Crossbar
Crossbar: Switchboard's Utility Server
Crossbar is a high-performance utility server implemented in Rust, designed to simplify interactions with the Switchboard network. It provides essential functionalities for simulating and resolving feeds across various blockchains. Crossbar comes with a set of useful utility functions for resolving feeds on all chains with active Switchboard deployments, IPFS utilities for storing and fetching jobs, and built-in simulation capabilities for constantly fetching feed updates for liquidators and other bots.
Note: The Rust version includes built-in simulation and no longer requires a separate Task Runner Simulator service.
Running your own instance of Crossbar is highly recommended for user interfaces and bots that require frequent price simulations.
Refer to Run Crossbar with Docker Compose for instructions on setting up your own Crossbar instance.
Key Features
Crossbar aims to streamline the Switchboard experience, offering the following core functionalities:
Fetch Feeds by Feed Hash: Retrieve a feed's job definitions and queue in JSON format using its unique feed hash (content identifier).
Store Jobs: Store feed definitions using your configured IPFS node (requires Piñata credentials or a Kubo node).
Simulate Feeds by Feed Hash: Simulate multiple feeds simultaneously using their feed hashes, enabling off-chain tracking of custom price feeds for bot automation.
Blockchain-Specific Features
Crossbar provides tailored features for specific blockchains:
Solana, Aptos/Sui, and Eclipse:
Fetch Encoded Update Instructions: Retrieve update instructions from live oracles for Solana feeds (available on devnet and mainnet).
Fetch Simulated Results for Feeds: Fetch current prices for feeds. This is a useful feature for tracking custom price feeds off-chain, for triggering an action that the bots can use.
Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM):
Fetch Encoded Updates: Obtain an encoded update for a feed to submit on-chain via a contract explorer (like Etherscan), eliminating the need to include feed definitions directly in your frontend.
Settle Randomness: Fetch a settlement message for resolving randomness requests when using Switchboard's EVM Randomness features.
Rust Implementation Benefits
The Rust implementation provides several advantages:
High Performance: Built with actix-web for maximum throughput
Built-in Simulation: No separate Task Runner Simulator required
WebSocket Support: Real-time data streaming capabilities
Memory Efficiency: Optimized for high concurrent connections
Simplified Deployment: Single binary with minimal dependencies
Environment Variables
All environment variables are optional and have sensible defaults:
Core Configuration:
PORT(default: 8080) - HTTP server portWS_PORT(default: 8081) - WebSocket server portDISABLE_API(default: false) - Disable HTTP API entirely
Performance:
BROADCAST_WORKER_THREADS(default: 32) - Tokio worker threadsSIMULATION_CACHE_TTL_SECONDS(default: 3) - Cache TTLDISABLE_CACHE(default: false) - Disable caching
Blockchain RPCs (Recommended):
SOLANA_MAINNET_RPC_URL- Solana mainnet RPCSOLANA_DEVNET_RPC_URL- Solana devnet RPC
IPFS (Optional):
IPFS_GATEWAY_URL(default: https://ipfs.io) - IPFS gatewayPINATA_JWT_KEY- Pinata storage keyKUBO_URL- Local IPFS node
For a complete list of environment variables, see the Docker Compose guide.
Public Instance of Crossbar
While a public instance is available for quick testing, running your own Crossbar instance is highly recommended. Switchboard oracles are heavily rate-limited by IP address, so using a dedicated instance prevents disruptions.
Public Instance: https://crossbar.switchboard.xyz
Examples:
EVM Oracle Fetch (Core Testnet): https://crossbar.switchboard.xyz/updates/evm/1115/4f0e020e3d6f65cf21adb7766d065f787293154964be259dddb56e848ff838a0
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