Typed Clients Basics

8 examples for IDL-driven TypeScript clients - 5 basic and 3 intermediate.

Prerequisites

anchor build   # Anchor 0.32.1
npm install @solana/kit@7.0.0
npm install -D @codama/cli @codama/renderers-js

Basic Examples

1. Why Generate Clients?

IDL is the contract between on-chain Rust and off-chain TypeScript.

ls target/idl/my_program.json

• Hand-written layouts drift from Anchor 0.32.1 structs.
• Generated codecs match discriminators exactly.
• One source of truth reduces mainnet incidents.

2. Anchor TS Client

@coral-xyz/anchor Program class still works for legacy apps.

// Prefer Codama + kit for new modules

• Anchor client couples to web3.js types historically.
• Migrate program calls incrementally.
• See The Anchor TS Client.

3. Codama Pipeline

IDL → node graph → renderer → TypeScript kit client.

npx codama run --config codama.json

• Commit generated output or regenerate in CI.
• Fail CI when folder dirty after build.
• Pin @codama/cli version per repo.

4. Fetch Typed Account

Generated decoders parse account data.

import { createSolanaRpc, address } from "@solana/kit";
// import { fetchMyAccount } from "./generated";
const rpc = createSolanaRpc(process.env.RPC_URL!);

• Fetch + decode in one helper when using gill/Codama output.
• Handle null when account not initialized.
• See Fetching & Decoding Accounts.

5. Build Typed Instruction

Instruction builders encode discriminator + args.

// getIncrementInstruction({ account, authority }) from generated client

• Builders return kit Instruction type.
• Append to transaction message with kit APIs.
• Account metas are ordered per IDL.

Intermediate Examples

6. gill Convenience

Higher-level helpers bundle kit + common programs.

npm install gill

import { createSolanaClient } from "gill";

• Faster bootstrap for standard flows.
• Drop to kit for uncommon account metas.
• See gill.

7. CI Regeneration

anchor build && npx codama run && git diff --exit-code clients/

• Prevents shipping stale clients.
• Pair with Surfpool integration tests.
• Document codegen in CONTRIBUTING.md.

8. Multi-Program Apps

Monorepo may host several IDLs.

{ "idl": "target/idl/program_a.json", "before": [], "scripts": { "js": "@codama/renderers-js" } }

• Namespace generated folders per program.
• Avoid duplicate export names across programs.
• See Keeping Clients in Sync.

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.