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The SVM skill makes your AI assistant a Solana protocol expert. It uses Helius MCP tools to fetch live content from the Helius blog, Solana docs, SIMDs, and validator source code (Agave and Firedancer). It then synthesizes deep, accurate explanations of Solana’s architecture and internals. This skill is for understanding how Solana works, not for building with Helius APIs (that’s the Build skill).
Claude Code: /helius:svm (via plugin) or auto-invoked (standalone). Codex: $svm (auto-discovered from .agents/skills/). API / Cursor / ChatGPT: Use the pre-built system prompt variants.

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What It Covers

DomainTopicsMCP Tools Used
Compilation PipelineRust/C/Zig → LLVM IR → sBPF bytecode, eBPF originsfetchHeliusBlog, readSolanaSourceFile
Program DeploymentBPF loader versions, deploy/upgrade lifecycle, ELF formatfetchHeliusBlog, readSolanaSourceFile
Execution EngineJIT compilation, memory regions, compute units, sBPF ISAfetchHeliusBlog, readSolanaSourceFile
Account ModelOwnership, rent, PDAs, CPIs, syscalls, commitment levelsfetchHeliusBlog, searchSolanaDocs
Transactions & FeesSealevel parallelism, local fee markets, TPU pipeline, MEV, SWQoSfetchHeliusBlog, getSIMD
ConsensusProof of History, Tower BFT, Turbine, Gulf Stream, QUIC, Firedancer, AlpenglowfetchHeliusBlog, getSIMD, readSolanaSourceFile
Validator EconomicsRewards, inflation, slashing proposals, decentralization, SIMDsfetchHeliusBlog, getSIMD
Data LayerRPC nodes, Geyser plugins, shreds, state compression, ZK compressionfetchHeliusBlog, readSolanaSourceFile
Program DevelopmentAnchor, Steel, Pinocchio, Gill, compute optimization, sBPF assemblyfetchHeliusBlog, searchSolanaDocs
Token Extensions & DeFiToken-2022, LSTs, stablecoins, RWAsfetchHeliusBlog, searchSolanaDocs

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Prerequisites

The SVM skill requires the Helius MCP server for its knowledge tools (fetchHeliusBlog, searchSolanaDocs, getSIMD, readSolanaSourceFile). 
claude mcp add helius npx helius-mcp@latest
No API key needed. All knowledge tools fetch from public sources (Helius blog, GitHub, Solana docs). You only need the MCP server installed — no Helius account required.

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Standalone Installation

1

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/helius-labs/core-ai.git
cd core-ai/helius-skills/svm
2

Run the install script

./install.sh
Installs to ~/.claude/skills/svm/.Options:
  • ./install.sh --project — install to the current project
  • ./install.sh --path /custom/path — install to a custom directory
3

Install the Helius MCP server

claude mcp add helius npx helius-mcp@latest

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Example Prompts

  • “How does Solana’s parallel execution model work?”
  • “Explain Proof of History and how it differs from traditional BFT”
  • “What is the sBPF instruction set and how does JIT compilation work?”
  • “How do Program Derived Addresses (PDAs) work under the hood?”
  • “What is Firedancer and how does it differ from the Agave validator?”
  • “Explain Solana’s local fee markets and priority fees”
  • “What are Confidential Transfers?”
  • “What is Alpenglow and what problems does it solve?”
  • “Show me the source code for how Solana processes transactions”

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What’s Included

  • SKILL.md — Routing logic and rules for protocol questions
  • prompts/ — Pre-built system prompt variants (openai.developer.md, claude.system.md, full.md) — see platform setup
  • references/ — Deep topic guides that map questions to the best blog posts, SIMDs, and source paths:
    • compilation.md — LLVM, sBPF, bytecode generation
    • programs.md — BPF loaders, deploy lifecycle
    • execution.md — JIT, memory, compute units
    • accounts.md — Account model, PDAs, CPIs
    • transactions.md — Sealevel, fees, TPU pipeline
    • consensus.md — PoH, Tower BFT, Turbine, Firedancer
    • validators.md — Economics, inflation, slashing
    • data.md — RPC, Geyser, shreds, compression
    • development.md — Frameworks, optimization
    • tokens.md — Token-2022, LSTs, stablecoins, RWAs

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Learn More

Build Skill

For building with Helius APIs (not protocol internals)

Helius Blog

Deep technical content on Solana architecture

Solana SIMDs

Solana Improvement Documents

GitHub

Source code and issue tracking