> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.helius.dev/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # getAgGenesisCert > getAgGenesisCert returns the Alpenglow genesis certificate, or null if the cluster still runs TowerBFT. Use it to check whether Alpenglow consensus is active. Requires Agave v4.3 or later. Earlier versions do not recognize the method and return `Method not found` (-32601). ## Detecting the migration Use this method to check whether a cluster runs [Alpenglow](https://www.helius.dev/blog/alpenglow) consensus. The response takes three forms: * **A certificate object.** The cluster has migrated. `result.block.slot` is the first slot produced under Alpenglow. * **`null`.** The node runs Agave v4.3 or later, and the cluster has not migrated. * **Error `-32601`.** The node predates v4.3. The cluster's consensus is unknown. Treat `-32601` as unknown rather than as "not migrated". A node that cannot answer the question says nothing about the cluster. The certificate does not change once a cluster migrates. Cache it after the first successful response instead of polling. ## Reading the certificate `block` identifies the certified block. `slot` is its slot number. `blockId` is a 32-byte array, not the base-58 string used elsewhere in the RPC API. `signature` holds the aggregate BLS signature of every validator that signed the certificate. `bitmap` records which validators those were, indexed by stake rank. Reading the bitmap requires the same stake-ordered validator list the cluster used. `blockId` is always 32 bytes and `signature` always 192, both shown at full length in the example. `bitmap` has no fixed size: it carries one bit per validator, so it grows with the validator set, and the example shows a short one. The Solana CLI returns the same data as `solana alpenglow-genesis-info`. ## OpenAPI ````yaml openapi/rpc-http/getAgGenesisCert.yaml POST / openapi: 3.1.0 info: title: Solana RPC API version: 1.0.0 description: >- Consensus migration API for retrieving the Alpenglow genesis certificate, the certificate over the first block produced under Alpenglow consensus, used to detect whether a cluster has migrated from TowerBFT. license: name: Apache 2.0 url: https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.html servers: - url: https://mainnet.helius-rpc.com description: Mainnet RPC endpoint - url: https://devnet.helius-rpc.com description: Devnet RPC endpoint security: [] paths: /: post: tags: - RPC summary: getAgGenesisCert description: > Retrieve the Alpenglow genesis certificate — the certificate over the first block a cluster produced under Alpenglow consensus — or `null` if the cluster is still running TowerBFT. This is the supported way to detect at runtime whether Alpenglow consensus is active, rather than inferring it from validator versions or slot numbers. The certificate carries the certified block (its slot and 32-byte block id) together with the aggregate BLS signature of the validators that signed it and a bitmap identifying which ones did, ordered by stake rank. Requires Agave v4.3 or later; earlier versions do not recognize the method and return `Method not found` (-32601) instead of `null`. operationId: getAgGenesisCert requestBody: required: true content: application/json: schema: type: object properties: jsonrpc: type: string description: The JSON-RPC protocol version. enum: - '2.0' example: '2.0' default: '2.0' id: type: string description: A unique identifier for the request. example: '1' default: '1' method: type: string description: The name of the RPC method to invoke. enum: - getAgGenesisCert example: getAgGenesisCert default: getAgGenesisCert responses: '200': description: >- Successfully retrieved the Alpenglow genesis certificate, or `null` if the cluster has not migrated. content: application/json: schema: type: object properties: jsonrpc: type: string description: The JSON-RPC protocol version. enum: - '2.0' example: '2.0' id: type: string description: Identifier matching the request. example: '1' result: type: object nullable: true description: >- The Alpenglow genesis certificate, or `null` when the cluster is still running TowerBFT. properties: block: type: object description: The certified first Alpenglow block. properties: slot: type: integer format: uint64 description: >- The slot of the first block produced under Alpenglow consensus. example: 412300800 blockId: type: array description: >- The block identifier, as an array of bytes. Always 32 bytes. minItems: 32 maxItems: 32 items: type: integer minimum: 0 maximum: 255 signature: type: object description: >- The aggregate validator signature over the certified block. properties: signature: type: array description: >- The aggregate BLS signature of every validator that signed the certificate, as an array of bytes. Always 192 bytes. minItems: 192 maxItems: 192 items: type: integer minimum: 0 maximum: 255 bitmap: type: array description: >- Bitmap marking which validators signed, indexed by stake-ranked position. Variable length — one bit per validator, so it grows with the validator set. items: type: integer minimum: 0 maximum: 255 '400': description: Bad Request - Invalid request parameters or malformed request. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse' example: jsonrpc: '2.0' error: code: -32602 message: Invalid params '401': description: Unauthorized - Invalid or missing API key. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse' example: jsonrpc: '2.0' error: code: -32001 message: Unauthorized id: '1' '429': description: Too Many Requests - Rate limit exceeded. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse' example: jsonrpc: '2.0' error: code: -32005 message: Too many requests id: '1' '500': description: Internal Server Error - An error occurred on the server. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse' example: jsonrpc: '2.0' error: code: -32603 message: Internal error id: '1' '503': description: Service Unavailable - The service is temporarily unavailable. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse' example: jsonrpc: '2.0' error: code: -32002 message: Service unavailable id: '1' '504': description: Gateway Timeout - The request timed out. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse' example: jsonrpc: '2.0' error: code: -32003 message: Gateway timeout id: '1' security: - ApiKeyQuery: [] components: schemas: ErrorResponse: type: object properties: jsonrpc: type: string description: The JSON-RPC protocol version. enum: - '2.0' example: '2.0' error: type: object properties: code: type: integer description: The error code. example: -32602 message: type: string description: The error message. data: type: object description: Additional data about the error. id: type: string description: Identifier matching the request. example: '1' securitySchemes: ApiKeyQuery: type: apiKey in: query name: api-key description: >- Your Helius API key. You can get one for free in the [dashboard](https://dashboard.helius.dev/api-keys). ````