rpc-transport

Development

Choose and configure JSON-RPC transports in Nethereum. Use when the user asks about HTTP vs WebSocket, IPC connections, SystemTextJson AOT transport, or transport selection.

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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/Nethereum/Nethereum/blob/HEAD/plugins/nethereum-skills/skills/rpc-transport/SKILL.md

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RPC Transport Selection

Transport Options

Transport	Package	Streaming	AOT	Use Case
HTTP	`Nethereum.JsonRpc.RpcClient`	No	No	General-purpose
SystemTextJson HTTP	`Nethereum.JsonRpc.SystemTextJsonRpcClient`	No	Yes	AOT, trimming, .NET 7+
WebSocket	`Nethereum.JsonRpc.WebSocketStreamingClient`	Yes	No	Subscriptions, real-time
IPC	`Nethereum.JsonRpc.IpcClient`	No	No	Local node, lowest latency

HTTP (Default)

var web3 = new Web3("https://mainnet.infura.io/v3/YOUR_KEY");

SystemTextJson HTTP (AOT)

Two clients in Nethereum.JsonRpc.SystemTextJsonRpcClient:

SimpleRpcClient — zero-config, built-in source-generated JSON context
RpcClient — full-featured (custom HttpClient, logging, auth headers)

Note: Both this package and the default Newtonsoft package have a class named RpcClient. The using directive determines which one: using Nethereum.JsonRpc.SystemTextJsonRpcClient; for STJ, using Nethereum.JsonRpc.Client; for Newtonsoft.

using Nethereum.JsonRpc.SystemTextJsonRpcClient;
var client = new SimpleRpcClient("https://eth.drpc.org");
var web3 = new Web3(client);

var balance = await web3.Eth.GetBalance
    .SendRequestAsync("0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc454e4438f44e");

var block = await web3.Eth.Blocks.GetBlockWithTransactionsByNumber
    .SendRequestAsync(BlockParameter.CreateLatest());

// ERC20 typed service works with SystemTextJson too
var tokenBalance = await web3.Eth.ERC20
    .GetContractService("0x9f8f72aa9304c8b593d555f12ef6589cc3a579a2")
    .BalanceOfQueryAsync("0x8ee7d9235e01e6b42345120b5d270bdb763624c7");
Console.WriteLine(Web3.Convert.FromWei(tokenBalance, 18));

WebSocket Streaming

using Nethereum.JsonRpc.WebSocketStreamingClient;
var client = new StreamingWebSocketClient("wss://...");
await client.StartAsync();

WebSocket for Normal RPC Calls

Use a WebSocket connection for standard (non-subscription) RPC calls:

using Nethereum.RPC.Reactive.Eth;

var ethGetBalance = new EthGetBalanceObservableHandler(client);
ethGetBalance.GetResponseAsObservable()
    .Subscribe(balance => Console.WriteLine(quot;Balance: {balance.Value}"));
await ethGetBalance.SendRequestAsync("0x742d35cc6634c0532925a3b844bc454e4438f44e",
    BlockParameter.CreateLatest());

var ethBlockNumber = new EthBlockNumberObservableHandler(client);
ethBlockNumber.GetResponseAsObservable()
    .Subscribe(block => Console.WriteLine(quot;Block: {block.Value}"));
await ethBlockNumber.SendRequestAsync();

IPC

using Nethereum.JsonRpc.IpcClient;
var client = new IpcClient("/home/user/.ethereum/geth.ipc"); // Linux
var client = new IpcClient(@"\\.\pipe\geth.ipc"); // Windows
var web3 = new Web3(client);

Decision Guide

HTTP: Default choice, works everywhere, hosted providers
SystemTextJson: Required for Native AOT / trimming
WebSocket: Need eth_subscribe (blocks, pending txs, logs)
IPC: Running own node, maximum throughput