> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt).

# Monitor transfers using Python

In this tutorial, you'll monitor transfers to an Ethereum account using the Web3 Python library.

## Prerequisites[​](#prerequisites "Direct link to Prerequisites")

- [Pip](https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/installation/) installed

## Steps[​](#steps "Direct link to Steps")

### 1\. Create a project directory[​](#1-create-a-project-directory "Direct link to 1. Create a project directory")

Create a new directory for your project. This can be done from the command line:

```
mkdir monitorTransfer

```

Change into the new directory:

```
cd monitorTransfer

```

### 2\. Install required packages[​](#2-install-required-packages "Direct link to 2. Install required packages")

Install the `web3.py` package:

```
pip install web3

```

### 3\. Create a script file[​](#3-create-a-script-file "Direct link to 3. Create a script file")

Create a file called `monitorTransactions.py`. At the top of file, add the following lines to import the `web3.py` library:

```
from web3 import Web3
import time

```

### 4\. Connect to Infura[​](#4-connect-to-infura "Direct link to 4. Connect to Infura")

Connect to the Infura endpoint and the address of the account:

```
infura_url = "https://mainnet.infura.io/v3/<YOUR-API-KEY>"
account = "<YOUR-PUBLIC-ADDRESS>"
web3 = Web3(Web3.HTTPProvider(infura_url))

```

warning

Replace `<YOUR-API-KEY>` with your Infura API key and `<YOUR-PUBLIC-ADDRESS>` with the Ethereum account you want to monitor.

### 5\. Set the function[​](#5-set-the-function "Direct link to 5. Set the function")

Create a function to check new transactions for the account defined in [step 3](#3-create-a-script-file) and retrieves the details for the transaction:

```
def watch():
  while True:
    block = web3.eth.get_block("latest")
    print("Searching in block " + str(block.number))

    if block and block.transactions:
      for transaction in block.transactions:
        tx_hash = transaction.hex()  # the hashes are stored in a hexBytes format
        tx = web3.eth.get_transaction(tx_hash)
        if tx.to is not None:
          if tx.to == account:
            print("Transaction found in block {} :".format(block.number))
            print({
              "hash": tx_hash,
              "from": tx["from"],
              "value": web3.from_wei(tx["value"], "ether")
            })
    time.sleep(5)

watch()

```

### 6\. Check for confirmations[​](#6-check-for-confirmations "Direct link to 6. Check for confirmations")

Exchanges often wait until a deposit has reached a certain number of confirmations before processing the new transaction. The number of confirmations is the number of blocks that have passed since the transaction was included onchain. By checking that a transaction has reached the specified number of confirmations, the exchange can be confident that this transaction is final and they can process the deposit.

Create a function to determine the number of confirmations for the transaction:

```
def confirmations(tx_hash):
  tx = web3.eth.get_transaction(tx_hash)
  return web3.eth.block_number - tx.blockNumber

```

You can then call the function using something similar to:

```
print(confirmations(tx_hash))

```

### 7\. Run the script[​](#7-run-the-script "Direct link to 7. Run the script")

Run the script using the following command:

- Command
- Example output

```
python3 monitorTransactions.py

```

```
Searching in block 15019035
Transaction found in block 15019035 :
{"hash": "0x0f878eb882dfd069c482740df533e0ddef63504d795dcc3c934c3f9a6c159362", "from": "0x95B564F3B3BaE3f206aa418667bA000AFAFAcc8a", "value": 0}
Transaction found in block 15019035 :
{"hash": "0xee75ed766e17fef1cae917686b5b73e7c72b2fcf51e1558629b8fe96a7e5a1bd", "from": "0x9696f59E4d72E237BE84fFD425DCaD154Bf96976", "value": 0}
Transaction found in block 15019035 :
{"hash": "0x1cddbeff3ac97651f5d7e49e98f4289aeef728e08b05180c75bc04cdc970895d", "from": "0x21a31Ee1afC51d94C2eFcCAa2092aD1028285549", "value": 0}
...
67341

```

### Complete code overview[​](#complete-code-overview "Direct link to Complete code overview")

```
from web3 import Web3
import time

infura_url = "https://mainnet.infura.io/v3/<YOUR-API-KEY>"
account = "<YOUR-PUBLIC-ADDRESS>"
web3 = Web3(Web3.HTTPProvider(infura_url))

def confirmations(tx_hash):
  tx = web3.eth.get_transaction(tx_hash)
  return web3.eth.block_number - tx.blockNumber

def watch():
  while True:
    block = web3.eth.get_block("latest")
    print("Searching in block " + str(block.number))

    if block and block.transactions:
      for transaction in block.transactions:
        tx_hash = transaction.hex()  # the hashes are stored in a hexBytes format
        tx = web3.eth.get_transaction(tx_hash)
        if tx.to is not None:
          if tx.to == account:
            print("Transaction found in block {} :".format(block.number))
            print({
              "hash": tx_hash,
              "from": tx["from"],
              "value": web3.from_wei(tx["value"], "ether")
            })
    time.sleep(5)

watch()
# print(confirmations("0x0d40d60e118e9e1f61c2baa2252cc5f8b8ed491c885ec35db6fd6cfc8589c1a7"))

```