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How to Access Stacks Mempool

Easily Retrieve and Analyze Pending Transactions on the Stacks Network

Kamaldeen Sulyman's photo
Kamaldeen Sulyman
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5 min read

How to Access Stacks Mempool

Table of contents

Overview

Stacks, a blockchain that brings smart contracts and decentralized applications to Bitcoin, relies on a unique transaction processing system. When a transaction is sent on the Stacks network, it is initially held in a temporary storage area known as the Mempool before being confirmed and added to a block. Accessing the Mempool can provide valuable insights into pending transactions, allowing developers to monitor network activity and optimize their applications. This guide will demonstrate how to query a node’s Mempool using QuickNode Stacks nodes.

What is Stacks Mempool?

The Stacks Mempool is a critical component of the Stacks blockchain network. It is a temporary storage area where unconfirmed transactions reside after being broadcast to the network and before they are included in a block. The Mempool acts as a holding area for all transactions waiting to be confirmed by miners.

  • Transaction Holding: The Mempool temporarily holds transactions that have not yet been confirmed and added to a block. Each node on the Stacks network maintains its own Mempool, which may vary slightly in content based on the transactions received and processed by each node.

  • Priority Management: Transactions in the Mempool are prioritized based on their fee rates. Higher-fee transactions are more likely to be picked up and confirmed by miners, making fee estimation important for timely transaction processing.

What is the Use of Stacks Mempool?

The Stacks Mempool serves several important functions for both the network and its users:

  • Monitoring Transactions: Developers and users can view pending transactions in the Mempool to track their status before confirmation. This helps in understanding transaction flow and detecting any potential delays.

  • Fee Optimization: By analyzing the transactions in the Mempool, users can determine the current network congestion and adjust their transaction fees to ensure faster confirmations. This helps in optimizing transaction costs and speeds.

  • Network Analysis: The Mempool provides insights into the overall activity and health of the Stacks network. A large number of pending transactions might indicate high network activity or congestion, while a smaller Mempool suggests lower activity levels.

Setting Up QuickNode for Stacks

To access the Stacks Mempool, you'll need to set up a QuickNode Stacks endpoint. QuickNode provides reliable and efficient access to blockchain data, making it an ideal choice for interacting with the Stacks network.

If you don't already have a QuickNode account, sign up at QuickNode. After creating your account, follow the steps to create a new Stacks endpoint.

  1. Access the Dashboard: After logging in, you’ll be directed to the QuickNode dashboard.

  2. Create an Endpoint:

    • Click on the "Create Endpoint" button.

      QuickNodeWhat Are Stacks Transactions?

    • Select "Stacks" from the list of supported blockchains.

      What Are Stacks Transactions?

    • Select the network and click Continue

    • What Are Stacks Transactions?

      Name your endpoint and configure any additional settings as needed.

  3. Deploy the Endpoint: Once configuring your endpoint, click "Create Endpoint." QuickNode will take a few moments to deploy your Stacks RPC endpoint.

  4. Copy Endpoint URL: After deployment, you’ll be provided with an endpoint URL. Copy this URL as you’ll need it to connect to the Stacks network.

Querying the Mempool

With your QuickNode Stacks endpoint set up, you can now query the Mempool to access pending transactions. Here’s how you can do it:

Step 1: Prepare Your Environment

Ensure you have curl installed on your system, or use a similar HTTP client to make requests. You can also use a JavaScript environment with the node-fetch library if you prefer.

Step 2: Query the Mempool

Use the following curl command to query the Mempool and retrieve information about pending transactions:

curl -X 'GET' \
  'https://YOUR_QUICKNODE_STACKS_ENDPOINT/extended/v1/tx/mempool' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json'

Replace 'https://YOUR_QUICKNODE_STACKS_ENDPOINT' with the URL of your QuickNode Stacks endpoint. This command sends a GET request to the QuickNode API, which returns data about transactions currently in the Mempool.

Explanation

  • curl: This is a command-line tool used for transferring data using various network protocols. It's commonly used for making HTTP requests from the terminal or command line.

  • -X 'GET': This option specifies the HTTP method to use for the request. In this case, 'GET' indicates that you want to retrieve data from the server. The GET method is used when you want to request data from a specified resource without making any modifications.

  • 'https://YOUR_QUICKNODE_STACKS_ENDPOINT/extended/v1/tx/mempool': This is the URL endpoint where the request is being sent. Replace 'YOUR_QUICKNODE_STACKS_ENDPOINT' with your actual QuickNode Stacks endpoint URL. The path '/extended/v1/tx/mempool' specifies that you are querying the mempool on the Stacks network to retrieve information about transactions that are pending confirmation.

  • -H 'Content-Type: application/json': This option sets an HTTP header for the request. The -H flag is used to specify headers, and in this case, the 'Content-Type: application/json' header indicates that the response content type expected is JSON. This tells the server to return the response data in JSON format, which is standard for APIs and easy to parse programmatically.

The output should look like this:

This can be beneficial for monitoring the mempool, tracking individual transactions, developing trading bots, and a variety of other applications.

Conclusion

Accessing the Stacks Mempool provides developers with valuable information about pending transactions and network activity. By setting up a QuickNode Stacks endpoint and querying the Mempool, you can monitor transactions, estimate fees, and understand network health. With these insights, you can optimize your applications and improve user experience on the Stacks blockchain.

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