Solana NFT Metadata Guide

An NFT on Solana is a token with supply one. The chain does not store your image or a long description. It stores a small amount of data and a link. That link (a URI) points to a JSON file. The JSON holds the real metadata: name, description, image URL, and optional fields like royalties. Wallets and marketplaces fetch that JSON and use it to display your NFT. So there are two layers: what is on-chain (the token and the URI) and what is off-chain (the JSON and the image). When you are ready to create your NFT on Solana, we handle both layers for you.

On-Chain: The Metadata Account and URI

On Solana, NFT metadata is typically stored in a metadata account that follows the Metaplex standard. That account holds a small set of fields, including a URI. The URI is the important part: it is a string that points to your full metadata JSON. It might be an IPFS link (ipfs://...) or an HTTP link. When a wallet or marketplace loads your NFT, it reads the URI from the chain, fetches the JSON from that URL, and then uses the JSON to show the name, description, and image. So the chain is the source of truth for "where is the metadata," and the JSON is the source of truth for "what does it say."

Off-Chain: The JSON and the Image

The JSON file contains fields like name, symbol, description, image (a URL to the image file), and optionally seller_fee_basis_points (royalties). The image itself is yet another file, usually hosted somewhere stable. We upload your image and the metadata JSON to decentralized storage and pin them so the URLs stay valid. If the JSON or image disappeared, wallets would still have the URI but would not be able to display the content. So pinning matters. We handle that so you do not have to. For the royalty field in that JSON, see our royalties guide.

Why This Split?

Storing large data on-chain is expensive. Images and long text are kept off-chain. The chain only stores a pointer. That keeps minting cost and transaction size reasonable. Our Solana NFT Creator pricing covers the mint and hosting. You do not pay gas auctions. The tradeoff is that someone has to host the JSON and the image. We use decentralized storage and pinning so the link is not tied to a single server that might go down. When you mint with us, the URI we write on-chain points to that pinned metadata. You do not need to manage hosting yourself.

What We Do When You Mint

You give us an image and the metadata (name, symbol, description, royalty). We build a standards-compliant metadata JSON, upload it and the image, and get back URIs. We then create the on-chain metadata account with the metadata URI. Wallets and marketplaces that support the standard will then fetch the JSON and display your NFT correctly. For a deeper look at our flow, see our full feature breakdown and the Create NFT page.

If you want to create and mint your NFT without coding you can use our Solana NFT creator tool which lets you generate metadata and mint NFTs directly on the Solana blockchain.