What does the "insufficient funds for gas * price + value" error mean when using the EstimateGas function?

Created by Kenil Shah, Modified on Wed, 18 Sep, 2024 at 10:51 PM by Kenil Shah

The "insufficient funds for gas * price + value" error typically occurs when there are not enough funds available in a wallet to cover the gas fee required for a transaction. This error message indicates that the wallet's balance is insufficient to pay for both the gas cost and the transaction value.

To estimate the gas required for a transaction before executing it, you can use the following JavaScript script as a general guideline:

import { ethers } from 'ethers';

// RPC URL for your provider
const rpcUrl = "Your Network RPC Here";

// Initialize the provider
const provider = new ethers.JsonRpcProvider(rpcUrl);

// Your contract address and ABI
const contractAddress = "YourContractAddress"; // Replace with your contract address
const abi = [ /* Your contract ABI here */ ]; // Replace with your contract ABI

// Create a contract instance
const contract = new ethers.Contract(contractAddress, abi, provider);

// Function to estimate gas for a specific method
async function estimateGas() {
    try {
        // Arguments for the contract function
        const arg1 = "value1"; // Replace with actual values
        const arg2 = "value2"; // Replace with actual values

        // Estimate gas for the specific function call
        const gasEstimate = await contract.estimateGas.yourFunctionName(arg1, arg2);

        console.log(`Estimated Gas: ${gasEstimate.toString()}`);
    } catch (error) {
        console.error("Error estimating gas:", error);
    }
}

estimateGas();

This script sets up a connection to an Ethereum node, prepares the transaction data, and then estimates the gas required for the transaction. It's a useful technique to prevent running into "insufficient funds for gas" errors when interacting with the Ethereum blockchain.