How to Index the Solana Blockchain
How to Index the Solana Blockchain (2025 Server Requirements)
If you’ve tried indexing token mints or swaps on Raydium or pump.fun effectively, this is your post.
Here’s a breakdown of 3 real solutions that bypass rate limits and let you index Solana in real-time and the server requirements to do so (They are at ath).
Server Requirements to index Solana Blockchain
The values in the official Solana documentation are outdated at the moment in order to correctly index via (for example) gRPC the entire blockchain.
According to the official documentation, the values are around 256 GB of RAM to achieve this. Which we tested and found out that it is not enough.
Currently about 1TB of RAM is needed to be able to index the Solana blockchain without problems.
Once you count with one server that meets all the requirement, you can implement one of the top 3 ways to index Solana.
Option 1: Use a Solana gRPC Provider (Best for Real-Time Indexing)
gRPC is the current best practice for high-speed, low-latency Solana data. Unlike REST APIs or WebSockets, gRPC gives you a streaming firehose directly from the chain.
If you’re building bots or need tick-by-tick updates from Raydium or pump.fun, this is the way.
Why it works:
- No rate limits
- Streams updates in real time: gRPC performs 0.007ms latency aprox, so it’s almost real-time data.
- Built for high TPS environments like Solana
📍 Implementation Steps:
- Get a gRPC endpoint from GS Node
- Use Triton’s SDK to subscribe to program IDs like Raydium or pump.fun
- Parse transaction logs to extract mint or swap data
The only thing is that you must have implemented gRPC from your side, check out the documentation to start.
Option 2: Helius Webhooks (Simple + Free Plan Available)
They are our competitor, but they are great at webhooks to be honest. If you don’t need ultra-low latency but still want to get notified when events happen — Helius webhooks are great.
You can monitor:
- Token mints
- Account changes
- Custom program events
All delivered as webhooks, without any manual polling or RPC headaches.
📍 Implementation Steps:
- Sign up at Helius Dashboard
- Go to “Webhooks” → “Create Webhook”
- Add the program ID (e.g. Raydium) and wallet addresses you want to track
- Deploy a simple backend to receive events (Node, Flask, etc.)
Helius will notify you in real-time when new mints or transactions happen.
Docs: https://docs.helius.xyz/
Option 3: The Graph Protocol (For Historical or Structured Indexing)
While not real-time, The Graph lets you build subgraphs for Solana programs. It’s perfect if you need:
image source: Messari
- Historical data
- Structured GraphQL queries
- Dashboards or analytics tools
It’s not ideal for bots or sniping — but great for indexers or token explorers.
📍 Implementation Steps:
- Explore existing Solana subgraphs here: https://thegraph.com/explorer
- Learn how to deploy your own: Solana indexing quickstart
- Write a subgraph for the program ID you want (e.g. Raydium pool factory)
Note: Solana support is still growing, but there are early tools and templates to get started.
Conclusion
If you’re building anything real-time on Solana and hitting rate limits with QuickNode, stop suffering.
Here’s your decision tree:
| Use Case | Best Tool | Latency | Setup Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bots, snipers, LP tracking | gRPC (GS Node) | 🔥 Fastest | 🧠 Intermediate |
| Mints, wallets, alerts | Helius Webhooks | ⚡ Fast | 🟢 Easy |
| Analytics, dashboards | The Graph | 🐢 Slower | 🧠 Intermediate |
Final Word
You don’t need to self-host a node or rotate 5+ RPCs to build scalable, reliable indexers on Solana.
Pick the tool that matches your needs, and start streaming like a pro.
Got questions? Drop them in the comments — or join GS Node’s Discord if you’re exploring gRPC.
