{
  "$schema": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/schemas/article-v1.json",
  "schemaVersion": "1.0.0",
  "id": "ethereum-transaction-receipts",
  "canonical": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/ethereum-transaction-receipts/",
  "collection": "ethereum",
  "title": "Ethereum receipts: status, gas used and event logs",
  "description": "Read an Ethereum receipt’s status, gas use, logs and block reference without confusing successful execution with final settlement or business success.",
  "aliases": [],
  "dates": {
    "published": "2026-10-02",
    "modified": "2026-10-02",
    "verified": "2026-10-02T18:12:41.505Z",
    "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02"
  },
  "authorship": {
    "publisher": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project",
    "process": "AI-assisted research and drafting with a separate automated source-verification pass; no external expert or named human review is implied."
  },
  "quickAnswer": {
    "text": "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.",
    "claimId": "ethereum-transaction-receipts-quick-answer",
    "sourceIds": [
      "eth-jsonrpc",
      "eip658"
    ]
  },
  "keyFacts": [
    {
      "label": "Status",
      "value": "Post-Byzantium receipts use 1 for success and 0 for top-level failure.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "eip658"
      ],
      "id": "status",
      "claimId": "ethereum-transaction-receipts-fact-status"
    },
    {
      "label": "Gas",
      "value": "gasUsed describes this transaction; cumulativeGasUsed includes earlier transactions in the block.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "eth-jsonrpc"
      ],
      "id": "gas",
      "claimId": "ethereum-transaction-receipts-fact-gas"
    },
    {
      "label": "Logs",
      "value": "Logs contain contract-emitted event data, interpreted with the relevant ABI.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "eth-jsonrpc",
        "solidity-abi"
      ],
      "id": "logs",
      "claimId": "ethereum-transaction-receipts-fact-logs"
    }
  ],
  "prerequisites": [
    "ethereum-transaction-hashes"
  ],
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "read",
      "heading": "Read the receipt in a useful order",
      "sourceIds": [
        "eth-jsonrpc",
        "eip1559",
        "eip4844",
        "optimism-fees"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "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."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "example",
      "heading": "Separate execution from an intended token result",
      "sourceIds": [
        "erc20",
        "eip658"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "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."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "finality",
      "heading": "The receipt belongs to an observed block",
      "sourceIds": [
        "eth-jsonrpc"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "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."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "question": "Is cumulativeGasUsed the fee I paid?",
      "answer": "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.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "eth-jsonrpc"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "ethereum-transaction-receipts-quick-answer",
      "articleSlug": "ethereum-transaction-receipts",
      "statement": "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.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-a5154b4118a3d15f",
        "source-fc3b7cce0edd664b"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-a5154b4118a3d15f",
          "locator": "eth_getTransactionByHash; eth_getTransactionReceipt; eth_call; eth_getLogs; eth_getCode; eth_estimateGas; eth_getBalance; eth_getStorageAt; eth_getTransactionCount; default block parameter"
        },
        {
          "sourceId": "source-fc3b7cce0edd664b",
          "locator": "Specification"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "ethereum",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:12:41.505Z",
        "reviewer": "Codex independent automated reviewer /root/verify_ethereum_100",
        "notes": [
          "Checked gasUsed versus cumulativeGasUsed, effectiveGasPrice and post-Byzantium status fields in eth_getTransactionReceipt. ERC-20 explicitly requires callers to handle false, supporting the application-level failure example.",
          "Added EIP-1559, EIP-4844 and Optimism fee citations to the fee-component section; OP fee accounting is an example supporting the qualified rollup statement, not a universal fee formula."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "ethereum-transaction-receipts-fact-status",
      "articleSlug": "ethereum-transaction-receipts",
      "statement": "Status: Post-Byzantium receipts use 1 for success and 0 for top-level failure.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-fc3b7cce0edd664b"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-fc3b7cce0edd664b",
          "locator": "Specification"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "ethereum",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:12:41.505Z",
        "reviewer": "Codex independent automated reviewer /root/verify_ethereum_100",
        "notes": [
          "Checked gasUsed versus cumulativeGasUsed, effectiveGasPrice and post-Byzantium status fields in eth_getTransactionReceipt. ERC-20 explicitly requires callers to handle false, supporting the application-level failure example.",
          "Added EIP-1559, EIP-4844 and Optimism fee citations to the fee-component section; OP fee accounting is an example supporting the qualified rollup statement, not a universal fee formula."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "ethereum-transaction-receipts-fact-gas",
      "articleSlug": "ethereum-transaction-receipts",
      "statement": "Gas: gasUsed describes this transaction; cumulativeGasUsed includes earlier transactions in the block.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-a5154b4118a3d15f"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-a5154b4118a3d15f",
          "locator": "eth_getTransactionByHash; eth_getTransactionReceipt; eth_call; eth_getLogs; eth_getCode; eth_estimateGas; eth_getBalance; eth_getStorageAt; eth_getTransactionCount; default block parameter"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "ethereum",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:12:41.505Z",
        "reviewer": "Codex independent automated reviewer /root/verify_ethereum_100",
        "notes": [
          "Checked gasUsed versus cumulativeGasUsed, effectiveGasPrice and post-Byzantium status fields in eth_getTransactionReceipt. ERC-20 explicitly requires callers to handle false, supporting the application-level failure example.",
          "Added EIP-1559, EIP-4844 and Optimism fee citations to the fee-component section; OP fee accounting is an example supporting the qualified rollup statement, not a universal fee formula."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "ethereum-transaction-receipts-fact-logs",
      "articleSlug": "ethereum-transaction-receipts",
      "statement": "Logs: Logs contain contract-emitted event data, interpreted with the relevant ABI.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-a5154b4118a3d15f",
        "source-6219cf92582a012d"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-a5154b4118a3d15f",
          "locator": "eth_getTransactionByHash; eth_getTransactionReceipt; eth_call; eth_getLogs; eth_getCode; eth_estimateGas; eth_getBalance; eth_getStorageAt; eth_getTransactionCount; default block parameter"
        },
        {
          "sourceId": "source-6219cf92582a012d",
          "locator": "Function Selector; Argument Encoding; Events; Errors; JSON"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "ethereum",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:12:41.505Z",
        "reviewer": "Codex independent automated reviewer /root/verify_ethereum_100",
        "notes": [
          "Checked gasUsed versus cumulativeGasUsed, effectiveGasPrice and post-Byzantium status fields in eth_getTransactionReceipt. ERC-20 explicitly requires callers to handle false, supporting the application-level failure example.",
          "Added EIP-1559, EIP-4844 and Optimism fee citations to the fee-component section; OP fee accounting is an example supporting the qualified rollup statement, not a universal fee formula."
        ]
      }
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "eth-jsonrpc",
      "label": "Ethereum JSON-RPC",
      "publisher": "ethereum.org contributors",
      "url": "https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/apis/json-rpc/",
      "locator": "eth_getTransactionByHash; eth_getTransactionReceipt; eth_call; eth_getLogs; eth_getCode; eth_estimateGas; eth_getBalance; eth_getStorageAt; eth_getTransactionCount; default block parameter",
      "note": "RPC response fields, transaction receipts, call simulation and log filtering.",
      "version": null,
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T17:03:42.060Z",
      "contentSha256": "ed13997ec4f415dff80883add0730d4e64bcc8c17b95dd4f6c27aed0241a4073",
      "recordId": "source-a5154b4118a3d15f"
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    {
      "id": "eip658",
      "label": "Embedding transaction status code in receipts",
      "publisher": "Ethereum Improvement Proposals",
      "url": "https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-658",
      "locator": "Specification",
      "note": "Receipts report top-level execution success or failure.",
      "version": "EIP/ERC-658; retrieved document hash recorded",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T17:03:42.150Z",
      "contentSha256": "8bd00dd00fb9ce4944ba96e0c986486d90df7bd78c88ff9f9b6a7c7a56287f58",
      "recordId": "source-fc3b7cce0edd664b"
    },
    {
      "id": "solidity-abi",
      "label": "Contract ABI Specification",
      "publisher": "Solidity contributors",
      "url": "https://docs.soliditylang.org/en/v0.8.30/abi-spec.html",
      "locator": "Function Selector; Argument Encoding; Events; Errors; JSON",
      "note": "ABI encoding, selectors, event topics and event data.",
      "version": "Solidity 0.8.30 documentation",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T17:03:42.824Z",
      "contentSha256": "f5889011070e9e83487b6fd899f56ccecd0c08382c998cd2f8860daafd27dc7b",
      "recordId": "source-6219cf92582a012d"
    },
    {
      "id": "eip1559",
      "label": "Fee market change for ETH 1.0 chain",
      "publisher": "Ethereum Improvement Proposals",
      "url": "https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-1559",
      "locator": "Specification",
      "note": "Base fees, fee caps, priority fees and effective transaction gas price.",
      "version": "EIP/ERC-1559; retrieved document hash recorded",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T17:03:42.151Z",
      "contentSha256": "453b293845f8faac282a468be0c01594f0a785dde3af34947ee676c085e011b7",
      "recordId": "source-2be2a692f09f4d89"
    },
    {
      "id": "eip4844",
      "label": "Shard Blob Transactions",
      "publisher": "Ethereum Improvement Proposals",
      "url": "https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-4844",
      "locator": "Gas accounting; Opcode to get versioned hashes; Point evaluation precompile; Consensus layer validation",
      "note": "Blob commitments, separate blob-gas fee calculations and temporary data availability.",
      "version": "EIP/ERC-4844; retrieved document hash recorded",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T17:03:42.506Z",
      "contentSha256": "d1c1eb7c505919bb326f493d163b9200b72ed0de2416deae37db6d75cc07baa5",
      "recordId": "source-f8f55ea8fe5a54a7"
    },
    {
      "id": "optimism-fees",
      "label": "OP Stack transaction fees",
      "publisher": "Optimism",
      "url": "https://docs.optimism.io/stack/transactions/fees",
      "locator": "Gas fee components; Execution gas fee; L1 data fee; Operator fee",
      "note": "Rollup execution, data-publication and operator fee components depend on active network upgrades.",
      "version": null,
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T17:55:17.901Z",
      "contentSha256": "99d0390b07f64df31a092d5daedf00c7aecc718e5e5601e5b70f9935fa1dc043",
      "recordId": "source-06697b48df70893b"
    },
    {
      "id": "erc20",
      "label": "ERC-20 Token Standard",
      "publisher": "Ethereum Improvement Proposals",
      "url": "https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-20",
      "locator": "totalSupply; balanceOf; transfer; decimals; approve; allowance; transferFrom; Transfer",
      "note": "Token supply, displayed units and balance accounting.",
      "version": "ERC-20",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T17:03:45.826Z",
      "contentSha256": "98bda5e4707841a68684879878c4c165fdaa47d89ed69ebf232ab9be06ff050e",
      "recordId": "source-ac4ad503a55127bb"
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  ],
  "related": {
    "articles": [
      "ethereum-reverted-transactions",
      "ethereum-gas-fees",
      "smart-contract-events"
    ],
    "dossiers": [],
    "wallets": []
  },
  "revisionHistory": [
    {
      "date": "2026-10-02",
      "kind": "published",
      "summary": "First publication after primary-source research and independent automated verification."
    }
  ],
  "citation": "Degrees 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/"
}