JS/TS Client

Anchor provides a Typescript client library (@coral-xyz/anchor) that simplifies the process of interacting with Solana programs from the client in JavaScript or TypeScript.

Client Program #

To use the client library, first create an instance of a Program using the IDL file generated by Anchor.

Creating an instance of the Program requires the program's IDL and an AnchorProvider. An AnchorProvider is an abstraction that combines two things:

  • Connection - the connection to a Solana cluster (i.e. localhost, devnet, mainnet)
  • Wallet - (optional) a default wallet used to pay and sign transactions

When integrating with a frontend using the wallet adapter, you'll need to set up the AnchorProvider and Program.

import { Program, AnchorProvider, setProvider } from "@coral-xyz/anchor";
import { useAnchorWallet, useConnection } from "@solana/wallet-adapter-react";
import type { HelloAnchor } from "./idlType";
import idl from "./idl.json";
 
const { connection } = useConnection();
const wallet = useAnchorWallet();
 
const provider = new AnchorProvider(connection, wallet, {});
setProvider(provider);
 
export const program = new Program(idl as HelloAnchor, {
  connection,
});

In the code snippet above:

  • idl.json is the IDL file generated by Anchor, found at /target/idl/<program-name>.json in an Anchor project.
  • idlType.ts is the IDL type (for use with TS), found at /target/types/<program-name>.ts in an Anchor project.

Alternatively, you can create an instance of the Program using only the IDL and the Connection to a Solana cluster. This means there is no default Wallet, but allows you to use the Program to fetch accounts or build instructions without a connected wallet.

import { clusterApiUrl, Connection, PublicKey } from "@solana/web3.js";
import { Program } from "@coral-xyz/anchor";
import type { HelloAnchor } from "./idlType";
import idl from "./idl.json";
 
const connection = new Connection(clusterApiUrl("devnet"), "confirmed");
 
export const program = new Program(idl as HelloAnchor, {
  connection,
});

Invoke Instructions #

Once the Program is set up using a program IDL, you can use the Anchor MethodsBuilder to:

  • Build individual instructions
  • Build transactions
  • Build and send transactions

The basic format looks like the following:

program.methods - This is the builder API for creating instruction calls from the program's IDL

await program.methods
  .instructionName(instructionData)
  .accounts({})
  .signers([])
  .rpc();

Anchor provides multiple methods for building program instructions:

The rpc() method sends a signed transaction with the specified instruction and returns a TransactionSignature.

When using .rpc, the Wallet from the Provider is automatically included as a signer.

// Generate keypair for the new account
const newAccountKp = new Keypair();
 
const data = new BN(42);
const transactionSignature = await program.methods
  .initialize(data)
  .accounts({
    newAccount: newAccountKp.publicKey,
    signer: wallet.publicKey,
    systemProgram: SystemProgram.programId,
  })
  .signers([newAccountKp])
  .rpc();

Fetch Accounts #

The Program client simplifies the process of fetching and deserializing accounts created by your Anchor program.

Use program.account followed by the name of the account type defined in the IDL. Anchor provides multiple methods for fetching accounts.

Use all() to fetch all existing accounts for a specific account type.

const accounts = await program.account.newAccount.all();