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# Read and Inspect Blocks

## Overview

[`block.get`](/docs/actions/public/block/get) reads a block by number, hash, or tag. Related Actions
return the block's receipts and transaction count without requiring applications to issue and decode
raw RPC requests.

## Recipes

These recipes assume you have [set up a Client](/docs) with [`publicActions`](/docs/actions/public).

### Read the Latest Block

Request full transaction objects only when the application needs them.

:::code-group
```ts twoslash [example.ts]
import { client } from './viem.config'

const block = await client.block.get({
  includeTransactions: true, // [!code focus]
})
```

```ts twoslash [viem.config.ts] filename="viem.config.ts"
// [!include ~/snippets/docs/public.config.ts:setup]
```
:::

### Read a Finalized Block

Use a block tag when the workflow needs a particular finality level.

:::code-group
```ts twoslash [example.ts]
import { client } from './viem.config'

const block = await client.block.get({ blockTag: 'finalized' }) // [!code focus]
```

```ts twoslash [viem.config.ts] filename="viem.config.ts"
// [!include ~/snippets/docs/public.config.ts:setup]
```
:::

### Inspect Receipts and Counts

Use [`block.getReceipts`](/docs/actions/public/block/getReceipts) and
[`block.getTransactionCount`](/docs/actions/public/block/getTransactionCount) for block-level
processing.

:::code-group
```ts twoslash [example.ts]
import { client } from './viem.config'

const blockNumber = 20_000_000n

const receipts = await client.block.getReceipts({ blockNumber }) // [!code focus]
const count = await client.block.getTransactionCount({ blockNumber }) // [!code focus]
```

```ts twoslash [viem.config.ts] filename="viem.config.ts"
// [!include ~/snippets/docs/public.config.ts:setup]
```
:::

## Best Practices

### Identify Blocks by Hash

Store the block hash with processed data. A number can refer to a different block after a chain
reorganization.

### Request Only Needed Data

Full transactions and all receipts can make block responses large. Prefer hashes and targeted
transaction reads when processing a small subset.

## See More

<Cards>
  <Card icon="lucide:radio" title="Watch & Simulate Blocks" description="React to new heads or model future block state." to="/docs/guides/blocks-events/watch-simulate" />

  <Card icon="lucide:scroll-text" title="Query Logs" description="Read event activity over a block range." to="/docs/guides/blocks-events/logs" />
</Cards>