solana-dev Claude skill
The Solana Foundation's skill for Solana development: Kit SDK, Anchor, testing, codegen, wallets and security, with 35 reference files.
A current, official and reference-heavy skill; still review any generated transaction or signing code yourself.
What solana-dev does
solana-dev is one skill, versioned 2.7.0 in its frontmatter, that sets default technology choices for an agent writing Solana code and then points to detailed reference files. The defaults are the @solana/kit 8 plugin-client SDK with transaction v1, Wallet Standard connection through @solana/react for UI, Anchor 1.2.x for programs with Pinocchio for performance-critical ones, Surfpool for integration tests with LiteSVM or Mollusk for unit tests, and Codama for IDL and client generation. It also covers migrating web3.js v1 code to v3 or Kit.
The 35 reference files split by topic: frontend, testing, IDL codegen, payments, security vulnerabilities and fixes, runtime concepts such as rent and PDAs, a version compatibility matrix, a common-errors lookup, confidential transfers, RPC lookups using curl, and larger transactions. Several cover ecosystem tools: Kora for sponsored-fee transactions, Solana Keychain for server-side signing with KMS or MPC, and Mosaic for Token-2022 issuance templates. The metadata states it needs Node.js 20.18+, a Rust toolchain, the Solana CLI and the Anchor CLI. The repo includes an install.sh and a release ZIP for desktop uploads, has CI, and ships no scripts inside the skill or evals.
Good for
- Building Solana dApps and Anchor programs with an agent
- Fixing toolchain and version-mismatch errors
- Security review checklists for Solana programs
Not for
- Non-Solana chains
- Handling real funds or production key management without human review
What's inside depth 3/5
One 16 KB SKILL.md with 35 reference files across SDK, programs, testing and security, but no scripts, templates or evals.
- Skills
- 1
- Reference docs
- 35
- Scripts
- 0
- Tests / evals
- 0
- Templates
- 0
- Avg SKILL.md
- 16.1 KB
Counted from the repository file tree. How we score depth.
Dependencies and costs
- Node.js 20.18+
- Rust toolchain
- Solana CLI
- Anchor CLI
Security review
Review before installingA Solana development skill: markdown references plus a small installer, frontmatter validators and a trigger benchmark. The main thing to know is that SKILL.md has the agent add the hosted Solana MCP server to your agent config before Solana work, and the docs include curl-pipe-to-shell installs for the Solana toolchain and some rm -rf cleanup commands. The scripts themselves only copy files, validate frontmatter or call the Anthropic API with your own key.
Worth knowing
- Changes files outside your projectThe skill tells the agent to auto-install the Solana Developer MCP server (
claude mcp add --transport http solana-mcp-server https://mcp.solana.com/mcp, orcodex mcp add ... npx -y mcp-remote ...) before any Solana task, which edits the host's MCP config; it says to ask the user only if the config cannot be modified.skills/solana-dev/SKILL.md:152 - Makes network requestsUses the hosted Solana MCP (mcp.solana.com) for docs lookups, and references show curl calls to public Solana RPC endpoints, crates.io and GitHub.skills/solana-dev/SKILL.md:148
- Installs with curl | shReference docs tell users to run
curl -sL https://run.surfpool.run/ | bash(Surfpool) andsh -c "$(curl -sSfL https://release.anza.xyz/stable/install)"(Solana CLI) from the tool vendors' hosts.skills/solana-dev/references/testing.md:228 - Runs remote code at an unpinned versionThe Codex MCP setup runs
npx -y mcp-remote https://mcp.solana.com/mcpwithout a pinned version; docs and CI also usenpx skills.skills/solana-dev/SKILL.md:161 - Installs packages or toolsDocs walk through installing the Solana CLI, Anchor, Surfpool and Rust/npm packages, and include cleanup commands such as
rm -rf ~/.cache/solana/for the user's machine.skills/solana-dev/references/common-errors.md:107
What we checked
The repository (49 files) on Oct 29, 2026. Not a full review: it relies on code outside the repository: Solana Developer MCP server at mcp.solana.com (remote, answers docs queries); Third-party installers referenced in docs: run.surfpool.run, release.anza.xyz, npm packages (mcp-remote, @solana/kit, etc.).
NVIDIA SkillSpector static scan: 84 pattern hits (MCP Rug Pull 20, Tool Misuse 19, Privilege Escalation 10, Data Exfiltration 9, Supply Chain 8, Agent Snooping 7). Almost all hits are reference-doc commands: curl|bash installers for Surfpool and the Solana CLI, rm -rf of Solana cache directories in the troubleshooting guide, 'keychain' in a signer doc, and unpinned npx in CI. The 'remote_instructions' evidence line is a doc sentence about the ComputeBudget program, not a runtime fetch.
A review, not a certification. Skills change after we check them — read the files before installing.
License
MIT — commercial use allowed.
Can it run unattended?
Not really. It is reference guidance for interactive development and does not define loops, stop conditions or verification steps.
FAQ
What is the Solana dev skill?
It is the Solana Foundation's agent skill for Solana development. It sets defaults like @solana/kit, Anchor and Surfpool and links 35 reference files on programs, testing, security and the toolchain.
How do I install solana-dev?
Run npx skills add solana-foundation/solana-dev-skill, which detects your installed agents. You can also clone the repo and run ./install.sh, or upload the solana-dev.zip from the latest release in a desktop app.
Does the skill handle wallet keys or send transactions?
It documents wallet connection, signing and server-side signing patterns, but it does not run anything itself. Review any code it generates before using real funds or keys.
Is it up to date?
The README describes July 2026 best practices and the repository was last pushed on 2026-10-27, so it is actively maintained. Toolchain versions in Solana move quickly, so check its compatibility matrix against your install.