Recognizing an error format does not authenticate its author.
LET’S PICTURE IT
Anyone can print a form that resembles another organization’s form.
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.
Understand what decoding proves
Successful decoding shows that bytes fit a supplied schema. It does not prove which source declaration, contract implementation or condition originally produced them.
A contract can construct matching bytes
Code can return a standard error selector and chosen arguments without executing the expected failing condition. A familiar custom error is also reproducible by another contract.
Handle selector ambiguity
Selectors use only four bytes. Distinct signatures can collide, so matching a selector does not uniquely establish a declaration over every possible interface.
Tie conclusions to a known frame
Use the called address, execution trace, verified code and appropriate ABI together. Keep diagnostic messages separate from authorization or balance evidence.