Skip to main content

How to create time-bound transactions

This recipe demonstrates how to create transactions that are only valid within a specific time window using the timeb operation. Time-bound transactions enhance security and control by restricting when transactions can be included on-chain.

Prerequisites​

  • Node.js
  • FT4 client: npm install @chromia/ft4
  • Postchain client: npm install postchain-client

Demo script​

Key Features​

This recipe includes examples for:

  • Time window validation - Restricting transaction execution to specific time periods
  • Offline transaction building - Creating and signing GTX transactions with temporal constraints
  • Enhanced security - Preventing replay attacks and ensuring timely execution
  • Transaction composition - Combining transfers with time-bound operations

What timeb does​

The timeb(time bound) operation enforces a temporal condition on transaction validity by requiring that transactions be included in a block only within a specified time window (in epoch milliseconds). This enhances control, security, and synchronization of blockchain actions.

This operation requires that the client system's clock is reasonably synchronized with the signer node's clocks. While minor discrepancies of a few seconds are generally acceptable, significant time differences, such as several hours, may cause the operation to fail. This issue often arises from misconfigured system time settings, including incorrect time zones or daylight saving time (DST) adjustments.

All timestamps are expected to be in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). However, if the system's timezone configuration is incorrect, it may result in inaccurate UTC values, leading to unexpected validation failures during the timeb operation.

Learn more​