How to use the Transfer Hook extension

The Transfer Hook extension and Transfer Hook Interface introduce the ability to create Mint Accounts that execute custom instruction logic on every token transfer.

This unlocks many new use cases for token transfers, such as:

Enforcing NFT royalties
Black or white list wallets that can receive tokens
Implementing custom fees on token transfers
Creating custom token transfer events
Track statistics over your token transfers
And many more

To achieve this, developers must build a program that implements the Transfer Hook Interface and initialize a Mint Account with the Transfer Hook extension enabled.

For every token transfer involving tokens from the Mint Account, the Token Extensions program makes a Cross Program Invocation (CPI) to execute an instruction on the Transfer Hook program.

Info

When the Token Extensions program CPIs to a Transfer Hook program, all accounts from the initial transfer are converted to read-only accounts. This means the signer privileges of the sender do not extend to the Transfer Hook program.

This design decision is made to prevent malicious use of Transfer Hook programs.

In this guide, we will create a Transfer Hook program using the Anchor framework however, it is possible to implement the Transfer Hook Interface using a native program as well. Learn more about Anchor framework here: Anchor Framework

Transfer Hook Interface Overview #

The Transfer Hook Interface provides a way for developers to implement custom instruction logic that is executed on every token transfer for a specific Mint Account.

The Transfer Hook Interface specifies the following instructions:

Execute: An instruction that the Token Extension program invokes on every token transfer.
InitializeExtraAccountMetaList (optional): Creates an account that stores a list of additional accounts required by the custom Execute instruction.
UpdateExtraAccountMetaList (optional): Updates the list of additional accounts by overwriting the existing list.

It is technically not required to implement the InitializeExtraAccountMetaList instruction using the interface. The account can be created by any instruction on a Transfer Hook program.

However, the Program Derived Address (PDA) for the account must be derived using the following seeds:

The hard coded string "extra-account-metas"
The Mint Account address
The Transfer Hook program ID

const [pda] = PublicKey.findProgramAddressSync(
  [Buffer.from("extra-account-metas"), mint.publicKey.toBuffer()],
  program.programId, // transfer hook program ID
);

By storing the extra accounts required by the Execute instruction in the predefined PDA, these accounts can be automatically added to a token transfer instruction from the client.

Hello-world Transfer hook #

This example is the hello world of transfer hooks. It is a simple transfer hook that will just print a message on every token transfer. We start by opening the example in Solana Playground, an online tool to build and deploy solana programs: link

The example consists of an anchor program which implements the transfer hook interface and a test file to test the program.

This program will only include 3 instructions:

initialize_extra_account_meta_list: Creates an account that stores a list of extra accounts required by the transfer_hook instruction. In the hello world we leave this empty.
transfer_hook: This instruction is invoked via CPI on every token transfer to perform a wrapped SOL token transfer.
fallback: Because we are using Anchor and the token program is a native program we need to add a fallback instruction to manually match the instruction discriminator and invoke our custom transfer_hook instruction. You don't need to change this function.

Every time the token gets transferred this transfer_hook function will be called by the token program.

pub fn transfer_hook(ctx: Context<TransferHook>, amount: u64) -> Result<()> {
 
    msg!("Hello Transfer Hook!");
 
    Ok(())
}

In this function you can now add your additional logic. For example, you could let the transfer fail whenever an amount is transferred that is bigger than 50 like so:

#[error_code]
pub enum MyError {
    #[msg("The amount is too big")]
    AmountTooBig,
}
 
pub fn transfer_hook(ctx: Context<TransferHook>, amount: u64) -> Result<()> {
 
    msg!("Hello Transfer Hook!");
 
    if amount > 50 {
        return err!(MyError::AmountTooBig);
    }
 
    Ok(())
}

To run the example in Solana Playground follow this link: link

In Playground's terminal, run the build command which will update the value of declare_id in the lib.rs file with a newly generated program ID. Then run the deploy command to deploy your program to devnet. When when the program is deployed you can run the test file by using the test command in the terminal.

This will then give you the output similar to this:

  transfer-hook.test.ts:
  transfer-hook
    Transaction Signature: kB8Hkn8NEavK7xztEhQZXKSeidgEK81PZNmgSSodZFVyzM9o18GwNi4bDWD9Q3cbmh75Vn1jqyinYH3YdgJfnuJ
    ✔ Create Mint Account with Transfer Hook Extension (539ms)
    Transaction Signature: Bf9eYieas6jpV8UxS5upuRv2oMebDdHgDstLMw86ptM7cd4qRpaxRyFYmNZC1WZMcDXP68PoGoApUrrrQKeBbJA
    ✔ Create Token Accounts and Mint Tokens (744ms)
    Transaction Signature: 3oRtCjM6oSdkxQKUyGF3r6hmZGLUpNefihHoGQT5cftRPeQtimvVukLPvb3PSpvLrUsoCWBnz6nSm6ZbPRUhx7UP
    ✔ Create ExtraAccountMetaList Account (728ms)
    Transfer Signature: WNAWK2o7wWpVCqPz2uoMtHRe1F5B1jfW8v4kezdQYqaXE3nRAPfqUFkFHg31uYmpZCjncZUwo4g9ZuhgMC9cS1i
    ✔ Transfer Hook with Extra Account Meta (1327ms)
  4 passing (3s)

If you do not want to use javascript to create your token, you can also use the spl-token command from the Solana CLI after you deployed your program:

spl-token --program-id TokenzQdBNbLqP5VEhdkAS6EPFLC1PHnBqCXEpPxuEb create-token --transfer-hook yourTransferHookProgramId

Counter Transfer hook #

The next example will show you how you can increase a counter every time your token has been transferred. link

If you want to add logic to your transfer hook that needs additional accounts you need to add them to the ExtraAccountMetaList account. In our case here we want a PDA which saves the amount how often the token has been transferred.

This can be done by adding the following code to the initialize_extra_account_meta_list instruction:

let account_metas = vec![
    ExtraAccountMeta::new_with_seeds(
        &[Seed::Literal {
            bytes: "counter".as_bytes().to_vec(),
        }],
        false, // is_signer
        true,  // is_writable
    )?,
];

And we also need to create this account when we initialize the new mint account and we need to pass it in every time we transfer the token.

#[derive(Accounts)]
pub struct InitializeExtraAccountMetaList<'info> {
    #[account(mut)]
    payer: Signer<'info>,
 
    /// CHECK: ExtraAccountMetaList Account, must use these seeds
    #[account(
        mut,
        seeds = [b"extra-account-metas", mint.key().as_ref()],
        bump
    )]
    pub extra_account_meta_list: AccountInfo<'info>,
    pub mint: InterfaceAccount<'info, Mint>,
    #[account(
        init_if_needed,
        seeds = [b"counter"],
        bump,
        payer = payer,
        space = 16
    )]
    pub counter_account: Account<'info, CounterAccount>,
    pub token_program: Interface<'info, TokenInterface>,
    pub associated_token_program: Program<'info, AssociatedToken>,
    pub system_program: Program<'info, System>,
}
 
#[derive(Accounts)]
pub struct TransferHook<'info> {
    #[account(
        token::mint = mint,
        token::authority = owner,
    )]
    pub source_token: InterfaceAccount<'info, TokenAccount>,
    pub mint: InterfaceAccount<'info, Mint>,
    #[account(
        token::mint = mint,
    )]
    pub destination_token: InterfaceAccount<'info, TokenAccount>,
    /// CHECK: source token account owner, can be SystemAccount or PDA owned by another program
    pub owner: UncheckedAccount<'info>,
    /// CHECK: ExtraAccountMetaList Account,
    #[account(
        seeds = [b"extra-account-metas", mint.key().as_ref()],
        bump
    )]
    pub extra_account_meta_list: UncheckedAccount<'info>,
    #[account(
        mut,
        seeds = [b"counter"],
        bump
    )]
    pub counter_account: Account<'info, CounterAccount>,
}

And the account will hold a u64 counter variable:

#[account]
pub struct CounterAccount {
    counter: u64,
}

Now in our transfer hook function we can just increase this counter by one every time it gets called:

pub fn transfer_hook(ctx: Context<TransferHook>, amount: u64) -> Result<()> {
 
    ctx.accounts.counter_account.counter.checked_add(1).unwrap();
    msg!("This token has been transferred {0} times", ctx.accounts.counter_account.counter);
 
    Ok(())
}

In the client these additional accounts are added automatically by the helper function createTransferCheckedWithTransferHookInstruction:

let transferInstructionWithHelper =
  await createTransferCheckedWithTransferHookInstruction(
    connection,
    sourceTokenAccount,
    mint.publicKey,
    destinationTokenAccount,
    wallet.publicKey,
    amountBigInt,
    decimals,
    [],
    "confirmed",
    TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID,
  );

To run the example in Solana Playground follow this link: link

And then in there type build which will update the value of declare_id in the lib.rs file with a newly generated program ID. Then type deploy to deploy your program to devnet. When when the program is deployed you can run the test file by typing test in the terminal.

This will then give you the following output. In last transaction you will then able to see how often your token has been transferred:

"This token has been transferred 1 times"

Running tests...
  transfer-hook.test.ts:
  transfer-hook
    Transaction Signature: 48r6effAA4B9RVh13eBXdGjmcPKcm6QwnvodX2dT5nNfJyzoS3AejqatKXyqcmpzPdcmpTjgALnd1xx7v17ggptV
    ✔ Create Mint Account with Transfer Hook Extension (545ms)
    Transaction Signature: nfkBH6cbM5c94od3VG4QmxHkXJzm6VEFxogbQKpd7gERJNgESyu1gEjLJnPiUer59sXnx787eB6hYBkhdkFnzdL
    ✔ Create Token Accounts and Mint Tokens (354ms)
    Extra accounts meta: null
    Transaction Signature: 4T6FS3Y95Kjkf9fy5jtCYWo2Wf1SSQKmo6GUK2YqXEcgR4Wrr6aLmnoEBcBNCpEv4ALbJuwu5KtVdxb1S3ynMPJY
    ✔ Create ExtraAccountMetaList Account (695ms)
    Extra accounts meta: 9mifVeGPh7CHyf1NrcUWzzVKMU7g3AwQ6L3md3fMNqju
    Counter PDa: 334HLdMwbhSGYf8QWHHmEkeZf6x6caXGF6oxVnCEmaQd
    Transfer Signature: 32zoL4oTC3XPVsgeDmT3KsTS4v8U4qe3GPKMF72QX5eSHgAFagKEyvRrGuoP2UEGLpj41Ygm9dSRi5YKghxS24EN
    ✔ Transfer Hook with Extra Account Meta (776ms)
  4 passing (2s)

Transfer Hook with wSOl Transfer fee (advanced example) #

In the next part of this guide, we will build a more advanced Transfer Hook program using the Anchor framework. This program will require the sender to pay a wSOL fee for every token transfer.

The wSOL transfers will be executed using a delegate that is a PDA derived from the Transfer Hook program. This is necessary because the signature from the initial sender of the token transfer instruction is not accessible in the Transfer Hook program.

This program will only include 3 instructions:

initialize_extra_account_meta_list: Creates an account that stores a list of extra accounts required by the transfer_hook instruction.
transfer_hook: This instruction is invoked via CPI on every token transfer to perform a wrapped SOL token transfer.
fallback: The transfer hook interface instructions have specific discriminators (instruction identifiers). In an Anchor program, we can use a fallback instruction to manually match the instruction discriminator and invoke our custom transfer_hook instruction.

This program will require the sender to pay a fee in wrapped SOL (wSOL) on every token transfer. Here is the final program.

Getting Started #

Start by opening this Solana Playground link and then click the "Import" button to copy the project.

The starter code includes a lib.rs and transfer-hook.test.ts file which are scaffolded for the program we will be creating. In the lib.rs file you should see the following code:

use anchor_lang::{
    prelude::*,
    system_program::{create_account, CreateAccount},
};
use anchor_spl::{
    associated_token::AssociatedToken,
    token_interface::{transfer_checked, Mint, TokenAccount, TokenInterface, TransferChecked},
};
use spl_tlv_account_resolution::{
    account::ExtraAccountMeta, seeds::Seed, state::ExtraAccountMetaList,
};
use spl_transfer_hook_interface::instruction::{ExecuteInstruction, TransferHookInstruction};
 
declare_id!("E6wu6Nykdra8gXs57Zqo7hY6DLaWugTmD3uuuBmX2Vxt");
 
#[program]
pub mod transfer_hook {
    use super::*;
 
    pub fn initialize_extra_account_meta_list(
        ctx: Context<InitializeExtraAccountMetaList>,
    ) -> Result<()> {
        Ok(())
    }
 
    pub fn transfer_hook(ctx: Context<TransferHook>, amount: u64) -> Result<()> {
        Ok(())
    }
 
    pub fn fallback<'info>(
        program_id: &Pubkey,
        accounts: &'info [AccountInfo<'info>],
        data: &[u8],
    ) -> Result<()> {
        Ok(())
    }
}
 
#[derive(Accounts)]
pub struct InitializeExtraAccountMetaList {}
 
#[derive(Accounts)]
pub struct TransferHook {}

Once you've imported the project, build the program by using the build command in the Playground terminal.

build

This will update the value of declare_id in the lib.rs file with a newly generated program ID.

Initialize ExtraAccountMetas Account Instruction #

In this step, we will implement the initialize_extra_account_meta_list instruction for our Transfer Hook program. This instruction creates an ExtraAccountMetas account, which will store the additional accounts required by our transfer_hook instruction.

In this example, the initialize_extra_account_meta_list instruction requires 7 accounts:

payer: The account used to pay for the creation of the ExtraAccountMetas account.
extra_account_meta_list: The ExtraAccountMetas account created to store the list of accounts required by our transfer_hook instruction.
mint: The Mint Account that points to this Transfer Hook program. The mint address is a required seed for deriving the extra_account_meta_list PDA.
wsol_mint: The wrapped SOL mint.
token_program: The original Token program ID
associated_token_program: The Associated Token program ID.
system_program: The system program, which is a required account when creating new accounts.

The addresses for wsol_mint, wsol_mint, and associated_token_program will be used to derive the addresses for the wSOL Associated Token Accounts. These accounts are required by the transfer_hook instruction and will be stored on the ExtraAccountMetas account.

Update the InitializeExtraAccountMetaList struct by replacing the following starter code:

#[derive(Accounts)]
pub struct InitializeExtraAccountMetaList {}

With the code provided below:

#[derive(Accounts)]
pub struct InitializeExtraAccountMetaList<'info> {
    #[account(mut)]
    payer: Signer<'info>,
 
    /// CHECK: ExtraAccountMetaList Account, must use these seeds
    #[account(
        mut,
        seeds = [b"extra-account-metas", mint.key().as_ref()],
        bump
    )]
    pub extra_account_meta_list: AccountInfo<'info>,
    pub mint: InterfaceAccount<'info, Mint>,
    pub wsol_mint: InterfaceAccount<'info, Mint>,
    pub token_program: Interface<'info, TokenInterface>,
    pub associated_token_program: Program<'info, AssociatedToken>,
    pub system_program: Program<'info, System>,
}

Next, update the initialize_extra_account_meta_listinstruction by replacing the following starter code:

pub fn initialize_extra_account_meta_list(
    ctx: Context<InitializeExtraAccountMetaList>,
) -> Result<()> {
    Ok(())
}

With the code below:

pub fn initialize_extra_account_meta_list(
        ctx: Context<InitializeExtraAccountMetaList>,
    ) -> Result<()> {
        // index 0-3 are the accounts required for token transfer (source, mint, destination, owner)
        // index 4 is address of ExtraAccountMetaList account
        // The `addExtraAccountsToInstruction` JS helper function resolving incorrectly
        let account_metas = vec![
            // index 5, wrapped SOL mint
            ExtraAccountMeta::new_with_pubkey(&ctx.accounts.wsol_mint.key(), false, false)?,
            // index 6, token program
            ExtraAccountMeta::new_with_pubkey(&ctx.accounts.token_program.key(), false, false)?,
            // index 7, associated token program
            ExtraAccountMeta::new_with_pubkey(
                &ctx.accounts.associated_token_program.key(),
                false,
                false,
            )?,
            // index 8, delegate PDA
            ExtraAccountMeta::new_with_seeds(
                &[Seed::Literal {
                    bytes: "delegate".as_bytes().to_vec(),
                }],
                false, // is_signer
                false,  // is_writable
            )?,
            // index 9, delegate wrapped SOL token account
            ExtraAccountMeta::new_external_pda_with_seeds(
                7, // associated token program index
                &[
                    Seed::AccountKey { index: 8 }, // owner index (delegate PDA)
                    Seed::AccountKey { index: 6 }, // token program index
                    Seed::AccountKey { index: 5 }, // wsol mint index
                ],
                false, // is_signer
                true,  // is_writable
            )?,
            // index 10, sender wrapped SOL token account
            ExtraAccountMeta::new_external_pda_with_seeds(
                7, // associated token program index
                &[
                    Seed::AccountKey { index: 3 }, // owner index
                    Seed::AccountKey { index: 6 }, // token program index
                    Seed::AccountKey { index: 5 }, // wsol mint index
                ],
                false, // is_signer
                true,  // is_writable
            )?,
        ];
 
        // calculate account size
        let account_size = ExtraAccountMetaList::size_of(account_metas.len())? as u64;
        // calculate minimum required lamports
        let lamports = Rent::get()?.minimum_balance(account_size as usize);
 
        let mint = ctx.accounts.mint.key();
        let signer_seeds: &[&[&[u8]]] = &[&[
            b"extra-account-metas",
            &mint.as_ref(),
            &[ctx.bumps.extra_account_meta_list],
        ]];
 
        // create ExtraAccountMetaList account
        create_account(
            CpiContext::new(
                ctx.accounts.system_program.to_account_info(),
                CreateAccount {
                    from: ctx.accounts.payer.to_account_info(),
                    to: ctx.accounts.extra_account_meta_list.to_account_info(),
                },
            )
            .with_signer(signer_seeds),
            lamports,
            account_size,
            ctx.program_id,
        )?;
 
        // initialize ExtraAccountMetaList account with extra accounts
        ExtraAccountMetaList::init::<ExecuteInstruction>(
            &mut ctx.accounts.extra_account_meta_list.try_borrow_mut_data()?,
            &account_metas,
        )?;
 
        Ok(())
    }

Let's walk through the updated instruction logic. We begin by listing the additional accounts that need to be stored on the ExtraAccountMetas account.

// index 0-3 are the accounts required for token transfer (source, mint, destination, owner)
// index 4 is address of ExtraAccountMetaList account
// The `addExtraAccountsToInstruction` JS helper function resolving incorrectly
let account_metas = vec![
    // index 5, wrapped SOL mint
    ExtraAccountMeta::new_with_pubkey(&ctx.accounts.wsol_mint.key(), false, false)?,
    // index 6, token program
    ExtraAccountMeta::new_with_pubkey(&ctx.accounts.token_program.key(), false, false)?,
    // index 7, associated token program
    ExtraAccountMeta::new_with_pubkey(
        &ctx.accounts.associated_token_program.key(),
        false,
        false,
    )?,
    // index 8, delegate PDA
    ExtraAccountMeta::new_with_seeds(
        &[Seed::Literal {
            bytes: "delegate".as_bytes().to_vec(),
        }],
        false, // is_signer
        true,  // is_writable
    )?,
    // index 9, delegate wrapped SOL token account
    ExtraAccountMeta::new_external_pda_with_seeds(
        7, // associated token program index
        &[
            Seed::AccountKey { index: 8 }, // owner index (delegate PDA)
            Seed::AccountKey { index: 6 }, // token program index
            Seed::AccountKey { index: 5 }, // wsol mint index
        ],
        false, // is_signer
        true,  // is_writable
    )?,
    // index 10, sender wrapped SOL token account
    ExtraAccountMeta::new_external_pda_with_seeds(
        7, // associated token program index
        &[
            Seed::AccountKey { index: 3 }, // owner index
            Seed::AccountKey { index: 6 }, // token program index
            Seed::AccountKey { index: 5 }, // wsol mint index
        ],
        false, // is_signer
        true,  // is_writable
    )?,
];

There are three methods for storing these accounts:

Directly store the account address:
- Wrapped SOL mint address
- Token Program ID
- Associated Token Program ID

// index 5, wrapped SOL mint
ExtraAccountMeta::new_with_pubkey(&ctx.accounts.wsol_mint.key(), false, false)?,
// index 6, token program
ExtraAccountMeta::new_with_pubkey(&ctx.accounts.token_program.key(), false, false)?,
// index 7, associated token program
ExtraAccountMeta::new_with_pubkey(
    &ctx.accounts.associated_token_program.key(),
    false,
    false,
)?,

Store the seeds to derive a PDA for the Transfer Hook program:
- Delegate PDA

// index 8, delegate PDA
ExtraAccountMeta::new_with_seeds(
    &[Seed::Literal {
        bytes: "delegate".as_bytes().to_vec(),
    }],
    false, // is_signer
    false,  // is_writable
)?,

Store the seeds to derive a PDA for a program other than the Transfer Hook program:
- Delegate wSOL Associated Token Account
- Sender wSOL Associated Token Account

// index 9, delegate wrapped SOL token account
ExtraAccountMeta::new_external_pda_with_seeds(
    7, // associated token program index
    &[
        Seed::AccountKey { index: 8 }, // owner index (delegate PDA)
        Seed::AccountKey { index: 6 }, // token program index
        Seed::AccountKey { index: 5 }, // wsol mint index
    ],
    false, // is_signer
    true,  // is_writable
)?,
// index 10, sender wrapped SOL token account
ExtraAccountMeta::new_external_pda_with_seeds(
    7, // associated token program index
    &[
        Seed::AccountKey { index: 3 }, // owner index
        Seed::AccountKey { index: 6 }, // token program index
        Seed::AccountKey { index: 5 }, // wsol mint index
    ],
    false, // is_signer
    true,  // is_writable
)?,

Next, we calculate the size and rent required to store the list of ExtraAccountMetas.

// calculate account size
let account_size = ExtraAccountMetaList::size_of(account_metas.len())? as u64;
// calculate minimum required lamports
let lamports = Rent::get()?.minimum_balance(account_size as usize);

Next, we make a CPI to the System Program to create an account and set the Transfer Hook Program as the owner. The PDA seeds are included as signer seeds on the CPI because we are using the PDA as the address of the new account.

let mint = ctx.accounts.mint.key();
let signer_seeds: &[&[&[u8]]] = &[&[
    b"extra-account-metas",
    &mint.as_ref(),
    &[ctx.bumps.extra_account_meta_list],
]];
 
// create ExtraAccountMetaList account
create_account(
    CpiContext::new(
        ctx.accounts.system_program.to_account_info(),
        CreateAccount {
            from: ctx.accounts.payer.to_account_info(),
            to: ctx.accounts.extra_account_meta_list.to_account_info(),
        },
    )
    .with_signer(signer_seeds),
    lamports,
    account_size,
    ctx.program_id,
)?;

Once we’ve created the account, we initialize the account data to store the list of ExtraAccountMetas.

// initialize ExtraAccountMetaList account with extra accounts
ExtraAccountMetaList::init::<ExecuteInstruction>(
    &mut ctx.accounts.extra_account_meta_list.try_borrow_mut_data()?,
    &account_metas,
)?;

Info

In this example, we are not using the Transfer Hook interface to create the ExtraAccountMetas account.

Custom Transfer Hook Instruction #

Next, let’s implement the custom transfer_hook instruction. This is the instruction the Token Extension program will invoke on every token transfer.

In this example, we will require a fee paid in wSOL for every token transfer. For simplicity, the fee amount equals the token transfer amount.

Update the TransferHook struct by replacing the following starter code:

#[derive(Accounts)]
pub struct TransferHook {}

With the updated code below:

Info

Note that the order of accounts in this struct matters. This is the order in which the Token Extensions program provides these accounts when it CPIs to this Transfer Hook program.

// Order of accounts matters for this struct.
// The first 4 accounts are the accounts required for token transfer (source, mint, destination, owner)
// Remaining accounts are the extra accounts required from the ExtraAccountMetaList account
// These accounts are provided via CPI to this program from the token2022 program
#[derive(Accounts)]
pub struct TransferHook<'info> {
    #[account(
        token::mint = mint,
        token::authority = owner,
    )]
    pub source_token: InterfaceAccount<'info, TokenAccount>,
    pub mint: InterfaceAccount<'info, Mint>,
    #[account(
        token::mint = mint,
    )]
    pub destination_token: InterfaceAccount<'info, TokenAccount>,
    /// CHECK: source token account owner, can be SystemAccount or PDA owned by another program
    pub owner: UncheckedAccount<'info>,
    /// CHECK: ExtraAccountMetaList Account,
    #[account(
        seeds = [b"extra-account-metas", mint.key().as_ref()],
        bump
    )]
    pub extra_account_meta_list: UncheckedAccount<'info>,
    pub wsol_mint: InterfaceAccount<'info, Mint>,
    pub token_program: Interface<'info, TokenInterface>,
    pub associated_token_program: Program<'info, AssociatedToken>,
    #[account(
        seeds = [b"delegate"],
        bump
    )]
    pub delegate: SystemAccount<'info>,
    #[account(
        mut,
        token::mint = wsol_mint,
        token::authority = delegate,
    )]
    pub delegate_wsol_token_account: InterfaceAccount<'info, TokenAccount>,
    #[account(
        mut,
        token::mint = wsol_mint,
        token::authority = owner,
    )]
    pub sender_wsol_token_account: InterfaceAccount<'info, TokenAccount>,
}

The first 4 accounts are the accounts required by the initial token transfer.

#[account(
    token::mint = mint,
    token::authority = owner,
)]
pub source_token: InterfaceAccount<'info, TokenAccount>,
pub mint: InterfaceAccount<'info, Mint>,
#[account(
    token::mint = mint,
)]
pub destination_token: InterfaceAccount<'info, TokenAccount>,
/// CHECK: source token account owner, can be SystemAccount or PDA owned by another program
pub owner: UncheckedAccount<'info>,

The 5th account is the address of the ExtraAccountMeta account that stores the list of extra accounts required by our transfer_hook instruction.

/// CHECK: ExtraAccountMetaList Account
#[account(
    seeds = [b"extra-account-metas", mint.key().as_ref()],
    bump
)]
pub extra_account_meta_list: UncheckedAccount<'info>,

The remaining accounts are the accounts listed in the ExtraAccountMetas account in the order we defined them in the initialize_extra_account_meta_list instruction.

pub wsol_mint: InterfaceAccount<'info, Mint>,
pub token_program: Interface<'info, TokenInterface>,
pub associated_token_program: Program<'info, AssociatedToken>,
#[account(
    mut,
    seeds = [b"delegate"],
    bump
)]
pub delegate: SystemAccount<'info>,
#[account(
    mut,
    token::mint = wsol_mint,
    token::authority = delegate,
)]
pub delegate_wsol_token_account: InterfaceAccount<'info, TokenAccount>,
#[account(
    mut,
    token::mint = wsol_mint,
    token::authority = owner,
)]
pub sender_wsol_token_account: InterfaceAccount<'info, TokenAccount>,

Next, update the transfer_hook instruction by replacing the following starter code:

pub fn transfer_hook(ctx: Context<TransferHook>, amount: u64) -> Result<()> {
    Ok(())
}

With the updated code below:

// Require SOL fee on transfer, lamport fee is equal to transfer amount
// If this fails, the initial token transfer fails
pub fn transfer_hook(ctx: Context<TransferHook>, amount: u64) -> Result<()> {
    msg!("Transfer WSOL using delegate PDA");
 
    let signer_seeds: &[&[&[u8]]] = &[&[b"delegate", &[ctx.bumps.delegate]]];
 
    // transfer WSOL from sender to delegate token account using delegate PDA
    transfer_checked(
        CpiContext::new(
            ctx.accounts.token_program.to_account_info(),
            TransferChecked {
                from: ctx.accounts.sender_wsol_token_account.to_account_info(),
                mint: ctx.accounts.wsol_mint.to_account_info(),
                to: ctx.accounts.delegate_wsol_token_account.to_account_info(),
                authority: ctx.accounts.delegate.to_account_info(),
            },
        )
        .with_signer(signer_seeds),
        amount,
        ctx.accounts.wsol_mint.decimals,
    )?;
    Ok(())
}

Within the instruction logic, we make a CPI to transfer wSOL from the sender's wSOL token account. This transfer is signed for using the delegate PDA. For every token transfer, the sender must first approve the delegate for the transfer amount.

Fallback Instruction #

Lastly, we need to add a fallback instruction to the Anchor program to handle the CPI from the Token Extensions program.

This step is required due to the difference in the way Anchor generates instruction discriminators compared to the ones used in Transfer Hook interface instructions. The instruction discriminator for the transfer_hook instruction will not match the one for the Transfer Hook interface.

Update the fallback instruction by replacing the following starter code:

pub fn fallback<'info>(
    program_id: &Pubkey,
    accounts: &'info [AccountInfo<'info>],
    data: &[u8],
) -> Result<()> {
    Ok(())
}

With the updated code below:

// fallback instruction handler as workaround to anchor instruction discriminator check
pub fn fallback<'info>(
    program_id: &Pubkey,
    accounts: &'info [AccountInfo<'info>],
    data: &[u8],
) -> Result<()> {
    let instruction = TransferHookInstruction::unpack(data)?;
 
    // match instruction discriminator to transfer hook interface execute instruction
    // token2022 program CPIs this instruction on token transfer
    match instruction {
        TransferHookInstruction::Execute { amount } => {
            let amount_bytes = amount.to_le_bytes();
 
            // invoke custom transfer hook instruction on our program
            __private::__global::transfer_hook(program_id, accounts, &amount_bytes)
        }
        _ => return Err(ProgramError::InvalidInstructionData.into()),
    }
}

The fallback instruction checks if the instruction discriminator for an incoming instruction matches the Execute instruction from the Transfer Hook interface. If there is a successful match, it invokes the transfer_hook instruction in our Anchor program.

Info

Currently, there is an unreleased Anchor feature that simplifies this process. It would remove the need for the fallback instruction.

Build and Deploy Program #

The Transfer Hook program is now complete. Ensure that you have enough Devnet SOL in your Playground wallet to deploy the program.

To build the program, use the following command:

build

Next, deploy the program using the command:

deploy

Test File Overview #

Next, let's test the program. Open the transfer-hook.test.ts file, and you should see the following starter code:

import * as anchor from "@coral-xyz/anchor";
import { Program } from "@coral-xyz/anchor";
import { TransferHook } from "../target/types/transfer_hook";
import {
  PublicKey,
  SystemProgram,
  Transaction,
  sendAndConfirmTransaction,
  Keypair,
} from "@solana/web3.js";
import {
  ExtensionType,
  TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID,
  getMintLen,
  createInitializeMintInstruction,
  createInitializeTransferHookInstruction,
  addExtraAccountsToInstruction,
  ASSOCIATED_TOKEN_PROGRAM_ID,
  createAssociatedTokenAccountInstruction,
  createMintToInstruction,
  createTransferCheckedInstruction,
  getAssociatedTokenAddressSync,
  createApproveInstruction,
  createSyncNativeInstruction,
  NATIVE_MINT,
  TOKEN_PROGRAM_ID,
  getAccount,
  getOrCreateAssociatedTokenAccount,
} from "@solana/spl-token";
import assert from "assert";
 
describe("transfer-hook", () => {
  // Configure the client to use the local cluster.
  const provider = anchor.AnchorProvider.env();
  anchor.setProvider(provider);
 
  const program = anchor.workspace.TransferHook as Program<TransferHook>;
  const wallet = provider.wallet as anchor.Wallet;
  const connection = provider.connection;
 
  // Generate keypair to use as address for the transfer-hook enabled mint
  const mint = new Keypair();
  const decimals = 9;
 
  // Sender token account address
  const sourceTokenAccount = getAssociatedTokenAddressSync(
    mint.publicKey,
    wallet.publicKey,
    false,
    TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID,
    ASSOCIATED_TOKEN_PROGRAM_ID
  );
 
  // Recipient token account address
  const recipient = Keypair.generate();
  const destinationTokenAccount = getAssociatedTokenAddressSync(
    mint.publicKey,
    recipient.publicKey,
    false,
    TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID,
    ASSOCIATED_TOKEN_PROGRAM_ID
  );
 
  // ExtraAccountMetaList address
  // Store extra accounts required by the custom transfer hook instruction
  const [extraAccountMetaListPDA] = PublicKey.findProgramAddressSync(
    [Buffer.from("extra-account-metas"), mint.publicKey.toBuffer()],
    program.programId
  );
 
  // PDA delegate to transfer wSOL tokens from sender
  const [delegatePDA] = PublicKey.findProgramAddressSync(
    [Buffer.from("delegate")],
    program.programId
  );
 
  // Sender wSOL token account address
  const senderWSolTokenAccount = getAssociatedTokenAddressSync(
    NATIVE_MINT, // mint
    wallet.publicKey // owner
  );
 
  // Delegate PDA wSOL token account address, to receive wSOL tokens from sender
  const delegateWSolTokenAccount = getAssociatedTokenAddressSync(
    NATIVE_MINT, // mint
    delegatePDA, // owner
    true // allowOwnerOffCurve
  );
 
  // Create the two WSol token accounts as part of setup
  before(async () => {
    // WSol Token Account for sender
    await getOrCreateAssociatedTokenAccount(
      connection,
      wallet.payer,
      NATIVE_MINT,
      wallet.publicKey
    );
 
    // WSol Token Account for delegate PDA
    await getOrCreateAssociatedTokenAccount(
      connection,
      wallet.payer,
      NATIVE_MINT,
      delegatePDA,
      true
    );
  });
 
  it("Create Mint Account with Transfer Hook Extension", async () => {});
 
  it("Create Token Accounts and Mint Tokens", async () => {});
 
  it("Create ExtraAccountMetaList Account", async () => {});
 
  it("Transfer Hook with Extra Account Meta", async () => {});
});

First, we generate a keypair to use as the address for a new Mint Account. Using the mint address, we derive the Associated Token Account (ATA) addresses that we will use for the token transfer.

// Generate keypair to use as address for the transfer-hook enabled mint
const mint = new Keypair();
const decimals = 9;
 
// Sender token account address
const sourceTokenAccount = getAssociatedTokenAddressSync(
  mint.publicKey,
  wallet.publicKey,
  false,
  TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID,
  ASSOCIATED_TOKEN_PROGRAM_ID,
);
 
// Recipient token account address
const recipient = Keypair.generate();
const destinationTokenAccount = getAssociatedTokenAddressSync(
  mint.publicKey,
  recipient.publicKey,
  false,
  TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID,
  ASSOCIATED_TOKEN_PROGRAM_ID,
);

Next, we derive the PDA for the ExtraAccountMetas account. This account is created to store the additional accounts required by the custom transfer hook instruction.

// ExtraAccountMetaList address
// Store extra accounts required by the custom transfer hook instruction
const [extraAccountMetaListPDA] = PublicKey.findProgramAddressSync(
  [Buffer.from("extra-account-metas"), mint.publicKey.toBuffer()],
  program.programId,
);

We also derive the PDA that will be used as the delegate. The sender must approve this address as a delegate for their wSOL token account. This delegate PDA is used to "sign" for the wSOL transfer in the custom transfer hook instruction.

// PDA delegate to transfer wSOL tokens from sender
const [delegatePDA] = PublicKey.findProgramAddressSync(
  [Buffer.from("delegate")],
  program.programId,
);

Additionally, we derive the addresses for the wSOL token accounts. The first address is for the sender's wSOL token account, which needs to be funded to pay for the transfer fee required by the transfer hook instruction. The second address is for the wSOL token account owned by the delegate PDA. In this example, all wSOL fees are sent to this account.

// Sender wSOL token account address
const senderWSolTokenAccount = getAssociatedTokenAddressSync(
  NATIVE_MINT, // mint
  wallet.publicKey, // owner
);
 
// Delegate PDA wSOL token account address, to receive wSOL tokens from sender
const delegateWSolTokenAccount = getAssociatedTokenAddressSync(
  NATIVE_MINT, // mint
  delegatePDA, // owner
  true, // allowOwnerOffCurve
);

Finally, as part of the setup, we create the wSOL token accounts.

// Create the two WSol token accounts as part of setup
before(async () => {
  // WSol Token Account for sender
  await getOrCreateAssociatedTokenAccount(
    connection,
    wallet.payer,
    NATIVE_MINT,
    wallet.publicKey,
  );
 
  // WSol Token Account for delegate PDA
  await getOrCreateAssociatedTokenAccount(
    connection,
    wallet.payer,
    NATIVE_MINT,
    delegatePDA,
    true,
  );
});

Create Mint Account #

To begin, build a transaction to create a new Mint Account with the Transfer Hook extension enabled. In this transaction, make sure to specify our program as the Transfer Hook program stored on the extension.

Enabling the Transfer Hook extension allows the Transfer Extension program to determine which program to invoke on every token transfer.

Replace the placeholder test:

it("Create Mint Account with Transfer Hook Extension", async () => {});

With the updated test below:

it("Create Mint Account with Transfer Hook Extension", async () => {
  const extensions = [ExtensionType.TransferHook];
  const mintLen = getMintLen(extensions);
  const lamports =
    await provider.connection.getMinimumBalanceForRentExemption(mintLen);
 
  const transaction = new Transaction().add(
    SystemProgram.createAccount({
      fromPubkey: wallet.publicKey,
      newAccountPubkey: mint.publicKey,
      space: mintLen,
      lamports: lamports,
      programId: TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID,
    }),
    createInitializeTransferHookInstruction(
      mint.publicKey,
      wallet.publicKey,
      program.programId, // Transfer Hook Program ID
      TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID,
    ),
    createInitializeMintInstruction(
      mint.publicKey,
      decimals,
      wallet.publicKey,
      null,
      TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID,
    ),
  );
 
  const txSig = await sendAndConfirmTransaction(
    provider.connection,
    transaction,
    [wallet.payer, mint],
  );
  console.log(`Transaction Signature: ${txSig}`);
});

Creating Token Accounts #

Next, as part of the setup, create the Associated Token Accounts for both the sender and recipient. Also, fund the sender's account with some tokens.

Replace the placeholder test:

it("Create Token Accounts and Mint Tokens", async () => {});

With the updated test below:

// Create the two token accounts for the transfer-hook enabled mint
// Fund the sender token account with 100 tokens
it("Create Token Accounts and Mint Tokens", async () => {
  // 100 tokens
  const amount = 100 * 10 ** decimals;
 
  const transaction = new Transaction().add(
    createAssociatedTokenAccountInstruction(
      wallet.publicKey,
      sourceTokenAccount,
      wallet.publicKey,
      mint.publicKey,
      TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID,
      ASSOCIATED_TOKEN_PROGRAM_ID,
    ),
    createAssociatedTokenAccountInstruction(
      wallet.publicKey,
      destinationTokenAccount,
      recipient.publicKey,
      mint.publicKey,
      TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID,
      ASSOCIATED_TOKEN_PROGRAM_ID,
    ),
    createMintToInstruction(
      mint.publicKey,
      sourceTokenAccount,
      wallet.publicKey,
      amount,
      [],
      TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID,
    ),
  );
 
  const txSig = await sendAndConfirmTransaction(
    connection,
    transaction,
    [wallet.payer],
    { skipPreflight: true },
  );
 
  console.log(`Transaction Signature: ${txSig}`);
});

Create ExtraAccountMeta Account #

Before sending a token transfer, we need to create the ExtraAccountMetas account to store all the additional accounts required by the transfer hook instruction.

To create this account, we invoke the instruction from our program.

Replace the placeholder test:

it("Create ExtraAccountMetaList Account", async () => {});

With the updated test below:

// Account to store extra accounts required by the transfer hook instruction
it("Create ExtraAccountMetaList Account", async () => {
  const initializeExtraAccountMetaListInstruction = await program.methods
    .initializeExtraAccountMetaList()
    .accounts({
      payer: wallet.publicKey,
      extraAccountMetaList: extraAccountMetaListPDA,
      mint: mint.publicKey,
      wsolMint: NATIVE_MINT,
      tokenProgram: TOKEN_PROGRAM_ID,
      associatedTokenProgram: ASSOCIATED_TOKEN_PROGRAM_ID,
    })
    .instruction();
 
  const transaction = new Transaction().add(
    initializeExtraAccountMetaListInstruction,
  );
 
  const txSig = await sendAndConfirmTransaction(
    provider.connection,
    transaction,
    [wallet.payer],
    { skipPreflight: true },
  );
  console.log("Transaction Signature:", txSig);
});

Transfer Tokens #

Finally, we are ready to send a token transfer. In addition to the transfer instruction, there are a few additional instructions that need to be included.

The sender must transfer SOL to their wSOL token account to cover the fee required by the transfer hook instruction.
The sender must approve the delegate PDA for the amount of the wSOL fee.
Include an instruction to sync the wSOL balance.
The token transfer instruction must include all the extra accounts required by the transfer hook instruction.

Replace the placeholder test:

it("Transfer Hook with Extra Account Meta", async () => {});

With the updated test below:

it("Transfer Hook with Extra Account Meta", async () => {
  // 1 tokens
  const amount = 1 * 10 ** decimals;
 
  // Instruction for sender to fund their WSol token account
  const solTransferInstruction = SystemProgram.transfer({
    fromPubkey: wallet.publicKey,
    toPubkey: senderWSolTokenAccount,
    lamports: amount,
  });
 
  // Approve delegate PDA to transfer WSol tokens from sender WSol token account
  const approveInstruction = createApproveInstruction(
    senderWSolTokenAccount,
    delegatePDA,
    wallet.publicKey,
    amount,
    [],
    TOKEN_PROGRAM_ID,
  );
 
  // Sync sender WSol token account
  const syncWrappedSolInstruction = createSyncNativeInstruction(
    senderWSolTokenAccount,
  );
 
  // This helper function will automatically derive all the additional accounts that were defined in the ExtraAccountMetas account
  let transferInstructionWithHelper =
    await createTransferCheckedWithTransferHookInstruction(
      connection,
      sourceTokenAccount,
      mint.publicKey,
      destinationTokenAccount,
      wallet.publicKey,
      amountBigInt,
      decimals,
      [],
      "confirmed",
      TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID,
    );
 
  const transaction = new Transaction().add(
    solTransferInstruction,
    syncWrappedSolInstruction,
    approveInstruction,
    transferInstruction,
  );
 
  const txSig = await sendAndConfirmTransaction(
    connection,
    transaction,
    [wallet.payer],
    { skipPreflight: true },
  );
  console.log("Transfer Signature:", txSig);
});

The transfer instruction must include all additional AccountMetas, the address of the ExtraAccountMetas account, and the address of the Transfer Hook program.

Run Test File #

Once you have updated all the tests, the final step is to run the test.

To run the test file, use the following command in the terminal:

test

You should see output similar to the following:

Running tests...
  transfer-hook.test.ts:
  transfer-hook
    Transaction Signature: 5o12ZTvcSkV8YNqyeQpzRCq4zFSg9VqguQkT9ZSesioj8uzb8dWRheoknuPaRDDqEGdrUBqmRQ2veSUshUicWsqG
    ✔ Create Mint Account with Transfer Hook Extension (996ms)
    Transaction Signature: 4F4Vhi8s1h2reDr6jecvuQFF5XpoofWPpshgAMnfg7jtNZj4HtxbsksFTh28ZjYTaKFpjeturYZKxk5Cj4gBZoy
    ✔ Create Token Accounts and Mint Tokens (716ms)
    Transaction Signature: 3s4Nok6H4qexpGXup3AWC4nGuiqy567rm5rTWLFMXYKxZJensBVVZHCwVDzpwD3XtWjMFHm4TrvQXwKSsp47y5jx
    ✔ Create ExtraAccountMetaList Account (711ms)
    Transfer Signature: 53j9QV5LYUVgV7T7Z99GfYg1Xvp2qbQnHsJbzDK6BR5TPBo9s622KCf3W3BDEL4ECprkZFs5biDRDedfVj6zuDA6
    ✔ Transfer Hook with Extra Account Meta (925ms)
  4 passing (5s)

Conclusion #

The Transfer Hook extension and Transfer Hook Interface allow for the creation of Mint Accounts that execute custom instruction logic on every token transfer. This guide serves as a reference to help you create your own Transfer Hook programs. Feel free to be creative and explore the capabilities of this new functionality!