Transaction Monitoring - Helius LaserStream

Transaction monitoring lets you track transaction execution, success/failure status, program interactions, and token balance changes across Solana in real-time. This guide covers filtering strategies and practical implementations using the helius-laserstream SDK.

Prerequisites: This guide assumes you’ve completed the LaserStream gRPC Quickstart and have an API key.

Transaction Filtering Options

LaserStream uses the same filter shape as Yellowstone gRPC, including the tokenAccounts (ATA expansion) filter. The fields you’ll set inside transactions.<label>:

accountInclude — match if any of these accounts appears (logical OR)
accountRequired — match only if all of these accounts appear (logical AND)
accountExclude — drop if any of these accounts appears
vote / failed — boolean flags for vote and failed transactions
tokenAccounts — opt-in associated token account (ATA) expansion ("balanceChanged", "all", or "none"), so an accountInclude wallet also matches transactions where it owns an SPL token balance. See Token Account (ATA) Filtering and the Watching a Wallet tab below.

Program Filtering
Account-Specific
Advanced Filtering
Watching a Wallet

Monitor transactions involving specific programsTrack all transactions that touch programs you care about:

import { subscribe, CommitmentLevel, LaserstreamConfig, SubscribeRequest } from 'helius-laserstream';

const subscriptionRequest: SubscribeRequest = {
  transactions: {
    "program-filter": {
      accountInclude: [
        "TokenkegQfeZyiNwAJbNbGKPFXCWuBvf9Ss623VQ5DA", // Token Program
        "11111111111111111111111111111111",              // System Program
        "675kPX9MHTjS2zt1qfr1NYHuzeLXfQM9H24wFSUt1Mp8"  // Your program
      ],
      accountExclude: [],
      accountRequired: [],
      vote: false,
      failed: false
    }
  },
  commitment: CommitmentLevel.CONFIRMED,
  accounts: {},
  slots: {},
  transactionsStatus: {},
  blocks: {},
  blocksMeta: {},
  entry: {},
  accountsDataSlice: [],
};

Best for: Program-specific monitoring, DeFi protocol tracking, smart contract interactions.

Monitor transactions affecting specific accounts

const subscriptionRequest: SubscribeRequest = {
  transactions: {
    "wallet-filter": {
      accountInclude: [
        "EPjFWdd5AufqSSqeM2qN1xzybapC8G4wEGGkZwyTDt1v", // USDC mint
        "YourWalletAddress"                                // Your wallet
      ],
      accountExclude: [],
      accountRequired: [],
      vote: false,
      failed: true // Include failures to track errors
    }
  },
  commitment: CommitmentLevel.CONFIRMED,
  accounts: {}, slots: {}, transactionsStatus: {},
  blocks: {}, blocksMeta: {}, entry: {}, accountsDataSlice: [],
};

Use case: Wallet monitoring, token mint tracking, account activity dashboards.

Combine multiple filter criteria

const subscriptionRequest: SubscribeRequest = {
  transactions: {
    "advanced-filter": {
      accountInclude: ["TokenkegQfeZyiNwAJbNbGKPFXCWuBvf9Ss623VQ5DA"],
      accountRequired: ["YourProgramId"], // Must include this program
      accountExclude: ["VoteProgram"],     // Exclude vote-related txs
      vote: false,
      failed: false
    }
  },
  commitment: CommitmentLevel.CONFIRMED,
  accounts: {}, slots: {}, transactionsStatus: {},
  blocks: {}, blocksMeta: {}, entry: {}, accountsDataSlice: [],
};

Filter logic: accountInclude (OR) AND accountRequired (AND) AND NOT accountExclude.

Catch incoming token transfers, not just direct activityaccountInclude only matches transactions where the wallet appears directly in the account keys. When someone sends the wallet an SPL token, the transfer touches the wallet’s associated token account (ATA), not the wallet pubkey — so a plain accountInclude: [wallet] never sees it.Set tokenAccounts to expand matching to transactions where the wallet owns a token balance. It takes a string:

"balanceChanged" — match when an owned token balance changed (or its token account was closed). Best for “tell me when money actually moved” — narrower, lower-volume, the recommended default.
"all" — match any transaction referencing an owned token balance, even if unchanged. Substantially higher volume.
"none" — no expansion (same as omitting the field).

const subscriptionRequest: SubscribeRequest = {
  transactions: {
    "wallet-with-tokens": {
      accountInclude: ["YourWalletAddress"],
      accountExclude: [],
      accountRequired: [],
      vote: false,
      failed: false,
      tokenAccounts: "balanceChanged" // also match the wallet's ATAs
    }
  },
  commitment: CommitmentLevel.CONFIRMED,
  accounts: {}, slots: {}, transactionsStatus: {},
  blocks: {}, blocksMeta: {}, entry: {}, accountsDataSlice: [],
};

Matching is owner-based — it catches any token account the wallet owns (including non-canonical ones), not just the derived ATA address. The SDK converts the string to the wire-level TokenAccountExpansionControlFlag enum for you.

Practical Examples

Example 1: Monitor DEX Transactions

Track transactions touching popular DEX programs:

import { subscribe, CommitmentLevel, LaserstreamConfig, SubscribeRequest } from 'helius-laserstream';
import bs58 from 'bs58';

async function monitorDEXTransactions() {
  const subscriptionRequest: SubscribeRequest = {
    transactions: {
      "dex-filter": {
        accountInclude: [
          "675kPX9MHTjS2zt1qfr1NYHuzeLXfQM9H24wFSUt1Mp8", // Raydium
          "CAMMCzo5YL8w4VFF8KVHrK22GGUsp5VTaW7grrKgrWqK", // Raydium CLMM
          "JUP6LkbZbjS1jKKwapdHNy74zcZ3tLUZoi5QNyVTaV4"   // Jupiter
        ],
        accountExclude: [],
        accountRequired: [],
        vote: false,
        failed: false
      }
    },
    commitment: CommitmentLevel.CONFIRMED,
    accounts: {}, slots: {}, transactionsStatus: {},
    blocks: {}, blocksMeta: {}, entry: {}, accountsDataSlice: [],
  };

  const config: LaserstreamConfig = {
    apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
    endpoint: 'https://laserstream-mainnet-ewr.helius-rpc.com', // Choose your closest region
  };

  await subscribe(config, subscriptionRequest, async (data) => {
    if (!data.transaction?.transaction) return;
    const tx = data.transaction.transaction;
    console.log(`\n🔄 DEX Transaction:`);
    console.log(`  Signature: ${bs58.encode(tx.signature)}`);
    console.log(`  Slot: ${data.transaction.slot}`);
    console.log(`  Status: ${tx.meta?.err ? 'Failed' : 'Success'}`);
    console.log(`  Fee: ${tx.meta?.fee || 0} lamports`);
    console.log(`  Compute Units: ${tx.meta?.computeUnitsConsumed || 0}`);

    // Token balance changes
    if (tx.meta?.preTokenBalances?.length > 0) {
      console.log(`  Token Balance Changes:`);
      tx.meta.preTokenBalances.forEach((preBalance: any, index: number) => {
        const postBalance = tx.meta.postTokenBalances[index];
        if (preBalance && postBalance) {
          const change = postBalance.uiTokenAmount.uiAmount - preBalance.uiTokenAmount.uiAmount;
          if (change !== 0) {
            console.log(`    ${preBalance.mint}: ${change > 0 ? '+' : ''}${change}`);
          }
        }
      });
    }
  }, async (error) => {
    console.error('Stream error:', error);
  });
}

monitorDEXTransactions().catch(console.error);

Example 2: Monitor Failed Transactions

Track failed transactions to surface application issues:

async function monitorFailedTransactions() {
  const subscriptionRequest: SubscribeRequest = {
    transactions: {
      "failures": {
        accountInclude: ["YourProgramId"],
        accountExclude: [],
        accountRequired: [],
        vote: false,
        failed: true // Only failed transactions
      }
    },
    commitment: CommitmentLevel.CONFIRMED,
    accounts: {}, slots: {}, transactionsStatus: {},
    blocks: {}, blocksMeta: {}, entry: {}, accountsDataSlice: [],
  };

  const config: LaserstreamConfig = {
    apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
    endpoint: 'https://laserstream-mainnet-ewr.helius-rpc.com',
  };

  await subscribe(config, subscriptionRequest, async (data) => {
    if (!data.transaction?.transaction?.meta?.err) return;
    const tx = data.transaction.transaction;
    console.log(`\n❌ Failed Transaction:`);
    console.log(`  Signature: ${bs58.encode(tx.signature)}`);
    console.log(`  Slot: ${data.transaction.slot}`);
    console.log(`  Error: ${JSON.stringify(tx.meta.err)}`);
    console.log(`  Fee: ${tx.meta.fee} lamports`);
    console.log(`  Compute Units: ${tx.meta.computeUnitsConsumed || 0}`);
  }, async (error) => {
    console.error('Stream error:', error);
  });
}

Example 3: Monitor High-Value Transactions

Track transactions with significant SOL transfers:

async function monitorHighValueTransactions() {
  const subscriptionRequest: SubscribeRequest = {
    transactions: {
      "system-program": {
        accountInclude: ["11111111111111111111111111111111"],
        accountExclude: [],
        accountRequired: [],
        vote: false,
        failed: false
      }
    },
    commitment: CommitmentLevel.CONFIRMED,
    accounts: {}, slots: {}, transactionsStatus: {},
    blocks: {}, blocksMeta: {}, entry: {}, accountsDataSlice: [],
  };

  const config: LaserstreamConfig = {
    apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
    endpoint: 'https://laserstream-mainnet-ewr.helius-rpc.com',
  };

  await subscribe(config, subscriptionRequest, async (data) => {
    if (!data.transaction?.transaction?.meta) return;
    const tx = data.transaction.transaction;
    const preBalances = tx.meta.preBalances || [];
    const postBalances = tx.meta.postBalances || [];

    let maxChange = 0;
    preBalances.forEach((preBalance: number, index: number) => {
      const postBalance = postBalances[index] || 0;
      maxChange = Math.max(maxChange, Math.abs(postBalance - preBalance));
    });

    const changeInSOL = maxChange / 1e9;
    if (changeInSOL > 10) {
      console.log(`\n💰 High-Value Transaction:`);
      console.log(`  Signature: ${bs58.encode(tx.signature)}`);
      console.log(`  Slot: ${data.transaction.slot}`);
      console.log(`  Max SOL Transfer: ${changeInSOL.toFixed(2)} SOL`);
      console.log(`  Fee: ${tx.meta.fee / 1e9} SOL`);
    }
  }, async (error) => {
    console.error('Stream error:', error);
  });
}

Example 4: Watch a Wallet (incl. token transfers)

Monitor everything that moves money for a wallet — including incoming SPL token transfers that touch its ATAs — by adding tokenAccounts to a plain accountInclude filter:

import { subscribe, CommitmentLevel, LaserstreamConfig, SubscribeRequest } from 'helius-laserstream';
import bs58 from 'bs58';

async function watchWallet(wallet: string) {
  const subscriptionRequest: SubscribeRequest = {
    transactions: {
      "wallet-activity": {
        accountInclude: [wallet],
        accountExclude: [],
        accountRequired: [],
        vote: false,
        failed: false,
        // Also match txs touching token accounts this wallet owns.
        // "balanceChanged" = only when an owned token balance actually moved.
        tokenAccounts: "balanceChanged"
      }
    },
    commitment: CommitmentLevel.CONFIRMED,
    accounts: {}, slots: {}, transactionsStatus: {},
    blocks: {}, blocksMeta: {}, entry: {}, accountsDataSlice: [],
  };

  const config: LaserstreamConfig = {
    apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
    endpoint: 'https://laserstream-mainnet-ewr.helius-rpc.com',
  };

  await subscribe(config, subscriptionRequest, async (data) => {
    if (!data.transaction?.transaction) return;
    const tx = data.transaction.transaction;
    console.log(`\n👛 Wallet activity:`);
    console.log(`  Signature: ${bs58.encode(tx.signature)}`);
    console.log(`  Slot: ${data.transaction.slot}`);

    // Surface token balances this wallet owns that changed in the tx
    const owned = (tx.meta?.postTokenBalances || []).filter((b: any) => b.owner === wallet);
    owned.forEach((post: any) => {
      const pre = (tx.meta.preTokenBalances || []).find(
        (b: any) => b.accountIndex === post.accountIndex
      );
      const before = pre?.uiTokenAmount?.uiAmount || 0;
      const after = post.uiTokenAmount?.uiAmount || 0;
      if (after !== before) {
        console.log(`  ${post.mint}: ${after - before > 0 ? '+' : ''}${after - before}`);
      }
    });
  }, async (error) => {
    console.error('Stream error:', error);
  });
}

Transaction Data Structure

Transaction Message Structure

{
  signature: string;
  isVote: boolean;
  transaction: {
    message: {
      accountKeys: string[];        // All accounts involved
      instructions: Instruction[];  // Program instructions
      recentBlockhash: string;
    };
    signatures: string[];
  };
  meta: {
    err: any;                      // Error details if failed
    fee: number;                   // Transaction fee in lamports
    computeUnitsConsumed: number;
    preBalances: number[];
    postBalances: number[];
    preTokenBalances: TokenBalance[];
    postTokenBalances: TokenBalance[];
    logMessages: string[];
  };
}

Token Balance Changes

{
  accountIndex: number;
  mint: string;
  owner: string;
  uiTokenAmount: {
    amount: string;
    decimals: number;
    uiAmount: number;
    uiAmountString: string;
  };
}

Instruction Details

{
  programIdIndex: number; // Index in accountKeys array
  accounts: number[];
  data: string;           // Instruction data (base58)
}

Filter Logic Reference

Include Logic (OR)

accountInclude: Transaction must involve ANY of these accounts.["A", "B"] matches transactions involving account A OR account B.

Required Logic (AND)

accountRequired: Transaction must involve ALL of these accounts.["A", "B"] matches transactions involving account A AND account B.

Exclude Logic (NOT)

accountExclude: Transaction must NOT involve any of these accounts.

Combined Logic

Final filter: (accountInclude OR empty) AND (accountRequired AND all) AND NOT (accountExclude OR any).

Performance Considerations

Volume Management
Data Processing

Transaction streams can be high-volume. To keep up:

Start with specific program filters (don’t subscribe to “all transactions”)
Use confirmed over processed when you can tolerate ~1.5s extra latency
Monitor your processing capacity with a counter
Consider running parallel consumers behind a queue

let count = 0;
const startTime = Date.now();
// inside your subscribe handler:
count++;
if (count % 100 === 0) {
  const elapsed = (Date.now() - startTime) / 1000;
  console.log(`Processing ${(count / elapsed).toFixed(1)} tx/sec`);
}

Extract only what you need to keep memory low:

import bs58 from 'bs58';

function extractTransactionData(tx: any) {
  return {
    signature: bs58.encode(tx.signature),
    slot: tx.slot,
    success: !tx.meta?.err,
    fee: tx.meta?.fee || 0,
    computeUnits: tx.meta?.computeUnitsConsumed || 0,
  };
}

Error Handling

Too Many Transactions

Symptom: Overwhelming transaction volume.Solutions: Add stricter filters (accountRequired, accountExclude); use higher commitment; implement sampling or rate limiting; process asynchronously.

Missing Transactions

Symptom: Expected transactions not appearing.Solutions: Verify program addresses are correct; check that the transactions actually exist; try processed for faster updates; loosen restrictive accountRequired/accountExclude filters.

Parse Errors

Symptom: Cannot parse transaction data.Solutions: Handle missing fields gracefully; validate structure before processing; wrap parsing in try/catch; see Decoding Transaction Data.

Next Steps

Slot & Block Monitoring

Track network consensus and block production.

Stream Pump AMM Data

Real-world example: monitor Pump.fun AMM transactions.

Decoding Transaction Data

Parse the binary transaction payloads into readable Solana transactions.

Yellowstone protocol reference

The same workflow against the raw Yellowstone gRPC protocol.

Get Started

Data Streaming & Event Listening

Data APIs & RPCs

Trading

Sending Transactions

Guides

Resources

Transaction Monitoring with LaserStream

Transaction Filtering Options

Practical Examples

Example 1: Monitor DEX Transactions

Example 2: Monitor Failed Transactions

Example 3: Monitor High-Value Transactions

Example 4: Watch a Wallet (incl. token transfers)

Transaction Data Structure

Filter Logic Reference

Include Logic (OR)

Required Logic (AND)

Exclude Logic (NOT)

Combined Logic

Performance Considerations

Error Handling

Next Steps

Slot & Block Monitoring

Stream Pump AMM Data

Decoding Transaction Data

Yellowstone protocol reference

​Transaction Filtering Options

​Practical Examples

​Example 1: Monitor DEX Transactions

​Example 2: Monitor Failed Transactions

​Example 3: Monitor High-Value Transactions

​Example 4: Watch a Wallet (incl. token transfers)

​Transaction Data Structure

​Filter Logic Reference

Include Logic (OR)

Required Logic (AND)

Exclude Logic (NOT)

Combined Logic

​Performance Considerations

​Error Handling

​Next Steps

Slot & Block Monitoring

Stream Pump AMM Data

Decoding Transaction Data

Yellowstone protocol reference

Transaction Filtering Options

Practical Examples

Example 1: Monitor DEX Transactions

Example 2: Monitor Failed Transactions

Example 3: Monitor High-Value Transactions

Example 4: Watch a Wallet (incl. token transfers)

Transaction Data Structure

Filter Logic Reference

Performance Considerations

Error Handling

Next Steps