# Datasources (Carbon 2.0) > Pick the right Carbon datasource for real-time streams, historical backfills or account snapshots, and compare all 14. A datasource feeds updates (accounts, transactions, deletions, block details) into a Carbon pipeline. Carbon ships 12 datasources for Carbon 2.0 and two legacy ones that only work with Carbon 1.x. This page helps you choose; each datasource has its own page with a runnable example, every option, and its failure modes. For how datasources fit into a pipeline, see [Datasources](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/concepts/datasources.md) and [Updates](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/concepts/updates.md). ## Which datasource should I use? | You need | You have | Use | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Real-time transactions and accounts, lowest latency | A Yellowstone gRPC endpoint (own node, Triton, Helius, QuickNode…) | [Yellowstone gRPC](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/yellowstone-grpc.md) | | Real-time, no gaps after reconnects | A Helius plan with LaserStream | [Helius LaserStream](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/helius-laserstream.md) | | Real-time transactions over WebSocket | A Helius API key with enhanced WebSockets | [Helius enhanced WebSockets](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/helius-atlas-ws.md) | | Real-time transactions and block details, no gRPC | An RPC node with `blockSubscribe` enabled (not the public endpoint) | [RPC blockSubscribe](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/rpc-block-subscribe.md) | | Real-time account changes for one program, free | Any RPC WebSocket, including the public one | [RPC programSubscribe](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/rpc-program-subscribe.md) | | Current state of a program's accounts, once | Any RPC; filters for big programs | [RPC getProgramAccounts](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/rpc-gpa.md) | | Current state of a large program, paginated or incremental | A Helius API key | [Helius gPA v2](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/helius-gpa-v2.md) | | Complete state of a huge program at one slot | Disk, RAM and a snapshot (or a node serving one) | [Validator snapshot](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/validator-snapshot.md) | | History of one address, then new transactions | Any RPC, including the public one (slow) | [RPC transaction crawler](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/rpc-transaction-crawler.md) | | History of one address, fast, oldest first | A Helius API key | [Helius getTransactionsForAddress](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/helius-gtfa.md) | | Every transaction in a slot range, or following the tip over HTTP | Any RPC with those blocks | [RPC block crawler](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/rpc-block-crawler.md) | | Long historical ranges, very fast, no provider | A Carbon **1.x** application | [Jetstreamer (legacy)](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/jetstreamer.md) | | Transactions before execution, for latency-critical signals | Jito Shredstream access and a Carbon **1.x** application | [Jito Shredstream (legacy)](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/jito-shredstream-grpc.md) | | Updates from your own source (Kafka, files, tests) | Your own producer | [Stream message](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/stream-message.md) | On a budget: the RPC datasources work on the free public endpoint, which is enough to learn and prototype but is heavily rate-limited. A common production setup is a snapshot datasource (GPA, gPA v2 or a validator snapshot) for initial state plus a streaming one (Yellowstone or LaserStream) in the same pipeline; see [Load account state](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/guides/load-account-state.md) and [Multiple datasources](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/guides/multiple-datasources.md). ## Comparison Every crate is named `carbon--datasource`, version 2.0.0, except the two legacy ones (1.0.0, Carbon 1.x only). "Emits" lists the update variants the datasource actually produces. Where the datasource's `update_types()` declares something different, the page says so; the pipeline doesn't check that list. | Datasource | Transport | Emits | Live / historical | Finishes? | Paid provider? | Latency | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ | ------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- | -------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | | [Yellowstone gRPC](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/yellowstone-grpc.md) | Geyser gRPC | Account, AccountDeletion, Transaction | Live | No | Usually | Lowest (streamed as slots are processed) | | [Helius LaserStream](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/helius-laserstream.md) | Geyser gRPC (Helius) | Account, AccountDeletion, Transaction | Live + replay from a recent slot | No | Yes | Lowest | | [Helius enhanced WebSockets](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/helius-atlas-ws.md) | WebSocket | Transaction, Account, AccountDeletion | Live | No | Yes | Low | | [RPC blockSubscribe](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/rpc-block-subscribe.md) | WebSocket | BlockDetails, Transaction | Live | No | Needs a node with block subscriptions | Low (per block) | | [RPC programSubscribe](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/rpc-program-subscribe.md) | WebSocket | Account, AccountDeletion | Live | No | No | Low | | [RPC getProgramAccounts](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/rpc-gpa.md) | HTTP, one call | Account | Current state | Yes | No | Batch | | [Helius gPA v2](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/helius-gpa-v2.md) | HTTP, paginated | Account | Current state | Yes | Yes | Batch | | [Validator snapshot](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/validator-snapshot.md) | Snapshot archive | Account | State at the snapshot slot | Yes | No | Batch (minutes to hours) | | [RPC transaction crawler](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/rpc-transaction-crawler.md) | HTTP polling | Transaction | Historical, then polls | No | No | Seconds (5 s poll by default) | | [Helius getTransactionsForAddress](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/helius-gtfa.md) | HTTP, paginated | Transaction | Historical | Yes | Yes | Batch | | [RPC block crawler](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/rpc-block-crawler.md) | HTTP polling | Transaction | Slot range, or follows the tip | With `end_slot` | No | Seconds | | [Stream message](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/stream-message.md) | In-process channel | Account, AccountDeletion, Transaction | Whatever you send | When senders drop | No | Your producer's | | [Jetstreamer](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/jetstreamer.md) (legacy) — Carbon 1.x only | Old Faithful archive | Transaction, BlockDetails | Historical | Yes | No | Batch (high throughput) | | [Jito Shredstream gRPC](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/jito-shredstream-grpc.md) (legacy) — Carbon 1.x only | gRPC (shredstream-proxy) | Transaction, without metadata | Live, pre-execution | When the stream ends | Jito access | Lowest (before execution) | > **Warning: Legacy datasources.** `carbon-jetstreamer-datasource` and `carbon-jito-shredstream-grpc-datasource` stay at 1.0.0 on `carbon-core` 1.0.0 and the Solana 3.x crates. They are excluded from the Carbon 2.0 workspace and can't be added to a 2.0 pipeline. ## Things every datasource page covers - **Encoding.** Carbon rebuilds transactions and accounts from binary payloads. Every RPC and WebSocket datasource that lets you choose an encoding needs Base64; JSON encodings fail to decode. - **Backpressure.** Most streaming datasources use `try_send` and drop updates when the pipeline's channel (`channel_buffer_size`, default 1000) is full. The pages say which ones, and the log line to look for. - **Finishing.** A pipeline stops when every datasource has finished. Batch datasources finish on their own; streams run until cancelled. See [Shutdown](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/concepts/shutdown.md). - **Metrics.** Each datasource registers its own counters and histograms next to the pipeline's; see [Metrics](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/concepts/metrics.md) and the [metrics reference](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/reference/metrics.md). Need something else? Write your own with the [custom datasource guide](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/guides/custom-datasource.md), or push updates in through [Stream message](https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources/stream-message.md). --- Carbon 2.0.0 documentation · Web: https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/datasources · Last updated 2026-11-09 · Index of all pages: https://carbon.sevenlabs.org/llms.txt