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ENPT-BRES
Developer Tools

Anchor.toml

The configuration file at the root of every Anchor project that defines program IDs, cluster endpoints, wallet paths, test scripts, and deployment settings. Key sections include [programs] (mapping program names to pubkeys per cluster), [provider] (default cluster and wallet), [scripts] (custom test commands), and [test] (test framework configuration). Anchor CLI commands read this file to determine build and deployment targets.

IDanchor-toml
Plain meaning

Plain meaning

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The configuration file at the root of every Anchor project that defines program IDs, cluster endpoints, wallet paths, test scripts, and deployment settings. Key sections include [programs] (mapping program names to pubkeys per cluster), [provider] (default cluster and wallet), [scripts] (custom test commands), and [test] (test framework configuration). Anchor CLI commands read this file to determine build and deployment targets.

Mental model

Mental model

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Technical context

Technical context

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Anchor, local validators, explorers, SDKs, and testing workflows.

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Why builders care

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Anchor.toml (anchor-toml)
Category: Developer Tools
Definition: The configuration file at the root of every Anchor project that defines program IDs, cluster endpoints, wallet paths, test scripts, and deployment settings. Key sections include [programs] (mapping program names to pubkeys per cluster), [provider] (default cluster and wallet), [scripts] (custom test commands), and [test] (test framework configuration). Anchor CLI commands read this file to determine build and deployment targets.
Related: Anchor Framework, anchor init / anchor build / anchor test, Solana CLI
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Concept graph

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Branch

Anchor Framework

The most popular framework for building Solana programs in Rust. Anchor provides macros (#[program], #[account], #[derive(Accounts)]) that auto-generate boilerplate for account validation, serialization, discriminators, and error handling. It includes a CLI (anchor init/build/test/deploy), IDL generation, and TypeScript client generation. Reduces program code by ~80% compared to native development.

ProgramIDL (Interface Definition Language)
Open term
Branch

anchor init / anchor build / anchor test

Anchor CLI commands for project lifecycle. `anchor init <name>` scaffolds a new project (program, tests, Anchor.toml). `anchor build` compiles to SBF and generates the IDL. `anchor test` builds, starts a local validator, deploys, and runs Mocha/Jest tests. `anchor deploy` deploys to the configured cluster. `anchor verify` checks deployed bytecode.

Open term
Branch

Solana CLI

The official command-line tool for interacting with Solana clusters. Key commands: `solana balance`, `solana transfer`, `solana program deploy`, `solana config set --url`, `solana airdrop` (devnet). Configuration in `~/.config/solana/cli/config.yml` sets the default cluster URL and keypair path.

solana-keygensolana-test-validator
Open term
Next concepts to explore

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Developer Tools

Anchor Framework

The most popular framework for building Solana programs in Rust. Anchor provides macros (#[program], #[account], #[derive(Accounts)]) that auto-generate boilerplate for account validation, serialization, discriminators, and error handling. It includes a CLI (anchor init/build/test/deploy), IDL generation, and TypeScript client generation. Reduces program code by ~80% compared to native development.

Open term
Developer Tools

anchor init / anchor build / anchor test

Anchor CLI commands for project lifecycle. `anchor init <name>` scaffolds a new project (program, tests, Anchor.toml). `anchor build` compiles to SBF and generates the IDL. `anchor test` builds, starts a local validator, deploys, and runs Mocha/Jest tests. `anchor deploy` deploys to the configured cluster. `anchor verify` checks deployed bytecode.

Open term
Developer Tools

Solana CLI

The official command-line tool for interacting with Solana clusters. Key commands: `solana balance`, `solana transfer`, `solana program deploy`, `solana config set --url`, `solana airdrop` (devnet). Configuration in `~/.config/solana/cli/config.yml` sets the default cluster URL and keypair path.

Open term
Developer Tools

AVM (Anchor Version Manager)

A command-line tool for installing and managing multiple versions of the Anchor framework on a single machine. AVM allows developers to switch between Anchor versions per-project, similar to nvm for Node.js or rustup for Rust. Commands include avm install (install a version), avm use (switch active version), and avm list (show installed versions). Essential for working across projects that target different Anchor releases.

Open term
Commonly confused with

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Developer Toolsanchor-init

anchor init / anchor build / anchor test

Anchor CLI commands for project lifecycle. `anchor init <name>` scaffolds a new project (program, tests, Anchor.toml). `anchor build` compiles to SBF and generates the IDL. `anchor test` builds, starts a local validator, deploys, and runs Mocha/Jest tests. `anchor deploy` deploys to the configured cluster. `anchor verify` checks deployed bytecode.

Open term
Developer Toolsanchor

Anchor Framework

The most popular framework for building Solana programs in Rust. Anchor provides macros (#[program], #[account], #[derive(Accounts)]) that auto-generate boilerplate for account validation, serialization, discriminators, and error handling. It includes a CLI (anchor init/build/test/deploy), IDL generation, and TypeScript client generation. Reduces program code by ~80% compared to native development.

Open term
Developer Toolsanchor-v031

Anchor v0.31

A major release (March 2025) of the Anchor framework introducing custom discriminators (overriding the default 8-byte discriminator to save transaction space), LazyAccount for on-demand deserialization to reduce compute costs, and stack memory optimizations for init constraints. Positioned as a major milestone on the roadmap toward v1.0.

AliasAnchor 0.31.0
Open term
Related terms

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Developer Toolsanchor

Anchor Framework

The most popular framework for building Solana programs in Rust. Anchor provides macros (#[program], #[account], #[derive(Accounts)]) that auto-generate boilerplate for account validation, serialization, discriminators, and error handling. It includes a CLI (anchor init/build/test/deploy), IDL generation, and TypeScript client generation. Reduces program code by ~80% compared to native development.

Open term
Developer Toolsanchor-init

anchor init / anchor build / anchor test

Anchor CLI commands for project lifecycle. `anchor init <name>` scaffolds a new project (program, tests, Anchor.toml). `anchor build` compiles to SBF and generates the IDL. `anchor test` builds, starts a local validator, deploys, and runs Mocha/Jest tests. `anchor deploy` deploys to the configured cluster. `anchor verify` checks deployed bytecode.

Open term
Developer Toolssolana-cli

Solana CLI

The official command-line tool for interacting with Solana clusters. Key commands: `solana balance`, `solana transfer`, `solana program deploy`, `solana config set --url`, `solana airdrop` (devnet). Configuration in `~/.config/solana/cli/config.yml` sets the default cluster URL and keypair path.

Open term
More in category

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Developer Tools

Anchor Framework

The most popular framework for building Solana programs in Rust. Anchor provides macros (#[program], #[account], #[derive(Accounts)]) that auto-generate boilerplate for account validation, serialization, discriminators, and error handling. It includes a CLI (anchor init/build/test/deploy), IDL generation, and TypeScript client generation. Reduces program code by ~80% compared to native development.

Open term
Developer Tools

#[account] Macro (Anchor)

The Anchor macro applied to structs to define on-chain account data layouts. `#[account]` auto-derives Borsh serialization, adds an 8-byte discriminator prefix (SHA-256 of 'account:<Name>'), and implements space calculation. Optional attributes: `#[account(zero_copy)]` for zero-copy deserialization of large accounts.

Open term
Developer Tools

#[derive(Accounts)] (Anchor)

The Anchor macro that defines the accounts struct for an instruction. Each field specifies an account with validation constraints. Account types include: `Account<'info, T>` (deserialized), `Signer<'info>` (must sign), `Program<'info, T>` (program reference), `SystemAccount<'info>`, and `UncheckedAccount<'info>` (no validation, use carefully).

Open term
Developer Tools

Anchor Constraints

Declarative validation rules on Anchor account fields. Key constraints: `#[account(mut)]` (writable), `#[account(init, payer=x, space=n)]` (create), `#[account(seeds=[...], bump)]` (PDA validation), `#[account(has_one=field)]` (field equality), `#[account(constraint = expr)]` (custom boolean), `#[account(close=target)]` (close and reclaim rent).

Open term