wallet-cli contract clear-abi
August 17, 2026 · View on GitHub
Clear the ABI a contract stores on chain.
Synopsis
wallet-cli contract clear-abi <address>
[--dry-run | (--sign-only | --build-only) [--expiration <ms>] | --wait [--wait-timeout <ms>]]
[--permission-id <n>] [options]
Description
Removes the ABI held on chain for a contract. This cannot be undone — the ABI is gone from the chain, and anything that decoded calls by reading it (explorers, SDKs, contract call) must supply its own from then on.
What it does not touch: the bytecode and the contract's state are unaffected, and the contract stays callable exactly as before. The ABI is auxiliary metadata, not part of execution.
Only the contract's deployer can do this — the address the chain records as the contract's origin, visible in contract info. Other accounts fail with not_contract_deployer.
By default the command returns at submission (stage: "submitted"), not confirmation — add --wait to block until confirmed/failed. Requires an account. The master password (via --password-stdin) is needed only by the modes that sign — --dry-run and --build-only do not unlock the wallet and run without it. Watch-only accounts fail with watch_only_no_signer in a signing mode.
Options
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
<address> | Required. Contract whose ABI to clear |
--dry-run | Build and estimate only, no signature/broadcast; excludes --sign-only / --build-only |
--sign-only | Sign without broadcasting, output the signed hex; excludes --dry-run / --build-only; pairs with --expiration |
--build-only | Build only, output the unsigned hex; excludes --dry-run / --sign-only; pairs with --expiration |
--expiration <ms> | Transaction expiration in ms, up to 86400000 (24h); only with --sign-only or --build-only; omitted = node default (~60s) |
--permission-id <n> | Permission group to sign with (0=owner, 1=witness, 2-9=active); default 0 |
--wait / --wait-timeout <ms> | Poll after broadcast until confirmed/failed (cap default: config waitTimeoutMs, built-in 60000) |
--password-stdin | Master password from stdin (fd 0) |
Plus the global options.
Examples
In the examples, $PW is your master password (from an environment variable, password manager, etc.), fed on stdin via --password-stdin.
echo "$PW" | wallet-cli contract clear-abi TQ5nJ8mV...4wRe --network tron:nile --wait --password-stdin
✅ ABI cleared
Contract TQ5nJ8mV...4wRe
Deployer TQkXm4vN...5Zt7Uw (main)
TxID 3f7...
Block 57,882,140
Fee 0 TRX (287 bandwidth)
Status success
echo "$PW" | wallet-cli contract clear-abi TQ5nJ8mV...4wRe --network tron:nile --wait --password-stdin -o json
{"schema":"wallet-cli.result.v1","success":true,"command":"contract.clear-abi","data":{"kind":"contract-clear-abi","stage":"confirmed","txId":"3f7...","confirmed":true,"blockNumber":57882140,"failed":false,"contractAddress":"TQ5nJ8mV...","deployerAddress":"TQkXm4vN...","feeSun":0,"resource":{"netUsage":287,"netFeeSun":0,"energyUsage":0,"energyFeeSun":0}},"meta":{"durationMs":6510,"warnings":[]},"chain":{"family":"tron","network":"tron:nile","chainId":"nile"}}
Output
data varies by stage:
| Stage | Fields |
|---|---|
| default (submit) | kind: "contract-clear-abi", stage: "submitted", txId, contractAddress, deployerAddress |
--wait (confirmed) | above, plus stage: "confirmed", confirmed (boolean), blockNumber, feeSun, resource, failed |
Exit status
0 submitted (or built/signed in early-exit modes) · 1 execution failure (contract_not_found — no such contract, not_contract_deployer, watch_only_no_signer, auth_failed) · 2 usage error (invalid_value — malformed address).