© 2026 Della Group. All Rights Reserved.
Here's the deal: SolanaFM is hands down the best explorer for digging into Solana logs and transactions without losing your mind. It's got this killer visual flow for txns, super clean logs breakdown, and it loads fast even on sketchy connections. If you're chasing why a swap bombed or where your SOL vanished, this is your spot.
Look, there are like five main explorers-Solscan, Explorer.solana.com, SolanaFM, and a couple others. But SolanaFM? It's the one I fire up 90% of the time. The graphs make token flows obvious, logs are color coded and searchable, and it indexes everything back to block zero from 2020. No endless scrolling to load old txns.
In my experience, Solscan's okay for quick NFT checks, but its logs feel like reading binary code sometimes. SolanaFM decodes Anchor stuff and shows inner instructions without you pasting into a decoder. Why does this matter? 'Cause when a Jupiter swap fails with "custom program error 0x1," you wanna see the exact CPI that crapped out, not guess.
And honestly, the search bar here eats anything: tx signatures, wallet addresses, block numbers like 200000000, even token names like USDC or .sol domains. Paste "JUP" and boom, token page with holders and transfers.
Hit solana.fm. Boom. Massive search bar up top. Below it, network stats screaming the Solana pulse.
Now, scroll to latest blocks. Each row shows block number, hash, txn count (say 500-2000), rewards (fees + rent, like 0.01 SOL total), and the leader validator (a16z or whoever). Retail efficiency? That's real usage vs vote spam. Anything over 70% means network's humming.
The thing is, validators get ~0.000005 SOL per signature fee, plus rent. High rewards in a block? Busy time. I usually check this first to see if congestion killed my txn.
Failed txns? 80% are "blockhash not found" from network lag. Resend with fresh blockhash.
Okay, search bar time. This is where magic happens. Types it handles:
| Search Type | Example | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| Txn Hash | 5xK..abc | Full txn page with logs, flow graph |
| Wallet | 9Wz..xyz | Balance, tx history, token transfers |
| Block # | 200000000 | Block deets, all txns inside |
| Token | USDC | Supply, price, top holders, transfers |
| Program | Jupiter program ID | IDL, txns calling it, PSCI executor |
| .sol Domain | yourname.sol | Owner wallet, linked assets |
Sound familiar? That one time your wallet got drained? Search it, filter to "Token Transfers" tab. Boom, see the exact outflow to a shady program.
Every txn page is gold. Starts with basics: status (success/fail), signature, block/slot, timestamp (toggle UTC/local). Fee? Usually 0.000005 SOL per sig, but compute units bump it to 0.00001+ if heavy.
But the Transaction Flow graph? Game changer. Visual arrows: wallet A sends 1 SOL to program B, gets 100 USDC back to C. Hover for amounts. Misses this on other explorers.
Account Inputs below it: List view of every balance delta. Pre/post SOL, tokens. Spot stealth fees here- if your USDC drops 0.3% extra, that's the swap fee hiding.
Instructions are the "do this" commands. Outer ones from your wallet. Inner from CPIs (program calls program).
Example: Jupiter swap. Instruction 0: Jupiter main. Then CPI to Raydium, Orca Whirlpool, Token program. Each has program ID index, account indices, data bytes.
Failed? Check error: "Insufficient funds for rent exemption" means top up 0.0018 SOL min for new accounts. "Custom error 0x1771"? Google the program docs.
Here's why you're here: logs. Every txn dumps 'em. SolanaFM lays them out clean, with search and filters.
Basic logs: "Program log: Instruction: Swap". "Invoke signed". "Program consumed X compute units". Success: "Program success".
Anchor logs? Base64 decoded to JSON events. Like {"SellNftTradePool": {amount: 1.5 SOL}}. Lifinity or Tensor? Same deal.
Event CPI: Hidden in inner instructions. Tie log index to instruction call order. Pro move: Note log_order for swaps, match to buy/sell events.
Common pains:
I usually copy logs to a text file, grep for "Program [ID] log:". Saves hours.
Search your wallet hash. Tabs galore:
Token page? Current supply (e.g. JUP: 10B), price (~$1), volume 24h. Distribution: Top 20 holders. Sketch if one whale has 50%.
Program page? Anchor IDL download (JSON defs). PSCI: Run the program right there. Test instructions without code.
Potential issue: "Account not found"? Wrong network-switch Mainnet/Testnet top right. Or rent exempt min not funded (0.002 SOL for data accounts).
Failed swap? Here's my checklist. Takes 2 mins.
NFT gone? Audit mint: Repeated minter? Bot. Metadata URI 404? Burned or rugged.
Drained wallet? Transfers tab → sort by amount/time. Trace to program → check if malicious (no verified IDL).
Network stats for timing: Low TPS? Submit heavy txns then.
Validator page (from block leader): Stake %, uptime. Pick leaders for bundles.
PSCI on programs: Input fake data, simulate without gas. Gold for devs.
History deep dive: Block 1 has genesis votes only. Serum era blocks (2021) load full logs.
Custom RPC? Bottom of home page lists nearest nodes. Faster than public.
One glitch: Super old blocks (pre-2022) might lag loading 10k txns. Use block number search, not "load more".
Tokens have Metaplex metadata tab. Creators, royalties (usually 5-10%).
Programs: Txn filters by instruction name. See every "InitializeMint" ever.
In my experience, top holders tab spots insiders. If wallet 9WzDX.. holds 20%, watch transfers.
Why chase this? Analytics. Track volume spikes pre pump.
That's the flow. Practice on a random Jupiter tx. Paste one now, chase the logs. You'll get it fast. Hit snags? Think like the chain: instructions → inner → logs → balances. Never wrong.
© 2026 Della Group. All Rights Reserved.