How to view latest block number of a geth node in the console? [duplicate]

Question

How to get information about the state of the blockchain on a geth node?

There are mentions of admin.chainSyncStatus in the documentation, but it is undefined on my 1.4.0 node. The admin.nodeInfo shows a hash for the head block, but not the number.

This information is sort-of available in the log, but that is not an answer.

Answer 1

eth.blockNumber will give the most recent block your node has processed.

eth.syncing gives more information, like what the estimated highest current block is.

var sync = web3.eth.syncing; 
console.log(sync);
 /* { startingBlock: 300, currentBlock: 312, highestBlock: 512 } */

Answer 2

You can use eth.blockNumber as shown below:

> eth.blockNumber
1486570

Source: Ethereum Wiki - JavaScript API.

Referring to @Tjaden Hess's answer,

1. When geth has not started syncing yet:

   > var sync = web3.eth.syncing; 
   undefined
   > console.log(sync);
   false
   

2. After geth has started syncing:

   > var sync = web3.eth.syncing; 
   undefined
   > console.log(sync);
   [object Object]
   undefined
   > sync
   {
     currentBlock: 1486592,
     highestBlock: 1488447,
     startingBlock: 1486592
   }