--- title: RPC Endpoints description: Learn about Solana's network clusters (Devnet, Testnet, and Mainnet), their public RPC endpoints, rate limits, and use cases. Learn how to connect to different Solana networks for development, testing, and production. h1: Clusters and Public RPC Endpoints --- The Solana blockchain has several different groups of validators, known as Clusters. Each serving different purposes within the overall ecosystem and containing dedicated API nodes to fulfill [JSON-RPC](/docs/rpc/) requests for their respective Cluster. The individual nodes within a Cluster are owned and operated by third parties, with a public endpoint available for each. ## Solana public RPC endpoints The Solana Labs organization operates a public RPC endpoint for each Cluster. Each of these public endpoints are subject to rate limits, but are available for users and developers to interact with the Solana blockchain. > Public endpoint rate limits are subject to change. The specific rate limits > listed on this document are not guaranteed to be the most up-to-date. ### Using explorers with different Clusters Many of the popular Solana blockchain explorers support selecting any of the Clusters, often allowing advanced users to add a custom/private RPC endpoint as well. An example of some of these Solana blockchain explorers include: - [http://explorer.solana.com/](https://explorer.solana.com/). - [http://orb.helius.dev/](https://orb.helius.dev/). - [http://solana.fm/](https://solana.fm/). - [http://solscan.io/](https://solscan.io/). - [http://solanabeach.io/](http://solanabeach.io/). - [http://validators.app/](http://validators.app/). ## On a high level - Mainnet: Live production environment for deployed applications. - Devnet: Testing with public accessibility for developers experimenting with their applications. - Testnet: Stress-testing for network upgrades and validator performance. **Example use cases**: You may want to debug a new program on Devnet or verify performance metrics on Testnet before Mainnet deployment. | **Cluster** | **Endpoint** | **Purpose** | **Notes** | | ----------- | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | ------------------------------ | | Mainnet | `https://api.mainnet.solana.com` | Live production environment | Requires SOL for transactions | | Devnet | `https://api.devnet.solana.com` | Public testing and development | Free SOL airdrop for testing | | Testnet | `https://api.testnet.solana.com` | Validator and stress testing | May have intermittent downtime | ## Devnet Devnet serves as a playground for anyone who wants to take Solana for a test drive, as a user, token holder, app developer, or validator. - Application developers should target Devnet. - Potential validators should first target Devnet. - Key differences between Devnet and Mainnet: - Devnet tokens are **not real** - Devnet includes a token faucet for airdrops for application testing - Devnet may be subject to ledger resets - Devnet typically runs the same software release branch version as Mainnet Beta, but may run a newer minor release version than Mainnet. - Gossip entrypoint for Devnet: `entrypoint.devnet.solana.com:8001` ### Devnet endpoint - `https://api.devnet.solana.com` - single Solana Labs hosted API node; rate-limited #### Example `solana` command-line configuration To connect to the `devnet` Cluster using the Solana CLI: ```shell solana config set --url https://api.devnet.solana.com ``` ### Devnet rate limits - Maximum number of requests per 10 seconds per IP: 100 - Maximum number of requests per 10 seconds per IP for a single RPC: 40 - Maximum concurrent connections per IP: 40 - Maximum connection rate per 10 seconds per IP: 40 - Maximum amount of data per 30 second: 100 MB ## Testnet Testnet is where the Solana core contributors stress test recent release features on a live cluster, particularly focused on network performance, stability and validator behavior. - Testnet tokens are **not real** - Testnet may be subject to ledger resets. - Testnet includes a token faucet for airdrops for application testing - Testnet typically runs a newer software release branch than both Devnet and Mainnet - Gossip entrypoint for Testnet: `entrypoint.testnet.solana.com:8001` ### Testnet endpoint - `https://api.testnet.solana.com` - single Solana Labs API node; rate-limited #### Example `solana` command-line configuration To connect to the `testnet` Cluster using the Solana CLI: ```shell solana config set --url https://api.testnet.solana.com ``` ### Testnet rate limits - Maximum number of requests per 10 seconds per IP: 100 - Maximum number of requests per 10 seconds per IP for a single RPC: 40 - Maximum concurrent connections per IP: 40 - Maximum connection rate per 10 seconds per IP: 40 - Maximum amount of data per 30 second: 100 MB ## Mainnet A permissionless, persistent cluster for Solana users, builders, validators and token holders. - Tokens that are issued on Mainnet are **real** SOL - Gossip entrypoint for Mainnet: `entrypoint.mainnet.solana.com:8001` ### Mainnet endpoint - `https://api.mainnet.solana.com` - Solana Labs hosted API node cluster, backed by a load balancer; rate-limited #### Example `solana` command-line configuration To connect to the `mainnet` Cluster using the Solana CLI: ```shell solana config set --url https://api.mainnet.solana.com ``` ### Mainnet rate limits - Maximum number of requests per 10 seconds per IP: 100 - Maximum number of requests per 10 seconds per IP for a single RPC: 40 - Maximum concurrent connections per IP: 40 - Maximum connection rate per 10 seconds per IP: 40 - Maximum amount of data per 30 seconds: 100 MB > The public RPC endpoints are not intended for production applications. Please > use dedicated/private RPC servers when you launch your application, drop NFTs, > etc. The public services are subject to abuse and rate limits may change > without prior notice. Likewise, high-traffic websites may be blocked without > prior notice. ## Common HTTP Error Codes - 403 -- Your IP address or website has been blocked. It is time to run your own RPC server(s) or find a private service. - 429 -- Your IP address is exceeding the rate limits. Slow down! Use the [Retry-After](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Headers/Retry-After) HTTP response header to determine how long to wait before making another request.