Handle Errors

This guide explains how to handle transaction errors, handle connection errors, and follow best practices for fee management and memory cleanup.

Transaction Errors

Transactions sent via account.sendTransaction() can fail for several reasons. Wrap transaction calls in a try/catch block to handle specific error types:

Handle Transaction Errors

try {
  const result = await account.sendTransaction({
    to: 'bc1qxy2kgdygjrsqtzq2n0yrf2493p83kkfjhx0wlh',
    value: 100000n
  })
  console.log('Transaction hash:', result.hash)
} catch (error) {
  if (error.message.includes('Insufficient balance')) {
    console.error('Not enough funds in wallet')
  } else if (error.message.includes('dust limit')) {
    console.error('Amount is below the minimum dust limit')
  } else if (error.message.includes('Invalid address')) {
    console.error('Recipient address is invalid')
  } else {
    console.error('Transaction failed:', error.message)
  }
}

Connection Errors

Network issues with the Electrum server can cause failures across all operations. Handle connection errors at a higher level:

Handle Connection Errors

try {
  const balance = await account.getBalance()
  console.log('Balance:', balance, 'satoshis')
} catch (error) {
  if (error.message.includes('ECONNREFUSED') || error.message.includes('timeout')) {
    console.error('Network error: check Electrum server connection')
  } else if (error.message.includes('Invalid seed')) {
    console.error('Invalid seed phrase provided')
  } else {
    console.error('Operation failed:', error.message)
  }
}

Best Practices

Fee Management

You can retrieve current network fee rates using wallet.getFeeRates():

Get Fee Rates

const feeRates = await wallet.getFeeRates()
console.log('Normal fee rate:', feeRates.normal, 'sat/vB')
console.log('Fast fee rate:', feeRates.fast, 'sat/vB')

wallet.getFeeRates() fetches rates from the mempool.space API, while account.sendTransaction() estimates fees from the connected Electrum server. Use getFeeRates() for display purposes.

Dispose of Sensitive Data

For security, clear sensitive data from memory when a session is complete. Use account.dispose() and wallet.dispose() to securely wipe private keys:

Dispose Resources

try {
  const result = await account.sendTransaction({
    to: 'bc1qxy2kgdygjrsqtzq2n0yrf2493p83kkfjhx0wlh',
    value: 100000n
  })
  console.log('Transaction hash:', result.hash)
} finally {
  account.dispose()
  wallet.dispose()
}

Always call dispose() when finished with accounts. Private keys are securely wiped from memory using sodium_memzero. Electrum connections are automatically closed. Disposal is irreversible.