eth_estimateGas

Estimate a transaction's energy consumption (Tron's counterpart of Ethereum gas).

• Source: framework/src/main/java/org/tron/core/services/jsonrpc/TronJsonRpcImpl.java#estimateGas
• Ports: FullNode 8545 / Solidity 8555

Request parameters

Position	Type	Required	Description
params[0]	object	yes	CallArguments (same as eth_call); from / to / value / data / input are used to infer the contract type

CallArguments.getContractType inference rules:

• to is empty and calldata is non-empty → CreateSmartContract
• to is a contract address → TriggerSmartContract
• to is a regular account and value is non-empty → TransferContract (returns 0x0 directly without entering EVM estimation)
• Otherwise → throws -32600 invalid json request[: invalid value]

# Example: estimate energy consumption of a TRX transfer on Nile testnet
curl -X POST https://nile.trongrid.io/jsonrpc \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"eth_estimateGas",
    "params":[{
      "from":"0xdd791d6b49e190062d650e6a23c575510d35f2f9",
      "to":"0xb06b4139895c9f51c967c9f3d9089ca721e8e34c",
      "value":"0xf4240"
    }]
  }'

Response

Hex-encoded energy usage:

• Plain TRX transfer (TransferContract) → 0x0
• Contract call / deployment → depends on node config:
  • vm.estimateEnergy = true returns EstimateEnergyMessage.energyRequired
  • Default (false) → returns TransactionExtention.energyUsed (the actual usage of one constant-call)

Contract-call and deployment estimation use the constant-call path and are subject to vm.constantCallTimeoutMs.

The example below is the real response captured from the Nile testnet curl above (the TRX transfer takes the TransferContract path and returns 0x0 directly without entering the EVM):

{ "jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 1, "result": "0x0" }

Error responses

Trigger	Code	message
from is not valid hex / wrong length	-32602	passes through addressCompatibleToByteArray message
to is not valid hex / wrong length	-32602	passes through addressCompatibleToByteArray message
to is empty and the resolved calldata is missing, "", or "0x" (input takes precedence over data when non-null)	-32600	invalid json request
to is not a contract and value is missing	-32600	invalid json request: invalid value
Contract validation fails (ContractValidateException)	-32600	passes through message (fallback invalid contract)
EVM execution REVERT	-32000	message + the parsed revert string; error.data carries the original revert hex
input is not strict hex	-32602	passes through JsonRpcApiUtil.requireValidHex validation message
data is not valid lenient hex	-32602	passes through JsonRpcApiUtil.requireValidHex validation message
value is not a valid non-negative hex long on the ordinary transfer path	-32602	invalid param value: invalid hex number or invalid param value: negative
value is not a valid non-negative hex long on the contract call or deployment path	-32000	passes through the parsing message
Other internal exceptions during contract call or deployment estimation	-32000	passes through message (double quotes are replaced with single quotes)

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