Solana: Whenever I run anchor init I get this error. I have canceled several projects in the hope that it will not happen again.

Error with Solana Anchor initialization on multiple projects

I am Mfoniso Ofori, a developer who has encountered a common issue when trying to initialize the Solana Anchor project on multiple projects. In this article, I will explain the steps to resolve the error and provide guidance on how to avoid it in the future.

The Problem: Different Cargo Versions

When running anchor init on multiple projects, you often encounter an error similar to this:

error: failed to parse lock file at: /home/mfoniso/Desktop/code/SOL/mycalculatordapp/Cargo.lock
Caused by:
version 4 of the lock file was found, but this version of Cargo does not understand this lock file, ...

This error indicates that the Solana Anchor project is using a different version of the Cargo.lock file than expected.

Step 1: Identify the different versions

To resolve this issue, you need to identify which versions of the Cargo.lock files are being used in your projects. You can do this by checking the following:

• Open the Cargo.toml file for each project and look for the “version” section.

• Check to see if any of the “version” sections have a value other than 1.0.0.

Step 2: Update the version

Once you have identified which versions are being used, you can update them to match the version required by the Cargo.lock file in your projects. To do this:

• Open the Cargo.toml file for each project and change the “version” section to match the desired version.

• If a project is using an older version of Cargo.lock, it may be best to update it all at once.

Step 3: Verify the Update

After updating the version, verify that the issue has been resolved by running anchor init again on each project. If you are still experiencing issues, try updating the Cargo.toml files for both projects.

Additional Tips and Considerations

• Make sure that the projects are using the same Cargo.toml file.

• Use the following command to update all Cargo.lock files in a directory:

cargo update --all

This will update all Cargo.lock files in the specified directory, including those in your other projects.

Conclusion

When running anchor init on multiple Solana Anchor projects, it is common to encounter errors related to different versions of the Cargo.lock file. By following these steps, you can resolve the issue and ensure that all projects are using the same versions of the Cargo.lock file. Additionally, using tools such as cargo update --all can help streamline the process and prevent future issues.

Example use case:

Suppose you have two Solana Anchor projects, project-a and project-b. Both projects are using version 1.0.0 of the Cargo.toml file. You run anchor init on both projects:

anchor init project-a
anchor init project-b

In both projects, a Cargo.lock file is created with versions other than 4. This can happen if you have made changes to your Cargo.toml files or if you are using different versions of Cargo.

Once you’ve identified the issue, you update the version of the Cargo.toml files in both projects:

[project-a]
version = "1.0.0"

And run anchor init again:

anchor init project-a
anchor init project-b

If everything goes well, the issue is resolved and you can use your Solana Anchor projects without any further issues.