Metaplex's on-chain program for creating and managing NFT minting launches on Solana. Candy Machine handles sequential or random minting from a pre-loaded collection, enforcing supply limits and mint pricing. It supports multiple payment tokens (SOL, SPL tokens) and integrates with Candy Guard for access control. Candy Machine v3 is the current version, widely used for PFP and generative art drops.
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Metaplex's on-chain program for creating and managing NFT minting launches on Solana. Candy Machine handles sequential or random minting from a pre-loaded collection, enforcing supply limits and mint pricing. It supports multiple payment tokens (SOL, SPL tokens) and integrates with Candy Guard for access control. Candy Machine v3 is the current version, widely used for PFP and generative art drops.
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SPL assets, token standards, metadata, and NFT primitives.
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Candy Machine (candy-machine) Category: Token Ecosystem Definition: Metaplex's on-chain program for creating and managing NFT minting launches on Solana. Candy Machine handles sequential or random minting from a pre-loaded collection, enforcing supply limits and mint pricing. It supports multiple payment tokens (SOL, SPL tokens) and integrates with Candy Guard for access control. Candy Machine v3 is the current version, widely used for PFP and generative art drops. Aliases: CM, Candy Machine v3 Related: Candy Guard, NFT (Non-Fungible Token), Metaplex Token Metadata
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A Metaplex program that wraps Candy Machine with configurable access control guards for NFT minting. Guards include allowlist (Merkle proof), mint limit (per wallet), start/end date, sol payment, token payment, NFT gate, freeze (lock minted NFTs), and more. Multiple guards can be combined and organized into groups, allowing different mint phases (e.g., allowlist phase, then public mint) within a single launch.
A non-fungible token on Solana—an SPL token with 0 decimals, supply of 1, and revoked mint authority. The NFT's metadata (image, attributes) is stored off-chain (Arweave/IPFS) linked via the Metaplex metadata account's URI field. NFTs can be standard, compressed (cNFT), programmable (pNFT), or Core assets, each with different trade-offs.
The Metaplex Token Metadata program (metaqbxxUerdq28cj1RbAWkYQm3ybzjb6a8bt518x1s) that attaches rich metadata to any SPL token or NFT. It creates a PDA-derived metadata account storing: name, symbol, URI (pointing to off-chain JSON), creators array, seller fee basis points, and collection info. The de facto standard for NFT metadata on Solana.
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A Metaplex program that wraps Candy Machine with configurable access control guards for NFT minting. Guards include allowlist (Merkle proof), mint limit (per wallet), start/end date, sol payment, token payment, NFT gate, freeze (lock minted NFTs), and more. Multiple guards can be combined and organized into groups, allowing different mint phases (e.g., allowlist phase, then public mint) within a single launch.
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A Metaplex program that wraps Candy Machine with configurable access control guards for NFT minting. Guards include allowlist (Merkle proof), mint limit (per wallet), start/end date, sol payment, token payment, NFT gate, freeze (lock minted NFTs), and more. Multiple guards can be combined and organized into groups, allowing different mint phases (e.g., allowlist phase, then public mint) within a single launch.
A non-fungible token on Solana—an SPL token with 0 decimals, supply of 1, and revoked mint authority. The NFT's metadata (image, attributes) is stored off-chain (Arweave/IPFS) linked via the Metaplex metadata account's URI field. NFTs can be standard, compressed (cNFT), programmable (pNFT), or Core assets, each with different trade-offs.
The Metaplex Token Metadata program (metaqbxxUerdq28cj1RbAWkYQm3ybzjb6a8bt518x1s) that attaches rich metadata to any SPL token or NFT. It creates a PDA-derived metadata account storing: name, symbol, URI (pointing to off-chain JSON), creators array, seller fee basis points, and collection info. The de facto standard for NFT metadata on Solana.
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The original Solana Program Library token program (TokenkegQfeZyiNwAJbNbGKPFXCWuBvf9Ss623VQ5DA) that implements fungible and non-fungible token operations. It manages mints (token definitions) and token accounts (balances). Core instructions include InitializeMint, MintTo, Transfer, Burn, Approve (delegation), and Revoke. All SPL tokens on mainnet before Token-2022 use this program.
Solana Program Library—a collection of on-chain programs and client libraries maintained by Solana Labs. Key SPL programs include Token, Token-2022, Associated Token Account, Memo, Name Service, Stake Pool, and Account Compression. SPL programs are deployed to well-known addresses and serve as the standard building blocks for Solana applications.
The next-generation token program (TokenzQdBNbLqP5VEhdkAS6EPFLC1PHnBqCXEpPxuEb) that extends SPL Token with configurable extensions. Extensions include transfer fees, confidential transfers, transfer hooks, permanent delegate, non-transferable tokens, interest-bearing tokens, metadata, and more. Token-2022 is backwards-compatible with SPL Token for basic operations.
An on-chain account defining a token type. A mint specifies: supply (total minted), decimals (0 for NFTs, 6 for USDC, 9 for most tokens), mint authority (who can mint), and optional freeze authority. Each unique token (USDC, JitoSOL, etc.) has exactly one mint account. Mint address serves as the token's unique identifier.