---
title: Introduction
description: What SDP is, what it provides, and how it works.
---

Solana Developer Platform (SDP) is a dashboard and REST API for real-world asset (RWA) issuance, payments, and markets on Solana. It handles wallet custody, onchain transaction construction, and compliance operations so your team can bring regulated assets onchain without managing keys or setting up Solana infrastructure.

## What you get

**Token lifecycle management** — Create tokens from pre-built templates (stablecoin, tokenized security) or configure your own using Token-2022 extensions. Deploy, mint, burn, and manage supply through the dashboard or API.

**Wallet custody** — Provision signing wallets through integrated custody providers. SDP manages the signing infrastructure so your team never handles private keys directly.

**Projects and scoped access** — Organize integrations by project, assign members, and issue project-scoped API keys so teams or environments do not share the same wallet and token surface.

**Compliance operations** — Freeze individual accounts, pause token activity, seize tokens, and manage allowlists for regulated issuance flows. Selected compliance actions accept reason or memo fields for audit trails.

**Two signing modes** — SDP supports both modes for transaction-building flows such as issuance, payments, and compliance actions:

- **Execute** — SDP builds, signs, and submits the transaction in one API call
- **Prepare** — SDP builds the transaction and returns it unsigned. You sign with your own infrastructure (hardware wallet, multisig, internal HSM) and submit it yourself.

**Transaction simulation** — Prepare endpoints accept a `simulate: true` option that dry-runs the transaction before you sign, returning compute units consumed, program logs, and any errors.

**Scoped API keys** — Generate keys with specific permission sets (`tokens:read`, `tokens:write`, `tokens:admin`, etc.) and rotate them without downtime.

## Architecture

SDP exposes two interfaces that connect to the same backend:

- **Dashboard** — browser-based UI for setup, token management, and compliance operations. Sign in with email, Google, or GitHub.
- **REST API** — programmatic access for backend integrations. Authenticate with an API key in the `Authorization` header.

## Environments

| Environment | API key prefix | Solana network | Purpose                                     |
| ----------- | -------------- | -------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| Sandbox     | `sk_test_`     | devnet         | Development and testing with no real assets |
| Production  | `sk_live_`     | mainnet-beta   | Live operations with real assets            |

Both environments expose identical APIs. Develop and test against sandbox, then switch to production by swapping your API key.
