# Introduction

## Introduction

Welcome to the [CopyChain](https://copychain.cc/) documentation. 

`copychain` is a Linux tool that allows you to copy onchain trading sessions of any arbitrage bots.

A session in `copychain` refers to a set of transactions, with mints and pools, performed by a wallet for a given time. The tool starts copying when the target wallet begins a session and stops when it ends.

{% hint style="warning" %}
This tool is designed to work exclusively for Linux copying "onchain" arbitrage bots, without "offchain" router.
{% endhint %}

What this tool is able to copy:

* Another user's complete transaction (mints + pools) as "session": it starts when they start and stops when they stop
* Their Address Lookup Tables
* Their `compute_unit_limit`
* Their priority fees/third-party forwarders tips (optional)

## Backrun on Solana

Backrunning is the practice of executing a transaction as soon as possible after a specific "target" transaction—typically a large swap—to capture the resulting price imbalance. This strategy focuses on extracting value from the "state noise" or price displacement left in the wake of a trade.

On Solana, the goal is to land in the immediate wake of the target. Backrunning usually occurs via high-frequency submission directly to the leader. Searchers aim for a latency of 0 to 1 slots, racing to be the first to interact with the updated pool balances.

### Pros & Cons

* Pros: Lower total fee overhead, as transactions are only submitted when a specific, high-probability opportunity is identified.
* Cons: Requires top-tier infrastructure, low-latency mempool access, or relationships with private partners to see transactions before they are processed.

The following image displays a transaction history where the backrun attempts appear in discontinuous slots, trailing the specific target trades they aimed to capture:

<figure><img src="https://591094602-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FfAbmrVzryv9CpULapTxA%2Fuploads%2FFkYSKP1PaJvkkm38HAOl%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=1014cf82-1a0c-472b-9be1-2f5527417781" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="warning" %}
Copychain is generally not tailored for backrunning; due to the infrastructure requirements mentioned above, users will likely find themselves "behind" the highly optimized bots that have direct mempool or validator advantages.
{% endhint %}

## Arbitrage "Scans" (Blind Spamming)

Arbitrage Scanning, often referred to as "blind" or "probabilistic" arbitrage, is a strategy where searchers send a continuous stream of transactions to the network without waiting for a specific trigger. Instead of reacting to a single known trade, the bot "scans" the current market and maintains a steady flow of transactions that attempt to close potential spreads across liquidity pools.

This approach relies on the statistical probability of being present when an opportunity arises. By maintaining a constant flow, the "scan" method ensures that the searcher has a transaction ready to be processed at any given moment, catching opportunities that reactive bots might miss.

### Key Characteristics

* Blind Execution: Transactions are crafted based on the current or expected state of the chain, operating under the assumption that a profitable discrepancy will exist by the time the transaction is processed.
* High Reversion Rate: A significant majority of "scan" transactions fail. The strategy remains profitable as long as the gains from a single successful hit outweigh the cumulative cost of the fees paid for the failed attempts.
* On-chain Logic: Bots utilize custom smart contracts to perform "check-and-swap" routines. If the profit threshold is not met at the exact moment of execution, the contract reverts the transaction.

### Pros & Cons

* Pros: Can often perform better than backrunning since the bot is "always on-chain" and ready for any state change; requires almost no specialized infrastructure or mempool access. Success depends on landing rate consistency rather than raw reactive speed.
* Cons: High operational cost due to the continuous "bleeding" of fees while spamming transactions that ultimately revert.

The following image shows a series of "scan" attempts, highlighting the high frequency of reverted transactions punctuated by a successful arbitrage:

<figure><img src="https://591094602-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FfAbmrVzryv9CpULapTxA%2Fuploads%2FoVx59IY5PEaFX1uwj65f%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=e28f72ab-9d89-40b7-b892-b9848602b5e5" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="success" %}
Copychain is perfectly tailored for scanning strategies, as its architecture allows for the high-frequency, consistent transaction flow required to maintain an "always-on" presence on-chain.
{% endhint %}