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DocumentationConnecting to a Solana RPC

Connecting to a Solana RPC

To start Kite, you need to connect to a Solana RPC  - RPCs are how your code communicates with the Solana blockchain.

To use the local cluster (ie, solana-test-validator running on your machine):

import { connect } from "solana-kite";
 
const connection = connect();

You can also specify a cluster name. The connection object defaults to localnet but any of the following cluster names are supported:

  • devnet - Development network for testing with fake SOL. This is where Solana apps developers typically deploy first.
  • mainnet-beta (or mainnet) - Main Solana network where transactions involving real value occur.
  • testnet - Used to test future versions of the Solana blockchain.
  • helius-mainnet, helius-testnet, or helius-devnet - the Helius names require the environment variable HELIUS_API_KEY to be set in your environment. You can get an API key from Helius .
const connection = connect("helius-devnet");

You can also specify an arbitrary RPC URL and RPC subscription URL:

const connection = connect("https://mainnet.example.com/", "wss://mainnet.example.com/");

After you’ve made a connection Kite is ready to use.

If you’re used to raw @solana/kit you don’t need to set up any factories, they’re already configured.

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