web3.js confirmTransaction() must check the current status of a signature before subscribing for updates or throwing expiry errors

[steveluscher]

Problem

If you call confirmTransaction for a signature that has already been processed, the signatureSubscribe subscription will never fire a notification. This will certainly mean that confirmTransaction() will throw an expiry error for a transaction that is, in actual fact, confirmed.

First reported here: https://twitter.com/CryptoLothar/status/1536530448976863232

Proposed Solution

1. Before subscribing or honouring expiry signals, check the signature status using the getSignatureStatuses method.
2. If the signature has not been confirmed and you have not received an expiry signal, subscribe for status updates.
3. Race the expiry strategy and the confirmation strategy.

[AndonMitev]

I can confirm i experience this issue s well

[Fahad-pnw]

has this been resolved or signature confirmation is only as reliable as the websocket's reliability?
so, we cannot be 100% dependent upon confirmation?

[steveluscher]

Soon, @Fahad-pnw! I'm working up to a deadline this week, but after that I'll be back to fix things like this.

[devdomsos]

Can confirm this issue happens also to me.

TransactionExpiredBlockheightExceededError: Signature XYZ has expired: block height exceeded.

[Fahad-pnw]

@steveluscher was there an update to this?

[steveluscher]

I still want to do this @Fahad-pnw. I don't think I'm going to get much done on web3.js at all until the Solana conference in Lisbon is over. :/

[abrzezinski94]

Hi added pr for that issue solana-labs/solana#28290

[thelemurcodes]

Hi, I've been having this issue when calling 'createMint()' from spl-token. Sometimes it will return and sometimes I receive 'TransactionExpiredBlockheightExceededError: Signature XYZ has expired: block height exceeded'. I see ya'll are working on it, but I just wanted to notify.

[martincik]

Any update on this one?

[steveluscher]

solana-labs/solana#28290 is basically ready to ship. Things I want to do before shipping it:

1. Test it more
2. Contact RPC operators and double check with them that adding one getSignatureStatuses call to every transaction confirmation is something that the clusters can absorb.

[Fahad-pnw]

thank you for working on this but has this been resolved yet?

[steveluscher]

I believe so! We shipped #28290.

[github-actions]

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