requestAirdrop

Learn requestAirdrop use cases, code examples, request parameters, response structure, and tips.

The requestAirdrop RPC method in CoinVera is used to request a small amount of SOL (in lamports) to a specified account on test networks like Devnet or Testnet. It acts as a faucet to provide developers with free SOL for testing and experimentation.

⚠️ Important: This method does not work on Mainnet Beta. It is restricted to test environments with faucet functionality.

---

✅ Common Use Cases

• Funding Test Wallets Acquire SOL for paying transaction fees and deploying programs on Devnet/Testnet.

• Automated Testing Pipelines Ensure test accounts are pre-funded before running integration or e2e tests.

• Developer Experimentation Quickly receive SOL to experiment with smart contracts or token transfers in a safe sandbox environment.

---

🧾 Request Parameters

[
  pubkey: string,             // Required – Base-58 public key of the recipient
  lamports: number,           // Required – Amount to airdrop (1 SOL = 1_000_000_000 lamports)
  options?: {
    commitment?: string       // Optional – "processed", "confirmed", or "finalized"
  }
]

• pubkey (required): The address to receive the airdrop, base-58 encoded.

• lamports (required): Amount of SOL to request (in lamports). Example: 1 SOL = 1000000000 lamports.

• commitment (optional): Commitment level to use when confirming the airdrop transaction.

---

📦 Response Structure

{
  "result": "3oZMg7M...AirdropTxSignature"
}

• result: A base-58 encoded transaction signature for the airdrop. You can use this with getSignatureStatuses or confirmTransaction to confirm completion.

---

🧪 Example

Airdrop 1 SOL to a Devnet Account

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "requestAirdrop",
  "params": [
    "4H6B3d4xNoXyRzk9m1eM2PK2shTyzj2UTh8uUreVfEnz",
    1000000000,
    {
      "commitment": "confirmed"
    }
  ]
}

---

Code Examples

Nodejs

const fetch = require('node-fetch');

async function requestAirdrop(rpcUrl) {
  try {
    const response = await fetch(rpcUrl, {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: {
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
      },
      body: JSON.stringify({
        jsonrpc: '2.0',
        id: 1,
        method: 'requestAirdrop',
        "params": [
            "4UJuvGZ7Ge8H3je63Nsb9ZRNVBAd3CG2ajibnRaVSbw5",
            500000000,
            {
              "commitment": "confirmed"
            }
          ]
      }),
    });

    const data = await response.json();
    
    // Print the exact full response
    console.log('Full RPC Response:');
    console.log(JSON.stringify(data, null, 2));
    
    return data;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error getting health:', error.message);
    return null;
  }
}

// Example usage
const RPC_URL = 'https://devnet-rpc.coinvera.io/?x-api-key=your-coinvera-x-api-key';

requestAirdrop(RPC_URL);

Python

Example Response

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "result": "5VERv8NMvzbJMEkV8xnrLkEaWRtSz9CosKDYjCJjBRnbJLgp8uirBgmQpjKhoR4tjF3ZpRzrFmBV6UjKdiSZkQUW",
  "id": 1
}

---

💡 Developer Tips

• Testnet Only This method is only supported on Devnet or Testnet. It will fail if used on Mainnet.

• Rate Limits & Quotas Faucet endpoints often restrict how often or how much you can airdrop. If you're testing frequently, space out your requests.

• Confirmation Handling The method returns a transaction signature—but confirmation is not guaranteed immediately. Use:

  • getSignatureStatuses

  • confirmTransaction (from @solana/web3.js)

  • getTransaction for full details

• Useful for Continuous Integration Include airdrop requests in test scripts to automate funding of ephemeral test accounts.

---

The requestAirdrop method is an essential developer tool when building and testing on Solana's Devnet or Testnet using CoinVera. It provides a frictionless way to acquire SOL for experimentation, testing, and rapid prototyping.