MultiChain Explorer 2

MultiChain Explorer 2 is a new blockchain browser for MultiChain blockchains.

Below are some key differences from the previous MultiChain Explorer:

• Contains no local database or state — all information comes from the node's API.
• Supports multiple blockchains simultaneously.
• No longer reads local MultiChain files, so it can run on a remote server.
• Runs on Python 3 rather than Python 2.
• Requires MultiChain 2.2 beta 3 or later with the explorersupport runtime parameter.

Requirements

• Python 3.x
• MultiChain 2.2 beta 3 or later

Installation

To install MultiChain Explorer 2 for the current user:

git clone https://github.com/MultiChain/multichain-explorer-2.git

For new blockchains

If you do not yet have a blockchain to explore, download and install MultiChain 2.2 beta 3 or later, then create and initialize a new chain as follows:

multichain-util create chain1
multichaind chain1 -daemon -explorersupport=2

You may optionally choose a name other than chain1 and adjust the blockchain parameters before running multichaind above.

For existing blockchains

To use the Explorer with an existing blockchain, upgrade one of its nodes to MultiChain 2.2 beta 3 or later, then restart it as follows:

multichaind chain1 -daemon -rescan -explorersupport=2

Substitute chain1 with the chain's name as appropriate. After the first run, the extra parameters are no longer required:

multichaind chain1 -daemon

Supporting the Explorer adds storage and processing requirements to a node. To remove Explorer support, stop the node then restart it as follows:

multichaind chain1 -daemon -rescan -explorersupport=0

As before, after this first run, the rescan and explorersupport parameters are no longer required.

Configuring the Explorer

The bundled example config file example.ini can be used as a template for your own configuration.

Explorer 2 supports multiple nodes and/or chains, whether local or remote. Each section of the .ini file describes a single node that the Explorer will retrieve information from, using that node's JSON-RPC API. The following values may be set for each node:

• name (required) – the name of the blockchain.
• datadir (optional, local nodes only) – path of the node's blockchain directory (otherwise default assumed).
• rpchost (required for remote nodes) – hostname or IP address of the node, with the http:// or https:// prefix.
• rpcport (optional for local, required for remote) – port for the node's API.
• rpcuser (optional for local, required for remote) – username for the node's API.
• rpcpassword (optional for local, required for remote) – password for the node's API.

If omitted for a local node, the rpcport, rpcuser and rpcpassword parameters are read from the multichain.conf file in the node's blockchain directory. If rpcport is not found there, the default-rpc-port value from params.dat is used.

Using the Explorer

To start, stop or check the Explorer's status, run the following command from its directory:

python3 -m explorer config.ini ( daemon | stop | status )

Substitute config.ini for the name of the .ini file you created. By default, the Explorer is started and kept in the foreground. If one of the optional commands is provided, it acts as follows:

• daemon – run the Explorer in the background.
• stop – stop the Explorer running in the background.
• status – get the Explorer's background status.

Major Releases

• Version 2.1 – December 2022 – Added search.
• Version 2.0 – June 2021 – Initial release.