IDL & Client Code Generation

Goal

Never hand-maintain multiple program clients by manually re-implementing serializers. Prefer an IDL-driven, code-generated workflow.

Codama (preferred)

• Use Codama as the "single program description format" to generate:
  • TypeScript clients (including Kit-friendly output)
  • Rust clients (when available/needed)
  • documentation artifacts

Anchor → Codama

If the program is Anchor:

1. Produce Anchor IDL from the build
2. Convert Anchor IDL to Codama nodes (nodes-from-anchor)
3. Render a Kit-native TypeScript client (codama renderers)

Native Rust → Shank → Codama

If the program is native:

1. Use Shank macros to extract a Shank IDL from annotated Rust
2. Convert Shank IDL to Codama
3. Generate clients via Codama renderers

Repository structure recommendation

• programs/<name>/ (program source)
• idl/<name>.json (Anchor/Shank IDL)
• codama/<name>.json (Codama IDL)
• clients/ts/<name>/ (generated TS client)
• clients/rust/<name>/ (generated Rust client)

Generation guardrails

• Codegen outputs should be checked into git if:
  • you need deterministic builds
  • you want users to consume the client without running codegen
• Otherwise, keep codegen in CI and publish artifacts.

"Do not do this"

• Do not write IDLs by hand unless you have no alternative.
• Do not hand-write Borsh layouts for programs you own; use the IDL/codegen pipeline.