Overview

Complete overview to compressed tokens core features, setup guide and cookbook.

Compressed tokens provide full SPL token functionality without per-account rent cost.

Creation

Regular SPL Token

Compressed Token

Cost Reduction

100 Token Accounts

~ 0.2 SOL

~ 0.00004 SOL

5000x

Compressed token accounts store information about an individual's ownership of a specific token (mint). Different from regular token accounts, they don't require an Associated Token Account (ATA) per token holder.

For example, this simplifies token distribution, since you don't need to allocate a token account per recipient.

Compressed Tokens at a Glance

Rent-free tokens

Create token accounts without upfront rent exempt balance.

SPL Compatibility

Compatible with SPL tokens and Solana programs.

Wallet Support

Supported by leading wallets including Phantom and Backpack.

Start building

Developing with compressed tokens works similar SPL tokens and involves minimal setup:

Install dependencies

npm install --save-dev typescript tsx @types/node && \
npm install --save \
    @lightprotocol/stateless.js \
    @lightprotocol/compressed-token \
    @solana/web3.js \
    @solana/spl-token

yarn add --dev typescript tsx @types/node && \
yarn add \
    @lightprotocol/stateless.js \
    @lightprotocol/compressed-token \
    @solana/web3.js \
    @solana/spl-token

pnpm add --save-dev typescript tsx @types/node && \
pnpm add \
    @lightprotocol/stateless.js \
    @lightprotocol/compressed-token \
    @solana/web3.js \
    @solana/spl-token

Set up your developer environment

Setup Developer Environment

By default, all guides use Localnet.

# Install the development CLI
npm install @lightprotocol/zk-compression-cli

# Start a local test validator
light test-validator

## ensure you have the Solana CLI accessible in your system PATH

// createRpc() defaults to local test validator endpoints
import {
  Rpc,
  createRpc,
} from "@lightprotocol/stateless.js";

const connection: Rpc = createRpc();

async function main() {
  let slot = await connection.getSlot();
  console.log(slot);

  let health = await connection.getIndexerHealth(slot);
  console.log(health);
  // "Ok"
}

main();

Alternative: Using Devnet

Replace <your-api-key> with your actual API key. Get your API key here, if you don't have one yet.

import { createRpc } from "@lightprotocol/stateless.js";

// Helius exposes Solana and Photon RPC endpoints through a single URL
const RPC_ENDPOINT = "https://devnet.helius-rpc.com?api-key=<your_api_key>";
const connection = createRpc(RPC_ENDPOINT, RPC_ENDPOINT, RPC_ENDPOINT);

console.log("Connection created!");
console.log("RPC Endpoint:", RPC_ENDPOINT);