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Transactions are the core building blocks for interacting with the Hive blockchain. This guide shows you how to create transactions with different types of operations.

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Basic Transaction Flow

1

Import the Transaction class

import { Transaction, PrivateKey } from 'hive-tx'
2

Create a new transaction

const tx = new Transaction()
You can optionally set a custom expiration time (in milliseconds):
const tx = new Transaction({ expiration: 120_000 }) // 2 minutes
Default expiration is 60 seconds (60,000 ms). Maximum is 24 hours (86,400,000 ms).
3

Add operations to the transaction

Use addOperation() to add operations. This method automatically creates the transaction structure on first call:
await tx.addOperation('transfer', {
  from: 'alice',
  to: 'bob',
  amount: '1.000 HIVE',
  memo: 'Payment for services'
})
4

Sign and broadcast

const privateKey = PrivateKey.from('5JdeC9P7Pbd1uGdFVEsJ41EkEnADbbHGq6p1BwFxm6txNBsQnsw')
tx.sign(privateKey)
const result = await tx.broadcast()
console.log('Transaction ID:', result.tx_id)

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Transfer Operation

Send HIVE or HBD tokens between accounts: 
import { Transaction, PrivateKey } from 'hive-tx'

const tx = new Transaction()

await tx.addOperation('transfer', {
  from: 'alice',
  to: 'bob',
  amount: '1.000 HIVE',
  memo: 'Thanks for the help!'
})

const key = PrivateKey.fromLogin('alice', 'password', 'active')
tx.sign(key)
await tx.broadcast()
For transfers, you need the account’s active key.

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Vote Operation

Upvote or downvote content: 
const tx = new Transaction()

// Upvote at 100%
await tx.addOperation('vote', {
  voter: 'alice',
  author: 'bob',
  permlink: 'my-awesome-post',
  weight: 10000 // 100% = 10000, 50% = 5000
})

// Downvote at 50%
await tx.addOperation('vote', {
  voter: 'alice',
  author: 'spammer',
  permlink: 'spam-post',
  weight: -5000 // negative for downvote
})

const key = PrivateKey.fromLogin('alice', 'password', 'posting')
tx.sign(key)
await tx.broadcast()
Vote weight ranges from -10000 (100% downvote) to 10000 (100% upvote). Use posting key for voting.

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Comment Operation

Create posts and comments: 
const tx = new Transaction()

// Create a new post
await tx.addOperation('comment', {
  parent_author: '',
  parent_permlink: 'hive', // category/tag
  author: 'alice',
  permlink: 'my-first-post',
  title: 'My First Post',
  body: 'Hello Hive! This is my first post.',
  json_metadata: JSON.stringify({
    tags: ['hive', 'introduction'],
    app: 'my-app/1.0'
  })
})

const key = PrivateKey.fromLogin('alice', 'password', 'posting')
tx.sign(key)
await tx.broadcast()
Create a comment (reply): 
const tx = new Transaction()

await tx.addOperation('comment', {
  parent_author: 'bob',
  parent_permlink: 'bobs-post',
  author: 'alice',
  permlink: 're-bobs-post-20240101',
  title: '',
  body: 'Great post! Thanks for sharing.',
  json_metadata: JSON.stringify({ app: 'my-app/1.0' })
})

const key = PrivateKey.fromLogin('alice', 'password', 'posting')
tx.sign(key)
await tx.broadcast()

​
Custom JSON Operation

Execute custom operations for apps and games: 
const tx = new Transaction()

await tx.addOperation('custom_json', {
  required_auths: [], // Use for active authority
  required_posting_auths: ['alice'], // Use for posting authority
  id: 'follow', // operation ID
  json: JSON.stringify([
    'follow',
    {
      follower: 'alice',
      following: 'bob',
      what: ['blog'] // can be ['blog'], ['ignore'], or []
    }
  ])
})

const key = PrivateKey.fromLogin('alice', 'password', 'posting')
tx.sign(key)
await tx.broadcast()

​
Delegate Vesting Shares

Delegate HIVE Power to another account: 
const tx = new Transaction()

await tx.addOperation('delegate_vesting_shares', {
  delegator: 'alice',
  delegatee: 'bob',
  vesting_shares: '1000.000000 VESTS' // Use VESTS, not HP
})

const key = PrivateKey.fromLogin('alice', 'password', 'active')
tx.sign(key)
await tx.broadcast()
Delegation amounts must be in VESTS, not HIVE Power. Use conversion APIs to calculate VESTS from HP.

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Multiple Operations in One Transaction

You can add multiple operations to a single transaction: 
const tx = new Transaction()

// Upvote a post
await tx.addOperation('vote', {
  voter: 'alice',
  author: 'bob',
  permlink: 'great-post',
  weight: 10000
})

// Leave a comment
await tx.addOperation('comment', {
  parent_author: 'bob',
  parent_permlink: 'great-post',
  author: 'alice',
  permlink: 're-great-post',
  title: '',
  body: 'Excellent work!',
  json_metadata: '{}'
})

const key = PrivateKey.fromLogin('alice', 'password', 'posting')
tx.sign(key)
await tx.broadcast()

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Transaction Expiration

Control when your transaction expires: 
// Expire in 30 seconds
const tx1 = new Transaction({ expiration: 30_000 })

// Expire in 5 minutes
const tx2 = new Transaction({ expiration: 300_000 })

// Expire in 1 hour
const tx3 = new Transaction({ expiration: 3_600_000 })
Transactions that haven’t been included in a block when they expire will be dropped from the mempool.

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Error Handling

Always wrap transaction creation and broadcasting in try-catch blocks: 
import { Transaction, PrivateKey, RPCError } from 'hive-tx'

try {
  const tx = new Transaction()
  
  await tx.addOperation('transfer', {
    from: 'alice',
    to: 'bob',
    amount: '1.000 HIVE',
    memo: 'Payment'
  })
  
  const key = PrivateKey.from('5J...')
  tx.sign(key)
  
  const result = await tx.broadcast()
  console.log('Success! TX ID:', result.tx_id)
  
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof RPCError) {
    console.error('RPC Error:', error.message)
    console.error('Error code:', error.code)
    console.error('Error data:', error.data)
  } else {
    console.error('Error:', error.message)
  }
}

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Common Errors

Missing Required Authority: Ensure you’re using the correct key type (posting, active, or owner) for your operation.
Insufficient Funds: Check account balance before transferring or delegating.
Invalid Operation Data: Verify all required fields are present and formatted correctly.

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Next Steps

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