Installation

Install CLI

• Install Cargo(Rust). (This is just for installing Golana CLI)

• Install Golana CLI:

  cargo install golana-cli
  

Your first Golana project

• Create a new project

  golana init --name=my_proj
  

  This creates a new project for you with the built-in template

• Complete your project

  Compare main.go and tests/my_proj.ts with corresponding files in the Hellworld example, and make some proper changes

• Compile and deploy your project to testnet

  In the newly created my_proj directory:

  golana deploy -rf   # rf means re-compile & force
  

• Test your project

  • Install Node if you haven't.

  • npm install
    

  • golana test
    

Local development

• It's faster to get started with devnet/testnet, but it's always easier to test your program with a local cluster, as you have minimal latency and unlimited money. However, it takes a few extra steps to set it up.

• Install Anchor following this: https://www.anchor-lang.com/docs/installation

• Clone Golana repo: https://github.com/oxfeeefeee/golana

• Start your local Solana validator, in your home directory (or any other dir) run:

  solana-test-validator
  

• Deploy the Golana loader

  • Go to GOLANA_REPO/loader/

  • Build and deploy

    anchor build
    anchor deploy
    

    Record the the final string printed by anchor deploy, which is the loader's program id.

    NOTE: Don't forget to change all the loader_id in the Golana.toml files

• Optionally, compile your own Golana cli

  • Go to GOLANA_REPO/cli/

  • Run cargo build which will output the binary to GOLANA_REPO/target/debug/golana-cli

Notes

• Golana programs are just GoScript bytecode. In order to run them, we need a standard Solana program that embeds a GoScript VM to load it, which is the loader. The loader itself is built with Anchor, and it does not come with the official validator node, so you have to deploy it yourself to your local node. That's why you need to install Anchor.

• In theory we should be using devnet, but it seems it's very easy to get rate limited when airdropping SOL on devnet

• The memory and CPU limit are always set to the maximum by the Golana client code, which is because running a complex VM as a Solana program is pretty expensive.