Create a Vault

Learn how to create a Kamino vault with custom fee structures, deposit limits, and allocation strategies. The SDK manages vault initialization, metadata setup, and lookup table creation to optimize future transactions.

Creating a Vault

Initialize a new vault with custom configuration and prepare it for user deposits.

Import Dependencies

Import the required packages for Solana RPC communication, Kamino SDK operations, and Kit transaction building.

import {
  createSolanaRpc,
  createSolanaRpcSubscriptions,
  address,
  pipe,
  createTransactionMessage,
  setTransactionMessageFeePayerSigner,
  setTransactionMessageLifetimeUsingBlockhash,
  appendTransactionMessageInstructions,
  signTransactionMessageWithSigners,
  sendAndConfirmTransactionFactory,
  getSignatureFromTransaction,
} from '@solana/kit';
import {
  KaminoManager,
  KaminoVaultConfig,
  getMedianSlotDurationInMsFromLastEpochs,
} from '@kamino-finance/klend-sdk';
import { parseKeypairFile } from '@kamino-finance/klend-sdk/dist/utils/signer.js';
import { TOKEN_PROGRAM_ADDRESS } from '@solana-program/token';
import { Decimal } from 'decimal.js';

Load Admin Keypair and Initialize Manager

Load the admin keypair from file and initialize the Kamino manager with proper slot timing.

const KEYPAIR_FILE = '/path/to/your/keypair.json';

const adminSigner = await parseKeypairFile(KEYPAIR_FILE);

const rpc = createSolanaRpc('https://api.mainnet-beta.solana.com');
const rpcSubscriptions = createSolanaRpcSubscriptions('wss://api.mainnet-beta.solana.com');
const slotDuration = await getMedianSlotDurationInMsFromLastEpochs();
const kaminoManager = new KaminoManager(rpc, slotDuration);

parseKeypairFile loads an existing keypair from a JSON file that will become the vault admin. The slot duration is used for accurate vault timing calculations.

Configure Vault

Create a vault configuration with the core identity and fee structure.

const kaminoVaultConfig = new KaminoVaultConfig({
  admin: adminSigner,
  tokenMint: address('EPjFWdd5AufqSSqeM2qN1xzybapC8G4wEGGkZwyTDt1v'),
  tokenMintProgramId: TOKEN_PROGRAM_ADDRESS,
  performanceFeeRatePercentage: new Decimal(15.0),
  managementFeeRatePercentage: new Decimal(2.0),
  name: 'MyCustomVault',
  vaultTokenSymbol: 'USDC',
  vaultTokenName: 'MyCustomVaultToken',
  // Optional — defaults shown below:
  minDepositAmount: 1000,        // lamports (default: 1000)
  minWithdrawAmount: 10,         // lamports (default: 10)
  minInvestAmount: 0,            // lamports (default: 0)
  minInvestDelaySlots: 0,        // slots (default: 0)
  withdrawalPenaltyBps: 1,       // basis points (default: 1)
  withdrawalPenaltyLamports: 1,  // lamports (default: 1)
  crankFundFeePerReserve: 1,     // lamports (default: 1)
});

The operational parameters above are optional — omit them to use the defaults. All parameters are editable post-creation using specialized update methods. Unallocated weight and cap are set post-creation only — see the Configure Vault Parameters step below.

Show Vault Configuration Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`admin`	`TransactionSigner`	—	Keypair that owns and manages the vault
`tokenMint`	`Address`	—	SPL token mint address (e.g., USDC)
`tokenMintProgramId`	`Address`	—	Token program address (usually `TOKEN_PROGRAM_ADDRESS`)
`performanceFeeRatePercentage`	`Decimal`	—	Percentage of earned yield collected as fees
`managementFeeRatePercentage`	`Decimal`	—	Annual percentage fee on total assets
`name`	`string`	—	Vault name stored on-chain (max 40 characters)
`vaultTokenSymbol`	`string`	—	Symbol for vault share token (max 5 characters)
`vaultTokenName`	`string`	—	Display name for vault share token (max 10 characters)
`minDepositAmount`	`number`	1000	Optional. Minimum deposit per transaction (lamports)
`minWithdrawAmount`	`number`	10	Optional. Minimum withdrawal per transaction (lamports)
`minInvestAmount`	`number`	0	Optional. Minimum amount moved in a single investment (lamports)
`minInvestDelaySlots`	`number`	0	Optional. Slots between investments in a reserve
`withdrawalPenaltyBps`	`number`	1	Optional. Percentage-based withdrawal fee (basis points)
`withdrawalPenaltyLamports`	`number`	1	Optional. Absolute withdrawal fee (lamports)
`crankFundFeePerReserve`	`number`	1	Optional. Fee per reserve to fund crank operations (lamports)

Generate Vault Creation Instructions

Pass the vault configuration to the Kamino manager to generate all required initialization instructions.

const { vault: vaultSigner, initVaultIxs: instructions } = await kaminoManager.createVaultIxs(kaminoVaultConfig);

const allInstructions = [
  ...instructions.createAtaIfNeededIxs,
  ...instructions.initVaultIxs,
  instructions.createLUTIx,
  instructions.initSharesMetadataIx,
  ...instructions.setFarmToVaultIxs,
];

The createVaultIxs method returns a vault signer plus instruction bundles for creating associated token accounts, initializing the vault, creating a lookup table (LUT), initializing share token metadata, and registering the Vault Farm and First Loss Capital Farm addresses on the vault. The farm accounts themselves are created in separate transactions — see the farm creation step below.

Build, Send, and Confirm Transaction

Use Kit’s functional pipe pattern to build, sign, and send the transaction. We define a reusable helper since vault creation involves multiple transactions:

// Helper to build, sign, and send a transaction
async function buildAndSendTx(ixs) {
  const { value: blockhash } = await rpc.getLatestBlockhash({ commitment: 'finalized' }).send();
  const signed = await signTransactionMessageWithSigners(
    pipe(
      createTransactionMessage({ version: 0 }),
      (tx) => setTransactionMessageFeePayerSigner(adminSigner, tx),
      (tx) => setTransactionMessageLifetimeUsingBlockhash(blockhash, tx),
      (tx) => appendTransactionMessageInstructions(ixs, tx)
    )
  );
  await sendAndConfirmTransactionFactory({ rpc, rpcSubscriptions })(signed, {
    commitment: 'confirmed',
    skipPreflight: true,
  });
}

await buildAndSendTx(allInstructions);
console.log('Vault creation successful! Vault ID:', vaultSigner.address);

// Populate LUT in background (optimizes future tx sizes, not required)
setImmediate(async () => {
  try {
    await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 2000));
    await buildAndSendTx(instructions.populateLUTIxs);
  } catch (error) {
    // LUT population failure doesn't affect vault functionality
  }
});

Kit’s pipe function enables functional composition of transaction building steps. signTransactionMessageWithSigners automatically handles all required signers including the vault keypair embedded in the instructions.

Create and Attach Farms

The createVaultIxs method generates instructions for the Vault Farm (reward distribution), First Loss Capital Farm (loss-absorbing capital), and Autocompound Farm. Each farm requires two sequential transactions: setup and update.

// Using buildAndSendTx helper from previous step
for (const farm of instructions.createVaultFarms) {
  await buildAndSendTx(farm.setupFarmIxs);  // Create farm account
  await buildAndSendTx(farm.updateFarmIxs);  // Configure farm-side settings
  console.log('Farm created:', farm.farm.address);
}

Farm creation is ideally done during vault initialization. If skipped, farms can be created post-creation using kaminoManager.createVaultFarmIxs(adminSigner, vault) to create the farm account, then registered on the vault using kaminoManager.updateVaultFarmIxs(vault, farm) for the Vault Farm or kaminoManager.updateVaultFirstLossCapitalFarmIxs(vault, farm) for the FLC Farm. See Farms & Rewards for the full post-creation flow.

Configure Vault Parameters (Post-Creation)

After the vault is created, configure parameters that are only available post-creation (unallocated weight/cap), or update any parameter set during init. Each method returns { updateVaultConfigIx } — send via buildAndSendTx.

import { KaminoVault } from '@kamino-finance/klend-sdk';

const vault = new KaminoVault(rpc, vaultSigner.address);

// Unallocated weight/cap (post-creation only — not available in KaminoVaultConfig)
const { updateVaultConfigIx: unallocWeightIx } =
  await kaminoManager.updateVaultUnallocatedWeightIxs(vault, 500, adminSigner);
const { updateVaultConfigIx: unallocCapIx } =
  await kaminoManager.updateVaultUnallocatedTokensCapIxs(vault, 2000000, adminSigner);
await buildAndSendTx([unallocWeightIx]);
await buildAndSendTx([unallocCapIx]);

// Any init parameter can also be updated post-creation:
// await kaminoManager.updateVaultMinDepositAmountIxs(vault, 1000, adminSigner)
// await kaminoManager.updateVaultMinWithdrawAmountIxs(vault, 10, adminSigner)
// await kaminoManager.updateVaultMinInvestAmountIxs(vault, 0, adminSigner)
// await kaminoManager.updateVaultMinInvestDelaySlotsIxs(vault, 0, adminSigner)
// await kaminoManager.updateVaultWithdrawalPenaltyBpsIxs(vault, 1, adminSigner)
// await kaminoManager.updateVaultWithdrawalPenaltyLamportsIxs(vault, 1, adminSigner)
// await kaminoManager.updateVaultCrankFundFeePerReserveIxs(vault, 1, adminSigner)

Show Post-Creation Parameters

Method	Parameter	Default	Description
`updateVaultMinDepositAmountIxs`	`minDepositAmount`	1000	Minimum deposit per transaction (lamports)
`updateVaultMinWithdrawAmountIxs`	`minWithdrawAmount`	10	Minimum withdrawal per transaction (lamports)
`updateVaultMinInvestAmountIxs`	`minInvestAmount`	0	Minimum amount moved in a single investment (lamports)
`updateVaultMinInvestDelaySlotsIxs`	`minInvestDelaySlots`	0	Slots between investments in a reserve
`updateVaultWithdrawalPenaltyBpsIxs`	`withdrawalPenaltyBps`	1	Percentage-based withdrawal fee (basis points); returned to vault
`updateVaultWithdrawalPenaltyLamportsIxs`	`withdrawalPenaltyLamports`	1	Absolute withdrawal fee (lamports); system takes MAX of BPS and lamports
`updateVaultCrankFundFeePerReserveIxs`	`crankFundFeePerReserve`	1	Fee per reserve to fund crank operations (lamports)
`updateVaultUnallocatedWeightIxs`	`unallocatedWeight`	500	Relative weight for idle funds in total weight calculation
`updateVaultUnallocatedTokensCapIxs`	`unallocatedTokensCap`	2000000	Maximum absolute amount to keep unallocated (lamports)

Full Code Example

import {
  createSolanaRpc,
  createSolanaRpcSubscriptions,
  address,
  pipe,
  createTransactionMessage,
  setTransactionMessageFeePayerSigner,
  setTransactionMessageLifetimeUsingBlockhash,
  appendTransactionMessageInstructions,
  signTransactionMessageWithSigners,
  sendAndConfirmTransactionFactory,
  getSignatureFromTransaction,
} from '@solana/kit';
import {
  KaminoManager,
  KaminoVault,
  KaminoVaultConfig,
  getMedianSlotDurationInMsFromLastEpochs,
} from '@kamino-finance/klend-sdk';
import { parseKeypairFile } from '@kamino-finance/klend-sdk/dist/utils/signer.js';
import { TOKEN_PROGRAM_ADDRESS } from '@solana-program/token';
import { Decimal } from 'decimal.js';

const KEYPAIR_FILE = '/path/to/your/keypair.json';

const adminSigner = await parseKeypairFile(KEYPAIR_FILE);

const rpc = createSolanaRpc('https://api.mainnet-beta.solana.com');
const rpcSubscriptions = createSolanaRpcSubscriptions('wss://api.mainnet-beta.solana.com');
const slotDuration = await getMedianSlotDurationInMsFromLastEpochs();
const kaminoManager = new KaminoManager(rpc, slotDuration);

// Step 1: Create the vault
const kaminoVaultConfig = new KaminoVaultConfig({
  admin: adminSigner,
  tokenMint: address('EPjFWdd5AufqSSqeM2qN1xzybapC8G4wEGGkZwyTDt1v'),
  tokenMintProgramId: TOKEN_PROGRAM_ADDRESS,
  performanceFeeRatePercentage: new Decimal(15.0),
  managementFeeRatePercentage: new Decimal(2.0),
  name: 'MyCustomVault',
  vaultTokenSymbol: 'USDC',
  vaultTokenName: 'MyCustomVaultToken',
  // Optional — defaults shown below:
  minDepositAmount: 1000,
  minWithdrawAmount: 10,
  minInvestAmount: 0,
  minInvestDelaySlots: 0,
  withdrawalPenaltyBps: 1,
  withdrawalPenaltyLamports: 1,
  crankFundFeePerReserve: 1,
});

// Helper to build, sign, and send a transaction
async function buildAndSendTx(ixs) {
  const { value: blockhash } = await rpc.getLatestBlockhash({ commitment: 'finalized' }).send();
  const signed = await signTransactionMessageWithSigners(
    pipe(
      createTransactionMessage({ version: 0 }),
      (tx) => setTransactionMessageFeePayerSigner(adminSigner, tx),
      (tx) => setTransactionMessageLifetimeUsingBlockhash(blockhash, tx),
      (tx) => appendTransactionMessageInstructions(ixs, tx)
    )
  );
  await sendAndConfirmTransactionFactory({ rpc, rpcSubscriptions })(signed, {
    commitment: 'confirmed',
    skipPreflight: true,
  });
}

const { vault: vaultSigner, initVaultIxs: instructions } = await kaminoManager.createVaultIxs(kaminoVaultConfig);

// Step 1: Create the vault
await buildAndSendTx([
  ...instructions.createAtaIfNeededIxs,
  ...instructions.initVaultIxs,
  instructions.createLUTIx,
  instructions.initSharesMetadataIx,
  ...instructions.setFarmToVaultIxs,
]);
console.log('Vault created! Address:', vaultSigner.address);

// Step 2: Create and attach farms (Vault Farm + First Loss Capital Farm)
for (const farm of instructions.createVaultFarms) {
  await buildAndSendTx(farm.setupFarmIxs);
  await buildAndSendTx(farm.updateFarmIxs);
  console.log('Farm created:', farm.farm.address);
}

// Step 3: Populate LUT in background
setImmediate(async () => {
  try {
    await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 2000));
    await buildAndSendTx(instructions.populateLUTIxs);
  } catch (error) {
    // LUT population failure doesn't affect vault functionality
  }
});

// Step 4: Configure vault parameters post-creation (unallocated weight/cap)
const vault = new KaminoVault(rpc, vaultSigner.address);

const { updateVaultConfigIx: unallocWeightIx } =
  await kaminoManager.updateVaultUnallocatedWeightIxs(vault, 500, adminSigner);
const { updateVaultConfigIx: unallocCapIx } =
  await kaminoManager.updateVaultUnallocatedTokensCapIxs(vault, 2000000, adminSigner);

// Build and send each config update as a transaction
await buildAndSendTx([unallocWeightIx]);
await buildAndSendTx([unallocCapIx]);

Earn

Borrow

Creating a Vault

Import Dependencies

Load Admin Keypair and Initialize Manager

Configure Vault

Generate Vault Creation Instructions

Build, Send, and Confirm Transaction

Create and Attach Farms

Configure Vault Parameters (Post-Creation)

Full Code Example

Earn

Borrow

​Creating a Vault

​Import Dependencies

​Load Admin Keypair and Initialize Manager

​Configure Vault

​Generate Vault Creation Instructions

​Build, Send, and Confirm Transaction

​Create and Attach Farms

​Configure Vault Parameters (Post-Creation)

​Full Code Example

Creating a Vault

Import Dependencies

Load Admin Keypair and Initialize Manager

Configure Vault

Generate Vault Creation Instructions

Build, Send, and Confirm Transaction

Create and Attach Farms

Configure Vault Parameters (Post-Creation)

Full Code Example