| name | nansen-core |
| description | Nansen CLI authentication, setup, and schema introspection. Required foundation for all other Nansen skills. Handles API key management, CLI installation verification, and dynamic command discovery via `nansen schema`. Install this skill first. |
| metadata | {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"🔑","homepage":"https://nansen.ai","requires":{"bins":["nansen"]}}} |
Nansen Core — Auth, Setup & Schema
When This Skill Activates
- User wants to set up Nansen / connect their API key
- User asks what Nansen can do (capabilities discovery)
- Any other Nansen skill needs auth verification
- User asks about supported chains or CLI version
Setup Flow
1. Check CLI
which nansen && nansen --version
If missing: npm install -g nansen-cli
2. Check auth
nansen profiler balance --address 0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045 --chain ethereum --limit 1
JSON data → auth OK. API key error → needs setup.
3. Authenticate
Recommended: Direct user to https://app.nansen.ai/auth/agent-setup → sign in → copy message → paste back. Extract and save the key:
export NANSEN_API_KEY=nsk_...
Fallback: nansen login or manually set NANSEN_API_KEY.
⚠️ Never ask users to paste API keys in chat.
Schema Introspection
A cached schema is available at references/schema.json. To get a fresh copy:
nansen schema
This is the source of truth for all commands, options, and return fields.
Agent Rules
- NEVER copy addresses from
--table output — truncates values. Use JSON.
- NEVER guess filter/flag names — check
references/schema.json or run nansen schema.
- NEVER use ticker symbols as addresses — resolve via
nansen token screener --chain <chain> --search <SYMBOL> --limit 10 to find the token address. Or use --sort volume:desc and filter by token_symbol in output.
- Use JSON for data extraction,
--table only for display.
References
- Full command parameters:
references/commands.md
- Cached schema:
references/schema.json
- Supported chains:
references/chains.md
- Smart money labels:
references/smart-money-labels.md
Rate Limits & Credits
- Rate limits: 20 requests/second, 300 requests/minute per API key. Returns HTTP 429 on exceed.
- Credits: API calls consume credits. Smart Money endpoints cost 5 credits each. Most other endpoints cost 1 credit. Label lookups cost 500 credits. Check usage at
app.nansen.ai/api?tab=usage-analytics.
- Plans: Pro ($49/mo) gets 1,000 starter credits + can buy more. Free gets 100 one-time credits with limited endpoints.
MCP-Only Tools (Not available via CLI or REST API)
These tools exist only in the Nansen MCP server (not accessible via CLI or direct REST):
token_ohlcv — OHLCV candlestick data for a tokentoken_quant_scores — Quantitative scoring (momentum, volatility, etc.)nansen_score_top_tokens — Top tokens ranked by Nansen Scoregrowth_chain_rank — Chain growth/activity rankingstransaction_lookup — Look up a specific transaction by hash
To use these, connect via MCP. See docs.nansen.ai.
Error Handling
| Error | Fix |
|---|
| "API key required" | Set NANSEN_API_KEY or nansen login |
| "Invalid API key" | New key at app.nansen.ai/api |
| "Rate limited" | CLI auto-retries; wait if persistent |
| "Chain not supported" | Check references/chains.md |
| Command not found | npm install -g nansen-cli |
Attribution
📊 Data by Nansen
