Using blockchain nodes

This page describes how to get ready to query a Blockchain Node Engine node using an API key for authentication.

Before you can use the blockchain node, you need to:

Create an API key

You must use an API key for authentication to query your node.

To generate a key in the Google Cloud console:

  1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the APIs & Services, Credentials page.

    Go to Credentials

  2. Click Create credentials.

  3. Click API key.

  4. In the API key created dialog, click Copy to copy the key, and then paste it into a temporary file. You will need the API key in Query a blockchain node.

See Authenticate using API keys for more information on API keys.

Get the blockchain node endpoint URLs

You can get the blockchain node URLs using the console or by sending an API request:

Using the console

To view details about a node in the UI:

  1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Blockchain Node Engine page.

    Go to Blockchain Node Engine

    2. The Nodes list page is displayed by default.

  2. Click a node name. The Node details page is displayed.
    Blockchain node URLs are displayed in the Endpoints area.

Using an API

To list details related to a blockchain node with ListBlockchainNodes, send the following request:

curl \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
https://blockchainnodeengine.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/\
locations/LOCATION/blockchainNodes/NODE_NAME

Where:

The blockchain URLs returned are in the endpointInfo and additionalEndpoints sections as shown in the following Ethereum example:

{
  "name": "projects/my-project-id/locations/us-central1/blockchainNodes/my-node",
  "createTime": "2023-05-05T04:24:12.432769Z",
  "updateTime": "2023-05-05T05:03:02.561240Z",
  "labels": {
    "my-label-key": "my-label-value"
  },
  "blockchainType": "ETHEREUM",
  "connectionInfo": {
    "ipInfo": {
      "rpcIpv4Address": "192.0.2.1"
    },
    "endpointInfo": {
      "jsonRpcApiEndpoint": "json-rpc.ejp4j0b1rdiq06p8lxksd5z25.blockchainnodeengine.com",
      "websocketsApiEndpoint": "ws.ejp4j0b1rdiq06p8lxksd5z25.blockchainnodeengine.com"
    }
  },
  "ethereumDetails": {
    "network": "MAINNET",
    "nodeType": "FULL",
    "executionClient": "GETH",
    "consensusClient": "LIGHTHOUSE",
    "apiEnableAdmin": false,
    "apiEnableDebug": false,
    "additionalEndpoints": {
      "beaconApiEndpoint": "beacon.ejp4j0b1rdiq06p8lxksd5z25.blockchainnodeengine.com",
      "beaconPrometheusMetricsApiEndpoint": "bc-mc.ejp4j0b1rdiq06p8lxksd5z25.blockchainnodeengine.com"
    }
  },
  "state": "RUNNING"
}

See also: View blockchain node details, Using an API

Query a blockchain node

Now that you know your API key and blockchain node endpoint URLs, for usage instructions see the appropriate topic for each blockchain: