These tools help you learn by observing real network activity. All are commonly used in our workshops for demonstration purposes.
Block explorers
Solana Explorer (explorer.solana.com) — Official explorer for mainnet, devnet, and testnet. Paste addresses and transaction signatures to inspect activity.
Solscan (solscan.io) — Popular third-party explorer with additional analytics. Useful for token holders tracking SPL transfers.
Devnet faucet
The official Solana faucet provides free devnet SOL for practice. Use devnet in your wallet settings before requesting. Never send mainnet SOL to devnet addresses.
Validator dashboards
Solana Beach and Validators.app show validator performance, commission, and stake distribution. Helpful when learning about what validators do.
RPC endpoints
Wallets connect through RPC URLs. Public endpoints work for learning; heavy use may hit rate limits. Understanding RPC helps troubleshoot “transaction not landing” issues.
Command-line tools (optional)
Solana CLI installs on Mac, Linux, and Windows. Advanced learners use it to create keypairs and send transactions from the terminal. Not required for beginners.
Security reminder
Download tools only from official sources. Fake explorer and wallet sites exist. Bookmark the real URLs.