noushkia/MEV-Watchdog

Fast and light MEV inspector

MEV-Watchdog

Fast and light MEV inspector. MEV-Watchdog is a powerful Ethereum MEV inspector. It analyzes blocks to detect swaps, arbitrages, and liquidations. Using Postgres for data storage, it ensures efficient management. Future goals include cross-chain transaction inspection, improved detection of complex MEVs, and real-time monitoring. The aim is to empower users to proactively identify and respond to MEV opportunities before they're confirmed in blocks.

Table of Contents

• Install
• Usage
  • RPC Finder
  • Inspector
• Future Directions

Install

Dependencies

PostgreSQL

To install PostgreSQL run the following command:

sudo apt-get install postgresql postgresql-contrib

pg_config

To install pg_config and Build psycopg2 from Source, run the following command:

sudo apt-get install libpq-dev

Requirements

Use the package manager pip to install the requirements.

pip3 install -r requirements.txt

Configuration

PostgreSQL

To configure PostgreSQL run the following command:

sudo -u postgres psql

If it's your first time running the tool on a system, run the following commands in the PostgreSQL shell:

CREATE DATABASE mev_watchdog;

CREATE USER mev WITH PASSWORD 'watchdog';

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE mev_watchdog TO mev;

Usage

RPC Finder

The rpc_finder package is used to find RPC endpoints for Erigon Ethereum nodes. It first fetches the list of synced Erigon nodes from Ethernodes.org and then checks if they are responding to JSON-RPC requests. The list of all running RPC endpoints is then stored in erigon_sorted_hosts.csv file.

In order to fetch all possible RPC endpoints, run the following command:

  python rpc_finder/get_rpcs.py

After fetching all possible endpoints, in order to fetch only the RPC endpoints that are responding to JSON-RPC requests and are up-to-date, run the following command:

  python rpc_finder/rpc_vitals_check.py

Inspector

The mev_inspect package is used to inspect a given range of Ethereum blocks for MEV transactions. It first fetches the list of all running RPC endpoints from erigon_sorted_hosts.csv file. Then it starts up a number of processes to inspect blocks in parallel. Each process then runs several threads to fetch blocks from the RPC endpoints and inspect them for MEV transactions. The results are then stored in the PostgreSQL database.

In order to inspect a given range of blocks, run the following command:

  python inspect_many.py -a START_BLOCK_RANGE -b END_BLOCK_RANGE

The inspector by default starts up as many processes as the number of available cpu cores. You can specify the number of processes to start up by using the -p flag:

  python inspect_many.py -a START_BLOCK_RANGE -b END_BLOCK_RANGE -p NUMBER_OF_PROCESSES

The inspector creates a log file named inspector.log in the logs directory.

Future Directions

• Cross-chain transaction inspection

  In addition to its existing capabilities, Watchdog has several future milestones on its roadmap. One of its key objectives is to expand its functionality to include the inspection of cross-chain transactions, enabling users to gain insights into MEV activities occurring across different blockchain networks.

• Complex MEV detection

  Watchdog aims to enhance its detection capabilities to uncover more complex and sophisticated MEVs. By continuously refining its algorithms and analysis techniques, it will be able to identify a wider range of MEV strategies and extract even more value from Ethereum transactions.

• Real-time monitoring

  To ensure real-time monitoring and timely intervention, Watchdog is actively working towards improving its speed and efficiency. It aims to be fast enough to detect MEV transactions in the mempool, providing users with the ability to proactively identify and respond to MEV opportunities before they are included in confirmed blocks.