The Chain Query Bitcoin API is a completely browser-based implementation of the Bitcoin Core RPC (Remote Procedure Call) interface.
The API is very helpful in accessing full Bitcoin RPC API’s tools and data. It minimizes the user/developer effort by not installing the Bitcoin Full node (which would take several days). It also provides a list of commands for the users to explore which can be used to retrieve bitcoin data. All these commands are user-friendly and have extensive documentation with and are explained with command notes, command usage, command result which help the user to and help to understand the results of the command.
It is a platform to understand the basic implementation and attributes associated with Bitcoin. It is always good to explore any software by clearly understanding its API documentation. Chain Query offers all the commands for the users to explore and have also deprecated certain commands that can be easily abused or expensive. It is overall a good bet for users who don’t have the time and infrastructure to create their own full node. It is also a great tool for beginners who can get familiarized with the Bitcoin API and console commands.
Features:
- The API is designed with ease of use, accessibility and availability as primary goals.
- An active community which creates a platform to learn and explore Bitcoin Core for users of all knowledge levels.
- Tutorials for all things bitcoin core related using the web-based Bitcoin RPC interface.
Environment Used for Testing:
- Google Chrome browser on Ubuntu 16.04
- Brave browser on macOS High Sierra
Usage:
Step 1: Start with Chain Query Bitcoin RPC API
Step 2: Type the Command: “getblockchaininfo” The getblockchaininfo RPC provides information about the current state of the blockchain.
Step 3: Command result would provide information about the current state of the blockchain. Step 4: RPC Help would provide the details of each parameter to help a new user/developer to understand the output.
Security & Privacy:
The website mentions all the connections to Chain Query Bitcoin API are encrypted(https). They do not store any information submitted through the form on the API in any way. There is no user authentication required to use this API service and no user information would be stored in any form.
They use Clicky to track site usage and statistics. They also use cookies to set alerts in the interface and no other information is stored in cookies set.
My views:
Chain Query provides an easy way to learn the Bitcoin RPC API. In order to appreciate this web-based interface, I had made sure how hard would it be for a beginner to fire up a Bitcoin full node. To explore this, I started with the Bitcoin API documentation for creating a full node.
I spawned up an Ubuntu 16.04 on my Virtual box and thought it would like any other packages and I would be able to complete it within a couple of hours. This is a beginner’s mistake and I didn’t know about the extensive installation process. My system did not satisfy all the minimum requirements suggested by the guide. The minimum requirements are to have a high-end server, bandwidth and computing power to have your own full node. The output was “This step will take at least several days, and it may take much more time on a slow Internet connection or with a slow computer.”
This exhausting installation made me appreciate Chain Query. I could run basic to intermediate level of commands to interact with my node, starting with getblockchaininfo, getnetworkinfo, getnettotals, getwalletinfo, stop and help.
In my opinion, the potential disadvantage is the money at stake and if users would be able to trust the Chain Query interface and provide their sensitive information such as account information, transaction IDs etc. Though the developers of Chain Query have mentioned that no critical information is stored by them it would hard for any user/developer to trust the website.
References:
- Bitcoin Documentation- https://bitcoin.org/en/full-node#ubuntu-1604
- Chain Query Documentation — http://chainquery.com/bitcoin-api
- Chain Query YouTube channel — Chain Query YouTube
