> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.helius.dev/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How to Use accountSubscribe

> Stream real-time Solana account updates with `accountSubscribe`. Monitor balance changes, data modifications, and lamport updates via WebSocket.

## What is `accountSubscribe`?

Solana's WebSockets support a method that allows you to subscribe to an account and receive notifications via the WebSocket connection whenever there are changes to the lamports or data associated with a matching account public key.

This method aligns directly with the [Solana WSS API specification](https://solana.com/docs/rpc/websocket#accountsubscribe).

## Parameters

* `string`: the account public key, sent in `base58` format (required)
* `object`: an optional object used to pass additional parameters
* `encoding`: specifies the format for data returned in the `AccountNotification`. Supported values: `base58` (default), `base64`, `base64+zstd`, `jsonParsed`
* `commitment`: defines the commitment level for the transaction. Supported values: `finalized` (default), `confirmed`, `processed`

## Account Subscribe Example

In this example, we are subscribing to account changes for the  account `SysvarC1ock11111111111111111111111111111111`.

We will see an update whenever a change occurs to the account data or the lamports for this account.

This happens at a frequent interval for this specific account as the `slot` and `unixTimestamp` are both a part of the returned account data.

<Tip>
  Helius's filtered `accountSubscribe` lives on the same unified `wss://mainnet.helius-rpc.com` and `wss://devnet.helius-rpc.com` [endpoints](https://www.helius.dev/docs/api-reference/endpoints) as the rest of the WebSocket subscription methods.
</Tip>

<CodeGroup>
  ```javascript theme={"system"}
  const WebSocket = require('ws');

  // Create a WebSocket connection
  const ws = new WebSocket('wss://mainnet.helius-rpc.com?api-key=<API_KEY>');

  // Function to send a request to the WebSocket server
  function sendRequest(ws) {
      const request = {
          jsonrpc: "2.0",
          id: 420,
          method: "accountSubscribe",
          params: [
              "SysvarC1ock11111111111111111111111111111111", // pubkey of account we want to subscribe to
              {
                  encoding: "jsonParsed", // base58, base64, base64+zstd, jsonParsed
                  commitment: "confirmed", // defaults to finalized if unset
              }
          ]
      };
      ws.send(JSON.stringify(request));
  }

  // Function to send a ping to the WebSocket server
  function startPing(ws) {
      setInterval(() => {
          if (ws.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) {
              ws.ping();
              console.log('Ping sent');
          }
      }, 30000); // Ping every 30 seconds
  }

  // Define WebSocket event handlers

  ws.on('open', function open() {
      console.log('WebSocket is open');
      sendRequest(ws);  // Send a request once the WebSocket is open
      startPing(ws);    // Start sending pings
  });

  ws.on('message', function incoming(data) {
      const messageStr = data.toString('utf8');
      try {
          const messageObj = JSON.parse(messageStr);
          console.log('Received:', messageObj);
      } catch (e) {
          console.error('Failed to parse JSON:', e);
      }
  });

  ws.on('error', function error(err) {
      console.error('WebSocket error:', err);
  });

  ws.on('close', function close() {
      console.log('WebSocket is closed');
  });
  ```
</CodeGroup>

### Example Notification

<CodeGroup>
  ```json theme={"system"}
  {
      "jsonrpc": "2.0",
      "method": "accountNotification",
      "params": {
          "subscription": 237508762798666,
          "result": {
              "context": {"slot": 235781083},
              "value": {
                  "lamports": 1169280,
                  "data": "BvEhEb6hixL3QPn41gHcyi2CDGKt381jbNKFFCQr6XDTzCTXCuSUG9D",
                  "owner": "Sysvar1111111111111111111111111111111111111",
                  "executable": false,
                  "rentEpoch": 361,
                  "space": 40
              }
          }
      }
  }
  ```
</CodeGroup>