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Whether you’re building a DEX, a yield aggregator, a liquid staking platform, or any product contributing to DeFi liquidity, getting listed on DeFiLlama is how your data becomes visible, verifiable, and comparable across ecosystems.

However, for many teams, the listing process can feel complex at first. You need to meet specific technical requirements, follow a defined submission workflow, and ensure your data structure is compatible with how DeFiLlama reads and aggregates on-chain metrics.

Missing even one detail can delay approval or cause your data to display incorrectly.

In this blog, we break down everything you need to know about how DeFiLlama listings work, the steps to get your project listed, and how to maintain accuracy and visibility after approval.

Let’s get started.

Why Listing On Defillama Is Important For Defi Protocols

A DeFiLlama listing helps your project stand out in a crowded ecosystem by making your liquidity, usage, and performance publicly measurable.

A verified listing amplifies visibility, automates analytics, and builds trust across ecosystems. Here is what is explained below:

Visibility and Discoverability Across Ecosystems

DeFiLlama organizes protocols into sector and chain dashboards, from Top DEXs on Arbitrum to Lending Protocols on Base.

Being listed means your project surfaces in leaderboards, historical charts, and ecosystem analytics viewed by millions of users monthly.

Seamless Indexing Across Tools

DeFiLlama is the upstream data source for dashboards, explorers, and yield platforms.

A clean adapter ensures your data flows automatically into these tools, multiplying reach with zero additional work.

Trust and Transparency Through Verified Data

Each listed protocol submits an adapter, a small script that computes TVL and balances directly from your contracts.

Because these scripts are open-source, your data is verifiable, not self-reported.

Automated Analytics That Scale With You

Once merged, DeFiLlama refreshes your TVL data automatically, pulling directly from your contracts.

No extra dashboards, no manual updates, just reliable, real-time transparency.

A DeFiLlama listing isn’t about optics; it’s about infrastructure. It ensures your data is visible, standardized, and trusted so that users discover you and how DAOs measure your growth.

Visibility brings credibility, but only when data is accurate. The best way to build that trust is by setting up your listing correctly from the start.

Here’s how to do it step by step.

How to List Your Project on DeFiLlama

Listing your protocol on DeFiLlama is a technical but straightforward process when followed step-by-step.

Each submission helps standardize your protocol on-chain data so that it becomes visible, verifiable, and comparable across the ecosystem.

The following workflow is adapted from the official DeFiLlama listing guide:

Fork the Official DeFiLlama Adapters Repository on GitHub

Start by visiting the DefiLlama Adapters GitHub repo and clicking the “Fork” button in the top-right corner.

This creates your own copy of the repository, allowing you to add your protocol’s code without affecting the main branch.

Ensure your team’s GitHub account is linked to your protocol’s official organization to make verification smoother later.

Create a Folder for Your Project in the /projects Directory

Inside your forked repository, navigate to the /projects directory and create a new folder named after your protocol, all lowercase and hyphenated

This folder will hold your adapter file, which tells DeFiLlama how to calculate your protocol’s TVL, staking balances, and other key metrics.

Write and Configure Your Adapter (SDK or Fetch Type)

Next, you’ll add your adapter script to the core logic DeFiLlama uses to pull and compute your data.

There are two main types of adapters:

• SDK Adapters (for EVM chains): Use DeFiLlama’s SDK to fetch on-chain token balances and convert them to USD values automatically.
• Fetch Adapters (for non-EVM or custom chains): Define your own RPC or API logic to retrieve balances from smart contracts.

Each adapter must include:

• Correct vault, pool, and staking contract addresses
• Token mappings (to Coingecko or chain-specific IDs)
• TVL and staking export functions following the SDK format

Test Your Adapter Locally

Before submitting, test your adapter to confirm it returns accurate values.

Run the following commands in your local environment:

Compare the output with your protocol’s internal analytics or on-chain values.

Accurate results at this stage prevent rejections or data drift later.

Submit a Pull Request (PR)

Once your adapter is tested, submit a Pull Request (PR) from your fork to the main DeFiLlama Adapters repository.

In your PR description, include:

• The name of your protocol and supported chains
• The contracts and tokens being tracked
• A short explanation of your TVL calculation logic

Check the box that says “Allow edits by maintainers.” This enables the DeFiLlama team to make small fixes during review.

Once approved, your adapter is merged, and your project typically appears on the DeFiLlama dashboard within 24 hours.

Add New Products, Vaults, or Versions After Listing

If your protocol already exists on DeFiLlama and you’re adding a new version or product (for example, v2 vaults or staking modules), simply create a new adapter in the same folder and submit another PR.

The DeFiLlama maintainers will handle linking these under a parent listing, ensuring your total TVL and historical charts remain unified.

Once your project is listed, the work doesn’t end there. Maintaining visibility means keeping your adapter and data pipeline healthy.

Post-Listing Checklist: Accuracy, Monitoring, and Trust Maintenance

Once your adapter is live, your data becomes part of DeFi’s public analytics layer. Keep it credible by building ongoing checks and discipline.

• Keep it synced: Update adapters when contracts or vaults evolve.
• Automate checks: Compare on-chain data with DeFiLlama API outputs daily.
• Monitor changes: TVL discrepancies often occur when new pools or vaults aren’t added, proxy logic changes alter data flow, or version migrations which causes duplication.

These updates should be monitored regularly, as doing so helps you catch issues early and detect TVL discrepancies if your protocol gets an upgrade.

• Treat accuracy as brand value: Clean data signals operational maturity to DAOs and partners.

That’s how accuracy moves from a checklist to a competitive advantage, the foundation of lasting trust in DeFi.

Closing Thoughts

A verified DeFiLlama listing transforms your protocol’s activity into a transparent signal of integrity.

Getting listed is the start of visibility; maintaining accuracy is how you keep it.

Every adapter you publish is part of your protocol’s reputation, and every accurate metric reinforces your legitimacy in the open financial stack.

From adapter integration to analytics pipelines, Lampros Tech helps DeFi teams get listings right and keep them right.

Explore our Data Analytics Services and make your protocol listed and ensure it stays visible, verifiable, and trusted across ecosystems.

Barsha Mandal

Growth Lead

Barsha is the Growth Lead at Lampros Tech, a blockchain development company helping businesses thrive in the decentralized ecosystem. With an MBA and expertise in content strategy, technical writing, SEO & scaling blockchain development initiatives and translating complex Web3 concepts into accessible communications that drive engagement and business growth.

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