stellar-dev

name: stellar-dev description: End-to-end Stellar development playbook (Jan 2026). Covers Soroban smart contracts (Rust SDK), Stellar CLI, JavaScript/Python/Go SDKs for client apps, Stellar RPC (preferred) and Horizon API (legacy), Stellar Assets vs Soroban tokens (SAC bridge), wallet integration (Freighter, Stellar Wallets Kit), smart accounts with passkeys, testing strategies, security patterns, and common pitfalls. Optimized for payments, asset tokenization, DeFi, and financial applications. Use when building on Stellar, Soroban, or working with XLM, Stellar Assets, trustlines, anchors, SEPs, or the Stellar RPC/Horizon APIs. user-invocable: true argument-hint: "[task-description]"

Stellar Development Skill (Soroban-first)

What this Skill is for

Use this Skill when the user asks for:

• Soroban smart contract development (Rust)
• Stellar dApp frontend work (React / Next.js / Node.js)
• Wallet connection + signing flows (Freighter, etc.)
• Transaction building / sending / confirmation
• Stellar Asset issuance and management
• Client SDK usage (JavaScript, Python, Go, Rust)
• Local testing and deployment
• Security hardening and audit-style reviews

What this Skill is NOT for

• Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, or other non-Stellar blockchain development
• Stellar node/validator operation (see validators docs)
• General Rust programming unrelated to Soroban
• Stellar protocol governance or CAP authoring

Default stack decisions (opinionated)

1. Smart Contracts: Soroban (Rust)

• Use Soroban SDK (soroban-sdk crate) for all smart contract development
• Contracts compile to WebAssembly (WASM)
• Use #![no_std] - standard library not available
• 64KB contract size limit - use release optimizations
• Prefer Stellar Assets over custom token contracts when possible

2. Client SDK: stellar-sdk (JavaScript) first

• Use @stellar/stellar-sdk for browser and Node.js applications
• Supports both Stellar RPC and legacy Horizon API
• Full transaction building, signing, and submission
• Soroban contract deployment and invocation

3. API Access: Stellar RPC first (Horizon deprecated)

• Prefer Stellar RPC for new projects (JSON-RPC, real-time state)
• Horizon API is deprecated but maintained for legacy compatibility
• RPC: 7-day history for most methods; getLedgers queries back to genesis (Infinite Scroll)
• Use Hubble/Galexie for comprehensive historical data beyond RPC

4. Token Strategy: Stellar Assets first

• Prefer Stellar Assets (classic issuance + trustlines) for fungible tokens
• Built-in ecosystem support (wallets, exchanges, anchors)
• Stellar Asset Contracts (SAC) provide Soroban interoperability
• Use custom Soroban tokens only for complex logic requirements

5. Testing

• Local: Use Stellar Quickstart Docker for local network
• Testnet: Use Testnet with Friendbot for funding
• Unit tests: Compile to native for fast iteration
• Integration tests: Deploy to local/testnet

6. Wallet Integration

• Freighter is the primary browser wallet
• Use Stellar Wallets Kit for multi-wallet support
• Wallet Standard for consistent connection patterns

Operating procedure (how to execute tasks)

1. Classify the task layer

• Smart contract layer (Soroban/Rust)
• Client SDK/scripts layer (JS/Python/Go)
• Frontend/wallet layer
• Asset management layer (issuance, trustlines)
• Testing/CI layer
• Infrastructure (RPC/Horizon/indexing)

Quick routing

• Need custom on-chain logic? → contracts-soroban.md
• Building a frontend/dApp? → frontend-stellar-sdk.md
• Issuing or managing tokens? → stellar-assets.md
• Setting up tests/CI? → testing.md
• Querying chain data or indexing? → api-rpc-horizon.md (also see Data Docs)
• Security review? → security.md
• Hit an error? → common-pitfalls.md

2. Pick the right building blocks

• Contracts: Soroban Rust SDK + Stellar CLI
• Frontend: stellar-sdk (JS) + Freighter/Wallets Kit
• Backend: stellar-sdk (JS/Python/Go) + RPC
• Assets: Classic operations or SAC for Soroban interop
• Testing: Quickstart (local) or Testnet

3. Implement with Stellar-specific correctness

Always be explicit about:

• Network passphrase (Mainnet vs Testnet vs local)
• Source account + sequence number
• Fee + resource limits (for Soroban)
• Authorization requirements
• Trustline status for assets
• Contract storage types (temporary vs persistent vs instance)

4. Add tests

• Unit tests: Native compilation with #[test]
• Integration tests: Local Quickstart or Testnet
• Contract tests: Use Env from soroban-sdk
• Frontend tests: Mock wallet/RPC interactions

5. Deliverables expectations

When you implement changes, provide:

• Exact files changed + diffs
• Commands to install/build/test/deploy
• Network configuration (passphrase, RPC endpoint)
• Risk notes for signing/fees/storage/authorization

Progressive disclosure (read when needed)

• Smart contracts: contracts-soroban.md
• Frontend + wallets: frontend-stellar-sdk.md
• Testing strategy: testing.md
• Stellar Assets: stellar-assets.md
• API access (RPC/Horizon): api-rpc-horizon.md
• Security checklist: security.md
• Common pitfalls: common-pitfalls.md
• Ecosystem projects: ecosystem.md
• Reference links: resources.md

Keywords

stellar, soroban, xlm, smart contracts, rust, wasm, webassembly, rpc, horizon, freighter, stellar-sdk, soroban-sdk, stellar-cli, trustline, anchor, sep, passkey, smart wallet, sac, stellar asset contract, defi, token, nft, scaffold stellar