Home>Solana Documentation>Getting Started
This document describes the different wallet options that are available to usersof Solana who want to be able to send, receive and interact with SOL tokens onthe Solana blockchain.
What is a Wallet? #
A crypto wallet is a device or application that stores a collection of keys andcan be used to send, receive, and track ownership of cryptocurrencies. Walletscan take many forms. A wallet might be a directory or file in your computer'sfile system, a piece of paper, or a specialized device called a hardwarewallet. There are also various smartphone apps and computer programs thatprovide a user-friendly way to create and manage wallets.
Keypair #
A keypair is a securely generatedsecret key and its cryptographically-derivedpublic key. A secret key and its corresponding public key aretogether known as a keypair. A wallet contains a collection of one or morekeypairs and provides some means to interact with them.
Public key #
The public key (commonly shortenedto pubkey) is known as the wallet's receiving address or simply itsaddress. The wallet address may be shared and displayed freely. Whenanother party is going to send some amount of cryptocurrency to a wallet, theyneed to know the wallet's receiving address. Depending on a blockchain'simplementation, the address can also be used to view certain information about awallet, such as viewing the balance, but has no ability to change anything aboutthe wallet or withdraw any tokens.
Secret key #
The secret key (also referred to asprivate key) is required to digitally sign any transactions to sendcryptocurrencies to another address or to make any changes to the wallet. Thesecret key must never be shared. If someone gains access to the secret keyto a wallet, they can withdraw all the tokens it contains. If the secret key fora wallet is lost, any tokens that have been sent to that wallet's address arepermanently lost.
Security #
Different wallet solutions offer different approaches to keypair security,interacting with the keypair, and signing transactions to use/spend the tokens.Some are easier to use than others. Some store and back up secret keys moresecurely. Solana supports multiple types of wallets so you can choose the rightbalance of security and convenience.
If you want to be able to receive SOL tokens on the Solana blockchain, youfirst will need to create a wallet.
Supported Wallets #
Several browser and mobile app based wallets support Solana. Find some optionsthat might be right for you on theSolana Ecosystem page.
For advanced users or developers, thecommand-line wallets may be moreappropriate, as new features on the Solana blockchain will always be supportedon the command line first before being integrated into third-party solutions.
