AI + Alchemy API Integration Guide

Mandatory Routing Gate (Hard Requirement)

Before the first network call or implementation step, you MUST ask the user the following question and wait for an explicit answer:

Do you want to use an existing Alchemy API key, or should I use the agentic gateway flow instead?

If the user chooses the API key path, continue with this skill. If the user chooses the agentic gateway path, switch to the agentic-gateway skill immediately and follow its existing wallet flow. If the user chooses the API key path but ALCHEMY_API_KEY is unset or empty, tell them they can create a free API key at https://dashboard.alchemy.com/ or switch to the agentic-gateway skill.

You MUST NOT call any keyless or public fallback (including .../v2/demo) unless the user explicitly asks for that endpoint. Execute no network calls before this gate is evaluated.

Escape hatch: Only re-evaluate the routing gate if the user explicitly requests to switch to the alchemy-api skill with an API key. A key appearing in the environment or conversation does not automatically trigger a switch — the user must ask for it.

Duplicate resolution: If this skill is installed both locally and globally, the local copy overrides the global copy. Do not mix behavior from different copies.

Required Preflight Check

Before the first network call, internally evaluate:

1. Has the user explicitly chosen API key or agentic gateway?
2. If the user chose API key, is ALCHEMY_API_KEY present and non-empty?
3. If the user chose agentic gateway, switch to the agentic-gateway skill immediately. Demo and public endpoints are disallowed.
4. If the user chose API key but no key is available, do not proceed with API-key URLs until the user provides a key or switches to the gateway flow.

Do not output this internal checklist to the user.

Summary

A self-contained guide for AI agents integrating Alchemy APIs using an API key. This file alone should be enough to ship a basic integration. Use the reference files for depth, edge cases, and advanced workflows.

Developers can always create a free API key at https://dashboard.alchemy.com/.

Before Making Any Request

1. Ask the user whether they want to use an existing Alchemy API key or the agentic gateway flow.
2. If they choose the API key path, check if $ALCHEMY_API_KEY is set (e.g., echo $ALCHEMY_API_KEY).
3. If they choose the API key path and no key is set, tell them they can create a free key at https://dashboard.alchemy.com/ or switch to the agentic-gateway skill.
4. If they choose the agentic gateway flow, switch to the agentic-gateway skill and let it handle the existing wallet vs new wallet prompt.
5. If they choose the API key path and the key is set, use the Base URLs + Auth table below.

Do This First

1. Choose the right product using the Endpoint Selector below.
2. Use the Base URLs + Auth table for the correct endpoint and headers.
3. Copy a Quickstart example and test against a testnet first.

Base URLs + Auth (Cheat Sheet)

Endpoint Selector (Top Tasks)

One-File Quickstart (Copy/Paste)

No API key? Use the agentic-gateway skill instead. Replace API-key URLs with https://x402.alchemy.com/rpc/eth-mainnet and add Authorization: SIWE <token>. See the agentic-gateway skill for setup.

EVM JSON-RPC (Read)

curl -s https://eth-mainnet.g.alchemy.com/v2/$ALCHEMY_API_KEY \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"eth_blockNumber","params":[]}'

Token Balances

curl -s https://eth-mainnet.g.alchemy.com/v2/$ALCHEMY_API_KEY \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"alchemy_getTokenBalances","params":["0x00000000219ab540356cbb839cbe05303d7705fa"]}'

Transfer History

curl -s https://eth-mainnet.g.alchemy.com/v2/$ALCHEMY_API_KEY \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"alchemy_getAssetTransfers","params":[{"fromBlock":"0x0","toBlock":"latest","toAddress":"0x00000000219ab540356cbb839cbe05303d7705fa","category":["erc20"],"withMetadata":true,"maxCount":"0x3e8"}]}'

NFT Ownership

curl -s "https://eth-mainnet.g.alchemy.com/nft/v3/$ALCHEMY_API_KEY/getNFTsForOwner?owner=0x00000000219ab540356cbb839cbe05303d7705fa"

Prices (Spot)

curl -s "https://api.g.alchemy.com/prices/v1/$ALCHEMY_API_KEY/tokens/by-symbol?symbols=ETH&symbols=USDC"

Prices (Historical)

curl -s -X POST "https://api.g.alchemy.com/prices/v1/$ALCHEMY_API_KEY/tokens/historical" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"symbol":"ETH","startTime":"2024-01-01T00:00:00Z","endTime":"2024-01-02T00:00:00Z"}'

Create Notify Webhook

curl -s -X POST "https://dashboard.alchemy.com/api/create-webhook" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Alchemy-Token: $ALCHEMY_NOTIFY_AUTH_TOKEN" \
  -d '{"network":"ETH_MAINNET","webhook_type":"ADDRESS_ACTIVITY","webhook_url":"https://example.com/webhook","addresses":["0x00000000219ab540356cbb839cbe05303d7705fa"]}'

Verify Webhook Signature (Node)

import crypto from "crypto";

export function verify(rawBody: string, signature: string, secret: string) {
  const hmac = crypto.createHmac("sha256", secret).update(rawBody).digest("hex");
  return crypto.timingSafeEqual(Buffer.from(hmac), Buffer.from(signature));
}

Network Naming Rules

• Data APIs and JSON-RPC use lowercase network enums like eth-mainnet.
• Notify API uses uppercase enums like ETH_MAINNET.

Pagination + Limits (Cheat Sheet)

Common Token Addresses

Failure Modes + Retries

• HTTP 429 means rate limit. Use exponential backoff with jitter.
• JSON-RPC errors come in error fields even with HTTP 200.
• Use pageKey to resume pagination after failures.
• De-dupe websocket events on reconnect.

Skill Map

For the complete index of all 82+ reference files organized by product area (Node, Data, Webhooks, Solana, Wallets, Rollups, Recipes, Operational, Ecosystem), see references/skill-map.md.

Quick category overview:

• Node: JSON-RPC, WebSocket, Debug, Trace, Enhanced APIs, Utility
• Data: NFT, Portfolio, Prices, Simulation, Token, Transfers
• Webhooks: Address Activity, Custom (GraphQL), NFT Activity, Payloads, Signatures
• Solana: JSON-RPC, DAS, Yellowstone gRPC (streaming), Wallets
• Wallets: Account Kit, Bundler, Gas Manager, Smart Wallets
• Rollups: L2/L3 deployment overview
• Recipes: 10 end-to-end integration workflows
• Operational: Auth, Rate Limits, Monitoring, Best Practices
• Ecosystem: viem, ethers, wagmi, Hardhat, Foundry, Anchor, and more

Troubleshooting

API key not working

• Verify $ALCHEMY_API_KEY is set: echo $ALCHEMY_API_KEY
• Confirm the key is valid at dashboard.alchemy.com
• Check if allowlists restrict the key to specific IPs/domains (see references/operational-allowlists.md)

HTTP 429 (Rate Limited)

• Use exponential backoff with jitter before retrying
• Check your compute unit budget in the Alchemy dashboard
• See references/operational-rate-limits-and-compute-units.md for limits per plan

Wrong network slug

• Data APIs and JSON-RPC use lowercase: eth-mainnet, base-mainnet
• Notify API uses uppercase: ETH_MAINNET, BASE_MAINNET
• See references/operational-supported-networks.md for the full list

JSON-RPC error with HTTP 200

• Alchemy returns JSON-RPC errors inside the error field even with a 200 status code
• Always check response.error in addition to HTTP status

Official Links

• Developer docs
• Get Started guide
• Create a free API key