Candy Machine

Q: Candy Machine program ID?

v3: CndyV3LdqHUfDLmE5naZjVN8rBZz4tqhdedBYaPJrtzc.

Q: Track mint progress?

Read itemsRedeemed on Candy Machine account or index mint events.

Candy Machine is Metaplex's fair minting protocol for launching NFT collections with guards (allowlists, payment, start dates, limits). Candy Machine v3 (CndyV3LdqHUfDLmE5naZjVN8rBZz4tqhdedBYaPJrtzc) targets Token Metadata assets; large drops often use cNFT instead.

Recipe

# Sugar CLI orchestrates Candy Machine deploy + reveal
sugar launch
sugar deploy
sugar mint

import { createUmi } from "@metaplex-foundation/umi-bundle-defaults";
import { mplCandyMachine } from "@metaplex-foundation/mpl-candy-machine";

When to reach for this:

Fair public mint with configurable guards
Allowlist phases (merkle, token gate)
Paid mints routing SOL to treasury
Token Metadata collection launches with reveal workflow

Working Example

import { createUmi } from "@metaplex-foundation/umi-bundle-defaults";
import { mplCandyMachine } from "@metaplex-foundation/mpl-candy-machine";
import { generateSigner, publicKey } from "@metaplex-foundation/umi";
import { fetchCandyMachine } from "@metaplex-foundation/mpl-candy-machine";
 
const umi = createUmi("https://api.devnet.solana.com").use(mplCandyMachine());
 
// High-level: Sugar generates config.json + assets, deploys CM account
// Programmatic mint from deployed machine:
const candyMachine = publicKey("CANDY_MACHINE_PUBKEY");
 
const cm = await fetchCandyMachine(umi, candyMachine);
console.log("items available:", cm.data.itemsAvailable);
console.log("items minted:", cm.itemsRedeemed);

# Typical Sugar workflow
sugar validate
sugar upload    # assets to Arweave/IPFS
sugar deploy    # create Candy Machine on-chain
sugar mint      # test mint

What this demonstrates:

Candy Machine account tracks supply and redeemed count
Guards enforce payment, time, and allowlist rules per mint tx
Sugar CLI is the standard operator toolchain for CM launches

Deep Dive

How It Works

Candy Machine holds config: price, go-live date, guard sets, hidden settings
Each mint instruction increments itemsRedeemed and creates NFT per config
Guards modular: sol payment, token payment, merkle allowlist, mint limit
Reveal: hidden settings swap placeholder URI for final metadata post-mint

CM vs cNFT at Scale

Approach	Cost per mint	Standard
Candy Machine v3	Higher (full mint accounts)	Token Metadata
Bubblegum cNFT	Very low	Compressed

TypeScript Notes

// Always simulate mint before public launch
// Monitor itemsRedeemed vs itemsAvailable during mint window

Gotchas

Sold out race - concurrent mints exceed supply. Fix: guards + adequate CU priority fees.
Unrevealed metadata forever - reveal tx not run. Fix: automate reveal crank post-mint.
Wrong guard config - free mint exploit. Fix: audit guards on devnet with adversarial tests.
Arweave upload failures - broken images at mint. Fix: sugar validate + spot-check URIs.
Using CM for 100k+ drop - prohibitive rent. Fix: use Bubblegum cNFT pipeline.

Alternatives

Alternative	Use When	Don't Use When
Bubblegum mass mint	10k+ items	Need full on-chain Token Metadata
Core custom mint site	Full control, smaller supply	Need battle-tested guard library
Manual mint from treasury	Friends-and-family only	Public fair launch

FAQs

What is Candy Machine?

Metaplex minting contract with guard system for fair NFT drops.

Candy Machine program ID?

v3: CndyV3LdqHUfDLmE5naZjVN8rBZz4tqhdedBYaPJrtzc.

What is Sugar?

CLI bundling asset upload, CM deploy, and mint testing.

What are guards?

Composable rules: SOL payment, start date, allowlist, mint limit per wallet, etc.

Hidden settings?

Placeholder URI at mint; authority reveals final metadata later.

Core support?

Candy Machine historically Token Metadata - check Metaplex docs for Core mint integrations.

Devnet rehearsal?

Full Sugar deploy on devnet before mainnet - test guards and reveal.

Bot mitigation?

Mint limits, allowlists, and priority fees - no single silver bullet.

Failed mint refunds?

SOL payment guard returns failed tx without mint - user pays network fee only.

Track mint progress?

Read itemsRedeemed on Candy Machine account or index mint events.

Upgrade machine?

Plan immutable config carefully - changes often need new deployment.

vs custom Anchor mint?

CM gives audited guards; custom for novel mechanics.

Metadata & Storage - asset hosting
Collections & Verification - collection setup
Compressed NFTs (Bubblegum) - large drops

Stack versions: This page was written for Agave 4.1.1, Solana CLI 3.0.10, Anchor 0.32.1, anchor-lang 0.32.1, Rust 1.91.1, @solana/kit 7.0.0, Surfpool 0.12.0, and LiteSVM 0.6.x.

Recipe

# Sugar CLI orchestrates Candy Machine deploy + reveal
sugar launch
sugar deploy
sugar mint

import { createUmi } from "@metaplex-foundation/umi-bundle-defaults";
import { mplCandyMachine } from "@metaplex-foundation/mpl-candy-machine";

When to reach for this:

Fair public mint with configurable guards
Allowlist phases (merkle, token gate)
Paid mints routing SOL to treasury
Token Metadata collection launches with reveal workflow

Working Example

import { createUmi } from "@metaplex-foundation/umi-bundle-defaults";
import { mplCandyMachine } from "@metaplex-foundation/mpl-candy-machine";
import { generateSigner, publicKey } from "@metaplex-foundation/umi";
import { fetchCandyMachine } from "@metaplex-foundation/mpl-candy-machine";
 
const umi = createUmi("https://api.devnet.solana.com").use(mplCandyMachine());
 
// High-level: Sugar generates config.json + assets, deploys CM account
// Programmatic mint from deployed machine:
const candyMachine = publicKey("CANDY_MACHINE_PUBKEY");
 
const cm = await fetchCandyMachine(umi, candyMachine);
console.log("items available:", cm.data.itemsAvailable);
console.log("items minted:", cm.itemsRedeemed);

# Typical Sugar workflow
sugar validate
sugar upload    # assets to Arweave/IPFS
sugar deploy    # create Candy Machine on-chain
sugar mint      # test mint

What this demonstrates:

Candy Machine account tracks supply and redeemed count
Guards enforce payment, time, and allowlist rules per mint tx
Sugar CLI is the standard operator toolchain for CM launches

Deep Dive

How It Works

Candy Machine holds config: price, go-live date, guard sets, hidden settings
Each mint instruction increments itemsRedeemed and creates NFT per config
Guards modular: sol payment, token payment, merkle allowlist, mint limit
Reveal: hidden settings swap placeholder URI for final metadata post-mint

CM vs cNFT at Scale

Approach	Cost per mint	Standard
Candy Machine v3	Higher (full mint accounts)	Token Metadata
Bubblegum cNFT	Very low	Compressed

TypeScript Notes

// Always simulate mint before public launch
// Monitor itemsRedeemed vs itemsAvailable during mint window

Gotchas

Sold out race - concurrent mints exceed supply. Fix: guards + adequate CU priority fees.
Unrevealed metadata forever - reveal tx not run. Fix: automate reveal crank post-mint.
Wrong guard config - free mint exploit. Fix: audit guards on devnet with adversarial tests.
Arweave upload failures - broken images at mint. Fix: sugar validate + spot-check URIs.
Using CM for 100k+ drop - prohibitive rent. Fix: use Bubblegum cNFT pipeline.

Alternatives

Alternative	Use When	Don't Use When
Bubblegum mass mint	10k+ items	Need full on-chain Token Metadata
Core custom mint site	Full control, smaller supply	Need battle-tested guard library
Manual mint from treasury	Friends-and-family only	Public fair launch

FAQs

What is Candy Machine?

Metaplex minting contract with guard system for fair NFT drops.

Candy Machine program ID?

v3: CndyV3LdqHUfDLmE5naZjVN8rBZz4tqhdedBYaPJrtzc.

What is Sugar?

CLI bundling asset upload, CM deploy, and mint testing.

What are guards?

Composable rules: SOL payment, start date, allowlist, mint limit per wallet, etc.

Hidden settings?

Placeholder URI at mint; authority reveals final metadata later.

Core support?

Candy Machine historically Token Metadata - check Metaplex docs for Core mint integrations.

Devnet rehearsal?

Full Sugar deploy on devnet before mainnet - test guards and reveal.

Bot mitigation?

Mint limits, allowlists, and priority fees - no single silver bullet.

Failed mint refunds?

SOL payment guard returns failed tx without mint - user pays network fee only.

Track mint progress?

Read itemsRedeemed on Candy Machine account or index mint events.

Upgrade machine?

Plan immutable config carefully - changes often need new deployment.

vs custom Anchor mint?

CM gives audited guards; custom for novel mechanics.

Metadata & Storage - asset hosting
Collections & Verification - collection setup
Compressed NFTs (Bubblegum) - large drops

Stack versions: This page was written for Agave 4.1.1, Solana CLI 3.0.10, Anchor 0.32.1, anchor-lang 0.32.1, Rust 1.91.1, @solana/kit 7.0.0, Surfpool 0.12.0, and LiteSVM 0.6.x.

Candy Machine

Search Documentation

Candy Machine