Transfer hook

Configure the TransferHook extension to attach a custom program callback to every token transfer using Light Token.

Key Parameters

A program address stored on the mint is invoked via CPI on every token transfer to execute custom logic such as transfer restrictions, royalty enforcement, or event emission.

TransferHook is configured with two parameters:

Parameter	Description
authority	Account that can update the transfer hook program address after initialization.
programId	Address of the program invoked via CPI on every transfer. Must be PublicKey.default (nil) for Light Token.

Light Token requires the TransferHook program_id to be set to PublicKey.default (all zeros). You can initialize the extension for compatibility, but active hooks are not supported. Registration fails if the program_id points to a real program.

Use TransferHook With Light Token

Agent skill

Install the agent skill:

npx skills add https://zkcompression.com

See the AI tools guide for dedicated skills.

Guide

Setup

npm install @lightprotocol/compressed-token@beta \
            @lightprotocol/stateless.js@beta \
            @solana/spl-token

Snippets below assume rpc, payer, mint, owner, recipient, and amount are defined. See the full examples for runnable setup.

import { createRpc } from "@lightprotocol/stateless.js";

const rpc = createRpc(RPC_ENDPOINT);

Create a Token-2022 Mint With Transfer Hook

Instruction

import {
    Keypair,
    PublicKey,
    SystemProgram,
    Transaction,
    sendAndConfirmTransaction,
} from "@solana/web3.js";
import { createRpc } from "@lightprotocol/stateless.js";
import { LightTokenProgram } from "@lightprotocol/compressed-token";
import {
    TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID,
    getMintLen,
    createInitializeMint2Instruction,
    ExtensionType,
    createInitializeTransferHookInstruction,
} from "@solana/spl-token";

const rpc = createRpc(RPC_ENDPOINT);

const mintKeypair = Keypair.generate();
const decimals = 9;

// Calculate space for mint + TransferHook extension
const mintLen = getMintLen([ExtensionType.TransferHook]);
const rentExemptBalance =
    await rpc.getMinimumBalanceForRentExemption(mintLen);

// Create account
const createAccountIx = SystemProgram.createAccount({
    fromPubkey: payer.publicKey,
    lamports: rentExemptBalance,
    newAccountPubkey: mintKeypair.publicKey,
    programId: TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID,
    space: mintLen,
});

// Initialize TransferHook with nil program_id (hook disabled)
const initTransferHookIx = createInitializeTransferHookInstruction(
    mintKeypair.publicKey,
    payer.publicKey,    // authority
    PublicKey.default,  // program_id must be nil
    TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID
);

// Initialize mint
const initMintIx = createInitializeMint2Instruction(
    mintKeypair.publicKey,
    decimals,
    payer.publicKey,
    null,
    TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID
);

// Register interface PDA with Light Token
const createSplInterfaceIx = await LightTokenProgram.createSplInterface({
    feePayer: payer.publicKey,
    mint: mintKeypair.publicKey,
    tokenProgramId: TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID,
});

const tx = new Transaction().add(
    createAccountIx,
    initTransferHookIx,
    initMintIx,
    createSplInterfaceIx
);

const signature = await sendAndConfirmTransaction(rpc, tx, [
    payer,
    mintKeypair,
]);

Action

import "dotenv/config";
import {
    Keypair,
    PublicKey,
    SystemProgram,
    Transaction,
    sendAndConfirmTransaction,
} from "@solana/web3.js";
import { createRpc } from "@lightprotocol/stateless.js";
import { LightTokenProgram } from "@lightprotocol/compressed-token";
import {
    TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID,
    getMintLen,
    createInitializeMint2Instruction,
    ExtensionType,
    createInitializeTransferHookInstruction,
} from "@solana/spl-token";
import { homedir } from "os";
import { readFileSync } from "fs";

// devnet:
// const RPC_URL = `https://devnet.helius-rpc.com?api-key=${process.env.API_KEY!}`;
// const rpc = createRpc(RPC_URL);
// localnet:
const rpc = createRpc();

const payer = Keypair.fromSecretKey(
    new Uint8Array(
        JSON.parse(readFileSync(`${homedir()}/.config/solana/id.json`, "utf8"))
    )
);

(async function () {
    const mintKeypair = Keypair.generate();
    const decimals = 9;

    // Calculate space for mint + TransferHook extension
    const mintLen = getMintLen([ExtensionType.TransferHook]);
    const rentExemptBalance =
        await rpc.getMinimumBalanceForRentExemption(mintLen);

    // Instruction 1: Create account
    const createAccountIx = SystemProgram.createAccount({
        fromPubkey: payer.publicKey,
        lamports: rentExemptBalance,
        newAccountPubkey: mintKeypair.publicKey,
        programId: TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID,
        space: mintLen,
    });

    // Instruction 2: Initialize TransferHook with nil program_id (hook disabled)
    // Light Token requires program_id to be nil (PublicKey.default)
    const initTransferHookIx = createInitializeTransferHookInstruction(
        mintKeypair.publicKey,
        payer.publicKey,    // authority
        PublicKey.default,  // program_id must be nil
        TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID
    );

    // Instruction 3: Initialize mint
    const initMintIx = createInitializeMint2Instruction(
        mintKeypair.publicKey,
        decimals,
        payer.publicKey, // mint authority
        null, // freeze authority
        TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID
    );

    // Instruction 4: Create SPL interface PDA
    // Holds Token-2022 tokens when wrapped to light-token
    const createSplInterfaceIx = await LightTokenProgram.createSplInterface({
        feePayer: payer.publicKey,
        mint: mintKeypair.publicKey,
        tokenProgramId: TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID,
    });

    const tx = new Transaction().add(
        createAccountIx,
        initTransferHookIx,
        initMintIx,
        createSplInterfaceIx
    );

    const signature = await sendAndConfirmTransaction(rpc, tx, [
        payer,
        mintKeypair,
    ]);

    console.log("Mint:", mintKeypair.publicKey.toBase58());
    console.log("Tx:", signature);
})();

createMintInterface creates a basic Token 2022 mint with an interface PDA. To include the TransferHook extension, use the instruction approach shown in the other tab.

Create Interface PDA for Existing Mint

If you already have a Token-2022 mint with TransferHook set to a nil program_id, create an interface PDA with Light Token.

import { LightTokenProgram } from "@lightprotocol/compressed-token";
import { TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID } from "@solana/spl-token";

const createSplInterfaceIx = await LightTokenProgram.createSplInterface({
    feePayer: payer.publicKey,
    mint: mintKeypair.publicKey,
    tokenProgramId: TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID,
});

AI Prompt

Create a Token-2022 mint with TransferHook and register with Light Token

CopiedCopy promptOpen in Cursor

---
description: Create a Token-2022 mint with TransferHook and register with Light Token
allowed-tools: Bash, Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, WebFetch, AskUserQuestion, Task, TaskCreate, TaskGet, TaskList, TaskUpdate, TaskOutput, mcp__deepwiki, mcp__zkcompression
---

## Create a Token-2022 mint with TransferHook and register with Light Token

Context:
- Guide: https://zkcompression.com/light-token/extensions/transfer-hook
- Skills and resources index: https://zkcompression.com/skill.md
- SPL to Light reference: https://zkcompression.com/api-reference/solana-to-light-comparison
- Packages: @lightprotocol/compressed-token, @lightprotocol/stateless.js, @solana/spl-token
- Constraint: program_id MUST be nil (PublicKey.default)

SPL equivalent: createInitializeTransferHookInstruction()
Light Token: createInitializeTransferHookInstruction() + LightTokenProgram.createSplInterface()

### 1. Index project
- Grep `@solana/spl-token|Connection|Keypair|TransferHook|TOKEN_2022` across src/
- Glob `**/*.ts` for project structure
- Identify: RPC setup, existing mint logic, entry point for T22 mint with transfer hook
- Task subagent (Grep/Read/WebFetch) if project has multiple packages to scan in parallel

### 2. Read references
- WebFetch the guide above — follow the Instruction tab for the full flow
- WebFetch skill.md — check for a dedicated skill and resources matching this task
- TaskCreate one todo per phase below to track progress

### 3. Clarify intention
- AskUserQuestion: what is the goal? (new T22 mint with transfer hook, register existing T22 mint, migrate existing SPL code)
- AskUserQuestion: does the project already use Token-2022?
- Summarize findings and wait for user confirmation before implementing

### 4. Create plan
- Based on steps 1–3, draft an implementation plan: which files to modify, what code to add, dependency changes
- Verify existing connection/signer setup is compatible with the cookbook prerequisites
- Ensure program_id is PublicKey.default (nil) — non-nil program_id causes Light Token registration to fail
- If anything is unclear or ambiguous, loop back to step 3 (AskUserQuestion)
- Present the plan to the user for approval before proceeding

### 5. Implement
- Add deps if missing: Bash `npm install @lightprotocol/compressed-token @lightprotocol/stateless.js @solana/spl-token`
- Create T22 mint: getMintLen([ExtensionType.TransferHook]) → SystemProgram.createAccount → createInitializeTransferHookInstruction (PublicKey.default) → createInitializeMint2Instruction
- Register with Light Token: LightTokenProgram.createSplInterface({ mint, tokenProgramId: TOKEN_2022_PROGRAM_ID })
- Transfer: createTransferInterfaceInstructions() from @lightprotocol/compressed-token/unified
- Write/Edit to create or modify files
- TaskUpdate to mark each step done

### 6. Verify
- Bash `tsc --noEmit`
- Bash run existing test suite if present
- Confirm program_id is PublicKey.default in initialization code
- TaskUpdate to mark complete

### Tools
- mcp__zkcompression__SearchLightProtocol("<query>") for API details
- mcp__deepwiki__ask_question("Lightprotocol/light-protocol", "<q>") for architecture
- Task subagent with Grep/Read/WebFetch for parallel lookups
- TaskList to check remaining work

Related Guides

Transfer interface

Wrap and unwrap

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