Responsibility boundaries

Draw the line where authority changes.

A product interface can guide an action without owning the user’s signing key or deciding what the network records.

WEB APPPrepare instructions, explain the request, record a transaction signature, query status.

WALLETPresent the request, let the user approve or reject, produce the signature.

NETWORKAccept or reject transactions, execute instructions, expose account state.

APP READ-BACKQuery the exact account and compare it with the intended action.

HUMANChooses whether to continue and can inspect the request in the wallet.

EDITORIAL RULEOnly claim what the current observation supports.

Before the wallet request

The app may explain the action, prepare transaction instructions and identify the accounts involved. It should state what it is asking the wallet to sign and avoid implying that the user has already authorised anything.

At the wallet boundary

The wallet is the user’s signing interface. It can return a signature or a rejection, subject to the selected wallet’s implementation. A web app should not imply that it controls the signing key merely because it initiated the request.

At the network boundary

A signed transaction can be submitted. An RPC response, transaction status and the resulting account state answer different questions. The app should retain the transaction signature, query it at a stated commitment level, and then read the relevant account before describing the result.

For a native stake account

Solana’s stake and withdraw authorities have distinct roles, and delegation activation takes place over epochs. A product team should verify the exact stake account, authorities, instructions, vote account and current state. The generic map on this page is not a substitute for inspecting the transaction.

Useful rule: user intent → wallet authorisation → network processing → account-state observation. Give each transition its own status and recovery path.

Read the wallet signing and staking status or download the integration review worksheet.