Blocks1 CU

eth_blockNumber on Arbitrum One

Returns the latest block height the node has synced. The cheapest and most common health/poll call — used to confirm an endpoint is live and at chain tip.

Because it only reads the head, it's the ideal liveness/lag probe: poll it and compare against a second source to catch a stalled or forked node. It takes no block tag and answers instantly even on pruned nodes.

Arbitrum One endpoint (public — no key)

https://rpc.nodeflare.app/arb/public

Method

eth_blockNumber

Cost

1 CU

Chain ID

42161

Block time

~250 ms

Finality

<1 s sequencer · L1-final ~13 min

Blocks on Arbitrum One

Arbitrum produces blocks on demand, as fast as ~250 ms apart — the fastest cadence of any chain we serve. block.number is the L2 block; a single day can span hundreds of thousands of blocks.

Parameters

None.

cURL

curl https://rpc.nodeflare.app/arb/public \
  -X POST \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_blockNumber","params":[],"id":1}'

ethers.js

import { ethers } from 'ethers';

const provider = new ethers.JsonRpcProvider(
  'https://rpc.nodeflare.app/arb/public'
);

const result = await provider.send('eth_blockNumber', []);

Try it live

Runs the example above against the public Arbitrum One endpoint — straight from your browser.

eth_blockNumber on Arbitrum One — FAQ

How do I call eth_blockNumber on Arbitrum One?

POST a JSON-RPC 2.0 request with "method": "eth_blockNumber" to NodeFlare's Arbitrum One endpoint at https://rpc.nodeflare.app/arb/public. No API key is required for the public endpoint.

What does eth_blockNumber cost on the free tier?

eth_blockNumber is weighted at 1 compute unit per call. The free tier includes 2,000,000 CU/month, so that is roughly 2,000,000 eth_blockNumber calls per month — no credit card.

Is eth_blockNumber available on the public Arbitrum One endpoint?

Yes. eth_blockNumber works on the public Arbitrum One endpoint (https://rpc.nodeflare.app/arb/public) with no API key, rate-limited per IP. A free key adds higher limits and a dedicated path.

Anything Arbitrum One-specific to know when using eth_blockNumber?

Arbitrum produces blocks on demand, as fast as ~250 ms apart — the fastest cadence of any chain we serve. block.number is the L2 block; a single day can span hundreds of thousands of blocks.

Call eth_blockNumber on Arbitrum One with a free key

2,000,000 compute units/month, heavy methods unlocked, every chain included. No credit card.

Get your free API key →