Jito bundle submission for MEV protection on Solana — bundle building, tip strategies, block engine endpoints, and landing rate optimization
Jito bundles allow you to submit up to 5 Solana transactions that execute atomically — either all land in the same slot or none do. This is the primary mechanism for MEV protection and competitive transaction execution on Solana. Approximately 85%+ of Solana validators run the Jito-modified client, making bundles the standard for reliable, front-run-resistant execution.
EXECUTION SKILL — SAFETY WARNING: Submitting bundles spends real SOL on tips. Always test with
--demomode first. Never submit bundles with real funds without explicit confirmation. Default to simulation/dry-run in all scripts and examples.
| Scenario | Use Bundle? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Swap on illiquid token | Yes | Prevents sandwich attacks |
| Multi-step arbitrage |
| Yes |
| Atomic execution prevents partial fills |
| Liquidation | Yes | Competitive — tip determines priority |
| Simple SOL transfer | No | Priority fees are cheaper and sufficient |
| Time-insensitive swap | Maybe | Bundles cost tips; priority fees may suffice |
| NFT mint / competitive action | Yes | Guarantees ordering within the slot |
A Jito bundle is a JSON-RPC request containing 1-5 base58-encoded signed transactions. The transactions execute sequentially and atomically within a single slot.
Bundle = [Tx1, Tx2, ..., TxN] (N <= 5)
- All transactions must be signed
- Transactions execute in order: Tx1 → Tx2 → ... → TxN
- If ANY transaction fails, the ENTIRE bundle is dropped
- The tip instruction goes in the LAST transaction (last instruction)
- Bundle has ~2 slots (~800ms) to land before expiry
Tips are SOL transfers to one of Jito's 8 tip accounts. The tip incentivizes validators to include your bundle.
# Tip is a standard SOL transfer instruction
tip_instruction = transfer(
from_pubkey=your_wallet,
to_pubkey=tip_account, # One of 8 Jito tip accounts
lamports=tip_amount # Tip in lamports (1 SOL = 1e9 lamports)
)
# Add as the LAST instruction of the LAST transaction in the bundle
Tip accounts are fetched dynamically via getTipAccounts. Rotate through them to distribute load.
Jito operates geographically distributed block engines. Choose the one closest to your infrastructure:
| Region | Endpoint |
|---|---|
| New York | https://mainnet.block-engine.jito.wtf |
| Amsterdam | https://amsterdam.block-engine.jito.wtf |
| Frankfurt | https://frankfurt.block-engine.jito.wtf |
| Tokyo | https://tokyo.block-engine.jito.wtf |
All endpoints accept JSON-RPC over HTTPS on port 443. The /api/v1/bundles path handles bundle operations.
Submit a bundle of up to 5 transactions.
import httpx
BLOCK_ENGINE = "https://mainnet.block-engine.jito.wtf"
payload = {
"jsonrpc": "2.0",
"id": 1,
"method": "sendBundle",
"params": [
[tx1_base58, tx2_base58], # List of base58-encoded signed txs
]
}
resp = httpx.post(f"{BLOCK_ENGINE}/api/v1/bundles", json=payload)
data = resp.json()
bundle_id = data["result"] # UUID string
Check the landing status of submitted bundles (up to 5 bundle IDs per request).
payload = {
"jsonrpc": "2.0",
"id": 1,
"method": "getBundleStatuses",
"params": [[bundle_id]]
}
resp = httpx.post(f"{BLOCK_ENGINE}/api/v1/bundles", json=payload)
statuses = resp.json()["result"]["value"]
# Each status: {bundle_id, status, slot, transactions: [{signature, ...}]}
# status: "Invalid", "Pending", "Failed", "Landed"
Fetch the current list of Jito tip accounts.
payload = {
"jsonrpc": "2.0",
"id": 1,
"method": "getTipAccounts",
"params": []
}
resp = httpx.post(f"{BLOCK_ENGINE}/api/v1/bundles", json=payload)
tip_accounts = resp.json()["result"] # List of 8 base58 pubkeys
Check status of bundles that haven't landed yet (in-flight).
payload = {
"jsonrpc": "2.0",
"id": 1,
"method": "getInflightBundleStatuses",
"params": [[bundle_id]]
}
resp = httpx.post(f"{BLOCK_ENGINE}/api/v1/bundles", json=payload)
# status: "Pending", "Failed", "Landed"
A typical bundle for a protected swap:
from solders.transaction import VersionedTransaction
from solders.message import MessageV0
from solders.instruction import Instruction
from solders.system_program import transfer, TransferParams
from solders.pubkey import Pubkey
import random
def build_protected_swap_bundle(
swap_ix: Instruction,
payer: Pubkey,
tip_lamports: int,
tip_accounts: list[str],
recent_blockhash: str,
) -> list[VersionedTransaction]:
"""Build a 1-tx bundle: swap + tip in the same transaction.
For simple swaps, a single-transaction bundle is sufficient.
The tip instruction is appended as the last instruction.
"""
# Pick a random tip account
tip_account = Pubkey.from_string(random.choice(tip_accounts))
# Tip instruction
tip_ix = transfer(TransferParams(
from_pubkey=payer,
to_pubkey=tip_account,
lamports=tip_lamports,
))
# Build transaction with swap + tip
msg = MessageV0.try_compile(
payer=payer,
instructions=[swap_ix, tip_ix],
address_lookup_table_accounts=[],
recent_blockhash=recent_blockhash,
)
tx = VersionedTransaction(msg, [keypair])
return [tx]
| Scenario | Tip Range (lamports) | Tip Range (SOL) |
|---|---|---|
| Normal swap (low urgency) | 1,000 - 10,000 | 0.000001 - 0.00001 |
| Normal swap (standard) | 10,000 - 50,000 | 0.00001 - 0.00005 |
| Competitive action (arb, liquidation) | 50,000 - 500,000 | 0.00005 - 0.0005 |
| Highly competitive (NFT mint, MEV) | 500,000 - 5,000,000 | 0.0005 - 0.005 |
| Emergency (must land this slot) | 5,000,000+ | 0.005+ |
Dynamic tip calculation based on recent tip levels:
def calculate_dynamic_tip(
base_tip: int = 10_000,
urgency_multiplier: float = 1.0,
recent_tip_percentile_50: int = 15_000,
) -> int:
"""Calculate tip based on urgency and recent network tips.
Args:
base_tip: Minimum tip in lamports.
urgency_multiplier: 1.0 = normal, 2.0 = urgent, 5.0 = critical.
recent_tip_percentile_50: Median tip from recent bundles.
Returns:
Tip amount in lamports.
"""
dynamic_tip = max(base_tip, int(recent_tip_percentile_50 * urgency_multiplier))
# Cap at 0.01 SOL to prevent accidents
return min(dynamic_tip, 10_000_000)
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
Bundle dropped (slot expired) | Bundle didn't land within 2 slots | Retry with fresh blockhash; consider higher tip |
Transaction simulation failed | A tx in the bundle would fail on-chain | Simulate each tx individually to find the failing one |
Bundle already processed | Duplicate bundle ID | Expected on retry; check status instead |
Rate limited | Too many requests to block engine | Back off; rotate between block engine endpoints |
Invalid transaction | Malformed or unsigned transaction | Verify all txs are signed and base58-encoded |
Blockhash not found | Stale blockhash | Use getLatestBlockhash with finalized commitment |
Strategies to maximize bundle landing probability:
Multi-region submission: Send the same bundle to multiple block engines simultaneously. The first to reach the current leader wins.
Fresh blockhash: Use getLatestBlockhash with confirmed commitment immediately before building. Stale blockhashes are the #1 cause of dropped bundles.
Retry with backoff: If a bundle doesn't land within 2-3 seconds, rebuild with a fresh blockhash and resubmit. Do NOT resubmit with the same blockhash.
Adequate tipping: Under-tipped bundles are deprioritized. Monitor the network's tip distribution and tip at or above the 50th percentile for your urgency level.
Minimal bundle size: Fewer transactions = less simulation time = higher landing rate. Use single-transaction bundles when possible.
async def submit_with_retry(
bundle_txs: list[str],
endpoints: list[str],
max_retries: int = 3,
) -> str | None:
"""Submit bundle to multiple endpoints with retry logic.
Returns bundle_id if submitted, None if all retries exhausted.
"""
for attempt in range(max_retries):
# Submit to all endpoints in parallel
async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
tasks = [
client.post(
f"{ep}/api/v1/bundles",
json={
"jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 1,
"method": "sendBundle",
"params": [bundle_txs],
},
timeout=5.0,
)
for ep in endpoints
]
# Process first successful response
for resp in asyncio.as_completed(tasks):
result = (await resp).json()
if "result" in result:
return result["result"]
# Wait before retry with fresh blockhash
await asyncio.sleep(0.5 * (attempt + 1))
return None
Before submitting any bundle with real funds:
simulateTransactionreferences/bundle_api.md — Complete JSON-RPC API reference with request/response schemas and error codesreferences/tip_strategies.md — Tip calculation strategies, dynamic tipping, cost optimizationreferences/best_practices.md — Bundle construction patterns, landing rate optimization, common pitfallsscripts/build_bundle.py — Bundle construction with tip instruction; --demo mode builds but does not submitscripts/check_bundle_status.py — Bundle status checking and tip account fetching; --demo mode uses mock responses