Your First Transaction

Overview

This guide walks you through creating and executing your first transaction on Sui, from setting up your wallet to transferring SUI tokens.

Make sure you’ve installed Sui and configured your client before proceeding.

Prerequisites

Verify Sui Installation

sui --version

Expected output: sui 1.68.0 (or later)

Check Active Environment

sui client active-env

Should show devnet (or your preferred network)

View Your Address

sui client active-address

Output: 0x1234...abcd (your unique address)

Get Test Tokens

Before you can send transactions, you need SUI tokens to pay for gas.

Using CLI
Using Web Faucet
Using Discord

sui client faucet

Expected output:

Request successful. It can take up to 1 minute to get the coin.
Run sui client balance to check your balance.

Wait a moment, then check your balance:

sui client balance

Visit https://faucet.devnet.sui.io
Paste your address (from sui client active-address)
Click “Request SUI”
Wait ~10 seconds for confirmation

Join Sui Discord
Go to #devnet-faucet channel
Type: !faucet <your-address>
Bot will send you test SUI

Devnet and testnet faucets provide test tokens with no real value. For mainnet, you’ll need to acquire actual SUI.

Transaction Types

Sui supports several transaction types. Let’s start with the most common:

1. Transfer SUI Tokens

Transfer SUI from your address to another:

Create a Second Address (for testing)

sui client new-address ed25519

Output:

Created new keypair and saved to ~/.sui/sui_config/sui.keystore
New address: 0xabcd...9876

Save this address - we’ll use it as the recipient.

Switch Back to Your Main Address

sui client addresses

This shows all your addresses. Note the one with tokens (from the faucet).

sui client switch --address 0x1234...

Execute Transfer

sui client transfer-sui \
  --to 0xabcd...9876 \
  --sui-coin-object-id 0xobj123... \
  --gas-budget 10000000 \
  --amount 100000000

Parameters:

--to: Recipient address
--sui-coin-object-id: Your SUI coin object (get from sui client gas)
--gas-budget: Maximum gas in MIST (10000000 = 0.01 SUI)
--amount: Amount to send in MIST (100000000 = 0.1 SUI)

Find your coin objects with: sui client gas

View Transaction Result

The CLI will display the transaction digest and effects:

Transaction Digest: A1B2C3D4...

╭─────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ Transaction Data                                │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Sender: 0x1234...                               │
│ Gas Budget: 10000000 MIST                       │
│ Gas Price: 1000 MIST                            │
╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

╭─────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ Transaction Effects                             │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Status: Success                                 │
│ Gas Used: 123456 MIST                           │
╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

Verify the Transfer

Check balances:

# Your balance (should decrease)
sui client balance

# Recipient's balance (should increase)
sui client balance --address 0xabcd...9876

2. Transfer Objects

Transfer non-SUI objects (like NFTs):

sui client transfer \
  --to 0xrecipient... \
  --object-id 0xobject123... \
  --gas-budget 10000000

This transfers ownership of any object (NFT, game item, etc.) to the recipient.

3. Merge Coins

Combine multiple coin objects into one:

sui client merge-coin \
  --primary-coin 0xcoin1... \
  --coin-to-merge 0xcoin2... \
  --gas-budget 10000000

Use case: Consolidate fragmented coins for easier management.

4. Split Coins

Split a coin into multiple coins:

sui client split-coin \
  --coin-id 0xcoin... \
  --amounts 100000000 200000000 \
  --gas-budget 10000000

This creates two new coins: one with 0.1 SUI and one with 0.2 SUI.

Understanding Transaction Structure

Every Sui transaction contains:

Transaction Data

Sender: Address initiating the transaction
Gas Payment: Coin object used to pay gas
Gas Budget: Maximum gas willing to pay
Gas Price: Price per gas unit (typically reference gas price)
Commands: One or more programmable transaction commands
Expiration: Optional expiration epoch

Transaction Commands

Programmable Transaction Block (PTB) commands:

TransferObjects: Transfer objects to addresses
SplitCoins: Split coins into smaller denominations
MergeCoins: Merge coins together
MoveCall: Call a Move function
Publish: Publish a Move package
MakeMoveVec: Create a vector

Transaction Effects

Results after execution:

Status: Success or failure
Gas Used: Actual gas consumed
Created Objects: New objects created
Mutated Objects: Objects modified
Deleted Objects: Objects deleted
Events: Events emitted

Using Programmable Transaction Blocks

PTBs allow you to compose multiple operations atomically:

sui client ptb \
  --gas-budget 10000000 \
  --split-coins gas "[100000000, 200000000]" \
  --assign coin1 coin2 \
  --transfer-objects "[coin1]" 0xrecipient1... \
  --transfer-objects "[coin2]" 0xrecipient2...

This single transaction:

Splits the gas coin into two coins (0.1 SUI and 0.2 SUI)
Transfers 0.1 SUI to recipient1
Transfers 0.2 SUI to recipient2

All operations succeed or fail together - atomic execution guaranteed.

Inspecting Transactions

View Transaction Details

sui client tx-block --digest A1B2C3D4...

Output shows complete transaction data, effects, and events.

Query Recent Transactions

sui client objects

Lists all objects owned by your address, including transaction history.

Check Gas Usage

sui client gas

Shows all gas coins and their amounts.

Transaction Best Practices

Set Appropriate Gas Budget

Start with 10000000 MIST (0.01 SUI)
Increase for complex transactions
Unused gas is refunded

Check Object Versions

Objects have version numbers
Using old version fails
Always use latest version

Handle Errors Gracefully

Check transaction status
Retry with higher gas if needed
Validate addresses before sending

Use PTBs for Efficiency

Combine operations
Save on gas costs
Ensure atomicity

Transaction Lifecycle

Common Issues

InsufficientGas error

Cause: Gas budget too low for transaction complexity.Solution: Increase --gas-budget:

sui client transfer-sui --gas-budget 20000000 ...

Invalid object version

Cause: Using outdated object version (concurrent update).Solution:

Query latest object: sui client object 0xobj...
Use the current version in your transaction
Retry transaction

Insufficient balance

Cause: Not enough SUI for transfer + gas.Solution:

Check balance: sui client balance
Request more from faucet
Reduce transfer amount

Invalid address format

Cause: Malformed recipient address.Solution:

Verify address starts with 0x
Check address is 64 hex characters (after 0x)
Use sui client addresses to list valid addresses

Using SDKs

TypeScript SDK

import { SuiClient, getFullnodeUrl } from '@mysten/sui/client';
import { Transaction } from '@mysten/sui/transactions';
import { Ed25519Keypair } from '@mysten/sui/keypairs/ed25519';

const client = new SuiClient({ url: getFullnodeUrl('devnet') });
const keypair = Ed25519Keypair.generate();

// Create transaction
const tx = new Transaction();
tx.transferObjects(
  [tx.object('0xobj...')],
  '0xrecipient...'
);

// Sign and execute
const result = await client.signAndExecuteTransaction({
  signer: keypair,
  transaction: tx,
});

console.log('Transaction digest:', result.digest);

Rust SDK

use sui_sdk::{SuiClient, SuiClientBuilder};
use sui_types::transaction::Transaction;

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), anyhow::Error> {
    let sui = SuiClientBuilder::default()
        .build("https://fullnode.devnet.sui.io:443")
        .await?;
    
    // Create and send transaction
    // (see Rust SDK guide for details)
    
    Ok(())
}

Next Steps

Quickstart Guide

Build and deploy your first Move package

Programmable Transactions

Master complex transaction composition

TypeScript SDK

Build applications with TypeScript

Transaction Concepts

Deep dive into transaction mechanics

Summary

You’ve successfully:

✅ Obtained test SUI tokens from the faucet
✅ Created and executed your first transaction
✅ Transferred SUI between addresses
✅ Inspected transaction results
✅ Learned about transaction structure and PTBs

You’re now ready to build more complex applications on Sui!

Introduction

Quick Start

Your First Transaction

Overview

Prerequisites

Get Test Tokens

Transaction Types

1. Transfer SUI Tokens

2. Transfer Objects

3. Merge Coins

4. Split Coins

Understanding Transaction Structure

Using Programmable Transaction Blocks

Inspecting Transactions

View Transaction Details

Query Recent Transactions

Check Gas Usage

Transaction Best Practices

Set Appropriate Gas Budget

Check Object Versions

Handle Errors Gracefully

Use PTBs for Efficiency

Transaction Lifecycle

Common Issues

Using SDKs

TypeScript SDK

Rust SDK

Next Steps

Quickstart Guide

Programmable Transactions

TypeScript SDK

Transaction Concepts

Summary

​Overview

​Prerequisites

​Get Test Tokens

​Transaction Types

​1. Transfer SUI Tokens

​2. Transfer Objects

​3. Merge Coins

​4. Split Coins

​Understanding Transaction Structure

​Using Programmable Transaction Blocks

​Inspecting Transactions

​View Transaction Details

​Query Recent Transactions

​Check Gas Usage

​Transaction Best Practices

Set Appropriate Gas Budget

Check Object Versions

Handle Errors Gracefully

Use PTBs for Efficiency

​Transaction Lifecycle

​Common Issues

​Using SDKs

​TypeScript SDK

​Rust SDK

​Next Steps

Quickstart Guide

Programmable Transactions

TypeScript SDK

Transaction Concepts

​Summary

Overview

Prerequisites

Get Test Tokens

Transaction Types

1. Transfer SUI Tokens

2. Transfer Objects

3. Merge Coins

4. Split Coins

Understanding Transaction Structure

Using Programmable Transaction Blocks

Inspecting Transactions

View Transaction Details

Query Recent Transactions

Check Gas Usage

Transaction Best Practices

Transaction Lifecycle

Common Issues

Using SDKs

TypeScript SDK

Rust SDK

Next Steps

Summary