Yes: solana transfer 0.1 --with-memo "invoice-123".

Sending SOL & Transactions

Q: Can I send less than 1 SOL?

Yes - amounts support decimal SOL like 0.0001.

Q: How do I specify a different signer?

Use --from to sign the transfer with a non-default keypair file.

Q: Why did confirm return transaction failed?

Run solana confirm -v for logs, then solana transaction for full meta. Common causes: insufficient funds, blockhash expiry, or account locks.

Q: How long until a transfer is final?

confirmed is usually sub-second on healthy RPC. finalized takes one to two epochs - minutes on mainnet.

Q: Can one transaction send to many recipients?

The CLI transfer command sends one recipient per invocation. Batch with a custom transaction or script for multiples.

Q: How do I export a transaction for support?

solana transaction --output json-compact > tx.json captures meta, logs, and balances.

Send native SOL, confirm signatures, and inspect transaction outcomes from the terminal.

Recipe

Quick-reference recipe card - copy-paste ready.

solana transfer <RECIPIENT> 0.5
solana transfer <RECIPIENT> 0.5 --allow-unfunded-recipient
solana confirm <SIGNATURE>
solana transaction <SIGNATURE>

When to reach for this:

Paying another wallet or funding a new keypair.
Verifying a transaction landed after client submission.
Debugging failed transfers with verbose confirmation output.
Scripting treasury payouts on devnet or mainnet.

Working Example

solana config set --url devnet
solana airdrop 2
 
RECIPIENT="<RECIPIENT_PUBKEY>"
SIG=$(solana transfer "$RECIPIENT" 0.25 --allow-unfunded-recipient --fee-payer ~/.config/solana/id.json)
 
solana confirm -v "$SIG"
solana balance "$RECIPIENT"
solana transaction "$SIG" --output json-compact | jq '.transaction.message'

What this demonstrates:

transfer builds, signs, and submits a system transfer instruction.
--allow-unfunded-recipient creates the recipient system account if missing.
confirm -v prints commitment-level status and error logs on failure.
transaction fetches the decoded transaction for post-mortems.

Deep Dive

How It Works

Transfers are one instruction to the System Program moving lamports.
The CLI signs with the configured keypair unless --fee-payer overrides.
Recent blockhash embedded in the transaction expires after ~60-90 seconds.
Confirmation polls RPC until the chosen commitment level is reached.

Transfer Flags

Flag	Effect
`--allow-unfunded-recipient`	Create recipient system account
`--fee-payer <KEYPAIR>`	Separate payer for fees
`--with-memo <TEXT>`	Attach memo program instruction
`--no-wait`	Return signature without confirming

bash Notes

# Dry-run style check: fund then verify decrease
BEFORE=$(solana balance)
solana transfer <RECIPIENT> 0.1
AFTER=$(solana balance)
echo "sent: $(echo "$BEFORE - $AFTER" | bc)"

Gotchas

Expired blockhash - slow RPC or delayed broadcast fails confirmation. Fix: retry transfer; use fresher RPC; see Retries & Blockhash Management.
Insufficient lamports - amount plus fee exceeds balance. Fix: solana balance and leave fee headroom.
Recipient is off-curve or wrong - typos burn SOL to unreachable addresses. Fix: double-check base58 strings; test with 0.001 SOL first.
Assuming confirm means finalized - default commitment may be confirmed. Fix: pass --commitment finalized for treasury payouts.
Using transfer for tokens - SOL transfer does not move SPL tokens. Fix: use spl-token transfer instead.

Alternatives

Alternative	Use When	Don't Use When
`@solana/kit` client	App-integrated sends with custom instructions	One-off CLI payments
`spl-token transfer`	Moving fungible tokens	Native SOL only
Durable nonce transactions	Long-lived signing sessions	Simple one-shot CLI transfers
Jito bundles	Latency-sensitive mainnet landing	Devnet testing

FAQs

What fee does solana transfer charge?

Base fee is 5,000 lamports per signature unless you add priority fees via separate compute budget instructions (not added by default CLI transfer).

Can I send less than 1 SOL?

Yes - amounts support decimal SOL like 0.0001.

What does --no-wait do?

Returns the signature immediately without polling confirmation - useful in scripts that confirm separately.

How do I specify a different signer?

Use --from <KEYPAIR> to sign the transfer with a non-default keypair file.

Why did confirm return transaction failed?

Run solana confirm -v for logs, then solana transaction for full meta. Common causes: insufficient funds, blockhash expiry, or account locks.

Can I attach a memo?

Yes: solana transfer <ADDR> 0.1 --with-memo "invoice-123".

How long until a transfer is final?

confirmed is usually sub-second on healthy RPC. finalized takes one to two epochs - minutes on mainnet.

Does transfer work on localnet?

Yes - point config at local validator and ensure both accounts have lamports.

Can one transaction send to many recipients?

The CLI transfer command sends one recipient per invocation. Batch with a custom transaction or script for multiples.

How do I export a transaction for support?

solana transaction <SIG> --output json-compact > tx.json captures meta, logs, and balances.

Airdrops & Balances - fund before transferring
Logs & Debugging - stream logs around sends
spl-token CLI - token transfers
Why Transactions Fail to Land - landing failures

Stack versions: This page was written for Agave 4.1.1, Solana CLI 3.0.10, Anchor 0.32.1, anchor-lang 0.32.1, Rust 1.91.1, @solana/kit 7.0.0, Surfpool 0.12.0, and LiteSVM 0.6.x.

Recipe

Quick-reference recipe card - copy-paste ready.

solana transfer <RECIPIENT> 0.5
solana transfer <RECIPIENT> 0.5 --allow-unfunded-recipient
solana confirm <SIGNATURE>
solana transaction <SIGNATURE>

When to reach for this:

Paying another wallet or funding a new keypair.
Verifying a transaction landed after client submission.
Debugging failed transfers with verbose confirmation output.
Scripting treasury payouts on devnet or mainnet.

Working Example

solana config set --url devnet
solana airdrop 2
 
RECIPIENT="<RECIPIENT_PUBKEY>"
SIG=$(solana transfer "$RECIPIENT" 0.25 --allow-unfunded-recipient --fee-payer ~/.config/solana/id.json)
 
solana confirm -v "$SIG"
solana balance "$RECIPIENT"
solana transaction "$SIG" --output json-compact | jq '.transaction.message'

What this demonstrates:

transfer builds, signs, and submits a system transfer instruction.
--allow-unfunded-recipient creates the recipient system account if missing.
confirm -v prints commitment-level status and error logs on failure.
transaction fetches the decoded transaction for post-mortems.

Deep Dive

How It Works

Transfers are one instruction to the System Program moving lamports.
The CLI signs with the configured keypair unless --fee-payer overrides.
Recent blockhash embedded in the transaction expires after ~60-90 seconds.
Confirmation polls RPC until the chosen commitment level is reached.

Transfer Flags

Flag	Effect
`--allow-unfunded-recipient`	Create recipient system account
`--fee-payer <KEYPAIR>`	Separate payer for fees
`--with-memo <TEXT>`	Attach memo program instruction
`--no-wait`	Return signature without confirming

bash Notes

# Dry-run style check: fund then verify decrease
BEFORE=$(solana balance)
solana transfer <RECIPIENT> 0.1
AFTER=$(solana balance)
echo "sent: $(echo "$BEFORE - $AFTER" | bc)"

Gotchas

Expired blockhash - slow RPC or delayed broadcast fails confirmation. Fix: retry transfer; use fresher RPC; see Retries & Blockhash Management.
Insufficient lamports - amount plus fee exceeds balance. Fix: solana balance and leave fee headroom.
Recipient is off-curve or wrong - typos burn SOL to unreachable addresses. Fix: double-check base58 strings; test with 0.001 SOL first.
Assuming confirm means finalized - default commitment may be confirmed. Fix: pass --commitment finalized for treasury payouts.
Using transfer for tokens - SOL transfer does not move SPL tokens. Fix: use spl-token transfer instead.

Alternatives

Alternative	Use When	Don't Use When
`@solana/kit` client	App-integrated sends with custom instructions	One-off CLI payments
`spl-token transfer`	Moving fungible tokens	Native SOL only
Durable nonce transactions	Long-lived signing sessions	Simple one-shot CLI transfers
Jito bundles	Latency-sensitive mainnet landing	Devnet testing

FAQs

What fee does solana transfer charge?

Base fee is 5,000 lamports per signature unless you add priority fees via separate compute budget instructions (not added by default CLI transfer).

Can I send less than 1 SOL?

Yes - amounts support decimal SOL like 0.0001.

What does --no-wait do?

Returns the signature immediately without polling confirmation - useful in scripts that confirm separately.

How do I specify a different signer?

Use --from <KEYPAIR> to sign the transfer with a non-default keypair file.

Why did confirm return transaction failed?

Run solana confirm -v for logs, then solana transaction for full meta. Common causes: insufficient funds, blockhash expiry, or account locks.

Can I attach a memo?

Yes: solana transfer <ADDR> 0.1 --with-memo "invoice-123".

How long until a transfer is final?

confirmed is usually sub-second on healthy RPC. finalized takes one to two epochs - minutes on mainnet.

Does transfer work on localnet?

Yes - point config at local validator and ensure both accounts have lamports.

Can one transaction send to many recipients?

The CLI transfer command sends one recipient per invocation. Batch with a custom transaction or script for multiples.

How do I export a transaction for support?

solana transaction <SIG> --output json-compact > tx.json captures meta, logs, and balances.

Airdrops & Balances - fund before transferring
Logs & Debugging - stream logs around sends
spl-token CLI - token transfers
Why Transactions Fail to Land - landing failures

Stack versions: This page was written for Agave 4.1.1, Solana CLI 3.0.10, Anchor 0.32.1, anchor-lang 0.32.1, Rust 1.91.1, @solana/kit 7.0.0, Surfpool 0.12.0, and LiteSVM 0.6.x.

Sending SOL & Transactions

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Sending SOL & Transactions