net_listening | Ethereum

Ethereum API method that returns a boolean value indicating whether the client is currently listening for network connections or not. The net_listening method can be useful in many scenarios where it is important to monitor the status of an Ethereum client’s network connection to ensure that it is working properly.

​

Parameters

• none

​

Response

• boolean — a boolean value that indicates whether or not a node is currently actively seeking peer connections. true if the client is actively listening for connections, false if not.

​

net_listening code examples

const ethers = require("ethers");

// Create a ChainstackProvider instance for Ethereum mainnet
const chainstack = new ethers.ChainstackProvider("mainnet");

const isListening = async () => {
  const listen = await chainstack.send("net_listening");
  console.log(listen);
};

isListening();

​

Use case

A method like net_listening can be used to monitor the network status of the Ethereum node a developer is connecting to. Imagine a blockchain explorer where users can search for transactions, addresses, and other information on the Ethereum blockchain. In order to provide accurate information to its users, the website needs to be able to monitor the current status of its connection.

Here is an example of this implementation using the web3.js library:

const { Web3 } = require("web3");
const NODE_URL = "CHAINSTACK_NODE_URL";
const web3 = new Web3(NODE_URL);

// Create a function to monitor the node status and display information to users
async function monitorNetworkStatus() {
  try {
    // Check if the client is currently listening for network connections
    const isListening = await web3.eth.net.isListening();

    // Get the number of peers currently connected to the client
    const peerCount = await web3.eth.net.getPeerCount();

    // Log the network status information to the console
    console.log(`Network status: ${isListening ? 'Listening' : 'Not listening'} | Peers: ${peerCount}`);
  } catch (error) {
    // Handle any errors that might occur
    console.error(`Error monitoring network status: ${error}`);
  }
}

// Call the monitorNetworkStatus function at regular intervals to continuously monitor the network status
setInterval(monitorNetworkStatus, 5000); // Monitor every 5 seconds

The monitorNetworkStatus function defined in this code uses the net_listening method to check whether the Ethereum client is currently listening for network connections, and the net_peerCount method to get the number of peers currently connected to the client.

The function logs this information to the console, which could be displayed to the user in a user-friendly format on the blockchain explorer website. By calling this function at regular intervals using the setInterval function, the website can continuously monitor the node’s status and provide users with up-to-date information about the overall health of the node.