Transaction Structure and Types

Sui’s transaction model is unique in its support for Programmable Transaction Blocks (PTBs), which allow you to chain multiple operations together atomically. This enables complex operations to be executed efficiently in a single transaction.

Transaction Types

Sui supports several types of transactions:

#[derive(Debug, PartialEq, Eq, Hash, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize, IntoStaticStr)]
pub enum TransactionKind {
    /// A transaction that allows the interleaving of native commands and Move calls
    ProgrammableTransaction(ProgrammableTransaction),
    /// A system transaction that will update epoch information on-chain.
    ChangeEpoch(ChangeEpoch),
    Genesis(GenesisTransaction),
    ConsensusCommitPrologue(ConsensusCommitPrologue),
    AuthenticatorStateUpdate(AuthenticatorStateUpdate),
    EndOfEpochTransaction(Vec<EndOfEpochTransactionKind>),
    RandomnessStateUpdate(RandomnessStateUpdate),
    ConsensusCommitPrologueV2(ConsensusCommitPrologueV2),
    ConsensusCommitPrologueV3(ConsensusCommitPrologueV3),
    ConsensusCommitPrologueV4(ConsensusCommitPrologueV4),
    /// A system transaction that is expressed as a PTB
    ProgrammableSystemTransaction(ProgrammableTransaction),
}

Programmable Transactions

User-initiated transactions that can chain multiple commands

System Transactions

Special transactions for epoch changes and system state updates

Genesis Transaction

One-time transaction that initializes the network

Consensus Updates

Transactions that update consensus-related state

Programmable Transaction Blocks

Programmable transactions are the primary transaction type for users and applications.

Transaction Arguments

Transactions can take three types of arguments:

#[derive(Debug, PartialEq, Eq, Hash, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
pub enum CallArg {
    // contains no structs or objects
    Pure(Vec<u8>),
    // an object
    Object(ObjectArg),
    // Reservation to withdraw balance from a funds accumulator
    FundsWithdrawal(FundsWithdrawalArg),
}

Pure Arguments
Object Arguments
Funds Withdrawal

Pure values like numbers, strings, or addresses encoded as bytes:

const tx = new Transaction();
tx.moveCall({
    target: '0x2::coin::split',
    arguments: [
        tx.object(coinId),
        tx.pure.u64(1000), // Pure argument
    ],
});

References to on-chain objects:

pub enum ObjectArg {
    // A Move object from fastpath
    ImmOrOwnedObject(ObjectRef),
    // A Move object from consensus
    SharedObject {
        id: ObjectID,
        initial_shared_version: SequenceNumber,
        mutability: SharedObjectMutability,
    },
    // A Move object that can be received in this transaction
    Receiving(ObjectRef),
}

Withdraw from address balance accumulators:

pub struct FundsWithdrawalArg {
    /// The reservation of the funds accumulator to withdraw
    pub reservation: Reservation,
    /// The type argument of the funds accumulator to withdraw
    pub type_arg: WithdrawalTypeArg,
    /// The source of the funds to withdraw
    pub withdraw_from: WithdrawFrom,
}

pub enum WithdrawFrom {
    /// Withdraw from the sender of the transaction
    Sender,
    /// Withdraw from the sponsor of the transaction (gas owner)
    Sponsor,
}

Transaction Structure

Every transaction contains:

Sender

The address that signed and submitted the transaction

Gas Payment

One or more coin objects used to pay for gas

Gas Budget

Maximum amount of gas the transaction can consume

Gas Price

Price per unit of gas in MIST (1 SUI = 1B MIST)

Transaction Kind

The type and content of the transaction (programmable, system, etc.)

Expiration

Optional epoch after which the transaction becomes invalid

Entry Functions

Entry functions are special Move functions that can be called directly from transactions:

/// Entry functions can accept a reference to the `TxContext`
/// (mutable or immutable) as their last parameter.
entry fun share(bar: u64, ctx: &mut TxContext) {
    transfer::share_object(Foo {
        id: object::new(ctx),
        bar,
    })
}

/// Parameters passed to entry functions called in a programmable
/// transaction block must be inputs to the transaction block,
/// and not results of previous transactions.
entry fun update(foo: &mut Foo, ctx: &TxContext) {
    foo.bar = ctx.epoch();
}

/// Entry functions can return types that have `drop`.
entry fun bar(foo: &Foo): u64 {
    foo.bar
}

Entry Function Rules

Entry functions have special restrictions:

Can only return types with drop ability
Parameters in PTBs must be transaction inputs, not results from previous commands
Must have entry visibility modifier

Public Functions vs Entry Functions

Public Functions
Entry Functions

Can be called from other Move modules and chained in PTBs:

/// This function cannot be `entry` because it returns a value
/// that does not have `drop`.
public fun foo(ctx: &mut TxContext): Foo {
    Foo { id: object::new(ctx), bar: 0 }
}

Can return any type
Results can be passed to subsequent commands
More flexible for composition

Can be called directly from transactions but with limitations:

entry fun create_and_transfer(value: u64, recipient: address, ctx: &mut TxContext) {
    let obj = Object { id: object::new(ctx), value };
    transfer::public_transfer(obj, recipient);
}

Can only return types with drop
Cannot chain results in PTBs
Simpler for end users

Transaction Commands

Programmable transactions support various native commands:

MoveCall

Call a Move function

TransferObjects

Transfer objects to addresses

SplitCoins

Split coin into multiple coins

MergeCoins

Merge multiple coins into one

Publish

Publish a new Move package

MakeMoveVec

Create a vector of Move values

Upgrade

Upgrade an existing package

Shared Object Example

Here’s a practical example using a shared counter:

/// This example demonstrates a basic use of a shared object.
/// Rules:
/// - anyone can create and share a counter
/// - everyone can increment a counter by 1
/// - the owner of the counter can reset it to any value
module basics::counter {
    /// A shared counter.
    public struct Counter has key {
        id: UID,
        owner: address,
        value: u64,
    }

    /// Create and share a Counter object.
    public fun create(ctx: &mut TxContext) {
        transfer::share_object(Counter {
            id: object::new(ctx),
            owner: ctx.sender(),
            value: 0,
        })
    }

    /// Increment a counter by 1.
    public fun increment(counter: &mut Counter) {
        counter.value = counter.value + 1;
    }

    /// Set value (only runnable by the Counter owner)
    public fun set_value(counter: &mut Counter, value: u64, ctx: &TxContext) {
        assert!(counter.owner == ctx.sender());
        counter.value = value;
    }
}

Gas Configuration

From the source code:

pub const TEST_ONLY_GAS_UNIT_FOR_TRANSFER: u64 = 10_000;
pub const TEST_ONLY_GAS_UNIT_FOR_OBJECT_BASICS: u64 = 50_000;
pub const TEST_ONLY_GAS_UNIT_FOR_PUBLISH: u64 = 70_000;
pub const TEST_ONLY_GAS_UNIT_FOR_STAKING: u64 = 50_000;
pub const TEST_ONLY_GAS_UNIT_FOR_GENERIC: u64 = 50_000;
pub const TEST_ONLY_GAS_UNIT_FOR_SPLIT_COIN: u64 = 10_000;
pub const TEST_ONLY_GAS_UNIT_FOR_HEAVY_COMPUTATION_STORAGE: u64 = 5_000_000;

pub const GAS_PRICE_FOR_SYSTEM_TX: u64 = 1;
pub const DEFAULT_VALIDATOR_GAS_PRICE: u64 = 1000;

Type Argument Validation

Sui validates type arguments to prevent abuse:

fn type_input_validity_check(
    tag: &TypeInput,
    config: &ProtocolConfig,
    starting_count: &mut usize,
) -> UserInputResult<()> {
    let mut stack = vec![(tag, 1)];
    while let Some((tag, depth)) = stack.pop() {
        *starting_count += 1;
        fp_ensure!(
            *starting_count < config.max_type_arguments() as usize,
            UserInputError::SizeLimitExceeded {
                limit: "maximum type arguments in a call transaction".to_string(),
                value: config.max_type_arguments().to_string()
            }
        );
        fp_ensure!(
            depth < config.max_type_argument_depth(),
            UserInputError::SizeLimitExceeded {
                limit: "maximum type argument depth in a call transaction".to_string(),
                value: config.max_type_argument_depth().to_string()
            }
        );
        // ... validation logic
    }
    Ok(())
}

End-of-Epoch Transactions

Special transactions that run at epoch boundaries:

pub enum EndOfEpochTransactionKind {
    ChangeEpoch(ChangeEpoch),
    AuthenticatorStateCreate,
    AuthenticatorStateExpire(AuthenticatorStateExpire),
    RandomnessStateCreate,
    DenyListStateCreate,
    BridgeStateCreate(ChainIdentifier),
    BridgeCommitteeInit(SequenceNumber),
    StoreExecutionTimeObservations(StoredExecutionTimeObservations),
    AccumulatorRootCreate,
    CoinRegistryCreate,
    DisplayRegistryCreate,
    AddressAliasStateCreate,
    WriteAccumulatorStorageCost(WriteAccumulatorStorageCost),
}

Best Practices

Use programmable transactions

Combine multiple operations in a single transaction for atomicity:

const tx = new Transaction();
const [coin] = tx.splitCoins(tx.gas, [1000]);
tx.moveCall({
    target: `${packageId}::my_module::do_something`,
    arguments: [tx.object(objectId), coin],
});

Set appropriate gas budgets

Set gas budgets high enough to cover execution but not wastefully high:

Simple transfers: ~1M gas units
Complex operations: ~10M+ gas units
Package publishing: ~100M+ gas units

Handle gas price correctly

Use current reference gas price or higher:

const gasPrice = await client.getReferenceGasPrice();
tx.setGasPrice(gasPrice);

Minimize shared object usage

Shared objects require consensus and are slower. Prefer owned objects when possible.

Transaction Lifecycle

Understand transaction execution flow

Gas Pricing

Learn about gas costs

Architecture

Objects & Ownership

Transactions

Move Language

Tokenomics

Transaction Structure and Types

Transaction Types

Programmable Transactions

System Transactions

Genesis Transaction

Consensus Updates

Programmable Transaction Blocks

Transaction Arguments

Transaction Structure

Entry Functions

Entry Function Rules

Public Functions vs Entry Functions

Transaction Commands

MoveCall

TransferObjects

SplitCoins

MergeCoins

Publish

MakeMoveVec

Upgrade

Shared Object Example

Gas Configuration

Type Argument Validation

End-of-Epoch Transactions

Best Practices

Transaction Lifecycle

Gas Pricing

Sponsored Transactions

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Architecture

Objects & Ownership

Transactions

Move Language

Tokenomics

​Transaction Types

Programmable Transactions

System Transactions

Genesis Transaction

Consensus Updates

​Programmable Transaction Blocks

​Transaction Arguments

​Transaction Structure

​Entry Functions

​Entry Function Rules

​Public Functions vs Entry Functions

​Transaction Commands

MoveCall

TransferObjects

SplitCoins

MergeCoins

Publish

MakeMoveVec

Upgrade

​Shared Object Example

​Gas Configuration

​Type Argument Validation

​End-of-Epoch Transactions

​Best Practices

​Related Topics

Transaction Lifecycle

Gas Pricing

Sponsored Transactions

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Transaction Types

Programmable Transaction Blocks

Transaction Arguments

Transaction Structure

Entry Functions

Entry Function Rules

Public Functions vs Entry Functions

Transaction Commands

Shared Object Example

Gas Configuration

Type Argument Validation

End-of-Epoch Transactions

Best Practices

Related Topics