Install am-i-exposed on RaspiBlitz and use your local mempool API

This guide shows a manual, terminal-first setup of am-i-exposed on a RaspiBlitz and how to make it use your own local mempool instance instead of public mempool.space.

What you will do

  1. Verify mempool is running on RaspiBlitz.
  2. Ensure Node.js and npm are available.
  3. Install am-i-exposed CLI.
  4. Detect the correct local mempool API base URL.
  5. Run scans against your local mempool API.
  6. (Optional) Use SSH tunneling from your laptop/desktop.
  7. (Optional) Run the am-i-exposed Web UI on your LAN.

Prerequisites

  • RaspiBlitz is fully synced and reachable over SSH.
  • You can log in as admin.
  • Mempool app is enabled on RaspiBlitz.

SSH to your node:

ssh admin@<raspiblitz-ip-or-hostname>

Step 1: Verify Mempool service on RaspiBlitz

Check RaspiBlitz mempool status:

/home/admin/config.scripts/bonus.mempool.sh status

Check systemd status:

sudo systemctl status mempool --no-pager

Expected: service should be active (running).

If mempool is not enabled, turn it on from the RaspiBlitz menu, or run:

/home/admin/config.scripts/bonus.mempool.sh on

Step 2: Ensure Node.js and npm are installed

am-i-exposed CLI requires Node.js >= 20.

Check versions:

node -v
npm -v

If Node.js is missing or too old, use the RaspiBlitz helper:

/home/admin/config.scripts/bonus.nodejs.sh on

Then open a new shell and verify again:

node -v
npm -v

Step 3: Install am-i-exposed CLI

Install globally:

npm install -g am-i-exposed

Confirm install:

am-i-exposed --help

Alternative without global install:

npx am-i-exposed --help

Step 4: Find the correct local mempool API base URL

RaspiBlitz setups can differ, so test candidates and keep the one that returns a block height.

Candidate A (direct mempool backend) 

curl -sS http://127.0.0.1:8999/api/v1/blocks/tip/height

Candidate B (nginx proxy) 

curl -k -sS https://127.0.0.1:4081/api/blocks/tip/height

Candidate C (nginx http) 

curl -sS http://127.0.0.1:4080/api/blocks/tip/height

Use whichever candidate returns a numeric height.

Common base URLs to use with --api:

  • http://127.0.0.1:8999/api/v1
  • https://127.0.0.1:4081/api
  • http://127.0.0.1:4080/api

Step 5: Run am-i-exposed against your local mempool

Replace <API_BASE> with the working base URL from Step 4.

Scan a transaction:

am-i-exposed scan tx <txid> --api <API_BASE> --json

Scan an address:

am-i-exposed scan address <bitcoin-address> --api <API_BASE> --json

Wallet audit (xpub/zpub):

am-i-exposed scan xpub <xpub-or-zpub> --api <API_BASE> --gap-limit 30 --json

Boltzmann analysis:

am-i-exposed boltzmann <txid> --api <API_BASE> --json

Step 6 (Optional): Use your RaspiBlitz local mempool from your laptop

If you want to run am-i-exposed on another machine but still use RaspiBlitz mempool, create an SSH tunnel.

On your laptop:

ssh -N -L 8999:127.0.0.1:8999 admin@<raspiblitz-ip-or-hostname>

Keep that terminal open. In another local terminal:

am-i-exposed scan tx <txid> --api http://127.0.0.1:8999/api/v1 --json

If your RaspiBlitz mempool setup uses a different internal endpoint, tunnel that port and path instead.

Step 7 (Optional): Run the am-i-exposed Web UI on your LAN

This section hosts the am-i-exposed web interface directly on RaspiBlitz and makes it reachable from other devices on your local network.

7.1 Build the Web UI 

cd /home/admin
git clone https://github.com/Copexit/am-i-exposed.git
cd am-i-exposed
corepack enable
corepack prepare pnpm@latest --activate
pnpm install
pnpm build

The static site is generated into out/.

7.2 Publish static files 

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/am-i-exposed
sudo rsync -a --delete /home/admin/am-i-exposed/out/ /var/www/am-i-exposed/

7.3 Add nginx site with local mempool API proxy

Create /etc/nginx/sites-available/am-i-exposed.conf:

sudo tee /etc/nginx/sites-available/am-i-exposed.conf >/dev/null <<'EOF'
server {
  listen 3090;
  server_name _;

  root /var/www/am-i-exposed;
  index index.html;

  location / {
    try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html;
  }

  # Mainnet API proxy to RaspiBlitz mempool backend
  location /api/ {
    proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8999/api/v1/;
    proxy_set_header Host $host;
    proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
  }

  # Optional network-prefixed routes
  location /signet/api/ {
    rewrite ^/signet/api/(.*)$ /api/v1/$1 break;
    proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8999;
  }

  location /testnet4/api/ {
    rewrite ^/testnet4/api/(.*)$ /api/v1/$1 break;
    proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8999;
  }
}
EOF

If your working API base from Step 4 is not http://127.0.0.1:8999/api/v1, update the proxy_pass targets accordingly.

7.4 Enable site and reload nginx 

sudo ln -sf /etc/nginx/sites-available/am-i-exposed.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/am-i-exposed.conf
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

7.5 Open the LAN firewall port 

sudo ufw allow 3090/tcp comment 'am-i-exposed webui'

7.6 Open from LAN

From any LAN device, open:

http://<raspiblitz-ip-or-hostname>:3090

7.7 Verify Web UI + API locally 

curl -I http://127.0.0.1:3090
curl -sS http://127.0.0.1:3090/api/blocks/tip/height
sudo journalctl -u nginx -n 100 --no-pager

Troubleshooting

am-i-exposed: command not found

  • Re-open shell session.
  • Check npm global bin path:
npm config get prefix
  • Try npx am-i-exposed ... instead.

API returns 404 or empty response

Your base URL is likely wrong for this mempool setup. Re-test Step 4 and switch between /api and /api/v1 bases.

HTTPS certificate error

RaspiBlitz often uses self-signed certs for local HTTPS. Use the local HTTP endpoint or the direct backend endpoint over SSH tunnel.

Slow responses/timeouts

  • First query can be slower.
  • Verify mempool backend health:
sudo journalctl -u mempool -n 100 --no-pager

Security notes

  • Do not expose mempool backend ports directly to the internet.
  • Prefer localhost access on the node or SSH tunneling.
  • Keep RaspiBlitz and mempool updated.

Quick copy-paste test

If your node uses the common RaspiBlitz backend endpoint:

npm install -g am-i-exposed
am-i-exposed scan tx 323df21f0b0756f98336437aa3d2fb87e02b59f1946b714a7b09df04d429dec2 \
  --api http://127.0.0.1:8999/api/v1 \
  --json
This site uses Just the Docs, a documentation theme for Jekyll.