Byte arrays used as inputs to derive a Program Derived Address. Seeds can be any combination of static strings, user pubkeys, mint addresses, or other identifiers (each seed max 32 bytes, up to 16 seeds). For example, seeds=[b'vault', user.key()] derives a unique vault PDA for each user.
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Byte arrays used as inputs to derive a Program Derived Address. Seeds can be any combination of static strings, user pubkeys, mint addresses, or other identifiers (each seed max 32 bytes, up to 16 seeds). For example, seeds=[b'vault', user.key()] derives a unique vault PDA for each user.
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Accounts, instructions, PDAs, transactions, and execution flow.
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Seeds (seeds) Category: Programming Model Definition: Byte arrays used as inputs to derive a Program Derived Address. Seeds can be any combination of static strings, user pubkeys, mint addresses, or other identifiers (each seed max 32 bytes, up to 16 seeds). For example, seeds=[b'vault', user.key()] derives a unique vault PDA for each user. Related: Program Derived Address (PDA), Bump Seed
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An account address derived deterministically from a program ID and a set of seeds, with no corresponding private key. PDAs are created by finding a pubkey that does NOT lie on the Ed25519 curve (using a bump seed). Since there's no private key, only the deriving program can sign for the PDA via invoke_signed, making PDAs ideal for program-controlled state.
A single byte (255 down to 0) appended to PDA seeds to push the derived address off the Ed25519 curve. find_program_address tries bump=255 first and decrements until finding a valid PDA. The first valid bump found is the canonical bump. Always store and reuse the canonical bump to avoid security issues.
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A 64-byte Ed25519 digital signature over a transaction's message. Each signer in a transaction produces one signature. The first signature (from the fee payer) also serves as the unique transaction ID. Signature verification is parallelized in the TPU's sigverify stage using GPU acceleration.
An account that has provided a valid Ed25519 signature in the current transaction. The runtime enforces the is_signer flag on instruction account metas—if an instruction declares an account as a signer, the transaction must include its signature. Missing signer checks are a common vulnerability in Solana programs.
The native token of the Solana blockchain, used for paying transaction fees, staking, and rent. 1 SOL equals 1 billion lamports. SOL has an inflationary supply schedule starting at 8% annually, decreasing by 15% per year, with a long-term floor of 1.5%. Transaction base fees (5,000 lamports) are partially burned.
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An account address derived deterministically from a program ID and a set of seeds, with no corresponding private key. PDAs are created by finding a pubkey that does NOT lie on the Ed25519 curve (using a bump seed). Since there's no private key, only the deriving program can sign for the PDA via invoke_signed, making PDAs ideal for program-controlled state.
A single byte (255 down to 0) appended to PDA seeds to push the derived address off the Ed25519 curve. find_program_address tries bump=255 first and decrements until finding a valid PDA. The first valid bump found is the canonical bump. Always store and reuse the canonical bump to avoid security issues.
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The fundamental data storage unit on Solana. Every piece of state is stored in an account identified by a 32-byte public key. Accounts hold a lamport balance, an owner program, a data byte array (up to 10MB), and an executable flag. Only the owning program can modify an account's data, but anyone can credit lamports to it.
Executable code deployed on-chain, equivalent to a smart contract on other blockchains. Programs are stateless—they store no data themselves but read/write data in separate accounts they own. Programs are compiled to SBF bytecode and loaded via the BPF Loader. Every program has a unique Program ID (its account's public key).
A single operation within a transaction that invokes a program. An instruction specifies: (1) the program ID to call, (2) an array of account metas (pubkey, is_signer, is_writable), and (3) an opaque data byte array. Programs decode the instruction data to determine which operation to perform.
An atomic unit of execution containing one or more instructions, a recent blockhash, and one or more signatures. All instructions in a transaction execute sequentially and atomically—if any instruction fails, the entire transaction reverts. Transactions have a 1,232-byte size limit (matching IPv6 MTU) and a default 200,000 CU budget.