Encyclopedia Ethereum · Entry 102
Ethereum receipts: status, gas used and event logs
In this article
At a glance
Key facts
| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Post-Byzantium receipts use 1 for success and 0 for top-level failure. | [2] |
| Gas | gasUsed describes this transaction; cumulativeGasUsed includes earlier transactions in the block. | [1] |
| Logs | Logs contain contract-emitted event data, interpreted with the relevant ABI. | [1][3] |
Read the receipt in a useful order
Start with the chain, transaction hash, block hash and block number. Then check status, gasUsed and effectiveGasPrice where provided. Finally inspect relevant logs and application state.
For an ordinary execution fee, gasUsed multiplied by effectiveGasPrice gives the paid execution-gas component. Blob transactions and rollup-specific accounting can involve additional components.
Separate execution from an intended token result
ERC-20 methods may return a boolean success value, and callers must handle it correctly. A transaction that ignores a false return can complete at the EVM level without achieving the user’s intended transfer.
A decoded Transfer event is useful evidence, but verify the emitting contract and the token’s actual behavior. A familiar event signature alone does not establish that an asset is authentic.
The receipt belongs to an observed block
A receipt’s block reference identifies the inclusion being reported. If the accepted chain changes, that inclusion can change. Querying a receipt is not itself a finality check.
Keep execution status and the block’s settlement status separate in interfaces and citations. “Successful” and “finalized” answer different questions.
Direct answers
Questions people ask
Is cumulativeGasUsed the fee I paid?
No. It accumulates gas used through that transaction’s position in the block. The transaction’s own gasUsed and applicable gas price are the relevant execution-fee inputs.
Inspect the evidence
The answer and key facts have stable claim links. These records retain the scope and qualification when reused.
An Ethereum transaction receipt records information produced when an included transaction executes: status, gas used, logs and block references. A success status means the top-level execution completed without reverting. It does not prove finality, a fair trade or that every application-level expectation was met.
Scope: Ethereum · data through 2026-10-02. Verification: verified · 2026-10-02T18:12:41.505Z.
Link to this claimStatus: Post-Byzantium receipts use 1 for success and 0 for top-level failure.
Scope: Ethereum · data through 2026-10-02. Verification: verified · 2026-10-02T18:12:41.505Z.
Link to this claimGas: gasUsed describes this transaction; cumulativeGasUsed includes earlier transactions in the block.
Scope: Ethereum · data through 2026-10-02. Verification: verified · 2026-10-02T18:12:41.505Z.
Link to this claimLogs: Logs contain contract-emitted event data, interpreted with the relevant ABI.
Scope: Ethereum · data through 2026-10-02. Verification: verified · 2026-10-02T18:12:41.505Z.
Link to this claimRevision history
- — First publication after primary-source research and independent automated verification.
Source register
Sources and references
Retrieval dates and locators are recorded individually.- Ethereum JSON-RPCethereum.org contributors
RPC response fields, transaction receipts, call simulation and log filtering.
Locator: eth_getTransactionByHash; eth_getTransactionReceipt; eth_call; eth_getLogs; eth_getCode; eth_estimateGas; eth_getBalance; eth_getStorageAt; eth_getTransactionCount; default block parameter · Retrieved: 2026-10-02T17:03:42.060ZOpen source - Embedding transaction status code in receiptsEthereum Improvement Proposals
Receipts report top-level execution success or failure.
Locator: Specification · Version / scope: EIP/ERC-658; retrieved document hash recorded · Retrieved: 2026-10-02T17:03:42.150ZOpen source - Contract ABI SpecificationSolidity contributors
ABI encoding, selectors, event topics and event data.
Locator: Function Selector; Argument Encoding; Events; Errors; JSON · Version / scope: Solidity 0.8.30 documentation · Retrieved: 2026-10-02T17:03:42.824ZOpen source - Fee market change for ETH 1.0 chainEthereum Improvement Proposals
Base fees, fee caps, priority fees and effective transaction gas price.
Locator: Specification · Version / scope: EIP/ERC-1559; retrieved document hash recorded · Retrieved: 2026-10-02T17:03:42.151ZOpen source - Shard Blob TransactionsEthereum Improvement Proposals
Blob commitments, separate blob-gas fee calculations and temporary data availability.
Locator: Gas accounting; Opcode to get versioned hashes; Point evaluation precompile; Consensus layer validation · Version / scope: EIP/ERC-4844; retrieved document hash recorded · Retrieved: 2026-10-02T17:03:42.506ZOpen source - OP Stack transaction feesOptimism
Rollup execution, data-publication and operator fee components depend on active network upgrades.
Locator: Gas fee components; Execution gas fee; L1 data fee; Operator fee · Retrieved: 2026-10-02T17:55:17.901ZOpen source - ERC-20 Token StandardEthereum Improvement Proposals
Token supply, displayed units and balance accounting.
Locator: totalSupply; balanceOf; transfer; decimals; approve; allowance; transferFrom; Transfer · Version / scope: ERC-20 · Retrieved: 2026-10-02T17:03:45.826ZOpen source
Research and drafting use AI assistance. A separate automated review checks claims against primary sources; no external expert or named human review is implied. Publication, substantive editing, source retrieval and verification are recorded separately. This version was independently checked by an automated reviewer on 2 October 2026.
Editorial method and correctionsDegrees of Satoshi editorial project. “Ethereum receipts: status, gas used and event logs.” Published 2026-10-02; updated 2026-10-02. https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/ethereum-transaction-receipts/