.dwrite

Debug write namespace for encrypted transactions with inspection

The .dwrite namespace provides encrypted contract write operations with debug inspection. It broadcasts a real transaction (like .write) but also returns both plaintext and encrypted views for debugging and testing.

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Overview

When you call contract.dwrite.functionName(...), the SDK:

1. Encodes your function call using the contract ABI (plaintext)

2. Encrypts the calldata using AES-GCM with a shared key derived via ECDH

3. Constructs a TxSeismic with encryption metadata

4. Signs and broadcasts the encrypted transaction

5. Returns a DebugWriteResult containing:

   • plaintext_tx — Transaction before encryption

   • shielded_tx — Transaction with encrypted calldata

   • tx_hash — Transaction hash from broadcast

Important: The transaction is actually broadcast and consumes gas. This is not a dry run.

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Usage Pattern

result = contract.dwrite.functionName(arg1, arg2, ...)

• Sync: Returns DebugWriteResult immediately

• Async: Returns DebugWriteResult (must await)

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Parameters

Function Arguments

Pass function arguments as positional parameters:

# Single argument
result = contract.dwrite.setNumber(42)

# Multiple arguments
result = contract.dwrite.transfer(recipient_address, 1000)

# Complex types
result = contract.dwrite.batchTransfer(
    ["0x123...", "0x456..."],
    [100, 200],
)

Transaction Options (Keyword Arguments)

All transaction options are optional keyword arguments (same as .write):

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
value	int	0	ETH value to send (in wei)
gas	int | None	None	Gas limit (auto-estimated if None)
gas_price	int | None	None	Gas price in wei (uses network default if None)
security	SeismicSecurityParams | None	None	Custom security parameters (block expiry, nonce, etc.)

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Return Value

Returns a DebugWriteResult with three fields:

@dataclass(frozen=True)
class DebugWriteResult:
    plaintext_tx: PlaintextTx           # Transaction before encryption
    shielded_tx: UnsignedSeismicTx      # Transaction with encrypted calldata
    tx_hash: HexBytes                    # Transaction hash

Field Details

Field	Type	Description
plaintext_tx	PlaintextTx	Transaction with unencrypted calldata (what you intended)
shielded_tx	UnsignedSeismicTx	Full TxSeismic structure with encrypted calldata
tx_hash	HexBytes	Transaction hash from eth_sendRawTransaction

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Examples

Sync Usage

from seismic_web3 import create_wallet_client

# Create client and contract
w3 = create_wallet_client(...)
contract = w3.seismic.contract(address="0x...", abi=ABI)

# Debug write
result = contract.dwrite.setNumber(42)

# Access all three components
print(f"Transaction hash: {result.tx_hash.to_0x_hex()}")
print(f"Plaintext data: {result.plaintext_tx.data.to_0x_hex()}")
print(f"Encrypted data: {result.shielded_tx.data.to_0x_hex()}")

# Wait for confirmation
receipt = w3.eth.wait_for_transaction_receipt(result.tx_hash)
print(f"Status: {receipt['status']}")

Async Usage

from seismic_web3 import create_async_wallet_client

# Create async client and contract
w3 = await create_async_wallet_client(...)
contract = w3.seismic.contract(address="0x...", abi=ABI)

# Debug write
result = await contract.dwrite.setNumber(42)

# Access components
print(f"Transaction hash: {result.tx_hash.to_0x_hex()}")

# Wait for confirmation
receipt = await w3.eth.wait_for_transaction_receipt(result.tx_hash)
print(f"Status: {receipt['status']}")

Inspect Plaintext Calldata

result = contract.dwrite.transfer(recipient, 1000)

# Examine what was encoded before encryption
plaintext_data = result.plaintext_tx.data
print(f"Function selector: {plaintext_data[:4].to_0x_hex()}")
print(f"Full calldata: {plaintext_data.to_0x_hex()}")

Verify Encryption

result = contract.dwrite.transfer(recipient, 1000)

# Compare plaintext vs encrypted
plaintext_len = len(result.plaintext_tx.data)
encrypted_len = len(result.shielded_tx.data)

print(f"Plaintext length: {plaintext_len}")
print(f"Encrypted length: {encrypted_len}")
print(f"Difference: {encrypted_len - plaintext_len} bytes")

# AES-GCM adds 16-byte authentication tag
assert encrypted_len == plaintext_len + 16

Inspect Transaction Parameters

result = contract.dwrite.transfer(
    recipient,
    amount,
    value=10**17,
    gas=150_000,
)

# Access plaintext parameters
print(f"To: {result.plaintext_tx.to}")
print(f"Value: {result.plaintext_tx.value} wei")
print(f"Gas: {result.plaintext_tx.gas}")

# Access shielded parameters
shielded = result.shielded_tx
print(f"Nonce: {shielded.nonce}")
print(f"Gas price: {shielded.gas_price}")
print(f"Expires at block: {shielded.seismic.expires_at_block}")

Analyze Gas Estimation

result = contract.dwrite.complexMethod(args)

# Estimated gas
estimated = result.plaintext_tx.gas
print(f"Estimated gas: {estimated}")

# Wait for receipt
receipt = w3.eth.wait_for_transaction_receipt(result.tx_hash)
actual = receipt['gasUsed']

print(f"Actual gas used: {actual}")
print(f"Difference: {actual - estimated}")
print(f"Estimation accuracy: {(estimated / actual) * 100:.2f}%")

Compare with Production .write

# Development: use .dwrite to inspect
result = contract.dwrite.transfer(recipient, amount)
print(f"Plaintext: {result.plaintext_tx.data.to_0x_hex()}")
tx_hash = result.tx_hash

# Production: use .write (same behavior, no debug info)
tx_hash = contract.write.transfer(recipient, amount)

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Use Cases

Development and Testing

# Verify calldata is correctly encoded
result = contract.dwrite.complexMethod(arg1, arg2, arg3)

# Inspect function selector
selector = result.plaintext_tx.data[:4]
print(f"Function selector: {selector.to_0x_hex()}")

# Verify it matches expected selector
from web3 import Web3
expected_selector = Web3.keccak(text="complexMethod(uint256,address,bool)")[:4]
assert selector == expected_selector

Debugging Encryption

result = contract.dwrite.problematicMethod(args)

# Compare plaintext vs encrypted
print("Plaintext calldata:")
print(result.plaintext_tx.data.to_0x_hex())

print("\nEncrypted calldata:")
print(result.shielded_tx.data.to_0x_hex())

# Verify lengths
print(f"\nPlaintext: {len(result.plaintext_tx.data)} bytes")
print(f"Encrypted: {len(result.shielded_tx.data)} bytes")

Auditing Transaction Details

result = contract.dwrite.highValueTransfer(recipient, large_amount)

# Audit all parameters
plaintext = result.plaintext_tx
shielded = result.shielded_tx

print(f"From: {w3.eth.default_account}")
print(f"To: {plaintext.to}")
print(f"Value: {plaintext.value} wei ({plaintext.value / 10**18} ETH)")
print(f"Gas limit: {plaintext.gas}")
print(f"Expires at block: {shielded.seismic.expires_at_block}")
print(f"Transaction hash: {result.tx_hash.to_0x_hex()}")

Testing Security Parameters

from seismic_web3 import SeismicSecurityParams, EncryptionNonce

# Use explicit nonce for testing
nonce = EncryptionNonce(b'\x00' * 12)
security = SeismicSecurityParams(
    blocks_window=200,
    encryption_nonce=nonce,
)

result = contract.dwrite.transfer(
    recipient,
    amount,
    security=security,
)

# Verify parameters were applied
assert result.shielded_tx.seismic.encryption_nonce == nonce

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Important Warnings

Transaction is Actually Broadcast

.dwrite is NOT a dry run:

• The encrypted transaction is broadcast

• Gas is consumed

• State changes are applied

• You pay transaction fees

Use in Production

Don't use .dwrite in production:

• Adds overhead (returns extra data)

• No benefit over .write for end users

• Only useful for development/debugging

For production, use .write:

# Development/testing
result = contract.dwrite.transfer(recipient, amount)
tx_hash = result.tx_hash

# Production
tx_hash = contract.write.transfer(recipient, amount)

Cost Implications

.dwrite has the same gas cost as .write:

• Same transaction is broadcast

• Same encryption overhead

• Only difference is SDK returns debug info (no on-chain difference)

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Comparison with Other Namespaces

Namespace	Encryption	Returns	Transaction Broadcast	Use Case
.write	Yes	HexBytes (tx hash)	Yes	Production shielded writes
.dwrite	Yes	DebugWriteResult	Yes	Development/debugging
.twrite	No	HexBytes (tx hash)	Yes	Transparent writes

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Privacy Guarantees

Identical to .write

.dwrite has the same privacy guarantees as .write:

• Calldata is encrypted on-chain

• Only you and the TEE can see plaintext

• Debug info is only in the SDK return value (not on-chain)

Debug Info is Client-Side

The plaintext_tx and shielded_tx fields are not broadcast:

• Only the encrypted transaction is sent

• Debug info exists only in your client

• No privacy leak from using .dwrite

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Error Handling

from web3.exceptions import TimeExhausted

try:
    result = contract.dwrite.transfer(recipient, amount)

    # Transaction broadcast succeeded
    print(f"Tx hash: {result.tx_hash.to_0x_hex()}")

    # Wait for confirmation
    receipt = w3.eth.wait_for_transaction_receipt(result.tx_hash, timeout=120)

    if receipt['status'] == 0:
        print("Transaction reverted")
        # Inspect calldata to debug
        print(f"Plaintext: {result.plaintext_tx.data.to_0x_hex()}")
    else:
        print("Transaction succeeded")

except ValueError as e:
    print(f"Transaction failed: {e}")
except TimeExhausted:
    print("Transaction not mined within timeout")

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Best Practices

When to Use .dwrite

• Development — Verify calldata encoding is correct

• Testing — Debug encryption/decryption issues

• Auditing — Inspect transaction parameters before production

• Debugging — Troubleshoot failed transactions

When to Use .write Instead

• Production — No need for debug info

• High-frequency calls — Avoid overhead of extra return data

• Simple operations — Debug info not useful

Testing Workflow

# 1. Test with .dwrite
result = contract.dwrite.transfer(recipient, small_amount)

# 2. Inspect calldata
print(f"Plaintext: {result.plaintext_tx.data.to_0x_hex()}")

# 3. Verify encryption worked
assert result.plaintext_tx.data != result.shielded_tx.data

# 4. Wait for confirmation
receipt = w3.eth.wait_for_transaction_receipt(result.tx_hash)

# 5. If successful, switch to .write for production
if receipt['status'] == 1:
    # Use .write in production
    tx_hash = contract.write.transfer(recipient, large_amount)

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Low-Level Alternative

For manual control with debug info:

from hexbytes import HexBytes

result = w3.seismic.debug_send_shielded_transaction(
    to="0x...",
    data=HexBytes("0x..."),
    value=0,
    gas=100_000,
    gas_price=10**9,
)

# Access debug fields
print(result.plaintext_tx.data.to_0x_hex())
print(result.shielded_tx.data.to_0x_hex())
print(result.tx_hash.to_0x_hex())

See Shielded Write Guide for details.

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See Also

• .write Namespace — Production shielded writes (no debug info)

• DebugWriteResult — Return type reference

• PlaintextTx — Plaintext transaction structure

• UnsignedSeismicTx — Shielded transaction structure

• Shielded Write Guide — Full encryption workflow