Installation

Install the Drift Protocol SDK and set up your development environment

Installation

Get started with Drift Protocol v2 by installing the SDK and setting up your Solana wallet for trading.

Prerequisites

Before installing the Drift SDK, ensure you have:

1. Node.js

   Node.js version 24.0.0 or higher

   node --version
   
2. Package Manager

   npm, yarn, or pnpm installed

   npm --version
   # or
   yarn --version
   
3. Solana CLI (Optional)

   For wallet generation and management

   solana --version
   

   Install from Solana’s official docs if needed

Install the SDK

Install the @drift-labs/sdk package in your project:

npm

npm install @drift-labs/sdk

Current SDK version: 2.158.0-beta.0

Core Dependencies

The Drift SDK includes these key dependencies:

• @coral-xyz/anchor (0.29.0 & 0.30.1) - Solana program framework
• @solana/web3.js (1.98.0) - Solana JavaScript API
• @solana/spl-token (0.4.13) - SPL token operations
• bn.js - BigNumber support for precise calculations

These are automatically installed with the SDK.

Set Up a Solana Wallet

You’ll need a Solana wallet to interact with Drift Protocol.

Generate a New Keypair

1. Generate keypair

   solana-keygen new
   

   This creates a new keypair at ~/.config/solana/id.json

2. Get your wallet address

   solana address
   

   Save this address - you’ll need it to fund your wallet

3. Add private key to environment

   cd your-project-directory
   echo BOT_PRIVATE_KEY=`cat ~/.config/solana/id.json` >> .env
   

Never commit your .env file or share your private key! Add .env to your .gitignore file.

Fund Your Wallet

Devnet (Testing)

For testing on devnet, use the Solana faucet:

solana airdrop 2 YOUR_WALLET_ADDRESS --url devnet

You can also get devnet USDC from Drift’s faucet after connecting your wallet.

Mainnet (Production)

For mainnet:

1. Purchase SOL from an exchange
2. Transfer SOL to your wallet address
3. Acquire USDC (you’ll need it for collateral)

You need both SOL (for transaction fees) and USDC (for trading collateral) on mainnet.

Environment Variables

Create a .env file in your project root:

.env

# Your wallet's private key (as JSON array)
BOT_PRIVATE_KEY=[123,45,67,...]

# Solana RPC endpoint
ANCHOR_PROVIDER_URL=https://api.devnet.solana.com
# For mainnet: https://api.mainnet-beta.solana.com

# Wallet path (optional, defaults to ~/.config/solana/id.json)
ANCHOR_WALLET=/path/to/your/keypair.json

Finding RPC Endpoints

You can use public RPC endpoints or premium providers for better performance:

Public Endpoints:

• Devnet: https://api.devnet.solana.com
• Mainnet: https://api.mainnet-beta.solana.com

Premium Providers (Recommended for Production):

• Helius
• QuickNode
• Triton

Premium RPC providers offer higher rate limits and better reliability.

Verify Installation

Create a simple test script to verify everything is set up correctly:

test-setup.ts

import { Connection, PublicKey } from '@solana/web3.js';
import { initialize } from '@drift-labs/sdk';

const main = async () => {
  // Initialize SDK config
  const sdkConfig = initialize({ env: 'devnet' });
  console.log('SDK initialized for:', 'devnet');
  
  // Connect to Solana
  const connection = new Connection('https://api.devnet.solana.com');
  
  // Check connection
  const version = await connection.getVersion();
  console.log('Connected to Solana cluster:', version);
  
  console.log('\nDrift Program ID:', sdkConfig.DRIFT_PROGRAM_ID);
  console.log('USDC Mint:', sdkConfig.USDC_MINT_ADDRESS);
  
  console.log('\n✅ Installation verified successfully!');
};

main().catch(console.error);

Run the script:

ts-node

npx ts-node test-setup.ts

You may need to install ts-node or tsx for running TypeScript files:

npm install -D ts-node typescript

TypeScript Configuration

For TypeScript projects, ensure your tsconfig.json includes:

tsconfig.json

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2020",
    "module": "commonjs",
    "lib": ["ES2020"],
    "moduleResolution": "node",
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "strict": true,
    "resolveJsonModule": true
  }
}

Next Steps

Quick Start Guide

Place your first trade on Drift Protocol

API Reference

Explore the complete SDK documentation

Troubleshooting

Module not found errors

Ensure all peer dependencies are installed:

npm install @solana/web3.js @coral-xyz/anchor @solana/spl-token

Connection timeout errors

• Check your internet connection
• Try a different RPC endpoint
• Consider using a premium RPC provider for better reliability

BigNum/BN errors

The SDK uses bn.js for BigNumber operations. Import BN from the SDK:

import { BN } from '@drift-labs/sdk';

Node version errors

Drift SDK requires Node.js 24.0.0 or higher. Update Node.js:

nvm install 24
nvm use 24

Building from Source

If you want to contribute or build the SDK from source:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/drift-labs/protocol-v2.git
cd protocol-v2

# Install dependencies
yarn

# Build the SDK
cd sdk/
yarn
yarn build

# Run tests
yarn test

For M1 Mac users, set the Rust toolchain first:

rustup default stable-x86_64-apple-darwin