Minichain provides several commands for exploring blockchain state and history. These allow you to inspect blocks, transactions, and account data.
Available Commands While Minichain doesn’t have a dedicated explore subcommand implementation, you can use these commands to browse the chain:
block list Browse recent blocks
block info View block details and transactions
account info Inspect account state and balances
account balance Query account balances
List Blocks Browse the blockchain from most recent to oldest.
minichain block list [--count < N > ]
Example: cargo run --release -- block list --count 20
Output: Recent Blocks: #19 0x9f3a6c2e8d5b... (4 txs) #18 0x7d4b8f2a5c9e... (2 txs) #17 0x5c1e9f3a6d8b... (1 txs) #16 0x3a8d5f2c9e1b... (3 txs) #15 0x1f7c4e9a2d6b... (0 txs) ... #0 0x8e5d2f9a1c6b... (0 txs)
This provides a quick overview of:
Block height - Sequential block numberBlock hash - Truncated Blake3 hashTransaction count - Number of transactions in the block
Empty blocks (0 txs) can occur when authorities produce blocks without pending transactions. They still advance the chain height and timestamp.
Block Details View comprehensive information about a specific block.
minichain block info < HEIGHT_OR_HAS H >
Query by Height cargo run --release -- block info 15
Output: Block Information: Height: 15 Hash: 0x1f7c4e9a2d6b3f8c5e1a7d9f2c4b8e6a... Parent Hash: 0x3a8d5f2c9e1b4f7a6c9e2d5f8a1c4e7b... State Root: 0x5c1e9f3a6d8b2f4a7c9e2d5f8a1c4e7b... Timestamp: 1709740125 Transactions: 0
Query by Hash minichain block info 0x1f7c4e9a2d6b3f8c5e1a7d9f2c4b8e6a...
Returns the same information. The CLI automatically detects whether you provided a height (integer) or hash (hex string).
Block with Transactions For blocks containing transactions:
Output: Block Information: Height: 14 Hash: 0x3a8d5f2c9e1b4f7a6c9e2d5f8a1c4e7b... Parent Hash: 0x5c1e9f3a6d8b2f4a7c9e2d5f8a1c4e7b... State Root: 0x7d4b8f2a5c9e1b3f6a8d2c5e9f1a4b7c... Timestamp: 1709740120 Transactions: 3 Transactions: 1. 0x9f3a6c2e8d5b... 2. 0x7d4b8f2a5c9e... 3. 0x5c1e9f3a6d8b...
Each transaction is listed with its hash (truncated).
Currently, Minichain doesn’t provide a tx info command to view individual transaction details. To inspect a transaction, you need to examine the block that contains it.
Account State Inspect detailed account information including balance, nonce, and contract code.
minichain account info < ADDRES S >
Regular Account minichain account info 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e
Output: Account Information: Address: 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e Balance: 28700 Nonce: 5 Is Contract: No
This shows:
Balance - Current token balanceNonce - Number of transactions sent (important for transaction ordering)Is Contract - Whether this account contains code
Contract Account minichain account info 0xa7b3c9e5d1f4a8c2b6e9d2f5a8c1e4b7
Output: Account Information: Address: 0xa7b3c9e5d1f4a8c2b6e9d2f5a8c1e4b7 Balance: 150 Nonce: 0 Is Contract: Yes Code Hash: 0x8f2a5c9e1d4b7f3a6c9e2d5f8a1c4e7b...
Contract accounts include:
Code Hash - Blake3 hash of the contract bytecodeBalance - Contracts can hold tokensNonce - Usually 0 (contracts don’t send transactions directly)
Contract storage is not visible via CLI commands. To inspect contract storage values, you need to call the contract with code that reads and returns storage slots.
Check Balances Quickly check an account’s balance without full details.
minichain account balance < ADDRES S >
Example: minichain account balance 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e
Output: Address: 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e Balance: 28700
This is useful for quickly verifying token balances during development and testing.
Exploration Workflow Here’s a typical exploration session:
# 1. See the current chain height and recent activity minichain block list # Output: # #15 0x1f7c4e9a2d6b... (0 txs) # #14 0x3a8d5f2c9e1b... (3 txs) # #13 0x5c1e9f3a6d8b... (1 txs) # 2. Examine an interesting block (one with transactions) minichain block info 14 # Output: # Transactions: 3 # 1. 0x9f3a6c2e8d5b... # 2. 0x7d4b8f2a5c9e... # 3. 0x5c1e9f3a6d8b... # 3. Check account states affected by those transactions minichain account info 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a... # Output: # Balance: 28700 # Nonce: 5 minichain account info 0x8d2c5e9f1a4b7c3d... # Output: # Balance: 150 # Nonce: 0 # 4. Verify genesis block minichain block info 0 # Output: # Height: 0 # Parent Hash: 0x0000000000000000... (all zeros) # Transactions: 0
Understanding State Root The state root in each block is a merkle root of all account states:
state_root = merkle_root(all account states at this height)
This allows efficient verification that an account state is correct for a given block height.
Example: minichain block info 10 # Output: # State Root: 0x7d4b8f2a5c9e1b3f... minichain block info 11 # Output: # State Root: 0x9f3a6c2e8d5b7f1a... (different)
The state root changes whenever:
Account balances change (transfers)
Account nonces increment (transactions)
Contract storage is modified (SSTORE)
New contracts are deployed
State roots enable light client verification in future P2P implementations. Clients can verify account states without storing the full blockchain.
Genesis Block The genesis block (block 0) has special properties:
Output: Block Information: Height: 0 Hash: 0x8e5d2f9a1c6b3f7e4d8a5c2e9f1b4a6c... Parent Hash: 0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000000... State Root: 0x1f7c4e9a2d6b3f8c5e1a7d9f2c4b8e6a... Timestamp: 1709740100 Transactions: 0
Note:
Parent Hash - All zeros (no previous block)Height - Always 0Transactions - Empty (no transactions before genesis)
The genesis block establishes:
Initial authority set
Starting timestamp
Empty state (all accounts start with zero balance)
Chain Continuity You can verify chain integrity by following parent hashes:
# Get block 15 minichain block info 15 # Output: # Hash: 0x1f7c4e9a2d6b... # Parent Hash: 0x3a8d5f2c9e1b... # Verify parent hash matches block 14 minichain block info 14 # Output: # Hash: 0x3a8d5f2c9e1b... (matches!) # Parent Hash: 0x5c1e9f3a6d8b... # Follow the chain back minichain block info 13 # Output: # Hash: 0x5c1e9f3a6d8b... (matches!)
This forms an immutable chain:
Genesis(0) → Block(1) → Block(2) → ... → Block(15)
Each block cryptographically links to its predecessor via the parent hash.
Account List List all locally saved keypairs:
Output: Saved Keypairs: authority_0.json: 0xf4a5e8c2b9d7f3a1e6b8c4d9f2a5e8c1 alice.json: 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e bob.json: 0x8d2c5e9f1a4b7c3d6e9f2a5c8b1d4e7f
You can then inspect each account:
minichain account info 0xf4a5e8c2b9d7f3a1e6b8c4d9f2a5e8c1 minichain account info 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e minichain account info 0x8d2c5e9f1a4b7c3d6e9f2a5c8b1d4e7f
Limitations Current exploration capabilities are limited compared to full block explorers:
❌ No transaction details command
❌ No contract storage inspection
❌ No transaction history by account
❌ No search functionality
❌ No web UI
These features could be added in future versions. For now, use the available commands to piece together blockchain state manually.
Future Enhancements Possible exploration improvements:
Transaction indexing - Query transactions by hashAccount history - List all transactions for an accountStorage inspection - View contract storage slotsEvent logs - Emit and query events from contractsWeb block explorer - Browser-based UIJSON-RPC API - Remote blockchain queries
Next Steps
Core Concepts Understand the underlying architecture
Virtual Machine Learn how transactions execute
Examples Try example contracts and workflows
API Reference Explore the Rust API