Getting Started
This page lays out a recommended learning path for new Solana developers. Rather than dumping a list of links, it structures resources as a journey -- from understanding the mental model, to setting up your environment, to building and deploying your first program, to supercharging your workflow with AI tooling.
Step 1: Understand the Fundamentals
Before writing code, internalize how Solana works. The account model is fundamentally different from EVM chains -- everything is an account, programs are stateless, and data lives in separate accounts owned by programs.
Solana Docs Quick Start
Start here. This official guide walks you through accounts, transactions, and programs in under an hour. It covers the core mental model -- how programs process instructions, how accounts store state, and how transactions bundle everything together. You will build and deploy a simple program by the end.
Solana Docs Core Concepts
Once you have the basics, dive deeper into the account model, Program Derived Addresses (PDAs), Cross-Program Invocations (CPIs), and the transaction lifecycle. These concepts are the foundation of everything you will build. Pay special attention to PDAs -- they are Solana's answer to contract storage and you will use them constantly.
Step 2: Set Up Your Environment
You have two options: local setup for serious development, or browser-based for quick experimentation.
Installation Guide (Local Setup)
This covers installing the Solana CLI, Anchor framework, and Rust toolchain on your machine. Note: since Anchor 1.0 (April 2026), the anchor CLI bundles its own toolchain and no longer requires the external solana CLI for most commands -- you can start with just Rust and Anchor, though the Solana CLI is still useful for keypair and cluster management. Local development gives you full control -- debugging, custom test configurations, and the ability to use AI tooling like Solana AI Kit. If you plan to build anything beyond a toy project, set up locally.
Solana Playground (Browser IDE)
If you want to skip local setup entirely or just experiment with an idea, Solana Playground gives you a full development environment in your browser. It includes a built-in wallet, Rust compiler, program deployer, and even a test framework. You can write, build, deploy, and test Anchor programs without installing anything. It is excellent for learning and prototyping, though you will eventually want a local setup for production work.
RPC Provider Setup
For anything beyond local development, you need an RPC provider. The default public RPC endpoints are rate-limited and not suitable for production use. Helius offers a generous free tier that is sufficient for learning and early development -- sign up, get an API key, and use it in your Solana CLI config and application code. Other providers like Triton and Ironforge also offer free tiers. Having a reliable RPC connection from the start prevents frustrating timeout errors and rate limit issues that can stall your learning.
Step 3: Build Something
Theory only sticks when you apply it. These resources give you concrete projects to build and patterns to reference.
Developer Cookbook
A reference collection of code snippets and patterns for common Solana development tasks. Need to create a token? Send a transaction? Derive a PDA? The cookbook has copy-pasteable implementations for each. Think of it as a recipe book you keep open while building -- not a tutorial to read cover-to-cover, but a resource to search when you need to implement something specific.
Build a CRUD dApp
A full end-to-end tutorial that walks you through building a journal application with both an on-chain Anchor program and a React frontend. You will learn how to define account structures, write instruction handlers, generate TypeScript clients, and connect a wallet. This is the single best first project for understanding the full stack.
Connect a Wallet in React
Every dApp needs wallet integration. This guide covers the Solana wallet adapter -- how to set up providers, detect installed wallets, connect/disconnect, and sign transactions. If you are building a frontend, you will reference this pattern repeatedly.
Developer Guides Collection
The full collection of official developer guides from the Solana Foundation. Covers everything from basic token creation to advanced topics like compressed NFTs, staking, and Actions/Blinks. Browse by topic when you are ready to go beyond the basics. Each guide is self-contained and includes working code.
Step 4: Level Up with AI Tooling
Once you have the fundamentals down, AI tooling can dramatically accelerate your development cycle -- from code generation and security audits to real-time documentation lookup and on-chain data queries.
Solana AI Kit
This is the single highest-leverage tool you can add to your Solana development workflow. A single install of Solana AI Kit (formerly solana-claude-config) gives you 15 specialized AI agents (architect, anchor-engineer, pinocchio-engineer, frontend-engineer, security auditor, and more), 30 workflow commands for common tasks (build, audit, deploy, scaffold, test), and 7 pre-configured MCP servers that give your AI assistant real-time access to Solana documentation, on-chain data, and library references. It transforms Claude Code from a general-purpose assistant into a Solana development partner that understands the ecosystem deeply. See the AI-Assisted Development page for the full breakdown.
Recommended Order
For developers coming from other ecosystems, here is the condensed path:
Read the Quick Start and Core Concepts docs (2-3 hours) -- or follow the video-first Solana Developer Bootcamp at solana.com/developers/bootcamp
Install the Solana CLI and Anchor locally, or use Solana Playground
Build the CRUD dApp tutorial end-to-end
Install Solana AI Kit and start using AI-assisted development
Pick a real project and use the Cookbook + Developer Guides as references
Explore Courses & Education for structured deeper learning
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