The [æternity Middleware](https://app.gitbook.com/s/yxhRUAwn7tH8JUboTur7/ae_mdw) (MDW) is a powerful caching and reporting layer that sits between applications and æternity nodes, designed to enhance query performance and extend the blockchain's querying capabilities. It provides fast access to blockchain data and supports complex queries that would be inefficient or impractical to implement directly on the node level.
The Middleware documentation covers everything you need to know about setting up, configuring, and using the middleware, including:
* Complete setup instructions for both mainnet and testnet environments
* Comprehensive API reference for all available endpoints
* Detailed guides for working with blockchain data like transactions, contracts, and tokens
* Advanced features such as pagination and websocket interfaces
* Tools and configurations for development and deployment
The middleware is currently hosted at for production use, though you can also deploy your own instance following the setup guides in this documentation.
*Note: All examples in this documentation are based on the hosted infrastructure, but endpoints may differ slightly for local deployments.*
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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.
Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:
```
GET https://docs.aeternity.com/aeternity-developer-tools/development-infrastructure/middleware.md?ask=
```
The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.
Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.
