Optimizing RPC usage can significantly improve performance, reduce costs, and enhance user experience. This guide covers proven techniques for efficient Solana RPC interactions.

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Quick Start

Transaction Optimization

Optimize compute units, priority fees, and transaction sending

Data Retrieval

Efficient patterns for fetching account and program data

Real-time Monitoring

WebSocket subscriptions and streaming data optimization

Best Practices

Performance guidelines and resource management

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Transaction Optimization

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Compute Unit Management

1. Simulate to determine actual usage: 
const testTransaction = new VersionedTransaction(/* your transaction */);
const simulation = await connection.simulateTransaction(testTransaction, {
  replaceRecentBlockhash: true,
  sigVerify: false
});
const unitsConsumed = simulation.value.unitsConsumed;
2. Set appropriate limits with margin: 
const computeUnitLimit = Math.ceil(unitsConsumed * 1.1);
const computeUnitIx = ComputeBudgetProgram.setComputeUnitLimit({ 
  units: computeUnitLimit 
});
instructions.unshift(computeUnitIx); // Add at beginning

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Priority Fee Optimization

1. Get dynamic fee estimates: 
const response = await fetch(`https://mainnet.helius-rpc.com/?api-key=${API_KEY}`, {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    method: 'getPriorityFeeEstimate',
    params: [{
      accountKeys: ['11111111111111111111111111111112'], // System Program
      options: { recommended: true }
    }]
  })
});
const { priorityFeeEstimate } = await response.json().result;
2. Apply the priority fee: 
const priorityFeeIx = ComputeBudgetProgram.setComputeUnitPrice({ 
  microLamports: priorityFeeEstimate 
});
instructions.unshift(priorityFeeIx);

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Transaction Sending Best Practices

// Serialize and encode
const serializedTx = transaction.serialize();
const signature = await connection.sendRawTransaction(serializedTx, {
  skipPreflight: true, // Saves ~100ms
  maxRetries: 0 // Handle retries manually
});

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Data Retrieval Optimization

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Efficient Account Queries

// Use dataSlice to reduce payload size
const accountInfo = await connection.getAccountInfo(pubkey, {
  encoding: 'base64',
  dataSlice: { offset: 0, length: 100 }, // Only get needed data
  commitment: 'confirmed'
});

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Token Balance Lookups

// Don't do this - requires N+1 RPC calls
const tokenAccounts = await connection.getTokenAccountsByOwner(owner, {
  programId: TOKEN_PROGRAM_ID
});
const balances = await Promise.all(
  tokenAccounts.value.map(acc => 
    connection.getTokenAccountBalance(acc.pubkey)
  )
);
// ~500ms + (100ms * N accounts)

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Transaction History

// Avoid sequential transaction fetching
const signatures = await connection.getSignaturesForAddress(address, { limit: 100 });
const transactions = await Promise.all(
  signatures.map(sig => connection.getTransaction(sig.signature))
);
// ~1s + (200ms * 100 txs) = ~21s

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Real-time Monitoring

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Account Subscriptions

// Avoid polling - wastes resources
setInterval(async () => {
  const accountInfo = await connection.getAccountInfo(pubkey);
  // Process updates...
}, 1000);

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Program Account Monitoring

// Monitor specific program accounts with filters
connection.onProgramAccountChange(
  programId,
  (accountInfo, context) => {
    // Handle program account changes
  },
  'confirmed',
  {
    filters: [
      { dataSize: 1024 },
      { memcmp: { offset: 0, bytes: ACCOUNT_DISCRIMINATOR }}
    ],
    encoding: 'base64'
  }
);

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Transaction Monitoring

// Subscribe to transaction logs for real-time monitoring
const ws = new WebSocket(`wss://mainnet.helius-rpc.com/?api-key=${API_KEY}`);

ws.on('open', () => {
  ws.send(JSON.stringify({
    jsonrpc: '2.0',
    id: 1,
    method: 'logsSubscribe',
    params: [
      { mentions: [programId] },
      { commitment: 'confirmed' }
    ]
  }));
});

ws.on('message', (data) => {
  const message = JSON.parse(data);
  if (message.params) {
    const signature = message.params.result.value.signature;
    // Process transaction signature
  }
});

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Advanced Patterns

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Smart Retry Logic

class RetryManager {
  private backoff = new ExponentialBackoff({
    min: 100,
    max: 5000,
    factor: 2,
    jitter: 0.2
  });

  async executeWithRetry<T>(operation: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
    while (true) {
      try {
        return await operation();
      } catch (error) {
        if (error.message.includes('429')) {
          // Rate limit - wait and retry
          await this.backoff.delay();
          continue;
        }
        throw error;
      }
    }
  }
}

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Memory-Efficient Processing

// Process large datasets in chunks
function chunk<T>(array: T[], size: number): T[][] {
  return Array.from({ length: Math.ceil(array.length / size) }, (_, i) =>
    array.slice(i * size, i * size + size)
  );
}

// Process program accounts in batches
const allAccounts = await connection.getProgramAccounts(programId, {
  dataSlice: { offset: 0, length: 32 }
});

const chunks = chunk(allAccounts, 100);
for (const batch of chunks) {
  const detailedAccounts = await connection.getMultipleAccountsInfo(
    batch.map(acc => acc.pubkey)
  );
  // Process batch...
}

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Connection Pooling

class ConnectionPool {
  private connections: Connection[] = [];
  private currentIndex = 0;

  constructor(rpcUrls: string[]) {
    this.connections = rpcUrls.map(url => new Connection(url));
  }

  getConnection(): Connection {
    const connection = this.connections[this.currentIndex];
    this.currentIndex = (this.currentIndex + 1) % this.connections.length;
    return connection;
  }
}

const pool = new ConnectionPool([
  'https://mainnet.helius-rpc.com/?api-key=YOUR_API_KEY',
  'https://mainnet-backup.helius-rpc.com/?api-key=YOUR_API_KEY'
]);

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Performance Monitoring

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Track RPC Usage

class RPCMonitor {
  private metrics = {
    calls: 0,
    errors: 0,
    totalLatency: 0
  };

  async monitoredCall<T>(operation: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
    const start = Date.now();
    this.metrics.calls++;
    
    try {
      const result = await operation();
      this.metrics.totalLatency += Date.now() - start;
      return result;
    } catch (error) {
      this.metrics.errors++;
      throw error;
    }
  }

  getStats() {
    return {
      ...this.metrics,
      averageLatency: this.metrics.totalLatency / this.metrics.calls,
      errorRate: this.metrics.errors / this.metrics.calls
    };
  }
}

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Best Practices

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Commitment Levels

  • Use for: WebSocket subscriptions, real-time updates
  • Latency: ~400ms
  • Reliability: Good for most applications

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Resource Management

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Error Handling

// Implement robust error handling
async function robustRPCCall<T>(operation: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
  try {
    return await operation();
  } catch (error) {
    if (error.code === -32602) {
      // Invalid params - fix request
      throw new Error('Invalid RPC parameters');
    } else if (error.code === -32005) {
      // Node behind - retry with different node
      throw new Error('Node synchronization issue');
    } else if (error.message.includes('429')) {
      // Rate limit - implement backoff
      throw new Error('Rate limited');
    }
    throw error;
  }
}

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Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Avoid these common mistakes:
  • Polling instead of using WebSocket subscriptions
  • Fetching full account data when only partial data is needed
  • Not using batch operations for multiple queries
  • Ignoring rate limits and not implementing proper retry logic
  • Using finalized commitment when confirmed is sufficient
  • Not closing subscriptions, leading to memory leaks

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Summary

By implementing these optimization techniques, you can achieve:
  • 60-90% reduction in API call volume
  • Significantly lower latency for real-time operations
  • Reduced bandwidth usage through targeted queries
  • Better error resilience with smart retry logic
  • Lower operational costs through efficient resource usage

Next Steps

Ready to implement these optimizations? Check out our Transaction Optimization Guide for transaction-specific best practices.