Cardano API

Blockfrost's primary objective is to offer API access to the Cardano ecosystem, including not only the mainnet network, but also various testnet networks such as preview and preprod.

Cardano networks

Each distinct network not only needs its own project_id but also has a unique endpoint URL.

Network	Endpoint
Cardano mainnet	https://cardano-mainnet.blockfrost.io/api/v0/
Cardano preprod testnet	https://cardano-preprod.blockfrost.io/api/v0/
Cardano preview testnet	https://cardano-preview.blockfrost.io/api/v0/

Your first request

Blockfrost adheres to few basic key concepts and uses REST, which requires you to request a specific endpoint. Making a request to a specific endpoint the API returns the requested data, allowing you to process it according to your particular use case.

curl

export BLOCKFROST_PROJECT_ID_MAINNET=mainnetqnWuOt69v42rIes4punuD20FAsRuqnpDg4
curl -H "project_id: $BLOCKFROST_PROJECT_ID_MAINNET" https://cardano-mainnet.blockfrost.io/api/v0/epochs/latest

JavaScript

import { BlockFrostAPI } from "@blockfrost/blockfrost-js";

async function run() {
  const API = new BlockFrostAPI({
    projectId: "YOUR API KEY HERE",
  });

  try {
    const latestBlock = await API.blocksLatest();
    console.log(latestBlock);
  } catch (error) {
    console.error(error);
  }
}

run();

Other languages

There are over 15 different SDKs available for a variety of programming languages.

• blockfrost-js
• blockfrost-haskell
• blockfrost-python
• blockfrost-rust
• blockfrost-go
• blockfrost-ruby
• blockfrost-java
• blockfrost-scala
• blockfrost-swift
• blockfrost-kotlin
• blockfrost-elixir
• blockfrost-dotnet
• blockfrost-arduino
• blockfrost-php
• blockfrost-crystal

When executed correctly, you will receive a response in JSON format, like so:

{
  "time": 1641338934,
  "height": 15243593,
  "hash": "4ea1ba291e8eef538635a53e59fddba7810d1679631cc3aed7c8e6c4091a516a",
  "slot": 412162133,
  "epoch": 425,
  "epoch_slot": 12,
  "slot_leader": "pool1pu5jlj4q9w9jlxeu370a3c9myx47md5j5m2str0naunn2qnikdy",
  "size": 3,
  "tx_count": 1,
  "output": "128314491794",
  "fees": "592661",
  "block_vrf": "vrf_vk1wf2k6lhujezqcfe00l6zetxpnmh9n6mwhpmhm0dvfh3fxgmdnrfqkms8ty",
  "op_cert": "da905277534faf75dae41732650568af545134ee08a3c0392dbefc8096ae177c",
  "op_cert_counter": "18",
  "previous_block": "43ebccb3ac72c7cebd0d9b755a4b08412c9f5dcb81b8a0ad1e3c197d29d47b05",
  "next_block": "8367f026cf4b03e116ff8ee5daf149b55ba5a6ec6dec04803b8dc317721d15fa",
  "confirmations": 4698
}

To learn more about different endpoints, have a look at the official Blockfrost documentation.