What Is Geyser in Solana?
Geyser is a plugin interface built into Solana validators that streams account updates, transaction data, slot notifications, and block metadata in real time. Instead of polling RPC endpoints, applications receive data as it is processed.
How Geyser works
The Geyser plugin interface is a Rust trait that validators call as they process transactions. A plugin receives callbacks for:
- Account updates (data changed, owner changed)
- Transaction notifications (processed, confirmed)
- Slot status changes
- Block metadata
Geyser vs RPC WebSocket
| Feature | WebSocket | Geyser |
|---|---|---|
| Latency | Higher (via RPC) | Lower (directly from validator) |
| Throughput | Limited by WebSocket | Higher capacity |
| Filtering | Basic (per-account, per-program) | Flexible, plugin-defined |
| Access | Any RPC provider | Requires Geyser-enabled node |
Yellowstone gRPC
The most widely used Geyser plugin is Yellowstone (also called Dragon’s Mouth), which exposes the Geyser data stream over gRPC. This allows remote clients to subscribe to account and transaction updates without running a validator.
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