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Archive data

Archive data is data on the blockchain that is older than 128 blocks.

Infura provides free access to archive data on Ethereum and most networks. Infura provides access to full nodes and archive nodes.

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Archive data is automatically enabled and no further action is required by the user.

Full nodes​

Full nodes maintain the current state of the blockchain and are responsible for providing data on request and executing smart contract transactions.

Full nodes store enough data to recalculate the chain in the event of a chain reorg. Beyond that, full nodes prune their data; only storing the data required for verifying transactions older than 128 blocks.

Pruning conserves disk space and helps with node sync time, thus reducing storage and computation costs. However, a pruned node cannot serve API requests for certain RPC methods older than 128 blocks.

Archive nodes​

Data older than 128 blocks are stored on archive nodes on the blockchain. These are full nodes running in archive mode.

Only an archive node can serve API requests for certain RPC methods older than 128 blocks. The Ethereum JSON-RPC and Websocket APIs include several methods which require access to an archive node.

Methods requiring archive data​

Requests for data older than the most recent 128 blocks require access to archive data.

The following methods include a parameter for specifying a block number for the request.

  • eth_getBalance
  • eth_getCode
  • eth_getTransactionCount
  • eth_getStorageAt
  • eth_call

Rate limits​

Infura applies rate limits to ensure network efficiency.

Requests for Ethereum archive data are more expensive and are therefore subject to different rate limits.

Free plan

  • 25,000 archive requests per day.
  • 100,000 total requests per day.

Rate limits kick in on archive requests after 25,000 per day. 75,000 standard requests are still available after this point.

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If you need more archive requests, upgrade to the developer plan.

Developer plan

  • 100,000 archive requests per day.
  • 200,000 total requests per day.

Rate limits kick in on archive requests after 100,000 per day. 100,000 standard requests are still available after this point.

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If you need more archive requests, upgrade to the growth plan.

Custom, team, and growth plans​

No change. Same as a standard request.