Well first the <> in the syntax simply means a required parameter and the [] means an optional one. You don't enter the <> or []. Also there is built in help for all RPC commands, just use the command help .
Example:
On my bitcoind (and on blockr.io the hash you are using is not a valid blockhash however 00000000000000000d2347b601158f40c741dbd9353918903f057cedd82f49de is the most recent blockhash as of this post.
true is the default option so if you leave it off (getblock 00000000000000000d2347b601158f40c741dbd9353918903f057cedd82f49de) you get the same output. Setting the verbose (probably better named "decode") parameter to false gives you the raw block instead.
Example:
Code:
help getblock
getblock "hash" ( verbose )
If verbose is false, returns a string that is serialized, hex-encoded data for block 'hash'.
If verbose is true, returns an Object with information about block.
Arguments:
1. "hash" (string, required) The block hash
2. verbose (boolean, optional, default=true) true for a json object, false for the hex encoded data
Result (for verbose = true):
{
"hash" : "hash", (string) the block hash (same as provided)
"confirmations" : n, (numeric) The number of confirmations
"size" : n, (numeric) The block size
"height" : n, (numeric) The block height or index
"version" : n, (numeric) The block version
"merkleroot" : "xxxx", (string) The merkle root
"tx" : [ (array of string) The transaction ids
"transactionid" (string) The transaction id
,...
],
"time" : ttt, (numeric) The block time in seconds since epoch (Jan 1 1970 GMT)
"nonce" : n, (numeric) The nonce
"bits" : "1d00ffff", (string) The bits
"difficulty" : x.xxx, (numeric) The difficulty
"previousblockhash" : "hash", (string) The hash of the previous block
"nextblockhash" : "hash" (string) The hash of the next block
}
Result (for verbose=false):
"data" (string) A string that is serialized, hex-encoded data for block 'hash'.
Examples:
> bitcoin-cli getblock "00000000c937983704a73af28acdec37b049d214adbda81d7e2a3dd146f6ed09"
> curl --user myusername --data-binary '{"jsonrpc": "1.0", "id":"curltest", "method": "getblock", "params": ["00000000c937983704a73af28acdec37b049d214adbda81d7e2a3dd146f6ed09"] }' -H 'content-type: text/plain;' http://127.0.0.1:8332/
getblock "hash" ( verbose )
If verbose is false, returns a string that is serialized, hex-encoded data for block 'hash'.
If verbose is true, returns an Object with information about block
Arguments:
1. "hash" (string, required) The block hash
2. verbose (boolean, optional, default=true) true for a json object, false for the hex encoded data
Result (for verbose = true):
{
"hash" : "hash", (string) the block hash (same as provided)
"confirmations" : n, (numeric) The number of confirmations
"size" : n, (numeric) The block size
"height" : n, (numeric) The block height or index
"version" : n, (numeric) The block version
"merkleroot" : "xxxx", (string) The merkle root
"tx" : [ (array of string) The transaction ids
"transactionid" (string) The transaction id
,...
],
"time" : ttt, (numeric) The block time in seconds since epoch (Jan 1 1970 GMT)
"nonce" : n, (numeric) The nonce
"bits" : "1d00ffff", (string) The bits
"difficulty" : x.xxx, (numeric) The difficulty
"previousblockhash" : "hash", (string) The hash of the previous block
"nextblockhash" : "hash" (string) The hash of the next block
}
Result (for verbose=false):
"data" (string) A string that is serialized, hex-encoded data for block 'hash'.
Examples:
> bitcoin-cli getblock "00000000c937983704a73af28acdec37b049d214adbda81d7e2a3dd146f6ed09"
> curl --user myusername --data-binary '{"jsonrpc": "1.0", "id":"curltest", "method": "getblock", "params": ["00000000c937983704a73af28acdec37b049d214adbda81d7e2a3dd146f6ed09"] }' -H 'content-type: text/plain;' http://127.0.0.1:8332/
On my bitcoind (and on blockr.io the hash you are using is not a valid blockhash however 00000000000000000d2347b601158f40c741dbd9353918903f057cedd82f49de is the most recent blockhash as of this post.
Code:
getblock 00000000000000000d2347b601158f40c741dbd9353918903f057cedd82f49de true
{
"hash" : "00000000000000000d2347b601158f40c741dbd9353918903f057cedd82f49de",
"confirmations" : 1,
"size" : 19274,
"height" : 310010,
"version" : 2,
"merkleroot" : "9d32282c5b4831e56d9b50287e9601e17f03b74820b9d1a353a294645b42af86",
"tx" : [
"a654b2fce469dfe51e621616cf310fed69f8c1ece82ffb953ba767303ee6c88c",
"5bc0f574b4e85d5dbe6fe4bb1809e3e0f00f0ad239ccc524eb9404e9a88c484c",
"93936276b3eff8ab22031a40c3c810c5aaf5a2fcc4cf886e239ca5f1a0edfa15",
"5b348cc1c5348a1714ea9ed3c34462ac9d569979a9673d7bab82c8eda5822d5a",
"c0709331182cac1872094f4a6615f49649ad91738b0a3a137ef54a71ac673060",
"b7a03c760e5a507d1e08c3ff16c05004da0a5597b86fbef589b7fab81ffcf332",
"1a59b98abf8452a1688f0ec97ba2394d657e15c2c22893d11d1e78cfdaae17ae",
"eb0fee0250e1c3aa6d76987faa9bc3fa23e0a98daad06129ec034f34e9fda798",
"a3ebe698281b67a2d7192cb8d22b516a4685215ff3794502157b128c53f7181f",
"765e835a242c5e4b3567640237a93e2495e87e72bc4352c7be10bf1190cec524",
"4fd3c1b59c01e28d77e9389d9d24b875acff22bae95ba333a6280ee4f9bad68f",
"d887e5b3e6c5171144c12ba4a1ff4fcd6d1aad2b45d8eb8bccbbd8e0f993b9b5",
"091f4fe025b5cd9e79e22aa49fe5fed6b0ab30375924a7ad40b472c32b768823",
"92c35cd6acae1179c09f44a81da567d27cc844934f1636c49564ba3c15893313",
"ccba2b7572e3868fb7be0546ffb24bbc57d47965f1078940d6f80fabc8d64eb3",
"828b3882ff2f732e08e2648ad6aa2f476fa6ad62af8e48fb1026c03b25ca2beb",
"c6b99284c3d2fb0bee6d5ec71b6ed58fac7c6ea55ff5ca67be65a2b4d74d8b38",
"c8511ad1f01cd22d53aa4d522e3bd1b340dcbdc791d66ce81431835f622b5608",
"f098c0530fd017c99615ac8fa38b61d6371fcc64a72c05b0209d8b293672e005",
"344403d2c6cd636d3db2e9d5dbd8af2e920e1e6285102a9de7eebf0a2e20b910",
"d9602dfc88fa668ca18cc7aad2cfe140b16861ef9b08fbeff055ee0a2fd235ee",
"09bafe2034ec3ab0ed7640895210e50192e8f12bedf72d9ff0f274cda17547d2",
"fcb92270dc0acb1a5594d089fba1a99d8f16b65139489e9007e683fb5d06f098",
"41bc1c2c88971c15f259e3a9cedd9e34ad15a75357961cb067d1eeb1e185c2a6",
"3f53b9ef417a68ed01a93bf3162a185ce6ffa20c8e63891fc6476643fab77d44",
"20cf6a19d7dd9f3c5964a0fcb2a36476a0eb1676197068109796b351604f093d",
"32fa9af9965360057e97acec68901cddfa4f710f01bfc6c6d9adba912aa20630",
"995d736da257c4bb8fb0a932d3850efd7f9cd667cfd67f89c4a2c912ebc1e815",
"5b443e5e7b13b72bb249696abd94190f2efdf2535f1941672a51e8d20f579d22",
"fb73ee4442a5f4662335346faf48d9dbd84e9d52f79841bb0e38dc40b249b52d",
"f2887046f2441e6072bf04f010e23db22875af47ca2ad9f2d3eaa03473545201",
"530a44e6634b62fdb56f085f4652211dd8a706fc76f10407db650468274ae17e",
"26e79b2c856660af1c25ac61504aff985ab1f5703c83b01c69bdfd27716985f5",
"337a15084b24f98907a05caa19e3509cbb9eadd59946d42d0eae62e80c00416a",
"b972e440d6eea10511f7cff5f21baf11141c2e132775daf256f8805a042f4d31",
"8b52732f8b921d7fa52997e756d558cd46a025287d076d1a2b91407c127c6f68",
"52515608d30abd2fb2d8502e62bff0ec527579cdceb6db9a55c24167bad37620",
"30a51e65850f3d412e6b51a9661e6f2e92f02b01f9eacb0a69234d0e4d051467",
"2350c164db244e00d43806c3d36139414a4158ec3b250818b072d5ffd59ce976",
"48410f81e16ca60211d1a2e6a00b46148608979121d2593b0139137c8db16bf1",
"68b003a10651516e65d6c2c3d924f8080e86079b0a402a78d1595e87707a8387"
],
"time" : 1404954522,
"nonce" : 584447658,
"bits" : "18415fd1",
"difficulty" : 16818461371.16111200,
"chainwork" : "00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000c6d2945d24fae4e567da",
"previousblockhash" : "0000000000000000017d4e729a41e2232bf1246a2bca4795074dc15c36504002"
}
{
"hash" : "00000000000000000d2347b601158f40c741dbd9353918903f057cedd82f49de",
"confirmations" : 1,
"size" : 19274,
"height" : 310010,
"version" : 2,
"merkleroot" : "9d32282c5b4831e56d9b50287e9601e17f03b74820b9d1a353a294645b42af86",
"tx" : [
"a654b2fce469dfe51e621616cf310fed69f8c1ece82ffb953ba767303ee6c88c",
"5bc0f574b4e85d5dbe6fe4bb1809e3e0f00f0ad239ccc524eb9404e9a88c484c",
"93936276b3eff8ab22031a40c3c810c5aaf5a2fcc4cf886e239ca5f1a0edfa15",
"5b348cc1c5348a1714ea9ed3c34462ac9d569979a9673d7bab82c8eda5822d5a",
"c0709331182cac1872094f4a6615f49649ad91738b0a3a137ef54a71ac673060",
"b7a03c760e5a507d1e08c3ff16c05004da0a5597b86fbef589b7fab81ffcf332",
"1a59b98abf8452a1688f0ec97ba2394d657e15c2c22893d11d1e78cfdaae17ae",
"eb0fee0250e1c3aa6d76987faa9bc3fa23e0a98daad06129ec034f34e9fda798",
"a3ebe698281b67a2d7192cb8d22b516a4685215ff3794502157b128c53f7181f",
"765e835a242c5e4b3567640237a93e2495e87e72bc4352c7be10bf1190cec524",
"4fd3c1b59c01e28d77e9389d9d24b875acff22bae95ba333a6280ee4f9bad68f",
"d887e5b3e6c5171144c12ba4a1ff4fcd6d1aad2b45d8eb8bccbbd8e0f993b9b5",
"091f4fe025b5cd9e79e22aa49fe5fed6b0ab30375924a7ad40b472c32b768823",
"92c35cd6acae1179c09f44a81da567d27cc844934f1636c49564ba3c15893313",
"ccba2b7572e3868fb7be0546ffb24bbc57d47965f1078940d6f80fabc8d64eb3",
"828b3882ff2f732e08e2648ad6aa2f476fa6ad62af8e48fb1026c03b25ca2beb",
"c6b99284c3d2fb0bee6d5ec71b6ed58fac7c6ea55ff5ca67be65a2b4d74d8b38",
"c8511ad1f01cd22d53aa4d522e3bd1b340dcbdc791d66ce81431835f622b5608",
"f098c0530fd017c99615ac8fa38b61d6371fcc64a72c05b0209d8b293672e005",
"344403d2c6cd636d3db2e9d5dbd8af2e920e1e6285102a9de7eebf0a2e20b910",
"d9602dfc88fa668ca18cc7aad2cfe140b16861ef9b08fbeff055ee0a2fd235ee",
"09bafe2034ec3ab0ed7640895210e50192e8f12bedf72d9ff0f274cda17547d2",
"fcb92270dc0acb1a5594d089fba1a99d8f16b65139489e9007e683fb5d06f098",
"41bc1c2c88971c15f259e3a9cedd9e34ad15a75357961cb067d1eeb1e185c2a6",
"3f53b9ef417a68ed01a93bf3162a185ce6ffa20c8e63891fc6476643fab77d44",
"20cf6a19d7dd9f3c5964a0fcb2a36476a0eb1676197068109796b351604f093d",
"32fa9af9965360057e97acec68901cddfa4f710f01bfc6c6d9adba912aa20630",
"995d736da257c4bb8fb0a932d3850efd7f9cd667cfd67f89c4a2c912ebc1e815",
"5b443e5e7b13b72bb249696abd94190f2efdf2535f1941672a51e8d20f579d22",
"fb73ee4442a5f4662335346faf48d9dbd84e9d52f79841bb0e38dc40b249b52d",
"f2887046f2441e6072bf04f010e23db22875af47ca2ad9f2d3eaa03473545201",
"530a44e6634b62fdb56f085f4652211dd8a706fc76f10407db650468274ae17e",
"26e79b2c856660af1c25ac61504aff985ab1f5703c83b01c69bdfd27716985f5",
"337a15084b24f98907a05caa19e3509cbb9eadd59946d42d0eae62e80c00416a",
"b972e440d6eea10511f7cff5f21baf11141c2e132775daf256f8805a042f4d31",
"8b52732f8b921d7fa52997e756d558cd46a025287d076d1a2b91407c127c6f68",
"52515608d30abd2fb2d8502e62bff0ec527579cdceb6db9a55c24167bad37620",
"30a51e65850f3d412e6b51a9661e6f2e92f02b01f9eacb0a69234d0e4d051467",
"2350c164db244e00d43806c3d36139414a4158ec3b250818b072d5ffd59ce976",
"48410f81e16ca60211d1a2e6a00b46148608979121d2593b0139137c8db16bf1",
"68b003a10651516e65d6c2c3d924f8080e86079b0a402a78d1595e87707a8387"
],
"time" : 1404954522,
"nonce" : 584447658,
"bits" : "18415fd1",
"difficulty" : 16818461371.16111200,
"chainwork" : "00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000c6d2945d24fae4e567da",
"previousblockhash" : "0000000000000000017d4e729a41e2232bf1246a2bca4795074dc15c36504002"
}
true is the default option so if you leave it off (getblock 00000000000000000d2347b601158f40c741dbd9353918903f057cedd82f49de) you get the same output. Setting the verbose (probably better named "decode") parameter to false gives you the raw block instead.
Code:

getblock 00000000000000000d2347b601158f40c741dbd9353918903f057cedd82f49de false
getblock 00000000000000000d2347b601158f40c741dbd9353918903f057cedd82f49de false
Thank you very much!!
