> ## 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.

# Shred Delivery

> Helius's pre-execution data product. Raw Solana shreds via UDP or preprocessed transactions via gRPC — the earliest possible on-chain signal for HFT, MEV, and arbitrage.

<Card title="Get shreds" icon="rocket" href="https://dashboard.helius.dev/shred-delivery-seats" color="#E84125">
  Start receiving raw shreds — subscribe in your Helius Dashboard.
</Card>

## What is Helius Shred Delivery?

[Shred Delivery](https://www.helius.dev/shreds) is Helius's **pre-execution data product**, designed to give you the earliest possible access to Solana's transaction data. It ships in two flavors:

* **[Raw shreds (UDP)](/shred-delivery/raw-shreds)** — unprocessed shred packets, delivered as they're produced. The fastest signal possible; you implement the deshredding.
* **[Preprocessed transactions (gRPC, Public Beta)](/shred-delivery/preprocessed-transactions)** — decoded shreds. Skips the deshredding step and delivers transactions \~8 ms ahead of the `processed` commitment level on average.

Either mode offers a competitive edge for high-frequency trading (HFT), arbitrage strategies, and other latency-sensitive apps.

<Warning>
  **Shreds carry transactions, not account state.** Both raw shreds and preprocessed transactions deliver *transactions* before they execute. Account and program updates (token balances, bonding-curve state, etc.) don't exist yet at the shred stage — the runtime produces them during execution. If you need real-time account state changes, use **[LaserStream gRPC](/laserstream) at `processed` commitment** instead.
</Warning>

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Raw shreds (UDP)" icon="bolt" href="/shred-delivery/raw-shreds">
    Earliest possible signal. Requires deshredding logic on your side. \$1,000/month/IP. Pro plan customers pay \$800/month/IP.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Preprocessed transactions (gRPC)" icon="binary" href="/shred-delivery/preprocessed-transactions">
    Decoded shreds delivered as transactions — \~8 ms ahead of `processed`, no execution metadata. Professional plan, 20 credits per 1 MB.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Earliest Access" icon="clock">
    Receive raw Solana shreds as they are produced, providing the fastest insight into network activity.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Unprocessed Data" icon="gear">
    Access data in its raw form, allowing for customized processing tailored to your specific trading strategies.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Validator Advantage" icon="star">
    Helius is the top validator by stake and receives shreds faster than validators with less stake and non-staked RPC nodes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Self-serve" icon="shield" href="/shred-delivery/raw-shreds">
    Add and remove seats from the Shreds tab in your dashboard. Each seat binds to one IP. We auto-detect the closest region to your server.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## What are shreds?

In Solana, transactions are broken down into smaller data packets called **"shreds"** to facilitate efficient and rapid propagation across the network.

Each shred is a fragment of transaction data, optimized to fit within standard network packets, ensuring swift distribution and reconstruction into complete blocks by validators.

This architecture is pivotal for maintaining Solana's high throughput and low latency, and Shred Delivery taps directly into this raw data stream before any processing occurs.

<Card title="Deep Dive: Understanding Solana Shreds" icon="book-open" href="https://www.helius.dev/blog/solana-shreds">
  Read our comprehensive blog post explaining how Solana's shred mechanism works and why it matters for trading
</Card>

## Raw shreds vs. preprocessed transactions

Both modes are part of Shred Delivery and both ship pre-execution data — the difference is how much processing Helius does before handing it to you.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Raw shreds (UDP)" icon="bolt" color="#E84125" href="/shred-delivery/raw-shreds">
    **Earliest possible signal**

    * Unprocessed shred packets delivered as they're produced
    * Lowest possible latency
    * Requires deshredding logic on your side
    * Available on all plans; pay per seat
    * Add/remove seats from your dashboard
    * HFT, arbitrage, MEV searchers
  </Card>

  <Card title="Preprocessed transactions (gRPC)" icon="binary" color="#FF9F40" href="/shred-delivery/preprocessed-transactions">
    **Decoded shreds**

    * Decoded transactions, \~8 ms ahead of `processed`
    * No execution metadata (no balance changes, logs, or errors)
    * Standard LaserStream gRPC delivery; no custom deshredding
    * Professional plan, 20 credits/1 MB
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

### When to choose which

Pick **[raw shreds](/shred-delivery/raw-shreds)** when every microsecond matters and you have the infrastructure to deshred at line rate.

Pick **preprocessed transactions** when you want the \~8 ms head-start over `processed` without having to write deshredding logic — and you don't need execution metadata. See [Preprocessed Transactions](/shred-delivery/preprocessed-transactions) for the full data shape, tradeoffs, and SDK examples.

## Shred Delivery vs. LaserStream gRPC

LaserStream gRPC and Shred Delivery sit at different points in the transaction lifecycle:

| Feature                     | Raw shreds (UDP)                                           | Preprocessed transactions (gRPC)                             | LaserStream gRPC                               |
| --------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------- |
| **When in the lifecycle**   | Pre-execution — raw shred packets                          | Pre-execution — decoded shreds, \~8 ms ahead of `processed`  | Post-execution — processed/confirmed/finalized |
| **Data Type**               | Raw shred packets                                          | Decoded transactions, no execution metadata                  | Full transactions with execution metadata      |
| **Latency**                 | **Earliest possible** — before shred decoding              | \~8 ms ahead of `processed`                                  | Ultra-low latency processed data               |
| **Processing on your side** | Deshredding logic                                          | None                                                         | None — turnkey                                 |
| **Replay**                  | ❌                                                          | ❌                                                            | ✅ 24 hours                                     |
| **Best For**                | HFT, arbitrage, MEV (milliseconds determine profitability) | HFT/MEV that wants decoded data without custom deshredding   | Production apps, analytics, backend services   |
| **Setup**                   | Pay-per-seat; provision via dashboard                      | Developer-friendly SDKs (Professional plan, 20 credits/1 MB) | Developer-friendly SDKs                        |

Many teams use **both**: Shred Delivery for the pre-execution signal that drives a trading decision, and LaserStream gRPC for the post-execution confirmation that updates dashboards and persists state.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Learn About LaserStream gRPC" icon="rocket" href="/laserstream">
    Production-grade gRPC streaming with replay, multi-region failover, and developer-friendly SDKs.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Start Using LaserStream" icon="arrow-right" href="https://dashboard.helius.dev/laserstream">
    Get started with LaserStream from your Helius Dashboard.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## The Helius Validator Advantage

Helius is the top validator by stake weight and receives shreds faster than validators with less stake and non-staked RPC nodes.

In Turbine, validators with higher stake weights receive priority in the data propagation tree, meaning block leaders send shreds to high-stake validators like Helius first.

This stake-weighted propagation ensures we receive shreds at the earliest possible moment in the network's data flow. While other providers must wait for secondary propagation or rely on unstaked infrastructure, our validator position grants direct, prioritized access to the raw transaction data as it flows through the network.