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## 🌊 Overview
Surfpool is your drop-in replacement for `solana-test-validator`, designed for builders who want to work with real mainnet state — without downloading the entire chain.
But Surfpool goes further: it introduces Infrastructure as Code for Solana, empowering developers to define, deploy, and operate both on-chain and off-chain infrastructure declaratively and reproducibly.
It’s built local-first and offline-ready, so you can spin up networks on your laptop — and then promote the exact same setup to the cloud when it’s showtime.
## Surfpool in action: 101 Series
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</a>
## 💡 Key Features
### 🪄 Drop-in replacement for solana-test-validator
Spin up local networks that mirror mainnet state instantly — no 2 TB snapshots, no heavy setup (yes, even runs on a Raspberry Pi).
Surfpool has been battle-tested by hundreds of developers with existing Solana tools — including `solana-cli`, `anchor`, and `Kit` — so you can plug it into your workflow without changing a thing.
### 🧩 IDL-to-SQL
Transform your on-chain IDL into a fully queryable SQL schema.
Surfpool’s IDL-to-SQL engine bridges programs and databases — automatically generating tables and syncing chain data to local SQLite/Postgres for instant indexing and analytics.
### 🛡️ Infrastructure as Code (IaC) for Web3
Define your stack once — then deploy and tweak it thousands of times before mainnet, with minimal friction.
Inspired by Terraform, Surfpool’s IaC makes your setup reproducible by design:
your local environment is optimized for speed and feedback, while production is optimized for safety and scales gracefully.
### 🎮 Cheatcodes for Builders
Simulate, debug, and replay transactions — all without touching mainnet.
Includes Stream Oracles, Universal Faucet, Transaction Inspector, and Time Travel for fast, fearless experimentation.
### ☁️ Surfpool Studio → Surfpool Cloud
Surfpool Studio is your local dashboard to visualize, inspect, and manage your networks in real time.
Surfpool Cloud extends that same experience to the cloud — letting you index mainnet data and run large-scale simulations with the same developer experience. It’s serverless, backend-as-a-service, and built for analytics at scale.
### 🧪 Surfpool Scenarios
With Surfpool Scenarios you can curate slot-by-slot account states for key accounts, mixing live mainnet data with overridden account states.
This allows you to stress test your protocol in key real-world situations and to reproduce any chain-state conditions. See the [Scenarios Docs](./crates/core/src/scenarios/README.md) for more details.
## Installation
Surfpool installer:
```console
curl -sL https://run.surfpool.run/ | bash
```
Install from source:
```console
# Clone repo
git clone https://github.com/solana-foundation/surfpool.git
# Set repo as current directory
cd surfpool
# Build
cargo surfpool-install
```
Surfpool can also be used through our public [docker image](https://hub.docker.com/r/surfpool/surfpool):
```console
docker run surfpool/surfpool --version
```
To run Surfpool from Docker with the default RPC, WebSocket, and Studio ports exposed on your host:
```console
docker run --rm -p 8899:8899 -p 8900:8900 -p 18488:18488 surfpool/surfpool
```
The image binds to `0.0.0.0` inside the container, but advertises `127.0.0.1` by default so local Docker workflows continue to get usable URLs. When the container needs to be reachable from another machine, override `SURFPOOL_PUBLIC_HOST`:
```console
docker run --rm \
-p 8899:8899 -p 8900:8900 -p 18488:18488 \
-e SURFPOOL_PUBLIC_HOST=staging.example.com \
surfpool/surfpool
```
For fully custom externally visible URLs, such as TLS termination or remapped ports, override `SURFPOOL_PUBLIC_RPC_URL`, `SURFPOOL_PUBLIC_WS_URL`, and `SURFPOOL_PUBLIC_STUDIO_URL`.
Verify installation:
```console
surfpool --version
```
## Usage
Start a local Solana network with:
```console
surfpool start
```
If inside an Anchor project, Surfpool will:
- Automatically generate infrastructure as code (similar to Terraform).
- Deploy your Solana programs to the local network.
- Provide a clean, structured environment to iterate safely.
The command:
```console
surfpool start --help
```
Is documenting all the options available.
To fail startup when a declared snapshot account cannot be loaded, use:
```console
surfpool start --snapshot dependencies.json --strict-snapshot
```
The flag requires `--snapshot` and preserves its JSON format (`null` fetches upstream).
Failures, including missing required program data, abort before RPC startup; default
loading remains best effort. Strict loading neither discovers protocol dependencies
nor rolls back partial database writes.
## Crypto Infrastructure as Code: A New Standard in Web3
Infrastructure as code (IaC) transforms how teams deploy and operate Solana programs:
- Declarative & Reproducible – Clearly defines environments, making deployments consistent.
- Auditable – Security teams can review not just the code of your Solana programs, but the way you will be deploying and operating your protocol.
- Seamless Transition to Mainnet – Test with the exact infrastructure that will go live.
With Surfpool, every developer learns to deploy Solana programs the right way—scalable, secure, and production-ready from day one.
## 🤖 MCP
- Surfpool is getting agentic friendly, thanks to a built-in MCP. We'll be adding more tools over time, the first use case we're covering is "Start a local network with 10 users loaded with SOL, USDC, JUP and TRUMP tokens" (#130 - @BretasArthur1, @lgalabru)
- To get started, make `surfpool` available globally by opening the command palette (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P) and selecting > Cursor Settings > MCP > Add new global MCP server:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"surfpool": {
"command": "surfpool",
"args": ["mcp"]
}
}
}
```
## Architecture & How to Contribute
Surfpool is built on the low-level solana-svm API, utilizing the excellent LiteSVM wrapper. This approach provides greater flexibility and significantly faster boot times, ensuring a smooth developer experience.
We are actively developing Surfpool and welcome contributions from the community. If you'd like to get involved, here’s how:
- Join the [DevEx Telegram channel](https://t.me/SolanaDevEx)
- Explore and contribute to open issues: [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/solana-foundation/surfpool/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20state%3Aopen%20label%3A%22help%20wanted%22)
- Get releases updates via [X](https://x.com/txtx_sol) or [Telegram Channel](https://t.me/surfpool)
Your contributions help shape the future of Surfpool, making it an essential tool for Solana developers worldwide.