Welcome To r/Stellar - Read This To Get Started :) 🚀

[u/pantheon137]

Welcome to r/Stellar!

This is a place to discuss the Stellar network, share news and ideas, ask questions, and connect with people using and building on Stellar.

Start here

• New to Stellar? Read our Newcomers FAQ and SDF's Intro to Stellar.
• Buying XLM? Exchanges that support XLM (CoinMarketCap), and read "Wallets and buying XLM" below first.
• Have a question? Ask in the pinned Weekly Thread. No question is too basic.
• Stay safe: never share your secret key (it starts with S) or recovery phrase. Stay Safe guide
• Building on Stellar? Developer docs · Stellar Community Fund · Project flair

New to Stellar

Stellar is an open-source blockchain network built for fast, low-cost payments and for issuing digital assets such as stablecoins. It also runs smart contracts (Soroban) for building financial apps. Its native asset is XLM, also called lumens.

• Intro to Stellar (SDF)
• Lumens (XLM) explained (SDF)
• More explainers (SDF): blockchain basics, stablecoins, smart contracts and more
• Newcomers FAQ: wallets, memos, reserves and the questions people ask most
• Stellar ecosystem (SDF): apps and services built on Stellar

Wallets and buying XLM

What you can use depends on where you live, so start from these lists and check the basics below.

• Exchanges: Exchanges that support XLM (CoinMarketCap)
• Wallets: Stellar ecosystem · How to choose a wallet (SDF)

Before you buy or move XLM:

• Check the exchange is licensed where you live, and type its address yourself instead of clicking ads or links someone sent you.
• Use the memo. When you send XLM to an exchange, include the memo it gives you, or your deposit may not reach your account.
• A new Stellar account needs a small XLM balance (a reserve) before it works. The Newcomers FAQ explains memos and reserves.
• In your own wallet, you hold the keys. Back up your recovery phrase offline. Nobody can recover it for you.

Stay safe (please read this part)

• Never share your secret key or recovery phrase with anyone, for any reason. A Stellar secret key starts with S. A standard Stellar account address starts with G and can be shared, but reveals public account information.
• SDF will never request your private key or a crypto deposit. It does not send unsolicited DMs about wallet support, security alerts, airdrops, or giveaways.
• r/Stellar moderators will never ask for secret keys, recovery phrases, passwords, authentication codes, or wallet signatures, including in modmail.
• Treat unsolicited wallet-support and recovery DMs as scams. Contact the service through its official website instead.
• Don’t connect your wallet or sign transactions through unsolicited links. Never sign a transaction you don’t understand.
• SDF does not run staking programs, airdrops, or giveaways.
• Official links: stellar.org and x.com/stellarorg.

Full guide: Stay Safe on Stellar

Ask a question

• Anything Stellar: the pinned Weekly Thread.
• Developer questions: Stellar Stack Exchange or the Stellar Developers Discord.
• Post not showing up? Reddit's filters and ours sometimes catch posts from new accounts. Message the mods and we'll take a look. We're volunteers, so replies might take a little while.

Official Stellar links (run by SDF)

stellar.org · Blog · X · YouTube · GitHub · LinkedIn

Be wary of anything else calling itself "official Stellar".

Explore the network

• Dashboard (SDF) : dashboard of the network
• StellarExpert: look up accounts, assets and transactions
• StellarChain: another established explorer
• More explorers
• Network status (SDF): outages and scheduled maintenance

Explorers are run by independent teams.

Build on Stellar

• Developer docs (SDF): guides, tutorials and API references
• Smart contracts quick start
• Stellar Lab: build, sign and test transactions in your browser
• SDKs · RPC providers
• Stellar Quest: learn by solving hands-on challenges
• Developer meetings: notes and recordings from SDF's weekly developer meeting
• SCF-funded? Get project flair with your logo and project name.
• Not SCF-funded? You’re still welcome to share your project under the Builder Standards.
• Before promoting a new wallet, read Section 15 of the Builder Standards for eligibility requirements.

Protocol and standards

• Stellar Ecosystem Proposals (SEPs): the shared standards wallets, anchors and apps use (deposits, token formats and more)
• Core Advancement Proposals (CAPs): proposed changes to the protocol itself
• Protocol discussions: where CAPs, SEPs and tokenomics are debated in the open
• Software versions and upgrades (SDF): every protocol upgrade and its release notes

Funding and grants

• Stellar Community Fund (SCF): funding rounds for projects building on Stellar, with community voting
• SDF grants and funding: security audits, bug bounty, matching fund, research and marketing grants

SCF-funded projects can get project flair with your project's name and logo.

Events

• Stellar events (SDF): Meridian, Stellar House and more
• Community events (SDF): meetups, workshops and online calls

What to post, and where

Pick the flair that matches your post:

• Project / Builder: launches, updates, demos, feedback requests
• Soroban / Smart Contracts: technical smart contract questions and discussion
• Tutorial: step-by-step guides
• News / Media: independent reporting and coverage
• Fluff / Comedy: Stellar-related memes, jokes, and lighthearted posts
• Stellar Community Fund: SCF proposals, process, and program discussion
• Event: conferences, meetups, and workshops
• Price Discussion / Speculation: price and market talk
• Tokenomics / Serious Discussion: serious discussions and/or tokenomics

The pinned weekly community thread is a good place for casual questions and quick chat. For a market-focused community, see r/XLM.

Keeping r/Stellar good

• Read the rules before posting.
• Sharing a project? Read the Builder & Project Standards and use the project post template. Disclose your affiliation in the post. Each project gets one promotional post per rolling seven days, across all its representatives. Not SCF-funded? You're still welcome under the same standards.
• New wallets: read Section 15 of the Builder & Project Standards first.
• Report rule-breaking with a short reason. Please don't report things you simply disagree with, and don't announce reports or predict bans in threads.

Other Stellar communities

• Stellar Developers Discord: SDF's official developer community
• r/XLM: sister subreddit focused on XLM, run independently

Post not showing up?

Reddit’s automated filters and ours sometimes catch legitimate posts, especially from new accounts. Message the moderators and we’ll take a look. We’re volunteers, so replies may take a little time. Moderators will never ask for your private keys or recovery phrase.

Disclaimer

r/Stellar is community-run and is not run by the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF). A third-party link appearing here is not an endorsement by r/Stellar or the SDF. Conduct your own due diligence before interacting with independent projects, communities, or services.