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This guide starts a local Reth dev node with the namespaces used by Rex, then inspects its txpool and local database.

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Install

First, clone the repo:
From the repository root:
Reinstall after local changes:

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Start a Reth Dev Node

Expose the HTTP RPC namespaces used across the current Rex modules:
Each --http.api argument enables a separate JSON-RPC method family:
  • eth: standard Ethereum data and execution methods used by Chain, Execution Simulate, and the on-chain nonce lookups in TxPool Sender and Nonce Gaps.
  • net: listening state, peer count, and network ID used by Network Status.
  • web3: common client metadata methods such as web3_clientVersion. Rex does not currently call this namespace, so it is optional for Rex commands.
  • txpool: pending and queued transaction data used by the TxPool commands.
  • debug: transaction and block tracing used by Replay Tx and State Diff.
  • admin: node identity and established peer details used by Network Node and Network Peers.
You can omit a namespace when you do not need its related commands. This quickstart’s rex txpool inspect command only requires txpool.
The admin namespace also includes methods that can change the node’s peer set. Keep this HTTP endpoint bound to localhost or another trusted interface. Rex only uses the read-only admin_nodeInfo and admin_peers methods.
The Engine commands are not enabled through --http.api. They use Reth’s separate authenticated Engine API endpoint, which defaults to http://127.0.0.1:8551.

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Inspect the Pool

In another terminal, run Rex without an RPC flag. It connects to the local execution RPC endpoint at http://127.0.0.1:8545 by default:
An empty dev pool returns:
Continue with Inspect the TxPool to create a queued transaction and inspect it.

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Inspect the Database

Database commands do not use JSON-RPC or any --http.api namespace. Point Rex at the same chain-specific data directory passed to Reth:
Rex opens ./alice/db through Reth’s read-only MDBX API and separately measures files under ./alice/static_files. It does not create tables, migrate schemas, or write data. Continue with the Database guide to inspect individual tables or check schema compatibility.

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Reset the Dev Database

To restart with a fresh dev database: