getchaintips - Bitcoin Cash

Example code for the getchaintips JSON-RPC method. Complete guide on how to use getchaintips JSON-RPC in GetBlock Web3 documentation.

This method returns information about all known tips in the block tree, including the main chain and any orphaned branches. It is used to detect forks the node has seen.

Parameters

This method does not accept any parameters.

Request

cURL

curl --location --request POST 'https://go.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data-raw '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "getchaintips",
    "params": [],
    "id": "getblock.io"
}'

bitcoinjs-lib

example.js

const axios = require('axios');
const { data } = await axios.post('https://go.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/', {
  jsonrpc: '2.0', method: 'getchaintips', params: [], id: 'getblock.io'
});
console.log(data.result);

Request

example.py

import requests

response = requests.post(
    'https://go.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/',
    headers={'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
    json={
        'jsonrpc': '2.0',
        'method': 'getchaintips',
        'params': [],
        'id': 'getblock.io'
    }
)

print(response.json()['result'])

Rust

example.rs

use reqwest::Client;
use serde_json::{json, Value};

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let client = Client::new();

    let response = client
        .post("https://go.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/")
        .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
        .json(&json!({
            "jsonrpc": "2.0",
            "method": "getchaintips",
            "params": [],
            "id": "getblock.io"
        }))
        .send()
        .await?
        .json::<Value>()
        .await?;

    println!("Result: {}", response["result"]);
    Ok(())
}

Response

{
    "error": null,
    "id": "getblock.io",
    "result": [
        {
            "branchlen": 0,
            "hash": "0000000000000000023a561e1ea370153aac5d1504726d1a039032831c05fcfc",
            "height": 684634,
            "status": "active"
        },
        {
            "branchlen": 1,
            "hash": "000000000000000001d3a318372df5d1eec54462a0d7471ae1cdf49838f793dd",
            "height": 683516,
            "status": "valid-headers"
        }
    ]
}

Response Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
error	null|object	Error object when the call fails, otherwise null
id	string	Request identifier matching the request
result	array	Array of chain tip objects, one per known branch

Tip Entry

Field	Type	Description
height	numeric	Height of the branch tip
hash	string	Block hash of the branch tip
branchlen	numeric	Length of the branch, 0 for the main chain
status	string	Status of the branch, such as active or valid-headers

Use Cases

• Fork Monitoring: Detect competing branches the node has observed

• Reorg Alerts: Notice when a non-active tip approaches the main chain length

• Node Health: Confirm the active tip matches the expected network height

• Consensus Research: Study orphan branch frequency over time

Error Handling

Error Code	Message	Description
-32700	Parse error	Request body is not valid JSON
-32600	Invalid request	The JSON sent is not a valid request object
-32603	Internal error	Node failed to read the requested chain state