Transactions Not Landing

A transaction that simulates cleanly can still never confirm: leaders skip it during congestion, blockhashes expire, or fee bids lose the priority auction. Production triage separates execution failure from inclusion failure before you change program logic.

Recipe

Quick-reference recipe card - copy-paste ready.

import {
  createSolanaRpc,
  createSolanaRpcSubscriptions,
  pipe,
  createTransactionMessage,
  setTransactionMessageFeePayer,
  setTransactionMessageLifetimeUsingBlockhash,
  appendTransactionMessageInstructions,
  signTransactionMessageWithSigners,
  getSignatureFromTransaction,
} from "@solana/kit";
import {
  getSetComputeUnitLimitInstruction,
  getSetComputeUnitPriceInstruction,
} from "@solana-program/compute-budget";
 
// 1. Fresh blockhash  2. Compute budget ix  3. send + subscribe

When to reach for this:

Users see "pending" indefinitely in the wallet
Error rate is low but support volume for stuck txs is high
Post-deploy spike in unconfirmed signatures
Competing bots during NFT mint or token launch
You need SLOs for transaction landing latency

Working Example

import { createSolanaRpc, createSolanaRpcSubscriptions } from "@solana/kit";
 
const rpc = createSolanaRpc(process.env.RPC_URL!);
const subs = createSolanaRpcSubscriptions(process.env.WS_URL!);
 
async function sendWithLandingWatch(wireBase64: string, signature: string) {
  await rpc.sendTransaction(wireBase64, {
    encoding: "base64",
    skipPreflight: false,
    maxRetries: 0,
    preflightCommitment: "confirmed",
  }).send();
 
  const started = Date.now();
  const sub = await subs.signatureNotifications(signature, { commitment: "confirmed" });
 
  for await (const note of sub) {
    if (note.value.err) throw new Error(`On-chain err: ${JSON.stringify(note.value.err)}`);
    return { landedMs: Date.now() - started, slot: note.context.slot };
  }
 
  throw new Error("Subscription ended without confirmation");
}

What this demonstrates:

maxRetries: 0 so your app controls retry policy with fresh blockhashes
WebSocket signatureNotifications instead of polling getSignatureStatuses
Measuring landing latency for SLO dashboards
Treating on-chain err separately from never landing

Deep Dive

How It Works

Gulf Stream forwards transactions to upcoming leaders; there is no guaranteed global mempool ordering.
Recent blockhash sets transaction lifetime (~60-90 seconds of validity). Expired txs are dropped silently.
Priority fee (set_compute_unit_price) bids micro-lamports per CU; higher bids tend to land first under load.
Compute unit limit caps execution; under-bidding CU can cause scheduling inefficiency.
Address Lookup Tables (ALTs) shrink tx size so more txs fit per block.

Landing Failure Modes

Signal	Likely cause	Mitigation
No signature in explorer	RPC never forwarded	Secondary provider, check 429 rate limits
Signature exists, no confirmation	Dropped / outbid	Raise priority fee, bundle via Jito
`BlockhashNotFound` on resend	Stale lifetime	Fetch new blockhash, re-sign
Confirmed then rolled back	Rare fork; usually wrong commitment read	Wait for `confirmed` or `finalized`

TypeScript Notes

// Fetch recent prioritization fees for your program accounts
const fees = await rpc.getRecentPrioritizationFees({
  lockedWritableAccounts: [programId],
}).send();
const p75 = fees.value.map((f) => f.prioritizationFee).sort((a, b) => a - b)[
  Math.floor(fees.value.length * 0.75)
] ?? 1;

Gotchas

Identical resubmits - Rebroadcasting the same signed bytes after expiry wastes fees. Fix: Rebuild message with new blockhash and re-sign.
Default CU price of zero during mints - Your txs lose every auction. Fix: Dynamic fee oracle from getRecentPrioritizationFees.
Trusting processed for UX - Forks can unwind processed. Fix: Show success at confirmed; settle money at finalized if needed.
Huge transactions without ALTs - Exceeds packet size; RPC may accept but leaders drop. Fix: Compile with lookup tables; split instructions.
RPC retry storms - Client and RPC both retry; nonce confusion and rate limits. Fix: App-level idempotency keys; maxRetries: 0 on send.
Ignoring time-of-day congestion - Mainnet peaks differ from devnet. Fix: Track landing p95 by hour; auto-scale fee multiplier.

Alternatives

Alternative	Use When	Don't Use When
Jito bundles	Must land atomically with tip	Simple low-value transfers
Private RPC / SWQoS	Production dApp baseline	Local development only
Lower commitment UX	Read-only dashboards	Payment confirmation
Transaction queue service	Backend batching with fee policy	Fully client-side wallets

FAQs

Is a dropped transaction a program bug?

Usually no. Inclusion failures are economic and network-scheduling problems unless simulation also fails.

How long is a blockhash valid?

Roughly 60-90 seconds (150 slots). Always fetch a fresh one before resubmit.

Should I use `skipPreflight: true` to land faster?

Only on trusted server paths with separate simulation. Skipping preflight increases on-chain failure rate.

What priority fee should I use?

Start at the p75 of getRecentPrioritizationFees for your writable accounts; tune from landing metrics.

Why does devnet land instantly but mainnet does not?

Devnet has low contention. Mainnet fee markets and leader scheduling dominate.

Do ALTs help landing?

They reduce tx size, improving propagation and fit in blocks - especially for complex DeFi routes.

How do I detect silent drops?

Timeout on signatureNotifications; compare against getSignatureStatuses on a second RPC.

Can I resubmit the same signature?

Yes - duplicate sends of identical wire bytes are idempotent until expiry. After expiry you need a new signature.

What is SWQoS?

Stake-weighted QoS gives staked-connection RPC providers better forwarding to leaders - common in paid tiers.

When should I use Jito bundles?

High-contention mints, arbitrage, or any flow where atomic landing justifies a tip.

Debugging Failed Transactions - simulation and program errors
RPC & Infrastructure Outages - provider failover
Before/After: Making Transactions Land Reliably - case study

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.

Transactions Not Landing

Recipe

Quick-reference recipe card - copy-paste ready.

import {
  createSolanaRpc,
  createSolanaRpcSubscriptions,
  pipe,
  createTransactionMessage,
  setTransactionMessageFeePayer,
  setTransactionMessageLifetimeUsingBlockhash,
  appendTransactionMessageInstructions,
  signTransactionMessageWithSigners,
  getSignatureFromTransaction,
} from "@solana/kit";
import {
  getSetComputeUnitLimitInstruction,
  getSetComputeUnitPriceInstruction,
} from "@solana-program/compute-budget";
 
// 1. Fresh blockhash  2. Compute budget ix  3. send + subscribe

When to reach for this:

Users see "pending" indefinitely in the wallet
Error rate is low but support volume for stuck txs is high
Post-deploy spike in unconfirmed signatures
Competing bots during NFT mint or token launch
You need SLOs for transaction landing latency

Working Example

import { createSolanaRpc, createSolanaRpcSubscriptions } from "@solana/kit";
 
const rpc = createSolanaRpc(process.env.RPC_URL!);
const subs = createSolanaRpcSubscriptions(process.env.WS_URL!);
 
async function sendWithLandingWatch(wireBase64: string, signature: string) {
  await rpc.sendTransaction(wireBase64, {
    encoding: "base64",
    skipPreflight: false,
    maxRetries: 0,
    preflightCommitment: "confirmed",
  }).send();
 
  const started = Date.now();
  const sub = await subs.signatureNotifications(signature, { commitment: "confirmed" });
 
  for await (const note of sub) {
    if (note.value.err) throw new Error(`On-chain err: ${JSON.stringify(note.value.err)}`);
    return { landedMs: Date.now() - started, slot: note.context.slot };
  }
 
  throw new Error("Subscription ended without confirmation");
}

What this demonstrates:

maxRetries: 0 so your app controls retry policy with fresh blockhashes
WebSocket signatureNotifications instead of polling getSignatureStatuses
Measuring landing latency for SLO dashboards
Treating on-chain err separately from never landing

Deep Dive

How It Works

Gulf Stream forwards transactions to upcoming leaders; there is no guaranteed global mempool ordering.
Recent blockhash sets transaction lifetime (~60-90 seconds of validity). Expired txs are dropped silently.
Priority fee (set_compute_unit_price) bids micro-lamports per CU; higher bids tend to land first under load.
Compute unit limit caps execution; under-bidding CU can cause scheduling inefficiency.
Address Lookup Tables (ALTs) shrink tx size so more txs fit per block.

Landing Failure Modes

Signal	Likely cause	Mitigation
No signature in explorer	RPC never forwarded	Secondary provider, check 429 rate limits
Signature exists, no confirmation	Dropped / outbid	Raise priority fee, bundle via Jito
`BlockhashNotFound` on resend	Stale lifetime	Fetch new blockhash, re-sign
Confirmed then rolled back	Rare fork; usually wrong commitment read	Wait for `confirmed` or `finalized`

TypeScript Notes

// Fetch recent prioritization fees for your program accounts
const fees = await rpc.getRecentPrioritizationFees({
  lockedWritableAccounts: [programId],
}).send();
const p75 = fees.value.map((f) => f.prioritizationFee).sort((a, b) => a - b)[
  Math.floor(fees.value.length * 0.75)
] ?? 1;

Gotchas

Identical resubmits - Rebroadcasting the same signed bytes after expiry wastes fees. Fix: Rebuild message with new blockhash and re-sign.
Default CU price of zero during mints - Your txs lose every auction. Fix: Dynamic fee oracle from getRecentPrioritizationFees.
Trusting processed for UX - Forks can unwind processed. Fix: Show success at confirmed; settle money at finalized if needed.
Huge transactions without ALTs - Exceeds packet size; RPC may accept but leaders drop. Fix: Compile with lookup tables; split instructions.
RPC retry storms - Client and RPC both retry; nonce confusion and rate limits. Fix: App-level idempotency keys; maxRetries: 0 on send.
Ignoring time-of-day congestion - Mainnet peaks differ from devnet. Fix: Track landing p95 by hour; auto-scale fee multiplier.

Alternatives

Alternative	Use When	Don't Use When
Jito bundles	Must land atomically with tip	Simple low-value transfers
Private RPC / SWQoS	Production dApp baseline	Local development only
Lower commitment UX	Read-only dashboards	Payment confirmation
Transaction queue service	Backend batching with fee policy	Fully client-side wallets

FAQs

Is a dropped transaction a program bug?

Usually no. Inclusion failures are economic and network-scheduling problems unless simulation also fails.

How long is a blockhash valid?

Roughly 60-90 seconds (150 slots). Always fetch a fresh one before resubmit.

Should I use `skipPreflight: true` to land faster?

Only on trusted server paths with separate simulation. Skipping preflight increases on-chain failure rate.

What priority fee should I use?

Start at the p75 of getRecentPrioritizationFees for your writable accounts; tune from landing metrics.

Why does devnet land instantly but mainnet does not?

Devnet has low contention. Mainnet fee markets and leader scheduling dominate.

Do ALTs help landing?

They reduce tx size, improving propagation and fit in blocks - especially for complex DeFi routes.

How do I detect silent drops?

Timeout on signatureNotifications; compare against getSignatureStatuses on a second RPC.

Can I resubmit the same signature?

Yes - duplicate sends of identical wire bytes are idempotent until expiry. After expiry you need a new signature.

What is SWQoS?

Stake-weighted QoS gives staked-connection RPC providers better forwarding to leaders - common in paid tiers.

When should I use Jito bundles?

High-contention mints, arbitrage, or any flow where atomic landing justifies a tip.

Debugging Failed Transactions - simulation and program errors
RPC & Infrastructure Outages - provider failover
Before/After: Making Transactions Land Reliably - case study

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.

Transactions Not Landing

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Transactions Not Landing