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IDL stands for Interface Definition Language. In Solana, IDLs describe the structure of an on-chain program and express how other on-chain programs can compose with them. Orb has tagged over 350 Solana programs to make it easier to find and compose with them. For this example, let’s use DFlow’s v4 aggregator program. To find a Solana program, go to Orb’s home page and search for the program by name in the search bar, and then click on the result.
Orb search results for DFlow, including the DFlow Aggregator v4 program

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Program History

In the History section, you’ll see all of the recent transactions. For more details on how to inspect a transaction using a block explorer, see our transaction exploration guide.
Recent transaction history for the DFlow Aggregator v4 program
For the purposes of this guide, we’ll dive straight to the IDL tab.

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Program IDL

The IDL viewer shows the parsed instructions, accounts, types, events, and errors. To view the raw JSON output, click the “Show JSON” toggle in the top right corner. Expanding the dropdown menu reveals all required parameters and details. For example, expanding the Types section reveals a list of swap actions related to various DEXs, such as WhirlpoolsSwap, ClearpoolsSwap, and RaydiumAmmSwap.
DFlow Aggregator v4 program IDL

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Program Verification

A verified program on Solana is a deployed program whose on-chain binary exactly matches the publicly available source code. This is typically done using tools like Ellipsis Labs’ verified build CLI tool. For this example, we’ll use Privacy Cash, a Solana program for private token transfers. To view the verification status, hash, date, signer, or repo, click the Verification tab.
Verified build page for Privacy Cash on Orb
For more details, click the Show Structure button to view the repository layout. This view pulls in the verified build and enables you to see the full repo structure on Orb.
Privacy Cash's verified program repository structure on Orb with the lib.rs file open

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Program Security.txt

A security.txt file is a standardized way for Solana program developers to define their security policies, provide contact information for security auditors, and establish clear guidelines for reporting security vulnerabilities. The below example is from the Phoenix Program, built by Ellipsis Labs.
Security.txt file for the Phoenix program (built by Ellipsis Labs) on Solana

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Program Authority

On Solana, programs are upgradeable by default, and the power to upgrade a program’s code lies with its upgrade authority. Looking at the Authority tab in DFlow’s Aggregator v4 program, we see that the upgrade authority is a Squads multisig with a 2/2 threshold (i.e., exactly 2 signers must sign program upgrade transactions).
DFlow Aggregator v4 upgrade authority page

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Conclusion

Composability is one of Solana’s greatest strengths. By publishing IDLs on-chain and verifying builds, any company building on Solana can permissionlessly interact with any other program deployed on-chain. To get started, try Orb today. For more tutorials on Orb, read our articles on: