Quick start

Install the CLI and read Solana blocks from the archive. You need no API key, no validator, and no RPC node.

Time: about 10 minutes. Most of it is the first compile.

Before you start

You need	How to check or install
Rust 1.98 or later	rustc --version. Update with rustup update.
Git and a C compiler	macOS: xcode-select --install. Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt install git build-essential.
About 3 GB of free disk	For the first build.

1. Install the CLI

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/FernoLabs/blockzilla.git
cd blockzilla
cargo install --locked --path blockzilla/cli --bin blockzilla --debug

The first build compiles about 350 crates. It took 8 minutes on an Apple M1. --debug makes the build faster. Reads in this guide are still fast.

Check the install:

blockzilla --version

If your shell cannot find blockzilla, add ~/.cargo/bin to your PATH and open a new terminal.

The crates.io package is not published yet. After the release, step 1 becomes cargo install blockzilla --locked.

2. Stream an epoch

Read the first five blocks of epoch 200 (July 2021):

blockzilla stream --epoch 200 --max-blocks 5

Each line is one block:

{"epoch":200,"block_ordinal":0,"slot":86400000,"transactions":0}
{"epoch":200,"block_ordinal":1,"slot":86400001,"transactions":608}
{"epoch":200,"block_ordinal":2,"slot":86400002,"transactions":143}
{"epoch":200,"block_ordinal":3,"slot":86400003,"transactions":458}
{"epoch":200,"block_ordinal":4,"slot":86400005,"transactions":775}

The first run takes about 20 seconds: the reader downloads the epoch index and key registry (65 MB) into .blockzilla-cache. Later reads of the same epoch start at once. Slot 86400004 is missing because that slot has no block.

Remove --max-blocks to stream the whole epoch.

3. Export real data

Export the USDC balances that Solana recorded in the first 20 blocks:

blockzilla dump-tokens --epoch 200 --max-blocks 20 \
  --mint EPjFWdd5AufqSSqeM2qN1xzybapC8G4wEGGkZwyTDt1v > usdc.jsonl

This writes 1,334 rows in about 4 seconds. One row:

{"source_id":"731ea4e9…","epoch":200,"block_ordinal":1,"slot":86400001,"tx_index":8,"execution_status":"succeeded","side":"post","balance_index":2,"account_index":9,"mint":"EPjFWdd5AufqSSqeM2qN1xzybapC8G4wEGGkZwyTDt1v","owner":null,"token_program":null,"amount":"121034816016","decimals":6}

amount is the raw amount: 121034816016 with 6 decimals is 121,034.816016 USDC. See Token dumper for all fields.

Next

I want to…	Go to
Read other epochs and set options	Read an epoch
Process transactions in Rust	Rust callbacks
Keep token balances in SQLite	Token index
Load ClickHouse	ClickHouse
Follow new blocks	Live stream

For full-epoch scans, install without --debug. The build takes longer, and decoding is faster.

If something fails

Problem	Fix
rustc is older than 1.98	Run rustup update.
linker 'cc' not found or a C build error	Install the C compiler (see Before you start).
No space left on device	Free about 3 GB and run the install again.
blockzilla: command not found	Add ~/.cargo/bin to PATH, then open a new terminal.
cargo install cannot find Cargo.toml	Run it from the blockzilla folder that git clone created.
HTTP 404 for an epoch	Use an available epoch.
No output for a while	The reader is downloading the index and key registry. For large epochs this is up to 2.2 GB.
The command stops with an error	The output file is incomplete. Run the command again.