Utility RPC Methods

Validation, signing, and utility functions for Bitcoin Core RPC interface

Utility RPC Methods

Utility RPCs provide various helper functions including address validation, message signing, descriptor utilities, and fee estimation.

Address Validation

validateaddress

Validates a Bitcoin address and returns information about it.

bitcoin-cli validateaddress "bc1qar0srrr7xfkvy5l643lydnw9re59gtzzwf5mdq"

isvalid · boolean

Whether address is valid

address · string

The validated bitcoin address

scriptPubKey · string

Hex-encoded scriptPubKey

isscript · boolean

Whether address is a script address

iswitness · boolean

Whether address is a witness address

witness_version · number

Witness version (0 for P2WPKH/P2WSH, 1 for P2TR)

witness_program · string

Hex-encoded witness program

This RPC only validates the address format. For wallet-specific information (like ownership), use the wallet’s getaddressinfo RPC.

Message Signing

signmessagewithprivkey

Signs a message with a private key.

bitcoin-cli signmessagewithprivkey "privkey" "my message"

result · string

Base64-encoded signature

Never expose private keys. This RPC is primarily for testing. For wallet-managed keys, use the wallet’s signmessage RPC.

verifymessage

Verifies a signed message.

bitcoin-cli verifymessage "bc1q..." "signature" "my message"

result · boolean

Whether signature is valid

Descriptor Utilities

getdescriptorinfo

Analyzes a descriptor and returns information about it.

bitcoin-cli getdescriptorinfo "wpkh([d34db33f/84h/0h/0h]xpub6ERApfZwUNrhLCkDtcHTcxd75RbzS1ed54G1LkBUHQVHQKqhMkhgbmJbZRkrgZw4koxb5JaHWkY4ALHY2grBGRjaDMzQLcgJvLJuZZvRcEL/0/*)"

descriptor · string

Canonical descriptor with computed checksum

checksum · string

Checksum for the descriptor

isrange · boolean

Whether descriptor is ranged

issolvable · boolean

Whether descriptor is solvable

hasprivatekeys · boolean

Whether descriptor has private keys

deriveaddresses

Derives addresses from a descriptor.

# Derive single address
bitcoin-cli deriveaddresses "wpkh([d34db33f/84h/0h/0h]xpub.../0/*)#checksum" 0

# Derive range of addresses
bitcoin-cli deriveaddresses "wpkh([d34db33f/84h/0h/0h]xpub.../0/*)#checksum" "[0,2]"

result · array

Array of derived Bitcoin addresses

Fee Estimation

estimatesmartfee

Estimates the fee rate needed for confirmation within target blocks.

# Estimate fee for confirmation in 6 blocks
bitcoin-cli estimatesmartfee 6

# Economical estimate
bitcoin-cli estimatesmartfee 6 "economical"

feerate · number

Estimated fee rate in BTC/kvB

blocks · number

Block number where estimate was found

errors · array

Array of error messages (if any)

Fee estimation requires the node to have observed sufficient transaction history. New nodes may not have enough data for accurate estimates.

Data Encoding

createrawtransaction

Creates a raw transaction (hex-encoded).

# Create transaction
bitcoin-cli createrawtransaction \
  '[{"txid":"mytxid","vout":0}]' \
  '{"bc1q...": 0.01}'

result · string

Hex-encoded raw transaction

decoderawtransaction

Decodes a raw transaction to JSON.

bitcoin-cli decoderawtransaction "020000000001..."

Returns detailed transaction object with all inputs, outputs, and metadata.

decodescript

Decodes a hex-encoded script.

bitcoin-cli decodescript "76a914..."

asm · string

Script assembly representation

type · string

Script type (e.g., pubkeyhash, scripthash, witness_v0_keyhash)

reqSigs · number

Required signatures (deprecated)

addresses · array

Array of bitcoin addresses (deprecated)

p2sh · string

P2SH address for this script

segwit · object

Segwit-specific information

PSBT Utilities

decodepsbt

Decodes a PSBT (Partially Signed Bitcoin Transaction) to JSON.

bitcoin-cli decodepsbt "cHNidP8BAH..."

Returns detailed PSBT structure including:

• Transaction details
• Input metadata (UTXOs, signatures, derivation paths)
• Output metadata
• Unknown fields

combinepsbt

Combines multiple PSBTs into one.

bitcoin-cli combinepsbt '["psbt1", "psbt2"]'

result · string

Combined PSBT (base64)

finalizepsbt

Finalizes a PSBT if possible.

bitcoin-cli finalizepsbt "cHNidP8BAH..."

psbt · string

Base64-encoded PSBT (if not extracted or not complete)

hex · string

Hex-encoded network transaction (if complete and extracted)

complete · boolean

Whether transaction is complete

analyzepsbt

Analyzes a PSBT and provides information about what is missing.

bitcoin-cli analyzepsbt "cHNidP8BAH..."

inputs · array

Analysis of each input (missing signatures, pubkeys, etc.)

estimated_vsize · number

Estimated virtual size of final transaction

estimated_feerate · number

Estimated feerate (BTC/kvB)

fee · number

Transaction fee in BTC

next · string

Role of next signer: signer, finalizer, extractor

Miscellaneous

getindexinfo

Returns status of optional indices.

# Get all indices
bitcoin-cli getindexinfo

# Get specific index
bitcoin-cli getindexinfo "txindex"

synced · boolean

Whether index is synced to chain tip

best_block_height · number

Height index is synced to

logging

Gets and sets logging configuration.

# Get current logging configuration
bitcoin-cli logging

# Enable net and mempool logging
bitcoin-cli logging '["net", "mempool"]' '["http"]'

Available log categories:

• net: Network messages
• tor: Tor connection info
• mempool: Mempool operations
• http: HTTP server
• bench: Benchmarking
• zmq: ZMQ notifications
• walletdb: Wallet database operations
• rpc: RPC calls
• estimatefee: Fee estimation
• addrman: Address manager
• selectcoins: Coin selection
• validation: Block/transaction validation
• And more…

uptime

Returns the total uptime of the server in seconds.

bitcoin-cli uptime

result · number

Server uptime in seconds

echo

Echoes back input arguments (for testing).

bitcoin-cli echo "test" 123