Installation

Install Rust

Solana programs are written in the Rust programming language.

The recommended installation method for Rust is rustup.

Run the following command to install Rust:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh -s -- -y

You should see the following message after the installation completes:

Run the following command to reload your PATH environment variable to include Cargo's bin directory:

. "$HOME/.cargo/env"

To verify that the installation was successful, check the Rust version:

rustc --version

You should see output similar to the following:

rustc 1.84.1 (e71f9a9a9 2025-01-27)

Install the Solana CLI

The Solana CLI provides all the tools required to build and deploy Solana programs.

Install the Solana CLI tool suite using the official install command:

sh -c "$(curl -sSfL https://release.anza.xyz/stable/install)"

You can replace stable with the release tag matching the software version of your desired release (i.e. v2.0.3), or use one of the three symbolic channel names: stable, beta, or edge.

If it is your first time installing the Solana CLI, you may see the following message prompting you to add a PATH environment variable:

Close and reopen your terminal to apply the PATH changes or run the following in your existing shell:

export PATH="/Users/test/.local/share/solana/install/active_release/bin:$PATH"

export PATH="$HOME/.local/share/solana/install/active_release/bin:$PATH"

To verify that the installation was successful, check the Solana CLI version:

solana --version

You should see output similar to the following:

solana-cli 2.0.26 (src:3dccb3e7; feat:607245837, client:Agave)

You can view all available versions on the Agave Github repo.

To later update the Solana CLI to the latest version, you can use the following command:

agave-install update

Install Anchor CLI

Anchor is a framework for developing Solana programs. The Anchor framework leverages Rust macros to simplify the process of writing Solana programs.

There are two ways to install the Anchor CLI and tooling:

1. Anchor Version Manager (AVM) - Recommended installation method
2. Without AVM - Install directly from GitHub

cargo install --git https://github.com/coral-xyz/anchor avm --force

avm --version

avm install latest
avm use latest

avm install 0.30.1
avm use 0.30.1

To verify that the installation was successful, check the Anchor CLI version:

anchor --version

You should see output similar to the following:

anchor-cli 0.30.1

error: could not exec the linker cc = note: Permission denied (os error 13)

Node.js and Yarn

Node.js and Yarn are required to run the default Anchor project test file (TypeScript) created with the anchor init command. (Rust test template is also available using anchor init --test-template rust)

Permission denied (os error 13)

No such file or directory (os error 2)

Solana Config

To see your current config:

solana config get

You should see output similar to the following:

Config File: /Users/test/.config/solana/cli/config.yml
RPC URL: https://api.mainnet-beta.solana.com
WebSocket URL: wss://api.mainnet-beta.solana.com/ (computed)
Keypair Path: /Users/test/.config/solana/id.json
Commitment: confirmed

The RPC URL and Websocket URL specify the Solana cluster the CLI will make requests to. By default this will be mainnet-beta.

You can update the Solana CLI cluster using the following commands:

solana config set --url mainnet-beta
solana config set --url devnet
solana config set --url localhost
solana config set --url testnet

You can also use the following short options:

solana config set -um    # For mainnet-beta
solana config set -ud    # For devnet
solana config set -ul    # For localhost
solana config set -ut    # For testnet

The Keypair Path points to the default Solana wallet (keypair) used by the Solana CLI to pay transaction fees and deploy programs. By default, this file is stored at ~/.config/solana/id.json.

Create Wallet

To send transactions using the Solana CLI, you need a Solana wallet funded with SOL.

To generate a keypair at the default Keypair Path, run the following command:

solana-keygen new

You should see output similar to the following:

Generating a new keypair

For added security, enter a BIP39 passphrase

NOTE! This passphrase improves security of the recovery seed phrase NOT the
keypair file itself, which is stored as insecure plain text

BIP39 Passphrase (empty for none):

Wrote new keypair to /Users/test/.config/solana/id.json
===========================================================================
pubkey: 8dBTPrjnkXyuQK3KDt9wrZBfizEZijmmUQXVHpFbVwGT
===========================================================================
Save this seed phrase and your BIP39 passphrase to recover your new keypair:
cream bleak tortoise ocean nasty game gift forget fancy salon mimic amazing
===========================================================================

To view your wallet's address (public key), run:

solana address

Airdrop SOL

Request an airdrop of SOL to your wallet to pay for transactions and program deployments.

Set your cluster to the devnet:

solana config set -ud

Then request an airdrop of devnet SOL:

solana airdrop 2

To check your wallet's SOL balance, run the following command:

solana balance

Run Local Validator

The Solana CLI includes a built-in test validator for local development.

In a separate terminal, run the following command to start a local validator:

solana-test-validator

solana config set -ul

Initialize Project

To create a new Anchor project, run the following command:

anchor init <project-name>

For example, to create a project called my-project, run:

anchor init my-project

This command creates a new directory with the project name and initializes a new Anchor project with a basic Rust program and TypeScript test template.

Navigate to the project directory:

cd <project-name>

See the Anchor project's file structure.

Build Program

To build your project, run the following command:

anchor build

The compiled program can be found in the /target/deploy directory.

Deploy Program

To deploy your project, run the following command:

anchor deploy

This command will deploy your program to the cluster specified in the Anchor.toml file.

Test Program

To test your project, run the following command:

anchor test