Beginner

This guide is the beginner entry point for Solana. It focuses on fundamentals, basic tooling, and a first simple dApp. Deeper topics belong in Intermediate and Advanced.

Legend: ★ marks the most recommended resources.

Learning Path

Milestones:

• Explain Account, Instruction, Transaction, Blockhash, Fee, and Compute Units in your own words.
• Create a keypair, request a devnet airdrop, and send a transfer transaction.
• Create an SPL Token mint, create an ATA, mint tokens, and transfer tokens.
• Deploy a simple Anchor program to devnet and interact with it from a TypeScript client.
• Build a minimal dApp that connects a wallet and signs/sends a transaction.

Stage notes:

• Stage 0: JavaScript/TypeScript basics, Rust basics, CLI/Git, HTTP/JSON.
• Stage 1: Ledger and Consensus basics, Wallets, Keys, Transactions (high-level).
• Stage 2: Solana accounts model, programs, instructions, transaction lifecycle, blockhash & fee payer, commitment/finality.
• Stage 3: Rust + Anchor basics, account constraints, PDA, CPI (high-level), local testing workflow.
• Stage 4: @solana/web3.js, wallet adapter, reading data + sending transactions, explorer usage.

Minimal Must-Learn Path

Recommended MVP duration: 1-2 weeks. If a resource is long, complete only the required part listed in each step.

1. Articles (Day 1-2): read Solana Docs, Accounts, Programs, Transactions, SPL Token, and Associated Token Account. Required outcome: explain Account, Instruction, Transaction, Blockhash, Fee, and Compute Units.
2. Course (Day 3-5): use Solana Foundation Developer Courses. Required part: only beginner modules covering wallet, account model, and transaction basics. Optional: deeper modules after MVP.
3. Exercises (Day 6-8): complete the beginner/core tasks in web3-onboarding (keypair, airdrop, transfer, token mint/ATA). Optional: vet-57b after MVP.
4. Book (Day 9-10): read selected parts of The Rust Programming Language. Required part: ownership/borrowing, structs/enums, and error handling basics. Optional: read the full book later.
5. Video (Day 11-12): watch the first 4 videos from Solana Development Tutorial. Required outcome: understand client tx flow and basic program interaction.
6. MVP completion (End of Week 2): send one devnet transaction, create one SPL token + ATA, deploy one simple Anchor program, verify tx in Solana Explorer, and finish a minimal dApp flow (connect wallet + sign + send).

Recommended Articles

• Overview:
  • ★Solana Docs - Official documentation entry point.
  • Solana Cookbook - Practical recipes for common tasks (CLI, accounts, transactions, tokens).
• Core concepts:
  • Accounts & Programs:
    • ★Accounts - The core data model on Solana.
    • ★Programs - What programs are and how they execute.
  • Transactions & Instructions:
    • ★Transactions - Transaction structure and signing model.
  • SPL Token:
    • SPL Token - Token standard and program overview.
    • Associated Token Account - The standard token account pattern.
  • Program patterns:
    • ★Program Derived Address (PDA) - Deterministic addresses for programs.
    • Cross-Program Invocation (CPI) - Calling other programs (high-level).

Recommended Courses

• ★Solana Foundation Developer Courses - Curated course content from the Solana Foundation.
• freeCodeCamp Solana - Hands-on Solana learning path with beginner-friendly explanations.

Recommended Exercises

• ★web3-onboarding - Guided onboarding exercises and tasks (practice-driven).
• ★vet-57b - Build a Solana vet clinic management program, assess core dev skills and explore off-chain data acquisition & presentation.

Recommended Books

• ★The Rust Programming Language - The Rust fundamentals you’ll need for Solana program development.
• Rust Course - A detailed open-source guide designed to deepen understanding and proficiency in Rust programming, promoting open-source collaboration.

Recommended Videos

• Solana Development Tutorial - Solana developer videos and walkthroughs.
• Solana Developer Bootcamp - Solana developer bootcamp videos (often Anchor-focused).

Developer Tooling

• CLI:
  • Solana CLI - Keypairs, airdrops, transfers, program deploy, and cluster config.
• Program development:
  • Rust - Language/toolchain for Solana programs.
  • Anchor - Framework for writing and testing Solana programs.
• Client libraries:
  • @solana/kit - JavaScript SDK for building Solana apps for Node, web, and React Native (renamed from the 2.x line of @solana/web3.js).
  • @solana/web3.js - First-generation JavaScript SDK for Solana RPC and transactions (1.x line).
  • @coral-xyz/anchor - Client for Anchor programs.
• Wallets:
  • Phantom - Popular wallet for signing transactions and connecting to Solana dApps.
  • Backpack - Modern wallet experience with strong dApp integration and multi-chain support.
  • Solflare - Solana-native wallet with web/mobile support and broad feature coverage.
• RPC Providers:
  • Helius - Solana-focused RPC plus enhanced APIs (webhooks, indexing, analytics).
  • Alchemy (Solana) - Hosted Solana RPC with developer tooling and monitoring.
  • QuickNode - Managed Solana RPC endpoints with reliability and scaling features.
• Explorers:
  • Solana Explorer - Official explorer to inspect transactions, blocks, and accounts.
  • Solscan - Explorer with rich token/account views and convenient dashboards.
  • SolanaFM - Explorer with strong UX for program and transaction inspection.

Common Websites

Programs

Frontend

Backend