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Installation

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

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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

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Install the SDK

Install the @drift-labs/sdk package in your project: 
npm install @drift-labs/sdk
Current SDK version: 2.158.0-beta.0

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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.

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Set Up a Solana Wallet

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

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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.

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Fund Your Wallet

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.

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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
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):Premium RPC providers offer higher rate limits and better reliability.

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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: 
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

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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
  }
}

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Next Steps

Quick Start Guide

Place your first trade on Drift Protocol

API Reference

Explore the complete SDK documentation

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Troubleshooting

Ensure all peer dependencies are installed:
npm install @solana/web3.js @coral-xyz/anchor @solana/spl-token
  • Check your internet connection
  • Try a different RPC endpoint
  • Consider using a premium RPC provider for better reliability
The SDK uses bn.js for BigNumber operations. Import BN from the SDK:
import { BN } from '@drift-labs/sdk';
Drift SDK requires Node.js 24.0.0 or higher. Update Node.js:
nvm install 24
nvm use 24

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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

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