# Helius for AI Agents > Helius is Solana's leading infrastructure provider and developer platform — RPC nodes, transaction sending (Sender), gRPC streaming (LaserStream), webhooks, and digital asset APIs. This file is a focused onboarding document for autonomous agents (Claude, Cursor, Codex, custom). For the full machine-readable index, see [/llms.txt](https://www.helius.dev/llms.txt). ## Quick Start ```bash # 1. Get an API key (autonomous, costs 1 USDC on Solana mainnet) npx helius-cli signup --json # 2. Or get one interactively open https://dashboard.helius.dev # 3. Run the MCP server (works with any MCP-compatible client) npx helius-mcp@latest ``` Set `HELIUS_API_KEY` from the dashboard or the CLI signup output. ## API Surfaces Each surface has a per-API OpenAPI spec at `https://www.helius.dev/openapi/.json`. The merged catalog is at [/openapi.json](https://www.helius.dev/openapi.json) and the RFC 9727 linkset is at [/.well-known/api-catalog](https://www.helius.dev/.well-known/api-catalog). | Surface | Endpoint | Spec | Docs | | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Solana RPC (HTTP) + Helius extensions | `https://mainnet.helius-rpc.com` | [rpc-http.json](https://www.helius.dev/openapi/rpc-http.json) | [/docs/rpc/overview](https://www.helius.dev/docs/rpc/overview) | | Digital Asset Standard (DAS) | `https://mainnet.helius-rpc.com` | [das-api.json](https://www.helius.dev/openapi/das-api.json) | [/docs/das-api](https://www.helius.dev/docs/das-api) | | Sender (transaction submission) | `https://sender.helius-rpc.com` (global HTTPS, frontend) or `http://{region}-sender.helius-rpc.com` (regional HTTP, backend: `slc`, `ewr`, `lon`, `fra`, `ams`, `sg`, `tyo`) | [sender-api.json](https://www.helius.dev/openapi/sender-api.json) | [/docs/sending-transactions/sender](https://www.helius.dev/docs/sending-transactions/sender) | | Wallet API | `https://api.helius.xyz/v1/wallet` | [wallet-api.json](https://www.helius.dev/openapi/wallet-api.json) | [/docs/wallet-api/overview](https://www.helius.dev/docs/wallet-api/overview) | | Priority Fee | `https://mainnet.helius-rpc.com` | [priority-fee-api.json](https://www.helius.dev/openapi/priority-fee-api.json) | [/docs/priority-fee-api](https://www.helius.dev/docs/priority-fee-api) | | ZK Compression Indexer | `https://mainnet.helius-rpc.com` | [zk-compression.json](https://www.helius.dev/openapi/zk-compression.json) | [/docs/zk-compression/introduction](https://www.helius.dev/docs/zk-compression/introduction) | | Admin (project usage, billing) | `https://admin-api.helius.xyz` | [admin-api.json](https://www.helius.dev/openapi/admin-api.json) | [/docs/api-reference/admin](https://www.helius.dev/docs/api-reference/admin) | | Webhooks | `https://api.helius.xyz/v0/webhooks` | [webhooks.json](https://www.helius.dev/openapi/webhooks.json) | [/docs/webhooks](https://www.helius.dev/docs/webhooks) | | LaserStream (gRPC streaming) | `https://laserstream-{network}-{region}.helius-rpc.com` (mainnet regions: `slc`, `ewr`, `lon`, `fra`, `ams`, `sgp`, `tyo`, `lax`, `pitt`; devnet: `ewr`). Auth: `x-token` gRPC metadata header. | gRPC, no OpenAPI — SDK: [helius-labs/laserstream-sdk](https://github.com/helius-labs/laserstream-sdk) | [/docs/laserstream/grpc](https://www.helius.dev/docs/laserstream/grpc) | ## Errors & Retries - **Auth:** every surface requires an `api-key` query parameter (e.g. `?api-key=YOUR_KEY`). A missing or invalid key returns `401`. - **Rate limits:** `429` means you exceeded your plan's RPS or credit budget. Back off and honor the `Retry-After` header when present. Per-plan limits are at [/pricing.md](https://www.helius.dev/pricing.md). - **Transient failures:** retry `429` and `5xx` with exponential backoff (e.g. 2s, 4s, 8s; ~3 attempts). Do not retry `400`/`401`/`404` — those are permanent and need a fixed request. - **CLI:** `helius` commands emit distinct exit codes per error class and, with `--json`, a `{ error, message, retryable }` body — see [/cli.md](https://www.helius.dev/cli.md). The full auth/error/revocation contract is at [/auth.md](https://www.helius.dev/auth.md). - **Live status:** [helius.statuspage.io](https://helius.statuspage.io/) — check here before retrying if calls fail broadly. ## MCP Server Helius ships a stdio MCP server distributed via npm. It exposes 10 routed tools covering 60+ Solana operations: RPC, DAS, parsed transactions, wallet intelligence, webhooks, Laserstream, priority fees, staking, and onchain API key signup. - Install + run: `npx helius-mcp@latest` - Server card: [/.well-known/mcp-server-card](https://www.helius.dev/.well-known/mcp-server-card) - Source: [helius-labs/core-ai/helius-mcp](https://github.com/helius-labs/core-ai/tree/main/helius-mcp) - Docs: [/docs/agents/mcp](https://www.helius.dev/docs/agents/mcp) The server is verified and listed in [Anthropic's Claude Code plugin marketplace](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-official). Install in Claude Code: `/plugin marketplace add helius-labs/core-ai && /plugin install helius@helius-labs`. ## Discovery Surfaces | Path | Purpose | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | [/llms.txt](https://www.helius.dev/llms.txt) | Broad markdown index of pages, posts, APIs, and agent surfaces | | [/openapi.json](https://www.helius.dev/openapi.json) | Merged OpenAPI 3.1 catalog across all REST surfaces | | [/.well-known/api-catalog](https://www.helius.dev/.well-known/api-catalog) | RFC 9727 linkset enumerating each API | | [/.well-known/agent-card.json](https://www.helius.dev/.well-known/agent-card.json) | A2A-compatible agent card | | [/.well-known/mcp-server-card](https://www.helius.dev/.well-known/mcp-server-card) | SEP-2127 MCP server card | | [/api/agents.md](https://www.helius.dev/api/agents.md) | Step-by-step CLI signup flow for autonomous API key acquisition | | [/api/agents.json](https://www.helius.dev/api/agents.json) | Same signup flow, machine-readable | | [/?mode=agent](https://www.helius.dev/?mode=agent) | Structured JSON summary of every agent-facing surface on the site | Most pages also advertise a markdown alternate via `Link: <...>; rel="alternate"; type="text/markdown"`. Append `.md` to a page URL or send `Accept: text/markdown` to fetch the markdown variant. ## Repos - [helius-labs/core-ai](https://github.com/helius-labs/core-ai) — monorepo for the MCP server, Claude Code plugin, agent skills, and CLI - [MCP server](https://github.com/helius-labs/core-ai/tree/main/helius-mcp) — 10 routed tools covering 60+ Solana operations for any MCP client; `npx helius-mcp@latest` (npm: `helius-mcp`) - [Claude Code plugin](https://github.com/helius-labs/core-ai/tree/main/helius-plugin) — verified in Anthropic's official marketplace; `/plugin marketplace add helius-labs/core-ai && /plugin install helius@helius-labs` - [Agent skills](https://github.com/helius-labs/core-ai/tree/main/helius-skills) — helius, helius-phantom, helius-jupiter, helius-okx, helius-dflow, svm — also comes bundled with the plugin - [helius-cli](https://github.com/helius-labs/core-ai/tree/main/helius-cli) — CLI used by the autonomous signup flow above; `npm install -g helius-cli` (npm: `helius-cli`) - [helius-labs/helius-sdk](https://github.com/helius-labs/helius-sdk) — TypeScript SDK (npm: `helius-sdk`) - [helius-labs/helius-rust-sdk](https://github.com/helius-labs/helius-rust-sdk) — Rust SDK (crates.io: `helius`) ## Support - Docs: [/docs](https://www.helius.dev/docs) - Status: [helius.statuspage.io](https://helius.statuspage.io/) - Support: support@helius.xyz · [/docs/support/contact-support](https://www.helius.dev/docs/support/contact-support) - Sales / partnerships: [/contact](https://www.helius.dev/contact)