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)
- •Zero-knowledge proof verification (where supported by target network/protocol)
- •Privacy-preserving applications (privacy pools, confidential tokens)
- •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-sdkcrate) 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-sdkfor 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 legacy-focused)
- •Prefer Stellar RPC for new projects (JSON-RPC, real-time state)
- •Horizon API remains available for legacy compatibility and historical-query workflows
- •RPC: 7-day history for most methods;
getLedgersqueries 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
7. Freshness policy
- •Verify volatile facts (protocol support, RPC endpoints, CAP/SEP status, SDK API changes) against official docs before asserting them as current.
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
- •Zero-knowledge proofs or privacy? → zk-proofs.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
- •Need upgrade/factory/governance/DeFi architecture patterns? → advanced-patterns.md
- •Need SEP/CAP guidance and standards links? → standards-reference.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
Envfrom 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
- •Zero-knowledge proofs: zk-proofs.md
- •API access (RPC/Horizon): api-rpc-horizon.md
- •Security checklist: security.md
- •Common pitfalls: common-pitfalls.md
- •Advanced architecture patterns: advanced-patterns.md
- •SEP/CAP standards map: standards-reference.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, constructor, upgrade, factory, governance, standards, zero-knowledge, zk, zk-snark, groth16, bn254, poseidon, pairing, privacy, confidential, noir, risc zero, privacy pool, merkle tree