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Ethereum RPC

The Ethereum RPC source connects to an Ethereum node via WebSocket RPC to subscribe to new block headers and fetch complete block data. It uses real-time subscriptions to detect new blocks as they are mined and streams them through the Oura pipeline.

Configuration

The following snippet shows an example of how to set up an Ethereum WebSocket source:

[source]
type = "ethereum-rpc"
url = "ws://localhost:8546"

Section source:

  • type: this field must be set to the literal value ethereum-rpc.
  • url: the WebSocket URL of the Ethereum RPC endpoint (required). Must use ws:// or wss:// protocol.

Connection Methods

The Ethereum source supports connections to:

  • Local Ethereum nodes via WebSocket (e.g., Geth, Erigon, Nethermind)
  • Remote RPC providers like Infura, Alchemy, or QuickNode
  • Testnet nodes (Sepolia, Holesky, etc.)

Examples

Local Ethereum Node

[source]
type = "ethereum-rpc"
url = "ws://localhost:8546"

Ethereum Mainnet via PublicNode

[source]
type = "ethereum-rpc"
url = "wss://ethereum-rpc.publicnode.com"

Ethereum Sepolia Testnet

[source]
type = "ethereum-rpc"
url = "wss://ethereum-sepolia-rpc.publicnode.com"

Local Ethereum Node with Secure WebSocket

[source]
type = "ethereum-rpc"
url = "wss://localhost:8546"

How It Works

The Ethereum source operates using a subscription-based approach:

  1. Subscription: Connects to the Ethereum node via WebSocket and subscribes to new block headers using the eth_subscribe method with newHeads parameter.

  2. Header Reception: Receives block headers in real-time as new blocks are mined and added to the chain.

  3. Block Fetching: For each header received, fetches the complete block data including all transactions using the eth_getBlockByHash method.

  4. Event Generation: Converts the block data into Oura’s internal ChainEvent::Apply format for processing by filters and sinks.

Output Events

The Ethereum source produces ChainEvent::Apply events containing parsed Ethereum block data. Each event includes:

  • Block header information (number, hash, timestamp, difficulty, etc.)
  • Complete transaction list with all transaction details
  • Gas usage and limits
  • Miner/validator information
  • Block rewards and fees

The events follow the same pattern as other Oura sources, allowing them to be processed by standard filters and sinks in the pipeline.

Provider Features

The source uses the Alloy library with the following provider fillers enabled:

  • Gas Filler: Automatically estimates gas for transactions
  • Blob Gas Filler: Handles EIP-4844 blob gas calculations
  • Nonce Filler: Manages transaction nonces
  • Chain ID Filler: Sets the appropriate chain ID for transactions

These fillers ensure complete and accurate block data is captured and processed.