RPC Basics

10 examples to get you started with Solana JSON-RPC - 7 basic and 3 intermediate.

Prerequisites

• RPC endpoint URL (public devnet or provider)
• @solana/kit 7.0.0 for TypeScript examples

npm install @solana/kit@7.0.0

Basic Examples

1. HTTP JSON-RPC Shape

Solana nodes speak JSON-RPC 2.0 over HTTP POST.

curl https://api.devnet.solana.com -s -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "getHealth"
}'

• Methods are camelCase like getBalance, getSlot.
• Responses include result or error with code and message.
• Same URL often supports WebSocket on a different port/path for subscriptions.

2. Create an RPC Client with Kit

Type-safe reads with @solana/kit 7.0.0.

import { createSolanaRpc, address } from "@solana/kit";
 
const rpc = createSolanaRpc("https://api.devnet.solana.com");
 
const health = await rpc.getHealth().send();
console.log(health);

• createSolanaRpc wraps fetch-based JSON-RPC calls.
• .send() executes the request and returns typed results.
• Swap URL for provider endpoints in production.

Related: Core RPC Methods - common methods

3. Commitment: processed

Fastest reads - may roll back on forks.

import { createSolanaRpc, address } from "@solana/kit";
 
const rpc = createSolanaRpc("https://api.devnet.solana.com");
 
const slot = await rpc.getSlot({ commitment: "processed" }).send();
console.log("processed slot:", slot);

• Use for UI polling where slight staleness is OK.
• Not ideal for financial finality decisions.
• Default client behavior may differ - set explicitly.

4. Commitment: confirmed

Default for most application reads.

const balance = await rpc
  .getBalance(address("11111111111111111111111111111111"), {
    commitment: "confirmed",
  })
  .send();
console.log("lamports:", balance.value);

• Supermajority voted on slot - practical balance for dApps.
• Pair with confirmed on sends before showing success UI.
• CLI default commitment aligns with this level.

5. Commitment: finalized

Safest reads for treasury and accounting.

const account = await rpc
  .getAccountInfo(address("TokenkegQfeZyiNwAJbNbGKPFXCWuBvf9Ss623VQ5DA"), {
    commitment: "finalized",
    encoding: "base64",
  })
  .send();
console.log(account.value?.lamports);

• Finalized cannot be rolled back under normal network conditions.
• Slower - wait minutes on mainnet after writes.
• Use for withdrawals and irreversible UI states.

6. Check Rate Limit Headers

Providers return HTTP 429 when throttled.

curl -i https://api.devnet.solana.com -s -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '
{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"getSlot"}' | head -20

• Public endpoints throttle aggressively - expect 429 in CI.
• Back off exponentially and cache reads.
• Dedicated provider keys raise limits.

Related: RPC Providers - provider comparison

7. CLI Uses the Same RPC

Terminal commands hit the same JSON-RPC as your app.

solana config set --url https://api.devnet.solana.com
solana slot

• solana slot maps to getSlot.
• Debugging starts by aligning CLI URL and app RPC_URL.
• Commitment flags mirror RPC parameters.

Intermediate Examples

8. Batch Requests (Concept)

Reduce round trips by batching JSON-RPC in one HTTP body.

import { createSolanaRpc, address } from "@solana/kit";
 
const rpc = createSolanaRpc("https://api.devnet.solana.com");
 
const [slot, blockHeight] = await Promise.all([
  rpc.getSlot().send(),
  rpc.getBlockHeight().send(),
]);
console.log({ slot, blockHeight });

• Parallel Promise.all still uses multiple HTTP requests unless provider supports batch arrays.
• Prefer getMultipleAccounts over N getAccountInfo calls.
• See pagination page for scan patterns.

Related: Pagination & Efficiency - efficient reads

9. WebSocket vs HTTP

Subscriptions need WebSocket transport.

# HTTP for one-shot reads
curl https://api.devnet.solana.com ...
 
# WS for accountSubscribe (kit or ws client)

• accountSubscribe, logsSubscribe require persistent socket.
• Provider WSS URL may differ from HTTPS RPC URL.
• HTTP remains best for stateless reads at scale.

Related: WebSocket Subscriptions - live updates

10. DAS and Standard RPC

Digital Asset Standard API extends reads for NFTs and compressed assets.

// DAS methods (e.g. getAsset) live on provider DAS-enabled endpoints
// Standard getAccountInfo still underlies raw account bytes

• Not every public RPC exposes DAS - check provider feature matrix.
• Use DAS for asset metadata; use getAccountInfo for custom program accounts.
• See DAS page for method list.

Related: The DAS API - asset reads

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.