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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.

IDavmAliasAnchor Version Manager
Plain meaning

Plain meaning

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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.

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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AVM (Anchor Version Manager) (avm)
Category: Developer Tools
Definition: 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.
Aliases: Anchor Version Manager
Related: Anchor Framework, anchor init / anchor build / anchor test
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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.

Solana CLI
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

Bankrun (solana-bankrun)

A fast Solana testing framework (solana-bankrun for TypeScript, bankrun for Rust) that runs tests against an in-process Bank without starting a full validator. Bankrun processes transactions ~100x faster than solana-test-validator, supports time warping (advance slots/time), and can load accounts from fixtures or mainnet snapshots.

Open term
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.

Open term
Commonly confused with

Terms nearby in vocabulary, acronym, or conceptual neighborhood.

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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-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
Developer Toolsanchor-account-macro

#[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
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
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