Helius API — Enhanced Solana RPC

Helius extends standard Solana RPC with parsed transaction history, a unified Digital Asset Standard (DAS) API, webhooks, and priority fee estimation. Essential for wallet analysis, token metadata, and transaction monitoring.

Quick Start

1. Get an API Key

Sign up at dashboard.helius.dev — free tier available (1M credits/mo, no card required).

export HELIUS_API_KEY="your-api-key"

2. Install Dependencies

uv pip install httpx python-dotenv

3. Two Base URLs

Helius uses different base URLs depending on the API:

API	Base URL	Protocol
RPC / DAS / Priority Fees	https://mainnet.helius-rpc.com/?api-key=KEY	JSON-RPC 2.0
Enhanced Transactions / Webhooks	https://api-mainnet.helius-rpc.com/v0/...?api-key=KEY	REST

DAS API (Digital Asset Standard)

Unified interface for querying all Solana digital assets — fungible tokens, NFTs, compressed NFTs, Token-2022.

Get Asset Metadata

import httpx, os

API_KEY = os.environ["HELIUS_API_KEY"]
RPC_URL = f"https://mainnet.helius-rpc.com/?api-key={API_KEY}"

resp = httpx.post(RPC_URL, json={
    "jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 1,
    "method": "getAsset",
    "params": {
        "id": "So11111111111111111111111111111111111111112",  # wSOL
        "options": {"showFungible": True}
    }
})
asset = resp.json()["result"]
# asset.content.metadata.name, asset.token_info.decimals, etc.

Get All Assets for a Wallet

resp = httpx.post(RPC_URL, json={
    "jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 1,
    "method": "getAssetsByOwner",
    "params": {
        "ownerAddress": "WALLET_ADDRESS",
        "page": 1,
        "limit": 100,
        "displayOptions": {
            "showFungible": True,
            "showNativeBalance": True,
            "showZeroBalance": False,
        }
    }
})
assets = resp.json()["result"]["items"]

Search Assets with Filters

resp = httpx.post(RPC_URL, json={
    "jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 1,
    "method": "searchAssets",
    "params": {
        "ownerAddress": "WALLET_ADDRESS",
        "tokenType": "fungible",      # fungible | nonFungible | all
        "page": 1,
        "limit": 50,
    }
})

All DAS Methods

Method	Purpose	Credits
getAsset	Single asset metadata	10
getAssetBatch	Up to 1,000 assets	10
getAssetsByOwner	All assets for a wallet	10
getAssetsByGroup	Assets by collection	10
getAssetsByCreator	Assets by creator	10
getAssetsByAuthority	Assets by update authority	10
searchAssets	Multi-criteria filtered search	10
getAssetProof	Merkle proof (compressed NFTs)	10
getAssetProofBatch	Batch proofs	10
getSignaturesForAsset	Tx history for an asset	10
getNftEditions	All editions of a master	10
getTokenAccounts	Token accounts by mint/owner	10

See references/das_api.md for complete field documentation.

Enhanced Transactions API

Transforms raw Solana transactions into human-readable structured data with categorized types and sources.

Parse a Transaction

API_URL = f"https://api-mainnet.helius-rpc.com/v0/transactions?api-key={API_KEY}"

resp = httpx.post(API_URL, json={
    "transactions": ["SIGNATURE_HERE"],
})
parsed = resp.json()[0]
# parsed["type"]        → "SWAP"
# parsed["source"]      → "JUPITER"
# parsed["description"] → "User swapped 1 SOL for 150 USDC on Jupiter"
# parsed["tokenTransfers"] → [{mint, amount, from, to}, ...]
# parsed["nativeTransfers"] → [{from, to, amount}, ...]

Get Parsed Transaction History for a Wallet

url = f"https://api-mainnet.helius-rpc.com/v0/addresses/{wallet}/transactions"
resp = httpx.get(url, params={
    "api-key": API_KEY,
    "limit": 50,
    "type": "SWAP",  # optional filter
})
history = resp.json()

Transaction Types (151+)

Key types for trading analysis:

Type	Meaning
SWAP	DEX swap
TRANSFER	Token/SOL transfer
ADD_LIQUIDITY / REMOVE_LIQUIDITY	LP operations
NFT_SALE / NFT_MINT / NFT_LISTING	NFT marketplace
STAKE_SOL / UNSTAKE_SOL	Staking
CREATE_ORDER / FILL_ORDER	Limit orders

Transaction Sources (50+)

JUPITER, RAYDIUM, ORCA, MAGIC_EDEN, TENSOR, MARINADE, METEORA, PHANTOM, etc.

See references/enhanced_transactions.md for full type/source enums.

Webhooks

Real-time notifications for on-chain events — no polling required.

Create a Webhook

url = f"https://api-mainnet.helius-rpc.com/v0/webhooks?api-key={API_KEY}"
resp = httpx.post(url, json={
    "webhookURL": "https://your-server.com/helius-hook",
    "transactionTypes": ["SWAP", "TRANSFER"],
    "accountAddresses": ["WalletAddress1", "WalletAddress2"],
    "webhookType": "enhanced",
    "authHeader": "your-secret-token",
})
webhook_id = resp.json()["webhookID"]

Webhook Types

Type	Data Format	Filtering
enhanced	Parsed (like Enhanced Transactions API)	By transaction type + account
raw	Unprocessed transaction data	By account only (lower latency)
discord	Formatted messages to Discord channel	By transaction type + account

Manage Webhooks

# List all
webhooks = httpx.get(f"{url}?api-key={API_KEY}").json()

# Update
httpx.put(f"{url}/{webhook_id}?api-key={API_KEY}", json={
    "webhookURL": "https://new-url.com/hook",
    "transactionTypes": ["SWAP"],
    "accountAddresses": ["NewWallet..."],
    "webhookType": "enhanced",
})

# Delete
httpx.delete(f"{url}/{webhook_id}?api-key={API_KEY}")

Up to 100,000 addresses per webhook (via API). 1 credit per event delivered.

Priority Fee API

Estimate optimal priority fees for transaction landing.

resp = httpx.post(RPC_URL, json={
    "jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 1,
    "method": "getPriorityFeeEstimate",
    "params": [{
        "accountKeys": ["JUP6LkbZbjS1jKKwapdHNy74zcZ3tLUZoi5QNyVTaV4"],
        "options": {
            "includeAllPriorityFeeLevels": True,
            "recommended": True,
        }
    }]
})
fees = resp.json()["result"]
# fees["priorityFeeEstimate"]  → recommended fee (microlamports/CU)
# fees["priorityFeeLevels"]    → {min, low, medium, high, veryHigh, unsafeMax}

Level	Percentile	Use Case
min	0-20th	Non-urgent
low	20-40th	Standard transfers
medium	40-60th	DEX swaps (recommended default)
high	60-80th	Time-sensitive
veryHigh	80-95th	Critical timing
unsafeMax	100th	Emergency only

Fee in microlamports/CU. Total priority fee = microlamports/CU × compute units consumed.

Pricing & Rate Limits

Plan	Price/mo	Credits	RPC req/s	DAS req/s
Free	$0	1M	10	2
Developer	$49	10M	50	10
Business	$499	100M	200	50
Professional	$999	200M	500	100

Credit costs: Standard RPC = 1, DAS = 10, Enhanced Txns = 100, Webhooks = 1/event. Additional credits: $5/million.

Files

References

• references/das_api.md — Complete DAS API field reference and response schemas
• references/enhanced_transactions.md — Transaction types, sources, and response structure
• references/webhooks.md — Webhook setup, management, and event handling
• references/error_handling.md — Rate limits, error codes, and retry strategies

Scripts

• scripts/wallet_analysis.py — Fetch wallet assets and parsed transaction history
• scripts/token_lookup.py — Look up token metadata and holder information via DAS