firedancer-io/firedancer

Free

Firedancer is Jump Crypto's Solana validator software.

FreeFree tier

Type

Open Source

Company

Jump Crypto

Visit Website GitHub (38 stars)

About firedancer-io/firedancer

Firedancer is a high-performance Solana validator client developed by Jump Crypto, designed from the ground up for speed and security. It incorporates a concurrency model inspired by low-latency trading systems and features novel reimplementations of core Solana primitives. The architecture allows running with a highly restrictive sandbox and minimal system calls, enhancing security. Firedancer provides client diversity to the Solana network, reducing reliance on a single implementation and improving resilience against supply chain attacks. The project produces two validators: Frankendancer, a hybrid combining the Firedancer networking stack with Agave code (currently available on Solana testnet and mainnet-beta), and a full from-scratch Firedancer (not yet ready for production).

Key Features

Designed for high speed with a concurrency model from low-latency trading

Novel high-performance reimplementations of core Solana primitives

Sandboxed security architecture with minimal system calls

Written from scratch for client diversity and supply chain resilience

Two validator variants: Frankendancer (hybrid) and full Firedancer

Open source under Apache 2 license

Pros & Cons

Pros

Exceptional performance due to low-latency inspired design
Enhanced security via restrictive sandbox and few system calls
Client diversity strengthens Solana network against single-client failures
Independent implementation reduces dependency on Agave codebase
Open source with an active community

Cons

Full Firedancer validator not yet ready for production use
Only Frankendancer currently available on testnet and mainnet-beta
Requires Linux with kernel version 4.18 or newer
Local development setup may require sudo for system configuration
Limited platform support (Linux only)

Best For

Running a Solana validator node on testnet or mainnetImproving Solana network performance and resilienceHigh-performance block production as a leaderResearch and development for blockchain validator optimization

FAQ

What is Firedancer?

Firedancer is Jump Crypto's Solana validator software, a new validator client designed for speed and security with a from-scratch implementation.

Is Firedancer production-ready?

The full Firedancer validator is not yet ready for test or production use. However, Frankendancer, a hybrid using parts of Firedancer and Agave, is available on Solana testnet and mainnet-beta.

What operating systems does Firedancer support?

Firedancer currently only supports Linux and requires a relatively new kernel, at least v4.18.

What is the difference between Firedancer and Frankendancer?

Frankendancer is a hybrid validator that uses the Firedancer networking stack and block production components with the Agave validator code for execution and consensus. Firedancer is a full from-scratch implementation with no Agave code.