getBlock

Finalized

Introduction

The getBlock method is a fundamental blockchain exploration endpoint. It allows a client to retrieve a complete block, including its header, transactions, and consensus signatures, by specifying the block's height (number).

The method offers two output formats: a comprehensive, human-readable JSON object for easy inspection, or the block's raw, serialized byte data as a hexadecimal string, which is useful for custom parsing or network-level analysis.

Request

Requests can be made using either HTTP POST with a JSON body or HTTP GET with URL query parameters.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`num`	`string`	Yes	The block number (height) of the block to retrieve.
`bytes`	`string`	No	If set to `"1"`, the response will be the raw block data as a hex string. Otherwise, a JSON object is returned.

Example POST Request (JSON Response)

POST /getBlock
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "getBlock",
  "params": {
    "num": "5480000"
  },
  "id": 1
}

Example GET Request (Raw Bytes Response)

GET /getBlock?num=5480000&bytes=1

Response

The structure of the result field depends on the bytes parameter.

Result: JSON Object (`bytes` is not "1")

When not requesting raw bytes, the result is a detailed JSON object containing the full contents and metadata of the block.

Field	Type	Description
`Block Number`	`string`	The height of this block.
`Version`	`string`	The block version number.
`Block Checksum`	`string`	The unique checksum (hash) of this block.
`Last Block Checksum`	`string`	The checksum of the preceding block.
`Wallet State Checksum`	`string`	A checksum of the global wallet state after this block is applied.
`RegName State Checksum`	`string`	A checksum of the IXI Name System state after this block is applied.
`Sig freeze Checksum`	`string`	A checksum of the block's signature set when it was frozen.
`Timestamp`	`string`	The Unix timestamp when the block was proposed.
`Difficulty`	`string`	The difficulty target for this block's PoW field.
`Hashrate`	`string`	An estimate of the network's mean hashrate at this block height.
`Signature count`	`string`	The number of signatures received for this block.
`Required Signature count`	`string`	The adaptive quorum; the minimum number of signatures required for acceptance.
`Transaction count`	`string`	The number of transactions included in this block.
`Transaction amount`	`string`	The total value of all IXI transferred in the block's transactions.
`Total fees`	`string`	The sum of all fees from transactions in the block.
`TX IDs`	`array<string>`	An array of all transaction IDs included in the block.
`Signatures`	`array<object>`	An array of signature objects currently attached to the block.
`Frozen Signatures`	`array<object>`	An array of signature objects that were present when the block was frozen.

Example Success Response (JSON)

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "result": {
    "Block Number": "5480000",
    "Version": "13",
    "Block Checksum": "4a96210c76b29a661f28369eb6e47276f167091811d0c0dd2472619d1d98dc0270b28a43b74107ece0e0ffd337951c3aeffa1c84616dc99a4dd02b59a1f0ae0b",
    "Last Block Checksum": "382b276a2eab3bb3f7ffdbad462314b42b26c1b5e5c2a21022bdc42f80cd2e7025438db8c1b52a5d7f355e4f73a2572c916273e691871d03ea160cd5f09b9eda",
    "Wallet State Checksum": "00e88f812fc108ca0a666d138657c1b0c977c68ed55c534ce41c2df96a6353827572abb5a3a355a2e7d2d9bf7db7a98f1c7fde665479f8d3c9c3e050d3ee9db8",
    "Timestamp": "1762822822",
    "Difficulty": "18442776513098441299",
    "Signature count": "86",
    "Transaction count": "1",
    "TX IDs": [
      "stk-5479994-5479999-2QXnYoKdpUt5P2LXufE6mX3rAm27dV3ajswjUvYpDUuKQ3hn6fL4KPuE1VFKU"
    ],
    "Signatures": "[{...}]"
  },
  "id": 1,
  "error": null
}

Result: Raw Hex String (`bytes` is "1")

When bytes is set to "1", the result is a single string containing the hexadecimal representation of the fully serialized block.

Example Success Response (Raw Bytes)

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "result": "0d00808b1500000000004a96210c76b29a66...",
  "id": 1,
  "error": null
}

Example Error Response

This error is returned if the requested block number is not found in the node's blockchain database.

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "result": null,
    "id": 1,
    "error": {
        "code": -32602,
        "message": "Block not found."
    }
}

Behavioral Notes

Archive Node Requirement: This endpoint's ability to retrieve arbitrary blocks by height depends on the node's configuration. A node running in full archival mode (storeFullHistory=true) can serve any block in the chain's history. A pruned node may only be able to serve recent blocks.
Default num: If the num parameter is missing or invalid, the call will return null.
Live Signatures: The Signatures array represents the signatures attached to the block at the time of the query. For recent blocks (less than 5 blocks deep), this list can change as more signatures are received by the network. The Frozen Signatures list is immutable once a block is sufficiently confirmed.

getBestBlockHash

getFullBlock

Introduction Request Parameters Example POST Request (JSON Response)Example GET Request (Raw Bytes Response)Response Result: JSON Object (`bytes` is not "1")Example Success Response (JSON)Result: Raw Hex String (`bytes` is "1")Example Success Response (Raw Bytes)Example Error Response Behavioral Notes