An Update on NEAR Ecosystem Block Explorers

TLDR: 

1. Explorer.near.org will be transitioned to the Explorer Selector by the end of November 2023. 
2. Public access to Explorer DB will be turned off on November 30, 2023. 
3. The Legacy NEAR Explorer will be turned off on January 31, 2024. NEARBlocks.io block explorer will continue to be actively maintained throughout this transition.
   

Pagoda’s core goal is to provide the NEAR community with high-quality, reliable, and innovative tools to build and interact with the blockchain while fostering an ecosystem of innovation. The legacy NEAR block explorer, hosted at explorer.near.org, was originally built by Pagoda as the first and only block explorer on the NEAR blockchain. In the early days of NEAR, it was important to bootstrap the necessary indexers, databases, and a block explorer to keep track of events on the blockchain. As alternative block explorers have now met and surpassed the functionality and reliability of the original NEAR Explorer, Pagoda has decided to turn off public access to Explorer DB and transition the legacy NEAR Explorer to the Explorer Selector by the end of November. 

This leads to good news for those looking for a reliable and high-quality explorer experience. The Invoker Labs team behind NEARBlocks.io launched the Explorer Selector, enabling users and developers to pick their favorite community-built explorers. For projects that link out to explorer.near.org, those links will continue to work, but they will first display the Explorer Selector, where the user can select their preferred explorer and continue to the transaction, block, or account. 

For feedback on the Explorer Selector and/or to get your NEAR block explorer project listed, please visit the NEARBlocks Explorer Selector GitHub Repo. By the end of November 2023, explorer.near.org will be the new home for the Explorer Selector.

Details of Transition Plan: 

1. October 10, 2023:
   1. Notice within explorer.near.org explaining that it will be sunsetted by January 31, 2024, and linking to this blog post. The details of which Explorer DBs are sunsetting can be found in the NEAR documentation.
   2. Direct communication with partners that rely on the explorer to plan interruption-free migration has begun.
   3. NEARBlocks Explorer Selector is live. Please leave feedback directly in the NEARBlocks Explorer Selector GitHub Repo.
2. November/December 2023:
   1. Shared Public access to the Explorer DB will be sunset on Thursday, November 30, at 12:00 p.m. PT. Check out ExplorerDB alternatives to maintain interruption-free service for your product.
   2. Explorer.near.org will transition to the Explorer Selector. This will include the process to get other block explorers added to the Explorer Selector. 
   3. The process for potential future explorers will be shared with the community to encourage diversity of tooling across NEAR. 
3. January 31, 2024:
   1. The legacy NEAR Explorer will be removed from the Explorer Selector and turned off. 
4. April 30, 2024
   1. ExplorerDB private API gated access will be completely shut off.
   2. All wallets, tools, and projects that rely on the ExplorerDB must have migrated to avoid a loss of functionality.

If you have a product that may be affected by the sunset of Explorer or Explorer DB, please comment on this NEAR Social post from Pagoda or message @austinbaggio from the Pagoda product team directly on Telegram so they can ensure a smooth transition period.