Explore EVM chains from your terminal.
One API key for balances, transactions, tokens, contracts, logs, gas, stats, and more.

Install · Get started · Examples · Command reference · API documentation

The official command-line client and interactive explorer for the Etherscan V2 API. Use it interactively, pipe clean JSON into scripts, export transactions to CSV, or give an AI agent a predictable interface to on-chain data.

• Explore interactively — browse endpoints, fill parameters, switch chains, and inspect results without memorizing commands.
• Use one multichain interface — query Ethereum and supported EVM chains by name or chain ID.
• Work with humans or machines — read tables in a terminal or emit clean JSON and CSV for automation.
• Reach broad API coverage — access accounts, contracts, tokens, logs, blocks, gas, stats, name tags, and proxy methods, with automatic pagination for list endpoints.

Prebuilt releases support macOS, Linux, and Windows on amd64 and arm64. After installing with any persistent method, run etherscan version to verify that the binary is on your PATH.

brew install etherscan/etherscan-cli/etherscan
etherscan version

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/etherscan/etherscan-cli/master/scripts/install.sh | sh

The script selects the correct amd64 or arm64 archive, verifies its SHA-256 checksum, installs to ~/.local/bin by default, and adds that directory to your shell profile when needed. Open a new terminal if etherscan is not immediately available. Run the installer with --help to see version, install-directory, and PATH options.

Run in PowerShell:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/etherscan/etherscan-cli/master/scripts/install.ps1 | iex

Or from Command Prompt:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/etherscan/etherscan-cli/master/scripts/install.ps1 | iex"

The installer selects the correct x64 or arm64 archive, verifies its SHA-256 checksum, installs to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Etherscan\bin by default, and adds that directory to your user PATH. Open a new terminal if etherscan is not immediately available.

Go 1.25 or newer is required.

go install github.com/etherscan/etherscan-cli/cmd/etherscan@latest

Ensure your Go binary directory (GOBIN, or GOPATH/bin by default) is on PATH.

Download the archive for your operating system and architecture plus checksums.txt from GitHub Releases. Verify the archive's SHA-256 checksum, extract it, and place etherscan (or etherscan.exe) on your PATH.

Create an API key in your Etherscan API dashboard. One Etherscan V2 key works across supported chains, subject to your API plan.

Validate and save the key locally, then confirm the active identity:

etherscan login
etherscan whoami

For CI or a temporary shell session, set ETHERSCAN_API_KEY instead of saving the key.

macOS or Linux:

export ETHERSCAN_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"

PowerShell:

$env:ETHERSCAN_API_KEY = "YOUR_API_KEY"

Command Prompt:

set "ETHERSCAN_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY"

etherscan account balance 0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045

Run etherscan tui to open the full-screen endpoint explorer:

etherscan tui

The explorer can be opened before authentication and asks you to validate and save a key when you submit an API-backed endpoint. Running etherscan with no command prints the Quick Start guide.

# Recent normal transactions
etherscan account txlist 0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045 --page 1 --offset 10

# ERC-20 transfers as JSON
etherscan account tokentx 0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045 --json

# Collect multiple pages for analysis
etherscan account txlist 0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045 --all --max-pages 50 --csv

# WETH contract ABI and verified source metadata
etherscan contract getabi 0xC02aaA39b223FE8D0A0e5C4F27eAD9083C756Cc2
etherscan contract getsourcecode 0xC02aaA39b223FE8D0A0e5C4F27eAD9083C756Cc2 --json

# Chain names and numeric IDs both work
etherscan --chain base gastracker oracle
etherscan --chain 8453 account balance 0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045

# See every chain built into this release
etherscan chains list

# Clean JSON for jq, Python, or an AI agent
etherscan account txlist 0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045 --json --compact | jq '.[0]'

# CSV for spreadsheets and data pipelines
etherscan account tokentx 0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045 --csv > token-transfers.csv

Tables are the default. API results are written to stdout; progress messages, warnings, diagnostics, and errors go to stderr so stdout remains suitable for pipelines and redirection.

If --all reaches --max-pages, the CLI prints a warning to stderr and the result may be truncated. Increase the limit or narrow the request with supported filters when you need more results.

Every command includes built-in parameter and usage help:

etherscan --help
etherscan account txlist --help
etherscan contract verify --help

Authentication is resolved in this order: --api-key for the current command, ETHERSCAN_API_KEY, then the key saved by etherscan login.

etherscan login and the TUI key-setup prompt store the key as plaintext in $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/etherscan/config.toml when XDG_CONFIG_HOME is set, or ~/.etherscan/config.toml otherwise. The directory and file are created with restrictive permissions where the operating system supports them. Treat this file as a secret, never commit API keys, and prefer the environment variable or --api-key for CI and temporary sessions.

etherscan logout removes only the saved key. If ETHERSCAN_API_KEY is set, it remains active until you unset it in that shell or environment.

Manage non-secret defaults with:

etherscan config list
etherscan config set default_chain=base
etherscan config set default_output=json

For the active chain, --chain takes precedence over ETHERSCAN_CHAIN, which takes precedence over default_chain in the configuration file.

Update through the same channel used to install the CLI:

Use the channel-specific command above rather than mixing update mechanisms. etherscan update is intended for Homebrew and installer-script installations.

Generate completion for bash, zsh, fish, or PowerShell, then load or save the output according to your shell's completion setup:

etherscan completion bash
etherscan completion zsh
etherscan completion fish
etherscan completion powershell

Go 1.25 or newer is required to build the CLI.

# Run the Go test suite
go test ./...

# Build the CLI
go build -o etherscan ./cmd/etherscan

Installer changes can be checked with sh scripts/test-install.sh on macOS/Linux or ./scripts/test-install.ps1 in PowerShell on Windows.

Endpoint, chain, and plan availability can differ. The Etherscan documentation is authoritative for supported chains, rate limits, PRO endpoints, parameters, responses, and API errors.

Report CLI bugs and feature requests in GitHub Issues. For API-key, account, billing, or endpoint-support questions, use the Etherscan support form.

MIT