Operations

Operations are the atomic actions that modify the Hive blockchain state. Every transaction contains one or more operations that execute sequentially when the transaction is included in a block.

What Are Operations?

In Hive, operations represent specific actions like voting, transferring funds, publishing content, or updating account settings. Each operation has:

A unique name (e.g., vote, transfer, comment)
A structured body containing the operation’s parameters
Specific authority requirements (which key type is needed)

Operation Structure

All operations follow the same tuple format:

type Operation = [operationName, operationBody]

For example, a vote operation:

const voteOp: Operation = [
  'vote',
  {
    voter: 'alice',
    author: 'bob',
    permlink: 'awesome-post',
    weight: 10000  // 100% upvote
  }
]

The tuple format [name, body] is Hive’s protocol-level structure. hive-tx preserves this for compatibility while adding TypeScript type safety.

Type-Safe Operations

hive-tx provides full TypeScript types for all operations. When you call addOperation(), you get autocomplete and type checking:

await tx.addOperation('transfer', {
  from: 'alice',
  to: 'bob',
  amount: '5.000 HIVE',
  memo: 'Thanks!'  // TypeScript knows this field exists
})

// TypeScript error: Property 'amount' is missing
await tx.addOperation('transfer', {
  from: 'alice',
  to: 'bob',
  memo: 'Oops, forgot amount!'
})

Type Inference

The addOperation method uses conditional types to ensure the body matches the operation name:

src/Transaction.ts:59

async addOperation<O extends OperationName>(
  operationName: O,
  operationBody: OperationBody<O>
): Promise<void>

This means TypeScript enforces that a vote operation must have VoteOperation structure, a transfer must have TransferOperation, etc.

Common Operations

Voting

Upvote or downvote content:

src/types.ts:45

await tx.addOperation('vote', {
  voter: 'alice',         // Your username
  author: 'bob',          // Post/comment author
  permlink: 'post-slug',  // Post/comment identifier
  weight: 10000           // -10000 to 10000 (100% downvote to 100% upvote)
})

Authority Required: Posting key

Vote Weight Explained

Vote weight ranges from -10000 to 10000:

10000 = 100% upvote
5000 = 50% upvote
0 = Remove vote
-10000 = 100% downvote (flag)

Transfer

Send HIVE or HBD between accounts:

src/types.ts:62

await tx.addOperation('transfer', {
  from: 'alice',
  to: 'bob',
  amount: '10.000 HIVE',  // Must include 3 decimal places and symbol
  memo: 'Payment for services'
})

Authority Required: Active key

Amounts must be formatted as strings with exactly 3 decimal places and the asset symbol (HIVE, HBD, or VESTS). Example: '1.000 HIVE'

Comment (Post/Reply)

Publish posts or replies:

src/types.ts:52

// Create a new post
await tx.addOperation('comment', {
  parent_author: '',              // Empty for top-level posts
  parent_permlink: 'hive',        // Category/tag for posts
  author: 'alice',
  permlink: 'my-post-slug',
  title: 'My First Post',
  body: 'This is the post content in markdown.',
  json_metadata: JSON.stringify({
    tags: ['hive', 'introduction'],
    app: 'my-app/1.0.0'
  })
})

// Create a reply
await tx.addOperation('comment', {
  parent_author: 'bob',           // Author of post you're replying to
  parent_permlink: 'post-slug',   // Permlink of parent post
  author: 'alice',
  permlink: 're-post-slug-20260304',  // Must be unique
  title: '',                      // Empty for replies
  body: 'Great post!',
  json_metadata: '{}'
})

Authority Required: Posting key

Custom JSON

Execute custom operations for apps and games:

src/types.ts:153

await tx.addOperation('custom_json', {
  required_auths: [],              // Active key authorities (use for financial ops)
  required_posting_auths: ['alice'], // Posting key authorities
  id: 'follow',                    // Operation identifier
  json: JSON.stringify([
    'follow',
    {
      follower: 'alice',
      following: 'bob',
      what: ['blog']  // Follow bob's blog
    }
  ])
})

Authority Required: Posting key (if using required_posting_auths) or Active key (if using required_auths)

Custom JSON operations are perfect for building social features, games, and app-specific logic without modifying the blockchain protocol.

All Available Operations

The complete operation types are defined in types.ts:

Social Operations

Financial Operations

transfer - Send HIVE/HBD
transfer_to_vesting - Power up HIVE to HP
withdraw_vesting - Start power down
transfer_to_savings - Move to savings
transfer_from_savings - Withdraw from savings (3-day delay)
claim_reward_balance - Claim pending rewards

Market Operations

limit_order_create - Place buy/sell order
limit_order_create2 - Advanced order with exchange rate
limit_order_cancel - Cancel existing order
convert - Convert HBD to HIVE (3.5 day delay)
collateralized_convert - Instant conversion with collateral

Account Operations

account_create - Create new account (paid)
account_create_with_delegation - Create with delegated HP
create_claimed_account - Create from claimed ticket
claim_account - Claim subsidized account creation
account_update - Update account authorities
account_update2 - Enhanced account update

Governance Operations

account_witness_vote - Vote for a witness
account_witness_proxy - Set witness vote proxy
update_proposal_votes - Vote on DHF proposals
witness_update - Update witness settings
witness_set_properties - Set witness properties

Advanced Operations

delegate_vesting_shares - Delegate HP to another account
comment_options - Set post payout options and beneficiaries
set_withdraw_vesting_route - Route power down to another account
escrow_transfer - Three-party escrow transaction
recurrent_transfer - Set up recurring payments

Operation Type Reference

View the full type definitions in the source:

src/types.ts:409

export type Operation =
  | ['vote', VoteOperation]
  | ['comment', CommentOperation]
  | ['transfer', TransferOperation]
  | ['transfer_to_vesting', TransferToVestingOperation]
  | ['withdraw_vesting', WithdrawVestingOperation]
  // ... 40+ operation types

Each operation body type is defined with all required and optional fields:

src/types.ts:45

export interface VoteOperation {
  voter: string
  author: string
  permlink: string
  weight: number
}

Full Type Definitions

View all operation types in the source code

Using Assets

Many operations require Asset values. You can use:

String Format

Simplest approach - use properly formatted strings:

amount: '10.000 HIVE'   // Must have 3 decimals and symbol
amount: '5.123 HBD'
amount: '1000.000000 VESTS'  // VESTS use 6 decimals

Asset Class

For calculations and conversions:

import { Asset } from 'hive-tx'

const amount = new Asset(10, 'HIVE')
await tx.addOperation('transfer', {
  from: 'alice',
  to: 'bob',
  amount: amount,  // Automatically serialized
  memo: ''
})

Authority Requirements

Each operation requires specific key types:

Operation Type	Required Authority
`vote`, `comment`, `custom_json` (posting)	Posting key
`transfer`, `account_update`	Active key
`account_create`, `witness_update`	Active key
`owner` authority changes	Owner key

Using the wrong key type will cause the transaction to fail validation. For example, you cannot transfer funds with a posting key.

Multiple Operations in One Transaction

You can batch multiple operations together:

const tx = new Transaction()

// Post content
await tx.addOperation('comment', { /* ... */ })

// Set beneficiaries
await tx.addOperation('comment_options', { /* ... */ })

// Vote on your own post
await tx.addOperation('vote', {
  voter: 'alice',
  author: 'alice',
  permlink: 'my-post',
  weight: 10000
})

// All execute together when broadcast
const key = PrivateKey.fromLogin('alice', 'password', 'posting')
tx.sign(key)
await tx.broadcast()

Batching operations saves bandwidth and ensures they execute atomically - either all succeed or all fail.

Next Steps

Transactions

Learn the full transaction lifecycle

Keys & Signatures

Understand authority and signing

Type Definitions

Browse all operation types

Build a Voting App

Practical operation examples

Get Started

Core Concepts

Guides

Examples

Migration

What Are Operations?

Operation Structure

Type-Safe Operations

Type Inference

Common Operations

Voting

Transfer

Comment (Post/Reply)

Custom JSON

All Available Operations

Operation Type Reference

Full Type Definitions

Using Assets

String Format

Asset Class

Authority Requirements

Multiple Operations in One Transaction

Next Steps

Transactions

Keys & Signatures

Type Definitions

Build a Voting App

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Core Concepts

Guides

Examples

Migration

​What Are Operations?

​Operation Structure

​Type-Safe Operations

​Type Inference

​Common Operations

​Voting

​Transfer

​Comment (Post/Reply)

​Custom JSON

​All Available Operations

​Operation Type Reference

Full Type Definitions

​Using Assets

​String Format

​Asset Class

​Authority Requirements

​Multiple Operations in One Transaction

​Next Steps

Transactions

Keys & Signatures

Type Definitions

Build a Voting App

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

What Are Operations?

Operation Structure

Type-Safe Operations

Type Inference

Common Operations

Voting

Transfer

Comment (Post/Reply)

Custom JSON

All Available Operations

Operation Type Reference

Using Assets

String Format

Asset Class

Authority Requirements

Multiple Operations in One Transaction

Next Steps