--- name: light-protocol-2fd010f5f7ea creator: raunit-dev description: Complete guide for Light Protocol on Solana - includes ZK Compression for rent-free compressed tokens and PDAs using zero-knowledge proofs, and the Light Token Program for high-performance token standard (200x cheaper than SPL). Covers TypeScript SDK, JSON RPC methods, and complete integration patterns. --- # Light Protocol Development Guide Build scalable, cost-efficient applications on Solana with Light Protocol - the infrastructure platform enabling rent-free tokens and accounts with L1 performance and security. ## Overview Light Protocol provides two complementary technologies: - **ZK Compression**: Create rent-free compressed tokens and PDAs using zero-knowledge proofs. Uses Merkle trees and validity proofs to store state efficiently. - **Light Token Program**: A high-performance token standard that reduces mint and token account costs by 200x compared to SPL tokens. ### Key Benefits | Benefit | Description | |---------|-------------| | **200x Cost Reduction** | Compressed token accounts cost ~5,000 lamports vs ~2,000,000 for SPL | | **Rent-Free Accounts** | No upfront rent-exemption required for tokens or PDAs | | **L1 Security** | All execution and state remains on Solana mainnet | | **Full Composability** | Works with existing Solana programs and wallets (Phantom, Backpack) | ## Program IDs | Program | Address | Description | |---------|---------|-------------| | Light System Program | `SySTEM1eSU2p4BGQfQpimFEWWSC1XDFeun3Nqzz3rT7` | Core system program | | Light Token Program | `cTokenmWW8bLPjZEBAUgYy3zKxQZW6VKi7bqNFEVv3m` | Compressed token operations | | Account Compression | `compr6CUsB5m2jS4Y3831ztGSTnDpnKJTKS95d64XVq` | Account compression program | ## Quick Start ### Installation ```bash # Install TypeScript SDKs npm install @lightprotocol/stateless.js @lightprotocol/compressed-token # Install CLI for local development npm install -g @lightprotocol/zk-compression-cli ``` ### RPC Setup Light Protocol requires a ZK Compression-enabled RPC. Use Helius: ```typescript import { Rpc, createRpc } from "@lightprotocol/stateless.js"; // Mainnet const rpc = createRpc( "https://mainnet.helius-rpc.com?api-key=", "https://mainnet.helius-rpc.com?api-key=" ); // Devnet const devnetRpc = createRpc( "https://devnet.helius-rpc.com?api-key=", "https://devnet.helius-rpc.com?api-key=" ); ``` ### Basic Setup ```typescript import { Rpc, createRpc } from "@lightprotocol/stateless.js"; import { createMint, mintTo, transfer, } from "@lightprotocol/compressed-token"; import { Keypair, PublicKey } from "@solana/web3.js"; // Initialize RPC connection const rpc = createRpc(process.env.RPC_ENDPOINT!, process.env.RPC_ENDPOINT!); // Load wallet const payer = Keypair.fromSecretKey( Uint8Array.from(JSON.parse(process.env.PRIVATE_KEY!)) ); console.log("Connected to Light Protocol"); console.log("Wallet:", payer.publicKey.toBase58()); ``` --- ## ZK Compression ZK Compression enables rent-free compressed tokens using zero-knowledge proofs. Compressed accounts are stored in Merkle trees and verified using validity proofs. ### Create Compressed Token Mint ```typescript import { createMint } from "@lightprotocol/compressed-token"; import { Keypair } from "@solana/web3.js"; const payer = Keypair.generate(); const mintAuthority = payer; // Create mint with token pool for compression const { mint, transactionSignature } = await createMint( rpc, payer, // Fee payer mintAuthority.publicKey, // Mint authority 9, // Decimals ); console.log("Mint created:", mint.toBase58()); console.log("Transaction:", transactionSignature); ``` ### Mint Compressed Tokens ```typescript import { mintTo } from "@lightprotocol/compressed-token"; const recipient = new PublicKey("..."); const amount = 1_000_000_000; // 1 token with 9 decimals const transactionSignature = await mintTo( rpc, payer, // Fee payer mint, // Mint with token pool recipient, // Recipient address mintAuthority, // Mint authority (signer) amount, // Amount to mint ); console.log("Minted:", transactionSignature); ``` #### Mint to Multiple Recipients ```typescript const recipients = [ new PublicKey("recipient1..."), new PublicKey("recipient2..."), new PublicKey("recipient3..."), ]; const amounts = [ 1_000_000_000, 2_000_000_000, 3_000_000_000, ]; const transactionSignature = await mintTo( rpc, payer, mint, recipients, // Array of recipients mintAuthority, amounts, // Array of amounts (must match recipients length) ); ``` ### Transfer Compressed Tokens ```typescript import { transfer } from "@lightprotocol/compressed-token"; const recipient = new PublicKey("..."); const amount = 500_000_000; // 0.5 tokens const transactionSignature = await transfer( rpc, payer, // Fee payer mint, // Mint with token pool amount, // Amount to transfer sender, // Token owner (signer) recipient, // Destination address ); console.log("Transferred:", transactionSignature); ``` > **Note**: Compressed token transfers use a consume-and-create model. Input accounts are consumed and new output accounts are created with updated balances. ### Compress SPL Tokens Convert existing SPL tokens to compressed format: ```typescript import { compress, compressSplTokenAccount } from "@lightprotocol/compressed-token"; // Compress specific amount to a recipient const transactionSignature = await compress( rpc, payer, mint, amount, owner, // SPL token owner recipient, // Compressed token recipient tokenAccount, // Source SPL token account ); // Compress entire SPL token account (reclaim rent) const tx = await compressSplTokenAccount( rpc, payer, mint, owner, tokenAccount, // Optional: amount to keep in SPL format ); ``` ### Decompress to SPL Tokens Convert compressed tokens back to SPL format: ```typescript import { decompress } from "@lightprotocol/compressed-token"; const transactionSignature = await decompress( rpc, payer, mint, amount, owner, // Compressed token owner (signer) recipient, // SPL token recipient ); ``` ### Query Compressed Accounts ```typescript // Get all compressed token accounts for an owner const tokenAccounts = await rpc.getCompressedTokenAccountsByOwner( owner.publicKey, { mint } ); console.log("Token accounts:", tokenAccounts.items.length); // Calculate total balance const totalBalance = tokenAccounts.items.reduce( (sum, account) => sum + BigInt(account.parsed.amount), BigInt(0) ); console.log("Total balance:", totalBalance.toString()); // Get compressed account balance const balance = await rpc.getCompressedTokenAccountBalance(accountHash); // Get validity proof for transaction const proof = await rpc.getValidityProof(compressedAccountHashes); ``` ### Create Token Pool for Existing Mint Add compression support to an existing SPL mint: ```typescript import { createTokenPool } from "@lightprotocol/compressed-token"; // Add token pool to existing SPL mint // Note: Does NOT require mint authority const transactionSignature = await createTokenPool( rpc, payer, // Fee payer existingMint, // Existing SPL mint ); ``` --- ## Light Token Program The Light Token Program is a separate high-performance token standard that reduces costs without ZK proofs. It's optimized for hot paths and provides wrap/unwrap interoperability with SPL tokens. ### Key Differences from ZK Compression | Feature | ZK Compression | Light Token Program | |---------|---------------|---------------------| | Technology | Zero-knowledge proofs | Optimized token standard | | Use Case | Compressed tokens/PDAs | High-performance tokens | | Compute Units | Higher (proof verification) | Lower (optimized hot paths) | | Interop | Compress/decompress SPL | Wrap/unwrap SPL & Token-2022 | ### Create Light Token Mint ```typescript import { createLightMint } from "@lightprotocol/light-token"; const { mint, transactionSignature } = await createLightMint( rpc, payer, mintAuthority.publicKey, 9, // decimals ); console.log("Light mint created:", mint.toBase58()); ``` ### Mint to Light-ATA ```typescript import { mintToLightAta } from "@lightprotocol/light-token"; const transactionSignature = await mintToLightAta( rpc, payer, mint, recipient, mintAuthority, amount, ); ``` ### Wrap SPL to Light Token ```typescript import { wrapSpl } from "@lightprotocol/light-token"; // Wrap SPL tokens to Light tokens const transactionSignature = await wrapSpl( rpc, payer, mint, amount, owner, splTokenAccount, ); ``` ### Unwrap Light Token to SPL ```typescript import { unwrapToSpl } from "@lightprotocol/light-token"; // Unwrap Light tokens back to SPL const transactionSignature = await unwrapToSpl( rpc, payer, mint, amount, owner, recipient, // SPL token account ); ``` --- ## JSON RPC Methods Light Protocol provides 21 specialized RPC methods for compressed accounts. Key methods: | Method | Description | |--------|-------------| | `getCompressedAccount` | Get compressed account by address or hash | | `getCompressedAccountsByOwner` | Get all compressed accounts for an owner | | `getCompressedTokenAccountsByOwner` | Get compressed token accounts for an owner | | `getCompressedTokenAccountBalance` | Get balance for a token account | | `getCompressedTokenBalancesByOwner` | Get all token balances for an owner | | `getCompressedMintTokenHolders` | Get all holders of a compressed mint | | `getValidityProof` | Get ZK proof for compressed accounts | | `getMultipleCompressedAccounts` | Batch fetch compressed accounts | | `getTransactionWithCompressionInfo` | Get transaction with parsed compression data | | `getIndexerHealth` | Check indexer status | See [resources/json-rpc-methods.md](resources/json-rpc-methods.md) for complete documentation. --- ## Best Practices ### Transaction Limits - **4 compressed accounts per transaction**: Split large operations into multiple transactions - **Compute unit budget**: Add extra compute units for proof verification ```typescript import { ComputeBudgetProgram } from "@solana/web3.js"; // Add compute budget for complex transactions const modifyComputeUnits = ComputeBudgetProgram.setComputeUnitLimit({ units: 300_000, }); ``` ### Batch Operations ```typescript // Process multiple recipients in batches async function batchMint( recipients: PublicKey[], amounts: number[], batchSize = 4 ) { const results = []; for (let i = 0; i < recipients.length; i += batchSize) { const batchRecipients = recipients.slice(i, i + batchSize); const batchAmounts = amounts.slice(i, i + batchSize); const sig = await mintTo( rpc, payer, mint, batchRecipients, mintAuthority, batchAmounts, ); results.push(sig); } return results; } ``` ### Error Handling ```typescript try { const signature = await transfer(rpc, payer, mint, amount, sender, recipient); console.log("Success:", signature); } catch (error) { if (error.message.includes("TokenPool not found")) { // Create token pool first await createTokenPool(rpc, payer, mint); } else if (error.message.includes("Insufficient balance")) { // Check balance before transfer const accounts = await rpc.getCompressedTokenAccountsByOwner(sender.publicKey, { mint }); console.log("Available balance:", accounts.items); } else { throw error; } } ``` ### Delegation ```typescript import { approve, transferDelegated } from "@lightprotocol/compressed-token"; // Approve delegate const approveSig = await approve( rpc, payer, mint, amount, owner, // Token owner delegate, // Delegate public key ); // Transfer as delegate const transferSig = await transferDelegated( rpc, payer, mint, amount, delegate, // Delegate (signer) recipient, ); ``` --- ## Resources ### Official Documentation - [ZK Compression Docs](https://www.zkcompression.com) - [Light Protocol Whitepaper](https://github.com/Lightprotocol/light-protocol/blob/main/light-paper-v0.1.0.pdf) ### GitHub Repositories - [Light Protocol](https://github.com/Lightprotocol/light-protocol) - Main repository - [Example Node.js Client](https://github.com/Lightprotocol/example-nodejs-client) - [Example Web Client](https://github.com/Lightprotocol/example-web-client) ### Community - [Discord](https://discord.gg/lightprotocol) - Light Protocol Discord - [Helius Discord](https://discord.gg/helius) - RPC provider support ### Wallet Support - Phantom - Native compressed token support - Backpack - Native compressed token support --- ## Skill Structure ``` light-protocol/ ├── SKILL.md # This file ├── resources/ │ ├── program-addresses.md # Program IDs, state trees, RPC endpoints │ ├── json-rpc-methods.md # All 21 RPC methods documented │ ├── sdk-reference.md # TypeScript SDK reference │ └── github-repos.md # Official repositories ├── examples/ │ ├── setup/ │ │ └── example.ts # Basic setup │ ├── zk-compression/ │ │ ├── create-mint.ts # Create compressed mint │ │ ├── mint-tokens.ts # Mint compressed tokens │ │ ├── transfer-tokens.ts # Transfer compressed tokens │ │ ├── compress-spl.ts # Compress SPL tokens │ │ └── decompress.ts # Decompress to SPL │ ├── light-token-program/ │ │ ├── create-light-mint.ts │ │ ├── mint-light-tokens.ts │ │ └── wrap-unwrap.ts │ ├── querying/ │ │ └── fetch-accounts.ts # Query compressed accounts │ └── advanced/ │ ├── batch-operations.ts # Multi-recipient operations │ └── delegation.ts # Approve and delegate transfers ├── templates/ │ └── setup.ts # Complete starter template └── docs/ └── troubleshooting.md # Common issues and solutions ``` --- Source attribution: dattb-birdeye Original project: https://github.com/dattb-birdeye/skills/blob/d008eac5e9b05ce18b6b193d3df05fd0b93653a0/skills/light-protocol/SKILL.md License: Apache-2.0 License information: https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 Original upstream instructions; 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See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License. # Mega AI Hub resource metadata Creator / publisher: dattb-birdeye Original project: https://github.com/dattb-birdeye/skills/blob/d008eac5e9b05ce18b6b193d3df05fd0b93653a0/skills/light-protocol/SKILL.md Attribution basis: Source repository record Fields of work: Development & Engineering, Product Management Roles: Backend Developer, Data Engineer, Growth Product Manager, ML / AI Engineer, Product Manager Specialties: API, Backend Tools: Helius, Solana Country applicability: Country not specified Classification basis: Source catalog labels Instruction SHA-256: cc985e7aa790b4132c802528e930796d6bb0813dac2389b5a1a93bca060af8cb