> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.getblock.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.getblock.io/api-reference/zcash-zec/zcash-blockbook-rest-api.md).

# Zcash Blockbook REST API

GetBlock provides fast and reliable access to Zcash transparent address, UTXO, and wallet data via the Blockbook REST API. Connect to the Zcash network without running your own infrastructure.

Blockbook is an address-indexed and xpub-indexed view of the Zcash chain, built by Trezor. It answers questions about a transparent address or a transparent wallet: balances, transaction history, and unspent outputs.

GetBlock's Blockbook add-on is provisioned as its own endpoint, separate from the Zcash JSON-RPC endpoint and with its own URL.

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Blockbook sees transparent activity only.** Shielded Sapling and Orchard value is encrypted to the holder's viewing key, so it is never indexed. Two consequences follow:

* Balances, UTXOs, and history cover transparent (`t1`, `t3`) addresses and nothing else.
* In the normalized transaction schema, **a shielded transaction's `fees` usually reads `0`**, because the value entering from a shielded pool is invisible. See [api/v2/tx](/api-reference/zcash-zec/zcash-blockbook-rest-api/api-v2-tx-zcash.md) for a worked example and how to compute the real fee.
  {% endhint %}

### Setting up a Blockbook endpoint

{% stepper %}
{% step %}
Sign in to [GetBlock](https://account.getblock.io) and start a new endpoint in the configurator
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Select **Zcash → Mainnet → Full → Blockbook(REST)**.

{% hint style="warning" %}
Do not use the Zcash JSON-RPC endpoint for these paths. It does not serve `/api/v2/`.
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Use the access token the configurator returns. Every path below is appended to that URL
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

### Base URL

```bash
https://shared.eu-central-1.getblock.io/<ACCESS-TOKEN>/api/v2/
```

### Endpoints

<table data-search="false"><thead><tr><th width="99">Method</th><th>Endpoint</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>GET</td><td><code>/api/status</code></td><td>Returns the indexer's sync state, the node's metadata, and the consensus branch ID</td></tr><tr><td>GET</td><td><code>/api/v2/address/{address}</code></td><td>Returns balance and transaction data for a transparent address</td></tr><tr><td>GET</td><td><code>/api/v2/xpub/{xpub}</code></td><td>Returns wallet-level data for a transparent extended public key or descriptor</td></tr><tr><td>GET</td><td><code>/api/v2/utxo/{addressOrXpub}</code></td><td>Returns the unspent transparent outputs for an address, extended public key, or descriptor</td></tr><tr><td>GET</td><td><code>/api/v2/balancehistory/{address}</code></td><td>Returns aggregated balance-change history over a time range</td></tr><tr><td>GET</td><td><code>/api/v2/tx/{txid}</code></td><td>Returns a normalized transaction, counting transparent value only</td></tr><tr><td>GET</td><td><code>/api/v2/tx-specific/{txid}</code></td><td>Returns the transaction in the node's own shape, including shielded components</td></tr><tr><td>GET</td><td><code>/api/v2/block/{blockId}</code></td><td>Returns a block by height or hash with a paged list of its transactions</td></tr><tr><td>GET</td><td><code>/api/v2/block-index/{blockHeight}</code></td><td>Returns the block hash at a given block height</td></tr><tr><td>GET</td><td><code>/api/v2/feestats/{blockId}</code></td><td>Returns fee statistics for one block, from transparent value only</td></tr><tr><td>POST</td><td><code>/api/v2/sendtx/</code></td><td>Broadcasts a signed, serialized transaction and returns its transaction id</td></tr><tr><td>GET</td><td><code>/api/v2/tickers/</code></td><td>Returns current or historical fiat exchange rates for Zcash</td></tr><tr><td>GET</td><td><code>/api/v2/tickers-list/</code></td><td>Returns the currencies with rate data at a given timestamp</td></tr><tr><td>GET</td><td><code>/api/v2/multi-tickers/</code></td><td>Returns fiat rate tickers for several timestamps at once</td></tr></tbody></table>

### Not available on Zcash

Two Blockbook endpoints offered on the other UTXO chains return `500 Internal server error` on Zcash and are not documented here:

| Endpoint                       | Why it fails                                                                                            | Use instead                                                                                           |
| ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `/api/v2/estimatefee/{blocks}` | Zebra implements neither `estimatesmartfee` nor `estimatefee`, so the indexer has no estimate to return | The ZIP-317 conventional fee: 5,000 zatoshis per logical action, with a minimum of two actions        |
| `/api/v2/rawblock/{blockId}`   | Fails for every block tested                                                                            | JSON-RPC [getblock](/api-reference/zcash-zec/zcash-json-rpc-api/getblock-zcash.md) with verbosity `0` |

### Zcash specifics

* **Amounts are in zatoshis**, at 1e-8 ZEC.
* **Fees follow ZIP-317**, not a fee market: 5,000 zatoshis per logical action, minimum two actions.
* **75-second blocks.** Heights advance about eight times as fast as Bitcoin's.
* **Consensus branch IDs.** Transactions are signed for the network upgrade in force, reported under `backend.consensus` by [api/status](/api-reference/zcash-zec/zcash-blockbook-rest-api/api-status-zcash.md).
* **Transaction expiry.** Zcash transactions carry an `expiryheight` and cannot be mined after it.
* **Derivation uses BIP44 coin type 133** for transparent accounts.

### Troubleshooting

| Symptom                                                 | Cause                                                                           | Fix                                                                                                                                     |
| ------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| A shielded transaction shows `fees: "0"`                | The normalized schema cannot see shielded value                                 | Compute the fee from [api/v2/tx-specific](/api-reference/zcash-zec/zcash-blockbook-rest-api/api-v2-tx-specific-zcash.md) value balances |
| `500 Internal server error` on `estimatefee`            | The Zebra node has no fee estimator                                             | Use the ZIP-317 conventional fee                                                                                                        |
| `Invalid address, decoded address is of unknown format` | A shielded or malformed address was supplied                                    | Query a transparent (`t1`, `t3`) address                                                                                                |
| `403 Forbidden`                                         | The token is missing, invalid, or belongs to a different endpoint configuration | Confirm the token was provisioned as Zcash → Blockbook(REST)                                                                            |

### Support

* Support: <support@getblock.io>