-Chain, P-Chain and C-Chain. To run MetalGo with indexing enabled, set command line flag --index-enabled to true. MetalGo will only index containers that are accepted when running with --index-enabled set to true. To ensure your node has a complete index, run a node with a fresh database and --index-enabled set to true. The node will accept every block, vertex and transaction in the network history during bootstrapping, ensuring your index is complete. It is OK to turn off your node if it is running with indexing enabled. If it restarts with indexing still enabled, it will accept all containers that were accepted while it was offline. The indexer should never fail to index an accepted block, vertex or transaction.

Indexed containers (that is, accepted blocks, vertices and transactions) are timestamped with the time at which the node accepted that container. Note that if the container was indexed during bootstrapping, other nodes may have accepted the container much earlier. Every container indexed during bootstrapping will be timestamped with the time at which the node bootstrapped, not when it was first accepted by the network.

Note that for DAGs (including the X-Chain), nodes may accept vertices and transactions in a different order from one another.

If --index-enabled is changed to false from true, MetalGo won't start as doing so would cause a previously complete index to become incomplete, unless the user explicitly says to do so with --index-allow-incomplete. This protects you from accidentally running with indexing disabled, after previously running with it enabled, which would result in an incomplete index.

This document shows how to query data from MetalGo's Index API. The Index API is only available when running with --index-enabled.

Go Client​

There is a Go implementation of an Index API client. See documentation here. This client can be used inside a Go program to connect to a MetalGo node that is running with the Index API enabled and make calls to the Index API.

Format​

This API uses the json 2.0 RPC format. For more information on making JSON RPC calls, see here.

Endpoints​

Each chain has one or more index. To see if a C-Chain block is accepted, for example, send an API call to the C-Chain block index. To see if an X-Chain vertex is accepted, for example, send an API call to the X-Chain vertex index.

X-Chain Transactions​

/ext/index/X/tx

X-Chain Vertices​

/ext/index/X/vtx

P-Chain Blocks​

/ext/index/P/block

C-Chain Blocks​

/ext/index/C/block

API Methods​

index.getLastAccepted​

Get the most recently accepted container.

Signature​

index.getLastAccepted({
  encoding:string
}) -> {
  id: string,
  bytes: string,
  timestamp: string,
  encoding: string,
  index: string
}
Request​
  • encoding is "hex" only.
Response​
  • id is the container's ID
  • bytes is the byte representation of the container
  • timestamp is the time at which this node accepted the container
  • encoding is "hex" only.

Example Call​

curl --location --request POST 'localhost:9650/ext/index/X/tx' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data-raw '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "index.getLastAccepted",
    "params": {
        "encoding": "hex"
    },
    "id": 1
}'

Example Response​

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "result": {
    "id": "6fXf5hncR8LXvwtM8iezFQBpK5cubV6y1dWgpJCcNyzGB1EzY",
    "bytes": "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",
    "timestamp": "2021-04-02T15:34:00.262979-07:00",
    "encoding": "hex",
    "index": "0"
  }
}

index.getContainerByIndex​

Get container by index. The first container accepted is at index 0, the second is at index 1, etc.

Signature​

index.getContainerByIndex({
  index: uint64,
  encoding: string
}) -> {
  id: string,
  bytes: string,
  timestamp: string,
  encoding: string,
  index: string
}
Request​
  • index is how many containers were accepted in this index before this one
  • encoding is "hex" only.
Response​
  • id is the container's ID
  • bytes is the byte representation of the container
  • timestamp is the time at which this node accepted the container
  • index is how many containers were accepted in this index before this one
  • encoding is "hex" only.

Example Call​

curl --location --request POST 'localhost:9650/ext/index/X/tx' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data-raw '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "index.getContainerByIndex",
    "params": {
        "index":0,
        "encoding": "hex"
    },
    "id": 1
}'

Example Response​

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "result": {
    "id": "6fXf5hncR8LXvwtM8iezFQBpK5cubV6y1dWgpJCcNyzGB1EzY",
    "bytes": "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",
    "timestamp": "2021-04-02T15:34:00.262979-07:00",
    "encoding": "hex",
    "index": "0"
  }
}

index.getContainerByID​

Get container by ID.

Signature​

index.getContainerByID({
  id: string,
  encoding: string
}) -> {
  id: string,
  bytes: string,
  timestamp: string,
  encoding: string,
  index: string
}
Request​
  • id is the container's ID
  • encoding is "hex" only.
Response​
  • id is the container's ID
  • bytes is the byte representation of the container
  • timestamp is the time at which this node accepted the container
  • encoding is "hex" only.
  • index is how many containers were accepted in this index before this one

Example Call​

curl --location --request POST 'localhost:9650/ext/index/X/tx' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data-raw '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "index.getContainerByID",
    "params": {
        "id": "6fXf5hncR8LXvwtM8iezFQBpK5cubV6y1dWgpJCcNyzGB1EzY",
        "encoding":"hex"
    },
    "id": 1
}'

Example Response​

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "result": {
    "id": "6fXf5hncR8LXvwtM8iezFQBpK5cubV6y1dWgpJCcNyzGB1EzY",
    "bytes": "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",
    "timestamp": "2021-04-02T15:34:00.262979-07:00",
    "encoding": "hex",
    "index": "0"
  }
}

index.getContainerRange​

Returns containers with indices in [startIndex, startIndex+1, ... , startIndex + numToFetch - 1]. numToFetch must be in [0,1024].

Signature​

index.getContainerRange({
  startIndex: uint64,
  numToFetch: uint64,
  encoding: string
}) -> []{
  id: string,
  bytes: string,
  timestamp: string,
  encoding: string,
  index: string
}
Request​
  • startIndex is the beginning index
  • numToFetch is the number of containers to fetch
  • encoding is "hex" only.
Response​
  • id is the container's ID
  • bytes is the byte representation of the container
  • timestamp is the time at which this node accepted the container
  • encoding is "hex" only.
  • index is how many containers were accepted in this index before this one

Example Call​

curl --location --request POST 'localhost:9650/ext/index/X/tx' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data-raw '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "index.getContainerRange",
    "params": {
        "startIndex":0,
        "numToFetch":100,
        "encoding": "hex"
    },
    "id": 1
}'

Example Response​

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "result": [
    {
      "id": "6fXf5hncR8LXvwtM8iezFQBpK5cubV6y1dWgpJCcNyzGB1EzY",
      "bytes": "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",
      "timestamp": "2021-04-02T15:34:00.262979-07:00",
      "encoding": "hex",
      "index": "0"
    }
  ]
}

index.getIndex​

Get a container's index.

Signature​

index.getIndex({
  id: string,
  encoding: string
}) -> {
  index: string
}
Request​
  • id is the ID of the container to fetch
  • encoding is "hex" only.
Response​
  • index is how many containers were accepted in this index before this one

Example Call​

curl --location --request POST 'localhost:9650/ext/index/X/tx' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data-raw '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "index.getIndex",
    "params": {
        "id":"6fXf5hncR8LXvwtM8iezFQBpK5cubV6y1dWgpJCcNyzGB1EzY",
        "encoding": "hex"
    },
    "id": 1
}'

Example Response​

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "result": {
    "index": "0"
  },
  "id": 1
}

index.isAccepted​

Returns true if the container is in this index.

Signature​

index.isAccepted({
  id: string,
  encoding: string
}) -> {
  isAccepted: bool
}
Request​
  • id is the ID of the container to fetch
  • encoding is "hex" only.
Response​
  • isAccepted displays if the container has been accepted

Example Call​

curl --location --request POST 'localhost:9650/ext/index/X/tx' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data-raw '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "index.isAccepted",
    "params": {
        "id":"6fXf5hncR8LXvwtM8iezFQBpK5cubV6y1dWgpJCcNyzGB1EzY",
        "encoding": "hex"
    },
    "id": 1
}'

Example Response​

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "result": {
    "isAccepted": true
  },
  "id": 1
}

Example: Iterating Through X-Chain Transaction​

Here is an example of how to iterate through all transactions on the X-Chain.

danger

To help users to try out this example and other index APIs, we have set up a testing indexer node located at https://indexer-demo.avax.network. This indexer node is not for production use. We may change or shut it down at any time without notice.

You can use the Index API to get the ID of every transaction that has been accepted on the X-Chain, and use the X-Chain API method avm.getTx to get a human-readable representation of the transaction.

To get an X-Chain transaction by its index (the order it was accepted in), use Index API method index.getlastaccepted.

For example, to get the second transaction (note that "index":1) accepted on the X-Chain, do:

curl --location --request POST 'https://indexer-demo.avax.network/ext/index/X/tx' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data-raw '{
   "jsonrpc": "2.0",
   "method": "index.getContainerByIndex",
   "params": {
       "encoding":"hex",
       "index":1
   },
   "id": 1
}'

This returns the ID of the second transaction accepted in the X-Chain's history. To get the third transaction on the X-Chain, use "index":2, and so on.

The above API call gives the response below:

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "result": {
    "id": "ZGYTSU8w3zUP6VFseGC798vA2Vnxnfj6fz1QPfA9N93bhjJvo",
    "bytes": "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",
    "timestamp": "2021-11-04T00:42:55.01643414Z",
    "encoding": "hex",
    "index": "1"
  },
  "id": 1
}

The ID of this transaction is ZGYTSU8w3zUP6VFseGC798vA2Vnxnfj6fz1QPfA9N93bhjJvo.

To get the transaction by its ID, use API method avm.getTx:

curl -X POST --data '{
    "jsonrpc":"2.0",
    "id"     :1,
    "method" :"avm.getTx",
    "params" :{
        "txID":"ZGYTSU8w3zUP6VFseGC798vA2Vnxnfj6fz1QPfA9N93bhjJvo",
        "encoding": "json"
    }
}' -H 'content-type:application/json;' https://api.metalblockchain.org/ext/bc/X

Response:

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "result": {
    "tx": {
      "unsignedTx": {
        "networkID": 1,
        "blockchainID": "2oYMBNV4eNHyqk2fjjV5nVQLDbtmNJzq5s3qs3Lo6ftnC6FByM",
        "outputs": [
          {
            "assetID": "FvwEAhmxKfeiG8SnEvq42hc6whRyY3EFYAvebMqDNDGCgxN5Z",
            "fxID": "spdxUxVJQbX85MGxMHbKw1sHxMnSqJ3QBzDyDYEP3h6TLuxqQ",
            "output": {
              "addresses": ["X-metal1wst8jt3z3fm9ce0z6akj3266zmgccdp03hjlaj"],
              "amount": 4999000000,
              "locktime": 0,
              "threshold": 1
            }
          },
          {
            "assetID": "FvwEAhmxKfeiG8SnEvq42hc6whRyY3EFYAvebMqDNDGCgxN5Z",
            "fxID": "spdxUxVJQbX85MGxMHbKw1sHxMnSqJ3QBzDyDYEP3h6TLuxqQ",
            "output": {
              "addresses": ["X-metal1slt2dhfu6a6qezcn5sgtagumq8ag8we75f84sw"],
              "amount": 2347999000000,
              "locktime": 0,
              "threshold": 1
            }
          }
        ],
        "inputs": [
          {
            "txID": "qysTYUMCWdsR3MctzyfXiSvoSf6evbeFGRLLzA4j2BjNXTknh",
            "outputIndex": 0,
            "assetID": "FvwEAhmxKfeiG8SnEvq42hc6whRyY3EFYAvebMqDNDGCgxN5Z",
            "fxID": "spdxUxVJQbX85MGxMHbKw1sHxMnSqJ3QBzDyDYEP3h6TLuxqQ",
            "input": {
              "amount": 2352999000000,
              "signatureIndices": [0]
            }
          }
        ],
        "memo": "0x"
      },
      "credentials": [
        {
          "fxID": "spdxUxVJQbX85MGxMHbKw1sHxMnSqJ3QBzDyDYEP3h6TLuxqQ",
          "credential": {
            "signatures": [
              "0xbeb83d3d29f1247efb4a3a1141ab5c966f46f946f9c943b9bc19f858bd416d10060c23d5d9c7db3a0da23446b97cd9cf9f8e61df98e1b1692d764c84a686f5f801"
            ]
          }
        }
      ]
    },
    "encoding": "json"
  },
  "id": 1
}