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This skill guides Stellar and Soroban development end-to-end, enabling secure asset issuance, dApp frontends, and RPC-driven integrations.
npx playbooks add skill stellar/stellar-dev-skill --skill skillReview the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.
---
name: stellar-dev
description: End-to-end Stellar development playbook. 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, status-sensitive zero-knowledge proof patterns, testing strategies, security patterns, and common pitfalls. Optimized for payments, asset tokenization, DeFi, privacy-aware applications, and financial applications. Use when building on Stellar, Soroban, or working with XLM, Stellar Assets, trustlines, anchors, SEPs, ZK proofs, 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)
- 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](https://developers.stellar.org/docs/validators))
- 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 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; `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
### 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](contracts-soroban.md)
- Building a frontend/dApp? → [frontend-stellar-sdk.md](frontend-stellar-sdk.md)
- Issuing or managing tokens? → [stellar-assets.md](stellar-assets.md)
- Zero-knowledge proofs or privacy? → [zk-proofs.md](zk-proofs.md)
- Setting up tests/CI? → [testing.md](testing.md)
- Querying chain data or indexing? → [api-rpc-horizon.md](api-rpc-horizon.md) (also see [Data Docs](https://developers.stellar.org/docs/data))
- Security review? → [security.md](security.md)
- Hit an error? → [common-pitfalls.md](common-pitfalls.md)
- Need upgrade/factory/governance/DeFi architecture patterns? → [advanced-patterns.md](advanced-patterns.md)
- Need SEP/CAP guidance and standards links? → [standards-reference.md](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 `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](contracts-soroban.md)
- Frontend + wallets: [frontend-stellar-sdk.md](frontend-stellar-sdk.md)
- Testing strategy: [testing.md](testing.md)
- Stellar Assets: [stellar-assets.md](stellar-assets.md)
- Zero-knowledge proofs: [zk-proofs.md](zk-proofs.md)
- API access (RPC/Horizon): [api-rpc-horizon.md](api-rpc-horizon.md)
- Security checklist: [security.md](security.md)
- Common pitfalls: [common-pitfalls.md](common-pitfalls.md)
- Advanced architecture patterns: [advanced-patterns.md](advanced-patterns.md)
- SEP/CAP standards map: [standards-reference.md](standards-reference.md)
- Ecosystem projects: [ecosystem.md](ecosystem.md)
- Reference links: [resources.md](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
This skill is an end-to-end Stellar development playbook focused on Soroban-first smart contract development, client SDK patterns, wallet integration, and secure production practices. It consolidates recommended stacks, testing strategies, and common pitfalls for building payments, tokenization, DeFi, and privacy-aware apps on Stellar. Use it as a hands-on guide for architecting, implementing, and hardening Stellar dApps across Rust, JavaScript, Python, and Go.
The skill classifies tasks into contract, client, frontend/wallet, asset, testing, and infrastructure layers, then prescribes concrete tools and workflows for each. It recommends Soroban (Rust) for on-chain logic, stellar-sdk for client work, Stellar RPC as the primary API, and Stellar Assets as the default token strategy with SAC interop where needed. It also provides testing recipes (local Quickstart, Testnet), wallet flows (Freighter, Wallets Kit), and security hardening notes.
When should I use a Soroban token versus a Stellar Asset?
Default to Stellar Assets for fungible tokens to leverage built-in trustlines, wallet support, and anchors. Use Soroban tokens only when you need custom on-chain logic that Stellar Assets cannot provide.
Which API should my app prefer, RPC or Horizon?
Prefer Stellar RPC for new projects for real-time state and modern JSON-RPC workflows. Keep Horizon for legacy compatibility and extensive historical queries when needed.