Docs/Realms Integration

Create a DAO with Your Catalyst Collection on Realms

Turn your Catalyst NFT collection into a fully governed DAO using Realms — Solana's native governance platform. NFT holders become voters, proposals become on-chain, and decisions become transparent.

How It Works

1
Catalyst
Create & deploy NFT collection
2
Metaplex
Certified Collection on-chain
3
Realms
NFT Voter Plugin detects collection
4
Governance
NFT holders vote on proposals

Why Catalyst Collections Are Realms-Compatible

Catalyst creates Metaplex Certified Collections on Solana. Each NFT minted through Catalyst belongs to a verified collection with a unique on-chain address. Realms' NFT Voter Pluginuses this collection address to determine voting eligibility — if you hold an NFT from the collection, you can vote.

Metaplex Standard
Catalyst uses the official Metaplex NFT standard — fully compatible with all Solana tooling.
Verified Collection
Each NFT has a verified collection field, proving it belongs to your project. No spoofing possible.
NFT Voter Plugin
Realms reads the collection address and grants voting power to every holder. One NFT = one vote.

Step-by-Step Guide

1
Create a Collection on Catalyst
In your Catalyst dashboard, create a new project with the DAO (Realms) category. Then create a collection and add membership items (e.g., Member, Contributor, Core Team).

1. Go to Projects → New Project

2. Select DAO (Realms) category

3. Create the project, then go to Collections tab

4. Add items with membership traits (Role: Member, etc.)

2
Deploy Your Collection
Fund your project wallet with SOL (devnet: use faucet, mainnet: transfer SOL). Once funded, your collection deploys automatically as a Metaplex Certified Collection.
3
Copy Your Collection Address
After deployment, your collection gets an on-chain address. You'll find it in the project overview under Collections.
The address looks like: 7xKXtg2CW87d97TXJSDpbD5jBkheTqA83TZRuJosgAsU
4
Go to Realms → "Create DAO"
Open Realms and start the DAO creation wizard.
Open Realms DAO Wizard
5
Select "NFT Community DAO"
Realms offers several DAO types. Choose "NFT Community DAO" — this enables the NFT Voter Plugin which recognizes Metaplex collections.
6
Paste Your Collection Address
In the NFT collection field, paste the address you copied from Catalyst. Realms will verify it's a valid Metaplex collection and auto-configure the NFT Voter Plugin.
7
Done — NFT Holders Can Vote
Your DAO is live. Any wallet holding an NFT from your Catalyst collection can now create and vote on proposals through Realms.
What happens now:

• NFT holders visit your Realm on realms.today

• They connect their Solana wallet

• Realms detects their NFTs from your collection

• They can create proposals and vote (1 NFT = 1 vote)

Governance Models

Simple: 1 NFT = 1 Vote

Every NFT holder gets equal voting power. Best for flat communities where every member has equal say.

Setup: Use a single item type in your collection. All holders vote equally.
Tiered: Different Voting Weight

Different membership tiers hold different NFTs. Combine with Catalyst traits to create role-based governance.

Setup: Create items with Role traits (Member, Contributor, Core). On Realms, configure voting weight per NFT type.

FAQ

Do I need to write any smart contract code?
No. Catalyst handles NFT creation and Realms handles governance. Both use existing on-chain programs — no custom contracts needed.
Can I use an existing Catalyst collection?
Yes. Any deployed Catalyst collection has a Metaplex-certified address that works with Realms. Just copy the address from your project dashboard.
What network does this work on?
Both devnet and mainnet. For testing, create a devnet project on Catalyst and use Realms on devnet. For production, use mainnet.
Can members with expired subscriptions still vote?
Voting is based on NFT ownership, not subscription status. As long as a wallet holds the NFT, it can vote. To restrict voting to active subscribers, use Catalyst's verifyOwnership check in your app alongside Realms governance.
How many votes does each holder get?
By default, 1 NFT = 1 vote. If a wallet holds multiple NFTs from the collection, they get proportionally more voting power.

Ready to build your DAO?

Create your NFT collection on Catalyst, then set up governance on Realms.

Create ProjectExplore Realms