How to view latest block number of a geth node in the console?

Question

How to get information about the state of the blockchain on a geth node?

There are mentions of admin.chainSyncStatus in the documentation, but it is undefined on my 1.4.0 node. The admin.nodeInfo shows a hash for the head block, but not the number.

This information is sort-of available in the log, but that is not an answer.

score 27 · Accepted Answer · answered May 09 '16 at 17:25

27

eth.blockNumber will give the most recent block your node has processed.

eth.syncing gives more information, like what the estimated highest current block is.

var sync = web3.eth.syncing; 
console.log(sync);
 /* { startingBlock: 300, currentBlock: 312, highestBlock: 512 } */

answered May 09 '16 at 17:25

Tjaden Hess

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Now-a-days, one should console.log("Syncing is " + await web3.eth.isSyncing()); and await web3.eth.getBlockNumber(). – lmat - Reinstate Monica Jan 09 '21 at 14:32

BokkyPooBah · Answer 2 · 2016-05-09T23:31:37.480

12

You can use eth.blockNumber as shown below:

> eth.blockNumber
1486570

Source: Ethereum Wiki - JavaScript API.

Referring to @Tjaden Hess's answer,

When geth has not started syncing yet:

> var sync = web3.eth.syncing; 
undefined
> console.log(sync);
false

After geth has started syncing:

> var sync = web3.eth.syncing; 
undefined
> console.log(sync);
[object Object]
undefined
> sync
{
  currentBlock: 1486592,
  highestBlock: 1488447,
  startingBlock: 1486592
}

edited May 09 '16 at 23:31

answered May 09 '16 at 16:02

BokkyPooBah

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Sometimes highestBlock returns: undefined maybe 100 times in a loop until it is able to return a valid number, is it normal? Please note that geth is syncing. @BokkyPooBah – alper Apr 19 '17 at 05:57

How to view latest block number of a geth node in the console?

2 Answers2

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