How a Solana Swap Works
Every Solana swap in a non-custodial aggregator follows the same six steps. This page explains each one.
The six steps of a Solana swap
1. Connect a Solana wallet. You click Connect and choose a Solana wallet. The wallet shares your Solana public key with the frontend. No Solana keys are shared. No SPL funds move. The connection can be revoked at any time.
2. Request a Solana quote. The frontend sends the SPL token pair and the amount to the Solana aggregator. The aggregator queries one or more Solana DEXs and returns a route with an expected output amount, a price impact estimate, and a route plan.
3. Build the Solana transaction. The frontend constructs a Solana transaction that, when executed, will move your input SPL token into the Solana DEX and deliver the output SPL token back to your Solana wallet. The transaction is built to match the route the Solana aggregator returned.
4. Sign in your Solana wallet. Your Solana wallet shows you the transaction details, including the input amount, the expected output, the minimum received given your slippage tolerance, and the Solana network fee. You approve or reject. Signing happens locally in your Solana wallet. SwapKing never sees the signature before it is applied.
5. Broadcast and confirm on Solana. The signed Solana transaction is submitted to the Solana network. Validators confirm it. If the execution price falls outside your slippage tolerance, the Solana transaction reverts and only the Solana network fee is consumed. If it succeeds, the output SPL token arrives in your Solana wallet.
6. Done. The Solana swap is complete. The Solana on-chain record is public and permanent. You can verify the Solana transaction on a Solana block explorer like Solscan.
What you sign on Solana
A Solana swap transaction contains: the input SPL mint, the output SPL mint, the input amount, the minimum output amount (derived from your slippage tolerance), the Solana DEX instructions, and the Solana network fee. Your Solana wallet renders these in its own UI so you can confirm before signing. If anything looks wrong, reject and re-check the Solana pair and amount.
What can fail on Solana
Solana swaps can fail for several reasons:
Slippage exceeded. The Solana market moved between quote and execution. Increase slippage or retry.
Insufficient SOL for gas. You need a small amount of SOL to pay the Solana network fee.
Low Solana liquidity. The route cannot fill your amount within your slippage tolerance.
Expired Solana quote. The Solana quote is a snapshot. If too much time passes, retry.
Solana DEX outage. A third-party Solana service is unavailable. See the Status page.
A failed Solana swap consumes only the Solana network fee, and only if the Solana transaction was broadcast and included.
What SwapKing does not see
SwapKing does not see your Solana private key, your Solana seed phrase, or your Solana wallet password. SwapKing does not hold your SPL tokens at any point in the flow. SwapKing does not have the ability to sign a Solana transaction on your behalf. If a site ever asks for your Solana seed phrase, it is not SwapKing.
Related
Security overview Methodology Status Slippage Explained Verify a Contract