Choose a schema before interpreting failure bytes.
LET’S PICTURE IT
Different failure envelopes can carry a sentence, a code or typed fields.
SEE IT FOR YOURSELF
Follow a revert and decode its error dataStep 1 / 4
This fictional call requests a transfer of one hundred raw units while the relevant balance is forty.
This fictional call requests a transfer of one hundred raw units while the relevant balance is forty.The contract rejects this request. State changes in the reverted call are rolled back, while work already consumed can still cost gas.A common Error(string) begins with selector 08c379a0. This example then encodes the message Not enough tokens.A decoder can recognize the supplied error shape. Identifying the true cause and source still needs the call context, code and state.
Animated local teaching model. No wallet, RPC or live blockchain data. Some labels and hashes are abbreviated for readability.
Recognize standard selectors
Error(string) and Panic(uint256) have different argument layouts. The first uses a dynamic tail, while the second uses a static numeric code.
Support an explicit custom declaration
A custom error needs its intended schema. Check selector and argument layout, then report the decoded names and values from that supplied declaration.
Handle empty and malformed data
Empty bytes contain no recoverable reason. Truncated or out-of-range encodings should produce a clear failure rather than fabricated empty values.
Preserve the evidence limits
Decoding does not authenticate the source or root cause. A parent may forward or replace bytes, and arbitrary code can construct matching payloads.