How idle works.
A plain-English guide to what idle does, how the agent manages your money, and why it matters. No jargon, no code.
What is idle?
idle is an app that makes your Solana wallet earn money automatically. Think of it like Acorns or Wealthfront, but for crypto.
When you use Solana — trading, swapping, receiving airdrops — small amounts of tokens get left behind. A few cents here, a dollar there. Most people ignore it. idle doesn't.
An AI agent watches your wallet, collects that spare change, and invests it into proven yield strategies across Solana's top protocols. It does this 24/7, automatically, without you doing anything.
Meet the agent.
The idle agent is an AI that manages your money. Not a chatbot — a financial automation engine. It performs real actions on your wallet based on the rules you set.
Here's what the agent does every day:
Dust Sweep
Scans your wallet for leftover tokens — tiny balances from trades, forgotten airdrops, random fractions. Consolidates them into usable amounts.
DailyRound-Ups
Every time you make a trade, the agent rounds up the spare change and deposits it into your vault. Same concept as Acorns rounding up your coffee purchase.
Per transactionAuto-Invest
Takes the money it collected and deploys it into your chosen strategy — staking, lending, or liquidity pools across top Solana protocols.
ContinuousRebalance
If your portfolio drifts from your target allocation (like one position growing too large), the agent rebalances it. Like how a robo-advisor rebalances your 401k.
As neededCompound
Rewards earned from staking and lending are automatically reinvested. Your earnings earn earnings. This is how compound interest works, but on-chain.
ContinuousThe key difference: Most DeFi requires you to manually find pools, stake tokens, claim rewards, and reinvest. The idle agent does all of this for you. You just pick a strategy and go.
How it works.
Connect your wallet
Sign in with your email, Google, or Solana wallet. idle creates a secure vault wallet for you automatically. This takes about 10 seconds.
Pick a strategy
Choose Rest (safe, like a savings account), Drift (balanced, like an index fund), or Surge (aggressive, like an actively managed portfolio). You can change this anytime.
Fund your vault
Transfer SOL into your idle vault. There's no minimum — start with whatever you're comfortable with. The agent starts working immediately.
Go idle
That's it. The agent sweeps, invests, compounds, and rebalances automatically. Check your dashboard anytime to see what it's doing and how much you're earning.
Three strategies. Pick one.
Each strategy controls how aggressively the agent invests your money. Higher risk means higher potential returns, but also more volatility. Here's how they compare to things you already know:
Rest
6-8%Like a high-yield savings accountYour money goes into staking and lending — the safest options in DeFi. Steady, predictable returns. Sleep well.
Low riskDrift
10-15%Like a index fund / robo-advisorA mix of staking, lending, and liquidity pools. Better returns with moderate risk. The sweet spot for most people.
Medium riskSurge
15-25%+Like a actively managed portfolioLeveraged positions, concentrated liquidity, higher-risk pools. Maximum yield for those comfortable with volatility.
High riskWhere your money goes.
The agent doesn't invent new financial products. It uses the most trusted, battle-tested protocols on Solana — the same ones that professionals and institutions use. Here's a simple breakdown:
Your SOL earns rewards for helping secure the Solana network. Like earning interest on a savings account, but the rate is higher because you're providing a useful service.
Your money is lent to borrowers who pay interest. Like a bank CD, but you can withdraw anytime and rates are typically better.
Your money helps facilitate trades on a decentralized exchange. You earn a cut of every trade. Like owning a tiny piece of a stock exchange.
The agent uses Jupiter to find the best exchange rates when converting tokens. Like a comparison shopping tool that automatically picks the cheapest price.
Your money stays yours.
Non-custodial
idle never holds your money. Your funds live in your own wallet on the Solana blockchain. We can't touch them, freeze them, or take them.
On-chain and verifiable
Every action the agent takes is a transaction on Solana's public blockchain. You can see exactly what happened, when, and where your money went.
Limited permissions
The agent only has permission to do what you've authorized — deposit into specific protocols within your chosen strategy. It can't send your money to random addresses.
Withdraw anytime
There are no lock-up periods, no exit fees, and no penalties. Pull your money out whenever you want.
Common questions.
Is this a bot that trades for me?
No. The agent doesn't trade or speculate. It takes money that's sitting idle in your wallet and puts it into well-known yield protocols — staking, lending, and liquidity pools. Think of it as automated saving, not automated trading.
Can I lose money?
Like any investment, there's risk. The "Rest" strategy is very conservative (similar risk to a savings account). "Drift" and "Surge" take more risk for higher returns. You choose your comfort level. The agent never gambles — it follows the strategy you pick.
How is this different from just staking my SOL?
Staking is one thing the agent does, but it also sweeps dust, rounds up spare change, compounds earnings, and diversifies across multiple protocols. It's the difference between putting cash under your mattress vs. having a financial advisor.
Do I need to know about DeFi?
No. That's the whole point. You pick a strategy (safe, balanced, or aggressive), and the agent handles the rest. You don't need to know what "liquidity pools" or "staking" means — just like you don't need to know how index funds work to use Wealthfront.
Can I withdraw anytime?
Yes. There are no lock-ups, no minimums, and no penalties. Your money is always accessible.
What does it cost?
idle charges a small performance fee on the yield the agent earns for you. You never pay on your principal — only on profits. If the agent doesn't earn, you don't pay.
Is it safe?
idle is non-custodial — we never hold your funds. Your wallet stays yours. The agent operates through your Privy embedded wallet with limited permissions. All transactions are on-chain and verifiable.