What Does Transferring Tokens Do?
Transferring tokens moves tokens from one token account to another token account for the same mint.
Transfers do not change the mint supply. Transfers only update balances between token accounts.
How to Transfer Tokens
Transferring tokens uses the Token Program's Transfer or
TransferChecked instruction.
The examples below use TransferChecked, which requires the caller to
provide the mint and decimals so the instruction can verify the expected mint
and token precision before moving tokens between accounts.
In the Token Extension Program, Transfer is deprecated in favor of
TransferChecked or TransferCheckedWithFee.
The source account owner or an approved delegate signs the transfer. In the Token Extension Program, a mint permanent delegate can also authorize the transfer if the mint has the permanent delegate extension enabled.
Source Reference
| Item | Description | Token Program | Token Extension Program |
|---|---|---|---|
Account | The token account state stores the balances updated by a transfer. | Source | Source |
Transfer | A transfer instruction that moves tokens between token accounts without requiring the caller to provide the mint or decimals. In the Token Extension Program, use TransferChecked instead. | Source | Source |
TransferChecked | A transfer instruction that requires the caller to provide the mint and decimals and checks those values before moving tokens between token accounts of the same mint. | Source | Source |
process_transfer | Shared processor logic for token transfers. | Source | Source |
Typescript
The Kit examples below show the recommended approach using @solana/kit.
Legacy examples using @solana/web3.js are included for reference.
Kit
import { generateKeyPairSigner } from "@solana/kit";import { createLocalClient } from "@solana/kit-client-rpc";import {findAssociatedTokenPda,tokenProgram,TOKEN_PROGRAM_ADDRESS} from "@solana-program/token";const client = await createLocalClient().use(tokenProgram());const mint = await generateKeyPairSigner();const recipient = await generateKeyPairSigner();const result = await client.token.instructions.transferToATA({mint: mint.address, // Mint for the token being transferred.authority: client.payer, // Owner or delegate approving the transfer.recipient: recipient.address, // Account that owns the destination token account.amount: 25n, // Token amount in base units.decimals: 2 // Decimals defined on the mint account.}).sendTransaction();const [sourceTokenAccount] = await findAssociatedTokenPda({mint: mint.address,owner: client.payer.address,tokenProgram: TOKEN_PROGRAM_ADDRESS});const [destinationTokenAccount] = await findAssociatedTokenPda({mint: mint.address,owner: recipient.address,tokenProgram: TOKEN_PROGRAM_ADDRESS});const [sourceTokenAccountData, destinationTokenAccountData] =await client.token.accounts.token.fetchAll([sourceTokenAccount,destinationTokenAccount]);console.log("Mint Address:", mint.address);console.log("\nSource Token Account Address:", sourceTokenAccount);console.log("Source Token Account:", sourceTokenAccountData.data);console.log("\nDestination Token Account Address:", destinationTokenAccount);console.log("Destination Token Account:", destinationTokenAccountData.data);console.log("\nTransaction Signature:", result.context.signature);
Web3.js
import { Connection, Keypair, LAMPORTS_PER_SOL } from "@solana/web3.js";import {createAssociatedTokenAccount,createMint,getAccount,mintToChecked,TOKEN_PROGRAM_ID,transferChecked} from "@solana/spl-token";const result = await transferChecked(connection, // Connection to the local validator.feePayer, // Account paying transaction fees.feePayerATA, // Token account sending the tokens.mintPubkey, // Mint for the token being transferred.recipientATA, // Token account receiving the tokens.feePayer, // Owner or delegate approving the transfer.25, // Token amount in base units.2, // Decimals defined on the mint account.[], // Additional multisig signers.{commitment: "confirmed" // Confirmation options for the transaction.},TOKEN_PROGRAM_ID // Token program to invoke.);const senderTokenAccount = await getAccount(connection,feePayerATA,"confirmed",TOKEN_PROGRAM_ID);const recipientTokenAccount = await getAccount(connection,recipientATA,"confirmed",TOKEN_PROGRAM_ID);console.log("Mint Address:", mintPubkey.toBase58());console.log("\nSource Token Account Address:", feePayerATA.toBase58());console.log("Source Token Account:", senderTokenAccount);console.log("\nDestination Token Account Address:", recipientATA.toBase58());console.log("Destination Token Account:", recipientTokenAccount);console.log("\nTransaction Signature:", result);
Rust
use anyhow::Result;use solana_client::nonblocking::rpc_client::RpcClient;use solana_commitment_config::CommitmentConfig;use solana_sdk::{program_pack::Pack,signature::{Keypair, Signer},transaction::Transaction,};use solana_system_interface::instruction::create_account;use spl_associated_token_account_interface::{address::get_associated_token_address, instruction::create_associated_token_account,};use spl_token_interface::{id as token_program_id,instruction::{initialize_mint, mint_to_checked, transfer_checked},state::{Account, Mint},};#[tokio::main]async fn main() -> Result<()> {let client = RpcClient::new_with_commitment(String::from("http://localhost:8899"),CommitmentConfig::confirmed(),);let recipient = Keypair::new();let transfer_amount = 25;let transaction = Transaction::new_signed_with_payer(&[transfer_checked(&token_program_id(), // Token program to invoke.&source_token_address, // Token account sending the tokens.&mint.pubkey(), // Mint for the token being transferred.&destination_token_address, // Token account receiving the tokens.&fee_payer.pubkey(), // Owner or delegate approving the transfer.&[], // Additional multisig signers.transfer_amount, // Token amount in base units.decimals, // Decimals defined on the mint account.)?,],Some(&fee_payer.pubkey()),&[&fee_payer],latest_blockhash,);let transaction_signature = client.send_and_confirm_transaction(&transaction).await?;let source_token_account = client.get_account(&source_token_address).await?;let source_token_data = Account::unpack(&source_token_account.data)?;let destination_token_account = client.get_account(&destination_token_address).await?;let destination_token_data = Account::unpack(&destination_token_account.data)?;println!("Mint Address: {}", mint.pubkey());println!("\nSource Token Account Address: {}", source_token_address);println!("Source Token Account: {:#?}", source_token_data);println!("\nDestination Token Account Address: {}",destination_token_address);println!("Destination Token Account: {:#?}", destination_token_data);println!("\nTransaction Signature: {}", transaction_signature);Ok(())}
Python
#!/usr/bin/env python3import asyncioimport jsonfrom solana.rpc.async_api import AsyncClientfrom solders.keypair import Keypairfrom solders.message import Messagefrom solders.pubkey import Pubkeyfrom solders.system_program import create_account, CreateAccountParamsfrom solders.transaction import Transactionfrom spl.token.async_client import AsyncTokenfrom spl.token.instructions import (create_associated_token_account,get_associated_token_address,initialize_mint,InitializeMintParams,mint_to_checked,MintToCheckedParams,transfer_checked,TransferCheckedParams,)from spl.token.constants import MINT_LEN, TOKEN_PROGRAM_IDDECIMALS = 2AMOUNT_TO_MINT = 100AMOUNT_TO_TRANSFER = 25async def main():rpc = AsyncClient("http://localhost:8899")receiver = Keypair()async with rpc:transfer_tokens_instruction = transfer_checked(TransferCheckedParams(program_id=TOKEN_PROGRAM_ID, # Token program to invoke.source=source_token_account, # Token account sending the tokens.mint=mint.pubkey(), # Mint for the token being transferred.dest=destination_token_account, # Token account receiving the tokens.owner=fee_payer.pubkey(), # Account that owns the source token account.amount=AMOUNT_TO_TRANSFER, # Token amount in base units.decimals=DECIMALS, # Decimals defined on the mint account.))latest_blockhash = await rpc.get_latest_blockhash()transaction = Transaction([fee_payer],Message([transfer_tokens_instruction], fee_payer.pubkey()),latest_blockhash.value.blockhash,)result = await rpc.send_transaction(transaction)source_token_account_info = await token.get_account_info(source_token_account)destination_token_account_info = await token.get_account_info(destination_token_account)source_account = {key: str(value) if isinstance(value, Pubkey) else valuefor key, value in source_token_account_info._asdict().items()}destination_account = {key: str(value) if isinstance(value, Pubkey) else valuefor key, value in destination_token_account_info._asdict().items()}print("Mint Address:", mint.pubkey())print("\nSource Token Account Address:", source_token_account)print("Source Token Account:")print(json.dumps(source_account, indent=2))print("\nDestination Token Account Address:", destination_token_account)print("Destination Token Account:")print(json.dumps(destination_account, indent=2))print("\nTransaction Signature:", result.value)if __name__ == "__main__":asyncio.run(main())
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