Solana Rust-First

Stage 1 — Foundations (2–3 weeks)

Goal: Account model, PDA, CPI — counter → PDA → CPI in one sitting

Required resources
#ResourceWhy this one
3solana.com/docs/intro/quick-start— solana.comBrowser-based Playground, zero install friction. Counter → PDA → CPI.
4solana-bootcamp-2026— github.comSingle best resource: 11 real projects across stages.
5anchor-lang.com/docs/quickstart— anchor-lang.comanchor init → build → test → deploy devnet
6program-examples— github.comCanonical patterns, mostly Anchor with some native Rust.

Foundations is where the account model clicks. The videos from bri’s Core Concepts playlist are built around the account failures most beginners hit.

Videos for this stage (12)

Solana PDAs Explained | How to Write On-Chain Maps with Program Derived Addresses bri · 0:07:17 · 2025-06-05

PDAs as on-chain maps

What Are Solana Programs? | Smart Contracts on Solana Explained for Beginners bri · 0:03:24 · 2025-06-23

What a Solana program actually is

Solana Account Model Explained | How Solana Stores & Manages On-Chain Data bri · 0:07:23 · 2025-07-18

Account model - the concept beginners fail on

Solana Transactions and Instructions Explained | Beginner’s Guide to Solana Blockchain Development bri · 0:06:27 · 2025-08-13

Transactions and instructions

Solana Developer Bootcamp 2026 Project 02: Hello World Solana · 0:06:59 · 2026-04-03

Bootcamp Project 02: hello world

Solana Developer Bootcamp 2026 Project 03: Voting Solana · 0:49:42 · 2026-04-03

Bootcamp Project 03: voting

Build & Deploy a Solana App in 5 Minutes | Smart Contract, Wallet Adapter & Frontend bri · 0:12:29 · 2026-04-06

Fast end-to-end app including wallet adapter frontend

Solana Developer Bootcamp 2026: Learn Blockchain and Full-Stack Crypto Development [Full Course] Solana · 5:11:42 · 2026-04-07

Full bootcamp as one 5h12m file; prefer the per-project videos

How to Build an On-Chain Voting Program | Smart Contract Tutorial on Solana | Solana Roadmap Series bri · 0:49:37 · 2026-04-15

Voting program, bri's version of the same project

What Are PDAs in Solana? Program Derived Addresses Explained | Conceptual Whiteboard Session bri · 0:04:44 · 2026-08-26

PDA whiteboard session

Why Solana Apps Are Basically Just APIs Calling APIs — Smart Contract Architecture Breakdown bri · 0:01:51 · 2026-08-28

Program architecture as APIs calling APIs

What Actually Happens After You Send a Solana Transaction? | Whiteboard Explanation bri · 0:01:18 · 2026-08-31

Transaction lifecycle from signing to finality

Verified versions — fetched 2026-09-02 at build (source: 2026-09-02T03:52:25.944Z)
PackageVersionSource
pinocchio0.11.2crates.io/crates/pinocchio
star_frame0.30.0crates.io/crates/star_frame
litesvm0.16.0crates.io/crates/litesvm
anchor-lang1.1.2crates.io/crates/anchor-lang
carbon-core1.0.0crates.io/crates/carbon-core
yellowstone-grpc-client13.5.0crates.io/crates/yellowstone-grpc-client
ephemeral-rollups-sdk0.17.0crates.io/crates/ephemeral-rollups-sdk
axum0.8.9crates.io/crates/axum
sqlx0.9.0crates.io/crates/sqlx
tokio1.53.1crates.io/crates/tokio
solana-client4.2.2crates.io/crates/solana-client
solana-sdk4.1.0crates.io/crates/solana-sdk
borsh1.8.1crates.io/crates/borsh
@solana/kit8.2.0www.npmjs.com/package/@solana/kit
gill0.14.0www.npmjs.com/package/gill
codama1.10.2www.npmjs.com/package/codama
@coral-xyz/anchor0.32.1www.npmjs.com/package/@coral-xyz/anchor
@solana/web3.js1.98.4www.npmjs.com/package/@solana/web3.js
agave-cli4.2.2github.com/anza-xyz/agave/releases
rust1.98.0github.com/rust-lang/rust/releases/lates
surfpool1.4.0solana-install.solana.workers.dev
anchor-installer1.1.2solana-install.solana.workers.dev
node-installer24.10.0solana-install.solana.workers.dev