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The first meaningful innovation in on-chain data access since RPC

RPC was built for transactions, not data extraction. SQD Portal is an HTTP interface designed for data pipelines—query arbitrary block ranges, handle reorgs natively, and stream terabytes with constant memory usage.

Build with Portal APIUse with SDKSelf-host Portal

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The Problem with RPC

Modern blockchain data engineering faces a fundamental challenge: RPC was designed for wallets and transaction submission, not for extracting and processing large volumes of historical data. Traditional RPC-based approaches struggle with:
  • Backfill failures: Extracting even a single wallet’s history can timeout on high-history chains like BSC or Solana
  • Manual pagination: Block-by-block iteration breaks down on high-TPS chains where throughput exceeds what sequential requests can handle
  • DIY reorg handling: You’re responsible for detecting and compensating for chain reorganizations
  • Limited scalability: Teams resort to centralized data warehouses with vendor lock-in just to query their own data
Portal solves these problems with an HTTP interface purpose-built for data extraction at scale.

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How Portal Works

Portal sits between blockchain nodes and your data pipeline, providing an HTTP API optimized for high-throughput data extraction. It handles the complexity of pagination, finality tracking, and reorg compensation so you don’t have to.

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Core Capabilities

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Arbitrary block ranges

Query any block range in a single HTTP request—no manual pagination or block-by-block iteration. Essential for backfills and historical analysis on any chain. 
POST /stream
fromBlock: 18000000
toBlock: 18100000
Portal handles the pagination internally and streams results back to you efficiently, even for ranges spanning millions of blocks.

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Native finalization awareness

Portal tracks chain-specific finality rules and communicates reorgs as structured rollback events in the stream. Use /finalized-stream for production-safe ingestion that automatically handles chain reorganizations.
Portal handles reorg detection and compensation automatically—no need to implement your own rollback logic.

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HTTP streaming responses

All Portal endpoints return newline-delimited JSON (NDJSON), enabling constant-memory processing of massive block ranges. Process terabytes of data without loading everything into RAM. 
curl --compressed -X POST https://v2.archive.subsquid.io/network/ethereum-mainnet/stream \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"fromBlock": 18000000, "toBlock": 18001000}' \
  | while IFS= read -r line; do
      # Process each block as it arrives
      echo "$line" | jq '.header.number'
    done

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Deployment flexibility

Portal is an interface specification, not a single implementation. Use managed SQD endpoints, self-host alongside your own nodes, or connect to the decentralized SQD Network—your code stays the same.

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Portal vs Alternatives

CapabilityRPCSubgraphsCentralized SaaSPortal
Block-range queries⚠️ Manual✓ DSL-bound✓ Proprietary✓ Native
Finality & reorgs✗ DIY⚠️ Hidden⚠️ Opaque✓ Explicit
Streaming✗ Limited⚠️ Framework-specific⚠️ Custom✓ HTTP/NDJSON
Vendor lock-in✓ Low⚠️ Schema-coupled✗ High✓ None
Self-hostable✓ Yes⚠️ Complex✗ No✓ Yes
Scales on high-TPS chains✗ No⚠️ Partial⚠️ Vendor-locked✓ Yes
Portal provides the raw data extraction layer that works with any processing framework or storage backend, giving you complete control over your data pipeline.

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Deployment Options

Choose how you want to run Portal based on your requirements—all options use the same API interface.
SQD-hosted Portal endpoints provide instant access to 200+ networks with zero setup.Best for: Getting started quickly, production apps without infrastructure overhead, and teams who want to focus on building rather than operations.Key benefits:
  • Instant access—no infrastructure to manage
  • Production-ready with high availability
  • Free tier available for development

Start Building

Make your first Portal request in 5 minutes
Run Portal alongside your own nodes for complete sovereignty over your data access.Best for: Private or custom networks, teams with strict data sovereignty requirements, and maximum control over infrastructure.Key benefits:
  • Complete control over data access
  • No external dependencies
  • Works with any EVM or Solana chain
  • Open-source implementation you can audit and modify

Self-Hosting Guide

Learn how to deploy your own Portal instance

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Use Cases

Portal excels at scenarios where RPC falls short:
  • Full contract history extraction: Query all events for a contract across its entire lifetime
  • Wallet transaction history: Retrieve complete transaction history for any address, even on high-volume chains
  • Historical backfills: Synchronize years of blockchain history without timeouts or rate limits
  • High-TPS monitoring: Keep up with fast chains like Solana where block-by-block RPC polling can’t keep pace
  • Multi-chain indexing: Build data pipelines that span multiple networks using a consistent interface

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Next Steps

EVM Quickstart

Query Ethereum and EVM chains in 5 minutes

Solana Quickstart

Access Solana data with Portal

Use with SDK

Build production data pipelines with TypeScript SDKs
Last modified on November 18, 2025