Rust SDK Best Practices

Best practices and recommended patterns for agents using the Helius Rust SDK. For installation and getting started, see the overview.

Recommendations for Agents

Use `get_transactions_for_address` instead of two-step lookup

get_transactions_for_address combines signature lookup and transaction fetching into a single call with server-side filtering.

// GOOD: Single call, server-side filtering
let txs = helius.rpc().get_transactions_for_address(
    "address".to_string(),
    GetTransactionsForAddressOptions {
        transaction_details: Some(TransactionDetails::Full),
        limit: Some(100),
        filters: Some(GetTransactionsFilters {
            token_accounts: Some(TokenAccountsFilter::BalanceChanged),
            ..Default::default()
        }),
        ..Default::default()
    },
).await?;

// BAD: Two calls, client-side filtering
let sigs = helius.connection().get_signatures_for_address(&address)?;

Use `send_smart_transaction` for standard sends

It automatically simulates, estimates compute units, fetches priority fees, and confirms. Do not manually build ComputeBudget instructions — the SDK adds them automatically.

let sig = helius.send_smart_transaction(SmartTransactionConfig {
    create_config: CreateSmartTransactionConfig {
        instructions: vec![your_instruction],
        signers: vec![wallet_signer],
        priority_fee_cap: Some(100_000),
        cu_buffer_multiplier: Some(1.1),
        ..Default::default()
    },
    ..Default::default()
}).await?;

Use Helius Sender for ultra-low latency

For time-sensitive transactions (arbitrage, sniping, liquidations), use send_smart_transaction_with_sender. It routes through Helius’s multi-region infrastructure and Jito.

let sig = helius.send_smart_transaction_with_sender(
    SmartTransactionConfig {
        create_config: CreateSmartTransactionConfig {
            instructions: vec![your_instruction],
            signers: vec![wallet_signer],
            ..Default::default()
        },
        ..Default::default()
    },
    SenderSendOptions {
        region: "US_EAST".to_string(),    // Default, US_SLC, US_EAST, EU_WEST, EU_CENTRAL, EU_NORTH, AP_SINGAPORE, AP_TOKYO
        swqos_only: false,                // true = SWQOS only (lower tip), false = Dual (SWQOS + Jito)
        poll_timeout_ms: 60_000,
        poll_interval_ms: 2_000,
    },
).await?;

Use `get_asset_batch` for multiple assets

When fetching more than one asset, batch them. Do not call get_asset in a loop.

// GOOD: Single request
let assets = helius.rpc().get_asset_batch(GetAssetBatch {
    ids: vec!["mint1".to_string(), "mint2".to_string(), "mint3".to_string()],
    ..Default::default()
}).await?;

// BAD: N requests
for id in mints {
    let asset = helius.rpc().get_asset(GetAsset { id, ..Default::default() }).await?;
}

Use webhooks instead of polling

Do not poll get_transactions_for_address in a loop. Use webhooks for server-to-server notifications.

let webhook = helius.create_webhook(CreateWebhookRequest {
    webhook_url: "https://your-server.com/webhook".to_string(),
    webhook_type: WebhookType::Enhanced,
    transaction_types: vec![TransactionType::Transfer, TransactionType::NftSale, TransactionType::Swap],
    account_addresses: vec!["address_to_monitor".to_string()],
    auth_header: Some("Bearer your-secret".to_string()),
    ..Default::default()
}).await?;

Pagination

Token/Cursor-Based (RPC V2 Methods)

// get_transactions_for_address uses pagination_token
let mut pagination_token: Option<String> = None;
let mut all_txs = Vec::new();
loop {
    let result = helius.rpc().get_transactions_for_address(
        "address".to_string(),
        GetTransactionsForAddressOptions {
            limit: Some(100),
            pagination_token: pagination_token.clone(),
            ..Default::default()
        },
    ).await?;
    all_txs.extend(result.data);
    pagination_token = result.pagination_token;
    if pagination_token.is_none() { break; }
}

// Or use auto-paginating variants:
let all_accounts = helius.rpc().get_all_program_accounts(
    program_id.to_string(),
    GetProgramAccountsV2Config::default(),
).await?;

Page-Based (DAS API)

let mut page = 1;
let mut all_assets = Vec::new();
loop {
    let result = helius.rpc().get_assets_by_owner(GetAssetsByOwner {
        owner_address: "...".to_string(),
        page,
        limit: Some(1000),
        ..Default::default()
    }).await?;
    let count = result.items.len();
    all_assets.extend(result.items);
    if count < 1000 { break; }
    page += 1;
}

`token_accounts` Filter

When querying get_transactions_for_address, the token_accounts filter controls whether token account activity is included:

Value	Behavior	Use When
`None`	Only transactions directly involving the address	You only care about SOL transfers and program calls
`BalanceChanged`	Also includes token transactions that changed a balance	Recommended for most agents — shows token sends/receives without noise
`All`	Includes all token account transactions	You need complete token activity (can return many results)

`changed_since_slot` — Incremental Account Fetching

changed_since_slot returns only accounts modified after a given slot. Useful for syncing or indexing workflows. Supported by get_program_accounts_v2, get_token_accounts_by_owner_v2, get_account_info, get_multiple_accounts, get_program_accounts, and get_token_accounts_by_owner.

// First fetch: get all accounts
let baseline = helius.rpc().get_program_accounts_v2(
    program_id.to_string(),
    GetProgramAccountsV2Config { limit: Some(10_000), ..Default::default() },
).await?;
let last_slot = current_slot;

// Later: only get accounts that changed since your last fetch
let updates = helius.rpc().get_program_accounts_v2(
    program_id.to_string(),
    GetProgramAccountsV2Config {
        limit: Some(10_000),
        changed_since_slot: Some(last_slot),
        ..Default::default()
    },
).await?;

Common Mistakes

transaction_details: Some(TransactionDetails::Full) is not the default — By default, get_transactions_for_address returns signatures only. Set TransactionDetails::Full to get full transaction data.
Do not add ComputeBudget instructions with send_smart_transaction — The SDK adds them automatically. Adding your own causes a HeliusError::InvalidInput error.
Priority fees are in microlamports per compute unit — Not lamports. Values from get_priority_fee_estimate are already in the correct unit.
DAS pagination is 1-indexed — page: 1 is the first page, not page: 0.
async_connection() requires new_async or HeliusBuilder — Calling helius.async_connection() on a client created with Helius::new() returns Err(HeliusError::ClientNotInitialized).
get_asset returns Option<Asset> — A successful response may still be None if the asset doesn’t exist. Handle the Option explicitly.
Sender tips are mandatory — send_smart_transaction_with_sender automatically determines and appends tips. Minimum 0.0002 SOL (Dual mode) or 0.000005 SOL (SWQOS-only).
TLS feature flags — The crate defaults to native-tls. Use features = ["rustls"] (and default-features = false) for pure-Rust TLS when OpenSSL is unavailable.

Error Handling and Retries

The SDK provides typed error variants via the HeliusError enum, so you can match on them directly:

use helius::error::{HeliusError, Result};

match helius.rpc().get_asset(request).await {
    Ok(asset) => { /* success */ }
    Err(HeliusError::Unauthorized { .. }) => { /* 401: invalid or missing API key */ }
    Err(HeliusError::RateLimitExceeded { .. }) => { /* 429: too many requests or out of credits */ }
    Err(HeliusError::InternalError { .. }) => { /* 5xx: server error, retry with backoff */ }
    Err(HeliusError::NotFound { .. }) => { /* 404: resource not found */ }
    Err(HeliusError::BadRequest { .. }) => { /* 400: malformed request */ }
    Err(HeliusError::Timeout { .. }) => { /* transaction confirmation timed out */ }
    Err(e) => { /* other errors: Network, SerdeJson, etc. */ }
}

Retry strategy

Retry on RateLimitExceeded and InternalError with exponential backoff:

async fn with_retry<T, F, Fut>(f: F, max_retries: u32) -> Result<T>
where
    F: Fn() -> Fut,
    Fut: std::future::Future<Output = Result<T>>,
{
    for attempt in 0..=max_retries {
        match f().await {
            Ok(val) => return Ok(val),
            Err(HeliusError::RateLimitExceeded { .. })
            | Err(HeliusError::InternalError { .. }) if attempt < max_retries => {
                tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(1000 * 2u64.pow(attempt))).await;
            }
            Err(e) => return Err(e),
        }
    }
    unreachable!()
}

Error Variant	HTTP Status	Action
`Unauthorized`	401	Check API key
`RateLimitExceeded`	429	Back off and retry
`InternalError`	5xx	Retry with exponential backoff
`BadRequest`	400	Fix request parameters
`NotFound`	404	Check resource exists
`Timeout`	—	Increase timeout or retry

For Agents

​Recommendations for Agents

​Use get_transactions_for_address instead of two-step lookup

​Use send_smart_transaction for standard sends

​Use Helius Sender for ultra-low latency

​Use get_asset_batch for multiple assets

​Use webhooks instead of polling

​Pagination

​Token/Cursor-Based (RPC V2 Methods)

​Page-Based (DAS API)

​token_accounts Filter

​changed_since_slot — Incremental Account Fetching

​Common Mistakes

​Error Handling and Retries

​Retry strategy