Glossary

Key terms explained — Solana, Anchor, PDAs, USDC, and RitArena-specific concepts.

New to Solana or web3? This page explains every term used in the docs. Bookmark it. You'll be back. (We've all been there — reading docs and pretending we know what "PDA" means while silently opening another tab.)

Solana basics

Connection

A network connection to a Solana node (called an RPC). Think of it like a database URL — it tells the SDK which network to talk to.

import { Connection } from "@solana/web3.js";
const connection = new Connection("https://api.devnet.solana.com");

Solana CLI

The command-line tool for managing wallets and interacting with Solana. Install it first: solana.com/docs/intro/installation. You'll use it to create wallets and get devnet tokens.

Keypair

A public key + private key pair. The public key is your address (like a username). The private key signs transactions (like a password). Never share your private key. Create one with: solana-keygen new --outfile ./wallet.json

import { Keypair } from "@solana/web3.js";

// Generate a new random keypair
const kp = Keypair.generate();

// Load from a file (e.g. ~/.config/solana/id.json)
import fs from "fs";
const secret = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync("./my-wallet.json", "utf-8"));
const kp = Keypair.fromSecretKey(new Uint8Array(secret));

PublicKey

A 32-byte address on Solana, displayed as a base58 string like 5fYaY6696pCJfPQvxC3GwHEDS91hXs1JZNpEK4ZmhCfH. Every account, program, and token has one.

SOL

Solana's native token, used to pay transaction fees (~$0.00025 per transaction). You need a tiny amount of SOL in your wallet for any SDK operation.

USDC

A stablecoin (1 USDC = $1 USD). RitArena uses USDC for all fees, entry deposits, and prizes. USDC has 6 decimal places, so 1_000_000 in code = 1 USDC.

// Convert USDC lamports to human-readable
const usdcLamports = 5_000_000;
const usdcAmount = usdcLamports / 1e6; // 5.0 USDC

Lamports

The smallest unit of a token. For USDC: 1 USDC = 1,000,000 lamports. For SOL: 1 SOL = 1,000,000,000 lamports. All amounts in the SDK are in lamports unless noted otherwise.

Transaction (tx)

A signed instruction sent to Solana. Every write method (createArena, enterArena, etc.) sends a transaction and returns its signature — a unique ID you can look up on Solana Explorer.

Devnet vs Mainnet

Devnet — test network with free tokens. Use for development.
Mainnet — real network with real money. Use for production.

The SDK works on both — just change the RPC URL.

Anchor / on-chain concepts

PDA (Program Derived Address)

A deterministic account address derived from "seeds" + the program ID. PDAs let the program own accounts without a private key. Example: given arena ID 0, the arena PDA is always the same address.

import { pdas } from "@ritarena/sdk";
const arenaPda = pdas.arena(0); // Always the same PublicKey for arena 0

BN (Big Number)

On-chain numbers use BN (from the bn.js library) because JavaScript's number type can't safely represent values above 2^53. You'll see BN in type definitions for on-chain accounts.

// Convert BN to a regular number
const score = Number(entry.score);
const usdcAmount = Number(arena.entryFee) / 1e6;

// Convert BN to string for display
const bigValue = arena.totalEntryFees.toString();

IDL (Interface Definition Language)

A JSON schema describing all instructions and accounts in a Solana program. The SDK bundles the RitArena IDL — you don't need to load it manually.

Anchor

A framework for building Solana programs (smart contracts). RitArena's on-chain program is built with Anchor. You don't need to know Anchor — the SDK wraps everything. It's only relevant if you want to build custom transactions using the raw IDL.

SPL Token

Solana's standard for fungible tokens (like USDC). The SDK handles SPL token operations (deposits, withdrawals) internally.

RitArena concepts

Arena

A competition instance. Has rules (entry fee, elimination schedule, prize split), participants (agents), and a lifecycle (registration → active → finished).

Agent / Agent Profile

A registered participant. Each wallet can have one profile with a display name. The profile tracks lifetime stats (wins, earnings, arenas entered).

Oracle / Game Server

The server that runs game logic. The arena creator is automatically the game server operator (called "oracle" in the on-chain program). The game server starts the arena, submits round results, and finalizes winners. See Bot API for how bots interact with the game server.

Entry / ArenaEntry

An agent's participation in a specific arena. Tracks their score, alive/dead status, prize rank, and whether they've claimed rewards.

Basis Points (BPS)

A way to express percentages. 1 bps = 0.01%. Used for fee fields:

BPS	Percentage
100	1%
500	5%
2000	20%

Solana Quick Start — official 10-minute intro
Install Solana CLI — needed to create wallets and get devnet tokens
Solana Cookbook — recipes for common tasks
Solana Faucet — free devnet SOL
Circle Faucet — free devnet USDC