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Initialize User Account

This instruction creates the UserAccount PDA for a trader.

It must be executed before:

  • Depositing collateral
  • Opening positions
  • Placing limit orders
  • Interacting with pool trading logic

The full UserAccount struct layout and Borsh schema are defined in the Schemas section. This page focuses strictly on initialization.

Instruction

Discriminator​

39

(From Rust enum ordering)

Purpose​

  • Allocates the UserAccount PDA
  • Sets:
    • user
    • owner
    • token
    • created_at
    • bump
  • Initializes balances to zero
  • Initializes vectors (orders, limit_orders, etc.)

Required Accounts​

IndexAccountSignerWritable
0user✅✅
1user_account PDA❌✅
2tokenMint❌❌
3System Program❌❌
4Rent Sysvar❌❌

Instruction Data Layout​

u8     discriminator (39)
Pubkey tokenMint

TypeScript Builder​

function createInitializeUserAccountInstruction(
  programId: PublicKey,
  user: PublicKey,
  userAccountPda: PublicKey,
  tokenMint: PublicKey
): TransactionInstruction {
  const data = Buffer.concat([
    Buffer.from([39]), // INITIALIZE_USER_ACCOUNT_TAG
    tokenMint.toBuffer(),
  ]);

  return new TransactionInstruction({
    keys: [
      { pubkey: user, isSigner: true, isWritable: true },
      { pubkey: userAccountPda, isSigner: false, isWritable: true },
      { pubkey: tokenMint, isSigner: false, isWritable: false },
      { pubkey: SystemProgram.programId, isSigner: false, isWritable: false },
      { pubkey: SYSVAR_RENT_PUBKEY, isSigner: false, isWritable: false },
    ],
    programId,
    data,
  });
}

Example Flow (From Trading Test)

const [userAccountPda] = findUserAccountAddress(
  PROGRAM_ID,
  trader.publicKey,
  mintKeypair.publicKey
);

const initUserAccountIx = createInitializeUserAccountInstruction(
  PROGRAM_ID,
  trader.publicKey,
  userAccountPda,
  mintKeypair.publicKey
);

const tx = new Transaction().add(initUserAccountIx);

await sendAndConfirmTransaction(
  connection,
  tx,
  [trader],
  { commitment: 'confirmed' }
);

What Happens On-Chain

After execution:

  • PDA account is created
  • Owner = program
  • is_initialized = true
  • Balances = 0
  • active_orders = 0
  • active_limit_orders = 0
  • orders = []
  • limit_orders = []
  • token_accounts = []

This account becomes the central state container for:

  • Deposits
  • Margin tracking
  • Funding payments
  • Order tracking
  • Position management

Important Notes

  • A user must have one UserAccount per settlement token mint.
  • Re-initializing an existing PDA will fail.
  • Deposit must occur after initialization.
  • All future trading instructions require this PDA.