The onset of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) has brought with it a whole variety of use cases. They vary from granting ownership of digital goods to acting as access keys or certificates for holders of the underlying content. The content may include music, movies, NFT art, real estate, etc. However, the metadata of an NFT is a vital piece of information that tells users what the non-fungible is all about.
Storing large files on the blockchain can be expensive. Therefore, more often than not, people opt to store the underlying content off-chain. However, the non-fungible itself is hosted on the blockchain. In such cases, metadata plays an important role. It contains details such as the NFT art’s name, description, transaction history, link to the hosted picture, characteristics, and more.
A standardized JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format is used to specify metadata. Nevertheless, since storing as JSON would be too resource-intensive, the data is instead kept inside the smart contract as a Universal Resource Identifier (URI). Nonetheless, NFT metadata can be downloaded at any time by users.
How to view NFT art metadata on OpenSea?
Firstly, open the NFT art on OpenSea, for which you want the metadata.
Then you can scroll down and click the “Details” tab. Once the “Details” tab is open, click on the link next to the contract address.
Copy the contract address and paste it into the Etherscan link that appears on the screen.
The user now enters api.opensea.io/asset/ in the URL text field and pastes the contract address they just copied, followed by the token ID specified in the contract details, after the slash at the end of the URL. On the screen, JSON-formatted metadata is displayed.
How to view metadata on Rarible?
Like in OpenSea, the user will first need to open the NFT art for which they need the metadata. Once opened, scroll down to the details and click “View on Etherscan.”
Users can then click on the Token ID number (which is in blue).
A new page will now be presented to the user. From this page, copy the contract address.
Enter the following link in the specified format to find metadata:
https://api.rarible.org/v0.1/items/ETHEREUM:insert Contract Address: insert Token ID
The metadata for the NFT art will appear on the screen.