Send and Receive Tokens with the Solana CLI

Interacting with the Solana blockchain using the command line is a powerful way to manage your digital assets with precision and control. Whether you're testing transactions on devnet or preparing for mainnet interactions, understanding how to send and receive SOL tokens using the Solana CLI (Command Line Interface) is essential for developers, validators, and advanced users.

This guide walks you through the full process of setting up wallets, airdropping test tokens, transferring SOL between addresses, and verifying balances—all via terminal commands. We'll focus on practical usage while integrating core concepts like keypairs, public addresses, and transaction signing.

Testing Your Wallet

Before sharing your public key or sending real value, it's wise to verify that your wallet setup works correctly. You can do this using Solana’s devnet, a developer testing environment where tokens have no monetary value. This allows you to safely test transactions without financial risk.

We’ll walk through creating two wallets, airdropping test SOL to one, and transferring funds to the second—confirming both sending and receiving functionality.

Airdrop Test Tokens to Get Started

To begin, request an airdrop of 1 SOL on devnet:

solana airdrop 1 <YOUR_PUBLIC_KEY> --url https://api.devnet.solana.com

Replace <YOUR_PUBLIC_KEY> with your wallet’s base58-encoded address. If you haven’t created a wallet yet, generate one first:

solana-keygen new --outfile my_wallet.json

After running the airdrop command, you should see output confirming the transaction signature. If the balance doesn’t update as expected, troubleshoot with:

solana confirm -v <TRANSACTION_SIGNATURE>

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Check Your Balance

Verify the airdrop succeeded by checking your wallet balance:

solana balance <YOUR_PUBLIC_KEY> --url https://api.devnet.solana.com

You should see:

1 SOL

This confirms your wallet is active and ready for transactions.

Create a Second Wallet Address

To simulate a transfer, create a second wallet address. This can be any type—paper, file-based, or hardware—but for simplicity, use an in-memory keypair:

solana-keygen new --no-passphrase --no-outfile

The output will display:

pubkey: GKvqsuNcnwWqPzzuhLmGi4rzzh55FhJtGizkhHaEJqiV

Copy this public key—you’ll send tokens to it next.

Note: In real-world scenarios, never expose seed phrases or private keys. The examples here are for educational purposes only.

Transfer Tokens Between Wallets

Now, send 0.5 SOL from your first wallet to the second:

solana transfer \
  --from my_wallet.json \
  <RECIPIENT_PUBLIC_KEY> \
  0.5 \
  --allow-unfunded-recipient \
  --url https://api.devnet.solana.com \
  --fee-payer my_wallet.json

Replace <RECIPIENT_PUBLIC_KEY> with the pubkey from the second wallet.

--allow-unfunded-recipient: Allows sending to addresses with zero balance.
--fee-payer: Specifies which keypair pays transaction fees (usually the sender).

You’ll receive a transaction signature upon success.

Confirm Updated Balances

Check both wallets’ balances:

solana balance my_wallet.json --url https://api.devnet.solana.com

Expected result:
0.499995 SOL — slightly less than 0.5 due to a 0.000005 SOL network fee.

And for the recipient:

solana balance <RECIPIENT_PUBLIC_KEY> --url https://api.devnet.solana.com

Expected result:
0.5 SOL

This confirms successful transfer and reception.

Full Example Walkthrough

Here’s a complete sequence demonstrating all steps:

# Create first wallet (file system)
solana-keygen new --outfile my_solana_wallet.json
# Output: pubkey: DYw8jCTfwHNRJhhmFcbXvVDTqWMEVFBX6ZKUmG5CNSKK

# Airdrop 1 SOL
solana airdrop 1 DYw8jCTfwHNRJhhmFcbXvVDTqWMEVFBX6ZKUmG5CNSKK --url https://api.devnet.solana.com

# Check balance
solana balance DYw8jCTfwHNRJhhmFcbXvVDTqWMEVFBX6ZKUmG5CNSKK --url https://api.devnet.solana.com
# Output: 1 SOL

# Generate second wallet (paper-style, no file saved)
solana-keygen new --no-outfile
# Output: pubkey: 7S3P4HxJpyyigGzodYwHtCxZyUQe9JiBMHyRWXArAaKv

# Transfer 0.5 SOL
solana transfer \
  --from my_solana_wallet.json \
  7S3P4HxJpyyigGzodYwHtCxZyUQe9JiBMHyRWXArAaKv \
  0.5 \
  --allow-unfunded-recipient \
  --url https://api.devnet.solana.com \
  --fee-payer my_solana_wallet.json

# Final balances
solana balance DYw8jCTfwHNRJhhmFcbXvVDTqWMEVFBX6ZKUmG5CNSKK --url https://api.devnet.solana.com
# Output: 0.499995 SOL

solana balance 7S3P4HxJpyyigGzodYwHtCxZyUQe9JiBMHyRWXArAaKv --url https://api.devnet.solana.com
# Output: 0.5 SOL

This end-to-end example verifies your ability to securely manage keypairs and execute transactions.

How to Receive Tokens

To receive SOL or SPL tokens, you need a public address—this is derived from your wallet’s keypair. Anyone can send tokens to this address, but only someone with the corresponding private key can spend them.

Your public key (address) looks like this:
DYw8jCTfwHNRJhhmFcbXvVDTqWMEVFBX6ZKUmG5CNSKK

It’s encoded in base58 and typically ranges from 32 to 44 characters. Share this freely when requesting payments.

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How to Send Tokens

Sending SOL requires three things:

Path to your sender keypair (e.g., my_wallet.json)
Recipient’s public key (base58 format)
Amount of SOL to send

Use the solana transfer command:

solana transfer \
  --from <SENDER_KEYPAIR_PATH> \
  <RECIPIENT_PUBLIC_KEY> \
  <AMOUNT> \
  --url https://api.mainnet-beta.solana.com \
  --fee-payer <FEE_PAYER_KEYPAIR>

On mainnet, replace https://api.devnet.solana.com with the mainnet endpoint.

Always double-check:

The recipient address is correct (Solana addresses are case-sensitive).
You have enough balance to cover both the transfer and fees.
The correct keypair is used for signing.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the Solana CLI used for?
A: The Solana CLI is a command-line tool that lets you interact with the Solana blockchain—creating wallets, checking balances, sending tokens, deploying programs, and more—all from your terminal.

Q: Can I use hardware wallets with the Solana CLI?
A: Yes. Hardware wallets like Ledger are supported. You’ll reference them via URL paths (e.g., usb://ledger) instead of file paths when signing transactions.

Q: Why did I only receive 0.499995 SOL after sending 0.5?
A: The difference is the transaction fee (0.000005 SOL), deducted from the sender’s account. All on-chain operations require a small fee paid in SOL.

Q: Is it safe to use devnet for testing?
A: Yes. Devnet tokens have no real value, making it ideal for learning and development. However, never use real seed phrases or private keys in test environments.

Q: How do I recover my wallet if I lose access?
A: Use your 12-word seed phrase to regenerate the keypair. Always store this offline and never share it.

Q: Can I send tokens without funding the recipient first?
A: Yes, by using the --allow-unfunded-recipient flag. Without it, transfers fail if the recipient has no existing account balance.

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