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What Are Archive Requests?

Archive requests are RPC calls that query historical blockchain state beyond what a standard full node retains. They allow you to access data from any point in the blockchain’s history.

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Full Nodes vs Archive Nodes

FeatureFull NodeArchive Node
Recent StateYesYes
Historical StateLimited (~128 blocks)Complete
Storage Required~1 TB~15+ TB
Query Any BlockNoYes

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When You Need Archive Access

You need an archive node when:
  • Querying balances at historical block numbers
  • Reading contract storage from past blocks
  • Analyzing historical state for analytics
  • Debugging past transactions with state context

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Archive-Dependent Methods

These methods require archive access when querying historical blocks:
MethodArchive Required When
eth_getBalanceBlock parameter is not latest
eth_getCodeBlock parameter is not latest
eth_getStorageAtBlock parameter is not latest
eth_callBlock parameter is not latest

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Example

// This requires archive access (historical block)
{
  "method": "eth_getBalance",
  "params": ["0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045", "0xF4240"]
}

// This works on full nodes (latest block)
{
  "method": "eth_getBalance",
  "params": ["0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045", "latest"]
}

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Archive Support on Moralis

Moralis RPC Nodes include archive access on all plans. You can query any historical block without additional configuration.

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Best Practices

  • Use latest when you don’t need historical data
  • Cache historical queries when possible (they’re immutable)
  • Be aware archive queries may have slightly higher latency