RPC method

eth_subscribe on Flare

Supported on SwiftNodes

Everything below was measured on 2026-10-13 by calling eth_subscribe on Flare through the same endpoint customers use, and is re-measured weekly.

What eth_subscribe does

Opens a subscription over WebSocket: newHeads pushes each new block header, logs pushes matching events, and newPendingTransactions pushes mempool transaction hashes where the node exposes them. It replaces polling, and it only works over WebSocket, not HTTP.

eth_subscribe on Flare: what we measured

newHeadssupported
First header after subscribing798 ms
Median gap between headers1.2 s
Headers in 15 seconds11
logssupported
newPendingTransactionssupported

What this means on Flare

Headers pushed over WebSocket are not identical to eth_getBlockByNumber over HTTP on Flare. Only the HTTP block has blockExtraData, size, totalDifficulty. Fetch the block over HTTP if you need those fields.

Subscriptions end when the connection drops. Reconnect with backoff and, after reconnecting, fetch the blocks you missed with eth_getBlockByNumber.

Example request

wscat -c "wss://rpc.swiftnodes.io/ws/flare?key=YOUR_API_KEY"
> {"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"eth_subscribe","params":["newHeads"]}
import { createPublicClient, webSocket } from "viem";

const client = createPublicClient({
  transport: webSocket("wss://rpc.swiftnodes.io/ws/flare?key=YOUR_API_KEY", { reconnect: true }),
});

const unwatch = client.watchBlocks({
  onBlock: (block) => console.log(block.number, block.hash),
});

// Events from one contract, pushed as they are mined
client.watchContractEvent({ address: token, abi: erc20Abi, eventName: "Transfer", onLogs: (logs) => console.log(logs) });

Other methods on Flare

eth_subscribe on other chains

Frequently asked questions

Does Flare support eth_subscribe?

Yes. eth_subscribe answered on the SwiftNodes Flare endpoint when our weekly probe called it through the customer path (2026-10-13).

Does Flare support WebSocket subscriptions?

Yes. newHeads and logs worked through wss://rpc.swiftnodes.io/ws/flare on 2026-10-13.

Can I watch the Flare mempool?

newPendingTransactions is supported.

Flare endpoints, live block height and WebSocket status are on the Flare RPC page.

One key covers every chain we serve, and SwiftNodes has a free tier.