Overview
Slot and block monitoring lets you watch Solana’s network in real-time. See when blocks are produced, track network health, and monitor transaction volume as it happens.Start here first: Complete the Quickstart Guide to set up your stream manager.
What You Can Monitor
- Slots
- Full Blocks
- Block Metadata
Watch the network heartbeatSlots are 400ms time windows. Watch them advance to see network health:What you’ll see:
- Slot number
- Parent slot
- Status (processed, confirmed, or finalized)
Good for: Network health dashboards, timing analysis, detecting problems
Real Examples
Example 1: Basic Slot Monitor
Watch slots and track network performance:Example 2: Block Metadata Monitor
Track blocks and transaction volume:Example 3: Filtered Block Monitor
Watch blocks that contain specific program activity:Understanding the Data
Slot Data
Slot Data
- Processed: Just happened
- Confirmed: Majority of network agrees
- Finalized: Can’t be undone
Block Metadata
Block Metadata
Full Block
Full Block
How Much Data?
Slot Monitoring
Very light
- Minimal data usage
- Real-time network pulse
- Easy to process
- Great for dashboards
Block Metadata
Medium
- Moderate data usage
- Block-level insights
- Transaction counts
- Good for analytics
Full Blocks
Heavy
- High data usage
- Everything included
- Needs strong hardware
- Use filters!
Filtered Blocks
Smart choice
- Use accountInclude
- Turn off what you don’t need
- Focus on specific programs
- Best balance
What You Can Build
- Network Monitors
- Analytics Tools
- Sync Tools
Track network performance
- Slot timing dashboards
- Congestion alerts
- Consensus tracking
- Validator stats
- Skip rate alerts
Common Problems
Missing Slots
Missing Slots
Problem: You see gaps in slot numbersWhy it happens:
- Connection dropped
- Validator went down
- Your code is too slow
- Track gaps and alert
- Add catch-up code
- Check your connection
Too Much Data
Too Much Data
Problem: Full blocks are overwhelmingFix it:
- Use metadata instead
- Add account filters
- Turn off unnecessary data
- Process async
Best Practices
Tips for production:
- Start small - Use metadata before full blocks
- Filter everything - Use accountInclude to reduce data
- Watch timing - Track slots to spot problems
- Handle gaps - Code for missing slots
- Don’t block - Process data async
- Match commitment - Pick the right level for your needs
- Track yourself - Monitor your own performance
- Set alerts - Get notified of problems
Common Questions
What's a slot?
What's a slot?
A slot is a 400ms time window. Solana processes transactions in slots. One slot = one potential block (though some slots get skipped).
Should I use full blocks or metadata?
Should I use full blocks or metadata?
Start with metadata. It’s way lighter and has most of what you need. Only use full blocks if you need every transaction detail.
Why are some slots skipped?
Why are some slots skipped?
Validators sometimes miss their turn to produce a block. This is normal and the network handles it automatically. A 5% skip rate is typical.
How big are full blocks?
How big are full blocks?
A busy block can be several MB. That’s why filtering is important - you don’t want to download gigabytes of data you don’t need.
What's the difference between processed, confirmed, and finalized?
What's the difference between processed, confirmed, and finalized?
- Processed (~400ms): Just happened, might change
- Confirmed (~1 second): Supermajority agrees, probably won’t change
- Finalized (~13 seconds): Locked in, can’t change
Next Steps
Entry Monitoring
Even more detailed monitoring
Account Monitoring
Watch specific accounts
Real Example
See it in action
Quickstart
Get started