Ethereum: How to Query All UTXOs of an Address from a Full Node
As a new blockchain developer, it is essential to understand how to query data from various sources on the Ethereum network. In this article, we will explore how to use a full node to retrieve all the Unspent Transaction Outputs (UTXOs) associated with a given address.
What are UTXOs?
UTXOS are unspent transaction outputs that can be spent in a future transaction. They contain information about each outgoing transaction, including the sender’s public key, transaction hash, and the amount spent.
How to Query UTXOs from a Full Node
To query all UTXOs associated with an address from a full node, you will need to use the eth-utxos command line tool or the eth-get-unspent-outputs command. Here is a step-by-step guide:
Method 1: Using the eth-utxos command line tool
The eth-utxos command is part of the Ethereum CLI and allows you to query UTXOs for a specific address.
eth-utxos --address
-p Replace
Example Output:
Here is an example of what the output might look like:
0x1234567890abcdef 1.0000000000000000000 (0.100000000000000001 ETH)
In this example, the first line shows the UTXO metadata and the second line shows the amount spent in Ether.
Method 2: Using the eth-get-unspent-outputs command
The eth-get-unspent-outputs command is another way to query the UTXOs for a specific address.
eth-get-unspent-outputs --address
-p This command also requires the private key.
Example Output:
Here is an example of what the output might look like:
0x1234567890abcdef 1.0000000000000000000 (0.100000000000000001 ETH)
As you can see, this method returns a list of all UTXOs associated with the address.
Complete Node Setup
To query UTXOs from a full node running on your Raspberry Pi, follow these steps:
- Install the Ethereum CLI by running
sudo apt-get install ethereumon your Linux distribution.
- Download the Ethereum blockchain data and save it to disk using the
--dataDirectoryoption:ethereum-cli --dataDirectory /path/to/datastore.
- Start a full node service using
systemdor another service manager, pointing to theethcontainer in the data directory.
Conclusion
In this article, we have explained how to query all UTXOs associated with an Ethereum address from a full node running on a Raspberry Pi. Using the eth-utxos command line tool is simple and provides an easy way to retrieve UTXO metadata. The eth-get-unspent-outputs command provides additional functionality, such as retrieving UTXO amounts in ETH.
Remember to protect your data using strong passwords, encryption, and access controls. Happy learning!
