web3_clientVersion

web3_clientVersion returns the version string of the software running a Base node — typically an OP Stack execution client such as op-geth, or another Geth/Erigon/Nethermind-derived build — telling you exactly which implementation and release answered your request. Base is Coinbase's OP Stack optimistic rollup that settles to Ethereum and pays gas in ETH, and because OP Stack chains run forked execution clients, the version string is a quick way to identify the node's lineage. Send the call to https://base.therpc.io/YOUR_API_KEY on chain ID 8453 (hex 0x2105) and read back the free-form string.

Use cases

• Detect the underlying Base client type and version so you can enable or disable client-specific behaviour — for example only calling txpool-namespace methods when the node reports a Geth-compatible build.
• Log the node identity during Base infrastructure diagnostics, recording which client and release served each request to help trace issues back to a specific node version.

Parameters

This method takes no parameters. Pass an empty array [].

Response

Example request

1curl https://base.therpc.io/YOUR_API_KEY \
2  -X POST \
3  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
4  -d '{
5    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
6    "method": "web3_clientVersion",
7    "params": [],
8    "id": 1
9  }'

Try it live in the Base playground.

Errors & troubleshooting

Common pitfalls

• A managed endpoint like https://base.therpc.io/YOUR_API_KEY may return a custom or redacted string instead of the raw client version, so do not assume it always exposes the exact underlying op-geth build.
• Do not rely on this string for feature detection in production. Instead of parsing the version, test whether the specific method you need actually works on the Base endpoint and handle the "method not found" error if it does not.

Supported networks

• Mainnet — Chain ID: 8453
• Sepolia — Chain ID: 84532

See also

• net_version

1curl https://base.therpc.io/YOUR_API_KEY \
2  -X POST \
3  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
4  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"web3_clientVersion","params":[]}'