Solana: Add instructions to versioned transactions

Adding Instructions to Versioned Transactions on Solana

Versioned transactions allow you to add additional information to your transactions, making it easier to manage complex data in your smart contracts. However, when working with versioned transactions, you need to be careful not to introduce errors or inconsistencies.

In this article, we’ll show you how to add instructions to a versioned transaction on Solana using the solana-program library and the @solana/program/script module.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have installed the required libraries:

npm install @solana-program/solana-script-program

or

yarn add @solana-program/solana-script-program

Initial Transaction Code with Instructions

const script = require('@solanaprogram/script');


// Define a function to generate instructions for the transaction

async function generateInstructions(

  payload,

  userPublicKey

) {

  // Create a new instruction that includes the quote response and user public key

  const instructions = [

    script Instruction({

      name: 'quoteResponse',

      args: [payload.quoteResponse],

    }),

    script Instruction({

      name: 'userPublicKey',

      args: [userPublicKey],

    }),

  ];


  return { instructions };

}


// Create a new transaction that includes the generated instructions

async function createTransaction(

  payload,

  userPublicKey

) {

  const transaction = await script.createTransaction(

    {

      fromPubkey: userPublicKey,

      amount: payload.amount,

      scriptLimit: true, // Enable versioning

    },

    generateInstructions(payload, userPublicKey)

  );


  return transaction;

}


// Example usage:

const payload = {

  quoteResponse: '

  amount: 10n,

};


const userPublicKey = 'your_user_public_key_here';

createTransaction(payload, userPublicKey).then((transaction) => {

  console.log(transaction);

}).catch((error) => {

  console.error(error);

});

How ​​it Works

In this example, we define a function generateInstructions that takes the transaction payload and user public key as arguments. This function creates two new instructions: one for the quote response and another for the user public key.

We then create a new transaction using the script.createTransaction method, passing in an object with the fromPubkey, amount, and scriptLimit options.

The scriptLimit option is set to true, which enables versioning of the transaction. This means that Solana will store multiple versions of the transaction history, each containing the same instructions but potentially with different values ​​for the quote response or user public key.

Best Practices

When working with versioned transactions:

• Always use scriptLimit with true to enable versioning.

• Use a consistent naming convention for your instructions (e.g., quoteResponse and userPublicKey).

• Keep your instruction data secure and do not share it publicly.

• Be aware of the potential impact on scalability and performance when storing multiple versions of transactions.

By following these guidelines, you can effectively use versioned transactions to manage complex data in your smart contracts.