Consensus Best Practices
Choosing the right commitment for your app.
How to Use This List
- Review before mainnet launch and after incidents
- Check off items per release train
A - Foundations
- Pin Agave 4.1.1 toolchain. CLI 3.0.10, Anchor 0.32.1, Rust 1.91.1 aligned in CI.
- Use @solana/kit 7.0.0 for new clients. Avoid web3.js v1 for greenfield work.
- Match RPC, wallet, and explorer cluster. Prevent false "account not found" errors.
B - Reliability
- Confirm at
confirmedorfinalized. Do not treatprocessedas final. - Refresh blockhash on retry. Expired transactions are dropped silently.
- Simulate and read logs. Decode program errors before resubmitting.
C - Economics & Security
- Budget priority fees under congestion. Local fee markets need Compute Budget instructions.
- Validate signers and account owners. Missing constraints are critical vulnerabilities.
- Close unused accounts to reclaim rent. Return lamports to users when lifecycle ends.
FAQs
How does this apply on Agave 4.1.1?
Agave 4.1.1 is transitioning toward Alpenglow—treat confirmation timings as version-dependent.
What Solana CLI version should I use?
Use Solana CLI 3.0.10, which pairs with Agave 4.1.1. Install with agave-install init 4.1.1 (or your team's pin file), then verify with solana --version and agave-install --version.
Should I use @solana/kit or web3.js?
Use @solana/kit 7.0.0 for new TypeScript—typed RPC methods, smaller API surface, and examples on this page already use Kit. Keep web3.js only for legacy codebases; migrate RPC calls and transaction building incrementally.
What commitment level is recommended?
Use confirmed for UX that tolerates rare forks; use finalized before irreversible payouts or bridge messages. Re-benchmark timeouts during Alpenglow rollout.
How do I debug related failures?
When txs vanish, check commitment level: confirmed is not finalized. Log status transitions during migration.
Does this work on devnet?
Yes—point CLI and RPC to https://api.devnet.solana.com. Behavior matches mainnet; only account data and economics differ.
How do compute units affect this?
Consensus changes rarely affect CU—focus on confirmation UX and timeout configs.
What is the Anchor 0.32.1 pattern?
Anchor 0.32.1 patterns apply when you write on-chain programs: typed accounts, require! guards, and IDL generation—use avm use 0.32.1 and anchor-lang = "0.32.1" in Cargo.toml.
How do I test with Surfpool 0.12.0?
Surfpool helps test client polling scripts against forked state; it does not simulate validator voting internals.
Can LiteSVM 0.6.x cover this?
LiteSVM for program logic; devnet RPC for finality behavior during Alpenglow rollout.
What changed in the Agave era?
The validator client rebranded to Agave (4.1.1), CLI 3.0.10 aligns with it, and Alpenglow work is changing finality—pin versions and read release notes each upgrade.
Where do I find related RPC methods?
getSignatureStatuses at multiple commitments; getVoteAccounts for validator health.
Related
- See sibling pages in this section for topic-specific depth.
Stack versions: This page was written for Agave 4.1.1, Solana CLI 3.0.10, Anchor 0.32.1, anchor-lang 0.32.1, Rust 1.91.1, @solana/kit 7.0.0, Surfpool 0.12.0, and LiteSVM 0.6.x.