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Quickstart Guide

Get your first Flow pipeline running in minutes. This guide walks you through creating a payment tracking pipeline that monitors Stellar payments and stores them in PostgreSQL.

Prerequisites​

Before you begin, ensure you have:

  1. Obsrvr Account: Sign up and join the Flow waitlist
  2. Active Subscription: Flow requires an active subscription ($0.003/minute)
  3. PostgreSQL Database: For storing the processed data (or use our managed option)

Step 1: Access Flow​

Once approved from the waitlist:

  1. Log into the Obsrvr Console
  2. Navigate to Flow in the main menu
  3. Click Create Pipeline to start the configuration wizard

Step 2: Configure Your Pipeline​

Network Selection​

Choose your target network:

  • Mainnet: For production data
  • Testnet: For development and testing

Start Ledger Configuration​

Select where to begin processing:

  • Latest: Start from the most recent ledger
  • Genesis: Process from the beginning (historical data)
  • Specific Ledger: Enter a ledger number to start from

Select a Processor​

For this example, choose Payments with Memo:

{
  "type": "payments_memo",
  "config": {
    "memo_text": "invoice",
    "min_amount": "10",
    "asset_code": "USDC"
  }
}

This configuration will:

  • Filter payments containing "invoice" in the memo
  • Only process payments >= 10 USDC
  • Track USDC payments specifically

Configure the Consumer​

Select PostgreSQL as your destination:

{
  "type": "postgres",
  "config": {
    "connection_string": "postgresql://user:password@host:5432/payments",
    "batch_size": 50
  }
}

Step 3: Deploy Your Pipeline​

  1. Review your configuration
  2. Name your pipeline (e.g., "invoice-payment-tracker")
  3. Click Deploy Pipeline

The deployment process:

  • Validates your configuration
  • Securely stores credentials in Vault
  • Deploys to Obsrvr's infrastructure
  • Begins processing immediately

Step 4: Monitor Your Pipeline​

Pipeline Status​

Your pipeline will progress through these states:

  • pending → deploying → running

View Logs​

Click on your pipeline to access:

  • Real-time log streaming
  • Processing statistics
  • Error messages (if any)

Usage Tracking​

Monitor your costs in real-time:

  • Runtime minutes used
  • Current billing rate ($0.003/minute)
  • Estimated monthly cost

Example: Complete Pipeline Configuration​

Here's a complete example for tracking exchange deposits:

name: "exchange-deposit-tracker"
network: "mainnet"
start_ledger: "latest"

processor:
  type: "payments_memo"
  config:
    addresses: 
      - "GXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"  # Exchange hot wallet
    min_amount: "100"

consumer:
  type: "postgres"
  config:
    connection_string: "postgresql://exchange:secure@db.example.com/deposits"
    batch_size: 10

Querying Your Data​

Once data starts flowing, query it from PostgreSQL:

-- Find recent large payments
SELECT 
    transaction_hash,
    source_account,
    amount,
    memo,
    timestamp
FROM flow_data
WHERE data->>'amount' > '1000'
ORDER BY timestamp DESC
LIMIT 10;

-- Daily payment volumes
SELECT 
    DATE(timestamp) as day,
    COUNT(*) as payment_count,
    SUM((data->>'amount')::numeric) as total_volume
FROM flow_data
GROUP BY DATE(timestamp)
ORDER BY day DESC;

Next Steps​

Now that your first pipeline is running:

  1. Explore More Processors: Try Contract Events for Soroban
  2. Add Multiple Consumers: Send data to both PostgreSQL and Webhooks
  3. Build Complex Pipelines: Chain processors for advanced use cases
  4. Optimize Performance: Tune batch sizes and configurations

Common Issues​

Pipeline Stuck in "Deploying"​

  • Check your consumer credentials
  • Verify network connectivity
  • Review deployment logs

No Data Appearing​

  • Confirm transactions match your filter criteria
  • Check the start ledger configuration
  • Verify processor configuration

High Costs​

  • Optimize batch sizes for better efficiency
  • Consider filtering criteria to reduce data volume
  • Monitor runtime metrics

Getting Help​