Practical overview
When it fits
Use Sonar when a Solana development task calls for local transaction simulation or command-line inspection and data utilities. Add an RPC URL when the chosen operation needs network data; use decode when transaction structure is needed without execution.
Who it is for
- Solana developers investigating transaction behavior before deploying programs.
- Developers who need terminal tools for transaction decoding, account inspection, PDA derivation, or Borsh conversion.
Documented uses
- Simulate a transaction locally and inspect execution logs, balance changes, and failure reasons.
- Decode transaction structure or account data for inspection.
- Replay confirmed transaction metadata or reuse cached account data.
- Derive PDAs and serialize or deserialize Borsh data from command-line workflows.
Requirements & limits
The project is open source under the MIT license. Its documented installation uses Git and Cargo to build a CLI binary.
- Simulation uses LiteSVM and is distinct from sending a signed transaction to the network.
- The tool accepts legacy, v0, and v1 transaction formats, as described by the repository.
- Network-dependent examples use a Solana RPC URL; the README also gives a synthesized-instruction simulation example without one.
- Rust and Cargo are required by the documented build process.
Check current requirements in the official documentation. Source-based guidance does not mean OpenViST has run or independently tested this project.
Build the Sonar release binary
Clone the repository and build the CLI binary using the project’s documented installation steps.
Before you start
- Git
- Rust toolchain with Cargo
Steps
Clone the Sonar repository.
Change into the cloned repository directory.
Run the command below.
cargo build --releaseLocate the binary at
target/release/sonar.
Expected outcome
A release binary is built at `target/release/sonar`.
Guide limitations
- These steps cover building the binary; they do not demonstrate running a particular command or verify build success.
Simulate a Solana transaction from encoded data
Run the documented local simulation command for a transaction supplied as base58 or base64 data.
Before you start
- A built Sonar binary available as
sonaron the command line - A base58- or base64-encoded Solana transaction
- A Solana RPC URL for the example’s network-data lookup
Steps
Provide the encoded transaction to the
simulatecommand.Add
--rpc-urlwith the RPC URL to use, following the documented example.Review the simulation’s execution logs, balance changes, and any reported failure reasons.
Expected outcome
The command is intended to simulate the transaction locally and report execution information.
Guide limitations
- The README documents the command and its reported output categories but does not establish the result for a particular transaction.
- The documented example uses an RPC URL; the README also describes local simulation from synthesized instruction specifications.
Sources & review
Source record details
- Source availability
- Active
- Sources checked
- 14 October 2026
- Original website title
- okxlabs/sonar · Official homepage title · retained in its source language