Midnight

Midnight API Reference for efficient interaction with opBNB nodes, enabling scalable, low-cost transactions and fast finality through Layer 2 solutions on the BSC blockchain.

Midnight is a data protection-focused blockchain developed by Input Output Global (IOG) — the team behind Cardano — designed to bring confidential smart contracts and zero-knowledge (ZK) cryptography to Web3. Operating as a partner chain to Cardano and built on the Substrate framework, Midnight enables developers to write privacy-preserving decentralized applications in TypeScript using the Compact language, which compiles directly to ZK circuits.

The network uses a dual-token model:

• NIGHT for governance and staking, and the shielded token

• DUST for transaction fees — to allow selective disclosure of sensitive information while maintaining the auditability and security of public blockchains.

Midnight is currently in its testnet-02 phase, providing a stable sandbox for production-grade dApps that require granular data protection and regulatory compliance (such as GDPR).

Key Features

• Confidential Smart Contracts: Smart contracts authored in TypeScript with the Compact ZK-DSL, compiling directly to zero-knowledge circuits

• Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs): Native ZK primitives for verifying computation without revealing underlying data

• Privacy-First Architecture: Built for data protection and regulatory compliance, including GDPR-friendly selective disclosure

• Dual-Token Economy: NIGHT (unshielded governance/staking token) and DUST (shielded gas token derived from NIGHT)

• Cardano Partner Chain: Interoperable with Cardano; Cardano Stake Pool Operators can become Midnight Block Producers

• Substrate-Based: Built on the Substrate framework, exposing the standard Substrate JSON-RPC surface plus Midnight extensions

• GRANDPA Finality: Deterministic block finality via the Substrate GRANDPA finality gadget

• Selective Disclosure: Users choose what information to share and with whom, enabled by ZK selective-disclosure primitives

• ZSwap Privacy Layer: A native shielded UTXO model for confidential token transfers

• WebSocket-First: Full subscription support for real-time block, event, and storage updates via standard Substrate subscriptions

TECHNICAL DISCLAIMER: AUTHORITATIVE JSON-RPC SPECIFICATION

GetBlock’s Midnight API reference documentation is provided exclusively for informational purposes and to optimize the developer experience. The canonical specification for Midnight's JSON-RPC interface is exposed live by every Midnight node via the rpc_methods call, and the Substrate JSON-RPC base is documented at the Polkadot SDK reference. For protocol-level details, consensus parameters, and the dual-token model, consult the official Midnight documentation at docs.midnight.network.

Network Information

Property	Value
Network Name	Midnight testnet-02
Stage	Testnet (mainnet not yet launched)
Native Tokens	NIGHT (governance/staking), DUST (shielded gas, 6 decimals)
Block Time	~6 seconds (Substrate default)
Consensus	Custom privacy-aware Proof-of-Stake (Aura authoring + GRANDPA finality)
Architecture	Substrate partner chain to Cardano
Smart Contract Layer	Compact (ZK-DSL compiling to circuits); TypeScript SDK
EVM Compatible	No
Address Format	SS58 (Substrate-style)
Block Explorer	Midnight Explorer (community)

Base URL

Frankfurt, Germany

https://go.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/

New York, USA

Singapore, Singapore

All Midnight JSON-RPC methods are called by sending a POST request to the base URL with a standard JSON-RPC 2.0 body. For real-time subscriptions (new blocks, finalized heads, runtime events) use the WebSocket scheme: wss://go.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/.

Supported Networks

Network	JSON-RPC	WSS	Frankfurt, Germany	New York, USA	Singapore, Singapore
testnet-02	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅

Midnight mainnet has not yet been launched. This documentation targets testnet-02, the current stable development network.

Quickstart

In this section, you will learn how to make your first call with either:

• Axios (JavaScript / Node.js)

• Python (Requests library)

Before you begin, you must have already installed npm or yarn on your local machine (for the Axios example) or Python and pip (for the Python example).

JavaScript (Axios)

1

Setup project

Create and initialize a new project:

mkdir midnight-api-quickstart
cd midnight-api-quickstart
npm init --yes

2

Install Axios

npm install axios

3

Create file

Create a new file named index.js. This is where you will make your first call.

4

Set ES module type

Set the ES module "type": "module" in your package.json.

5

Add code

Add the following code to index.js:

index.js

import axios from 'axios';

const data = JSON.stringify({
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "system_chain",
    "params": [],
    "id": "getblock.io"
});

const config = {
    method: 'post',
    url: 'https://go.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/',
    headers: {
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    data: data
};

axios(config)
    .then(response => console.log(JSON.stringify(response.data, null, 2)))
    .catch(error => console.log(error));

Replace <ACCESS-TOKEN> with your actual GetBlock access token.

6

Run the script

node index.js

Expected output (example):

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "result": "Midnight Preprod",
    "id": "getblock.io"
}

Python (Requests)

Available API Methods

Midnight exposes the full Substrate JSON-RPC surface, plus Midnight-specific extensions and partner chain primitives. Every method is callable via HTTP POST or over a WebSocket connection. Subscription-style methods are only available over WSS.

System Information & Networking

Method	Description
system_chain	Returns the name of the connected chain
system_chainType	Returns the chain type (Live, Development, Local)
system_health	Returns node health and sync status
system_properties	Returns chain properties (SS58 format, token decimals, symbols)
system_syncState	Returns sync status and highest known block
system_version	Returns the node implementation version
system_name	Returns the node implementation name

Accounts & Keys

Method	Description
account_nextIndex	Returns the next nonce (account index) for an account
system_accountNextIndex	Alias to account_nextIndex

GRANDPA Finality

Method	Description
grandpa_proveFinality	Provides a justification proof for finalized blocks via GRANDPA
grandpa_roundState	Returns the current GRANDPA round state

Off-chain Worker Storage

Method	Description
offchain_localStorageGet	Reads data from local off-chain worker storage
offchain_localStorageSet	Writes data into local off-chain worker storage

Archive (Unstable v2 API)

Method	Description
archive_unstable_body	Fetches the body of a historical block
archive_unstable_call	Executes a runtime call at a specific block
archive_unstable_finalizedHeight	Returns the height of the finalized block
archive_unstable_genesisHash	Returns the genesis block hash
archive_unstable_hashByHeight	Returns the block hash at a given height
archive_unstable_header	Fetches the header of a historical block
archive_unstable_storage	Returns historical storage values

Midnight-Specific

Method	Description
midnight_apiVersions	Lists supported Midnight API versions on the node
midnight_contractState	Fetches the on-chain state of a Midnight smart contract
midnight_decodeEvents	Decodes event data emitted by Midnight smart contracts
midnight_jsonBlock	Returns a full block in human-readable JSON format
midnight_jsonContractState	Returns human-readable JSON-formatted contract state
midnight_zswapChainState	Returns the ZSwap (shielded UTXO layer) state

Sidechain & Partner Chain

Method	Description
sidechain_getAriadneParameters	Returns Ariadne protocol parameters used for privacy
sidechain_getEpochCommittee	Returns the validator committee for a given epoch
sidechain_getParams	Returns current sidechain configuration parameters
sidechain_getStatus	Returns current sidechain status (sync state and parameters)

Chain & Block Data

Method	Description
chain_getBlock	Returns full block data by block hash
chain_getBlockHash	Returns the block hash for a given block number
chain_getFinalizedHead	Returns the latest finalized block hash (chain_getFinalisedHead is an alias)
chain_getHead	Returns the current best block hash
chain_getHeader	Returns the header of a given block
chain_getRuntimeVersion	Returns the current runtime version

State & Storage

Method	Description
state_call	Executes a runtime call without submitting an extrinsic
state_callAt	Executes a runtime call at a specific block
state_getMetadata	Returns the current runtime metadata
state_getRuntimeVersion	Returns the runtime version at the current best block
state_getKeys	Returns a list of storage keys (deprecated, use state_getKeysPaged)
state_getKeysPaged	Returns paged storage keys
state_getKeysPagedAt	Returns paged storage keys at a specific block
state_getStorage	Returns a storage value for a given key
state_getStorageAt	Returns a storage value at a given block
state_getStorageHash	Returns the hash of a storage entry
state_getStorageSize	Returns the byte size of a storage entry
state_getReadProof	Returns a Merkle proof of inclusion for storage entries
state_queryStorageAt	Queries storage at a specific block

Child State

Method	Description
childstate_getKeys	Returns keys from child storage
childstate_getKeysPaged	Returns paged keys from child storage
childstate_getStorage	Returns a storage entry from child storage
childstate_getStorageEntries	Returns multiple entries from child storage
childstate_getStorageHash	Returns the hash of a child storage value
childstate_getStorageSize	Returns the byte size of a child storage value

Author (Transaction Submission)

Method	Description
author_submitExtrinsic	Submits a signed extrinsic to the network
author_pendingExtrinsics	Returns extrinsics currently in the pool
author_removeExtrinsic	Removes extrinsics from the pool

RPC Meta

Method	Description
rpc_methods	Returns the list of all RPC methods supported by the connected node

Support

For technical support and questions:

• Support Email: [e-mail]

See Also

• Official Midnight Documentation

• Midnight Network Website

• Midnight RPC Node Setup Guide

• Midnight Block Producer Guide

• @polkadot/api Documentation

• Compact Smart Contract Language

• Substrate JSON-RPC Reference

• Midnight Explorer (Community)