Basic Solana Operations

Introduction to Solana CLI and Basic Wallet Operations

Overview

• This article introduces Solana CLI for basic operations like wallet creation and fund transfers.

Setup & Installation

• Solana CLI Installation:

sh -c "$(curl -sSfL https://release.solana.com/v1.8.0/install)"

• Rust Installation (Solana’s primary language):

curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh
source $HOME/.cargo/env
rustup component add rustfmt

Wallet Basics

A wallet consists of a public key (account address) and a private key (signature authorization).

• Solana wallet types:
  • Paper Wallet
  • Hardware Wallet
  • File System Wallet (covered in this guide).

Creating a File System Wallet

• Generate a new wallet:

  solana-keygen new
  

  or

  solana-keygen new --outfile /root/solana/my_wallet.json
  

• Retrieve the public key:

  solana-keygen pubkey ~/solana/my_wallet.json
  

• Verify the wallet:

  solana-keygen verify <PUBKEY> /root/solana/my_wallet.json
  

Solana CLI Configuration

• Check current config:

  solana config get
  

• Set a custom wallet path:

  solana config set --keypair /root/solana/my_wallet.json
  

• Switch to Solana Testnet (for testing):

  solana config set --url https://api.devnet.solana.com
  

Testnet Operations

• Airdrop SOL (free test tokens):

  solana airdrop 2
  

• Transfer SOL between wallets:

  solana transfer <RECIPIENT_PUBKEY> 1 --allow-unfunded-recipient
  

• Check balances:

  solana balance <PUBKEY>
  

• Transaction fees are deducted from the sender’s balance.

Next Steps

• The next article will cover minting custom tokens on Solana.

This guide provides a foundation for Solana CLI usage, enabling users to manage wallets and execute transactions on the Testnet.