steem-js: Broadcasting Operations

The steem.broadcast namespace causes permanent changes on the blockchain: votes, transfers, posts, witness operations and more. This page carries the complete broadcast examples from the steem-js documentation; reading chain data is covered in Reading chain data.

On-the-wire details of every operation are documented in the generated broadcast operations reference.

Broadcast API

Broadcast Block

Broadcast a new block on the Steem blockchain.

javascript

steem.api.broadcastBlockAsync(blockObject).then(function(data) {
  console.log(data);
});

Broadcast Transaction Synchronous

javascript

steem.api.broadcastTransactionSynchronousAsync(trx).then(function(result) {
  console.log(result);
});

Broadcast Operations

The steem.broadcast methods cause permanent changes on the blockchain.

Promise Support

All broadcast methods support both callback and Promise patterns. You can use either approach:

Promise Pattern (Recommended)

javascript

// Using Promises directly
steem.broadcast.voteAsync(wif, voter, author, permlink, weight)
  .then(result => console.log(result))
  .catch(error => console.error(error));

// Using async/await
async function castVote() {
  try {
    const result = await steem.broadcast.voteAsync(wif, voter, author, permlink, weight);
    console.log(result);
  } catch (error) {
    console.error(error);
  }
}

Callback Pattern (Legacy)

javascript

steem.broadcast.vote(wif, voter, author, permlink, weight, function(err, result) {
  if (err) {
    console.error(err);
  } else {
    console.log(result);
  }
});

Account Create

javascript

steem.broadcast.accountCreateAsync(wif, fee, creator, newAccountName, owner, active, posting, memoKey, jsonMetadata).then(function(result) {
  console.log(result);
});

Account Create With Delegation

javascript

steem.broadcast.accountCreateWithDelegationAsync(wif, fee, delegation, creator, newAccountName, owner, active, posting, memoKey, jsonMetadata, extensions).then(function(result) {
  console.log(result);
});

Delegate Vesting Shares

Delegates STEEM POWER, denominated in VESTS, from a delegator to the delegatee. Requires the delegator's private WIF key. Set the delegation to 0 to undelegate.

javascript

steem.broadcast.delegateVestingSharesAsync(wif, delegator, delegatee, vesting_shares).then(function(result) {
  console.log(result);
});

Account Update

javascript

steem.broadcast.accountUpdateAsync(wif, account, owner, active, posting, memoKey, jsonMetadata).then(function(result) {
  console.log(result);
});

Account Witness Proxy

javascript

steem.broadcast.accountWitnessProxyAsync(wif, account, proxy).then(function(result) {
  console.log(result);
});

Account Witness Vote

javascript

steem.broadcast.accountWitnessVoteAsync(wif, account, witness, approve).then(function(result) {
  console.log(result);
});

Change Recovery Account

javascript

steem.broadcast.changeRecoveryAccountAsync(wif, accountToRecover, newRecoveryAccount, extensions).then(function(result) {
  console.log(result);
});

Comment

javascript

steem.broadcast.commentAsync(wif, parentAuthor, parentPermlink, author, permlink, title, body, jsonMetadata).then(function(result) {
  console.log(result);
});

Comment Options

javascript

steem.broadcast.commentOptionsAsync(wif, author, permlink, maxAcceptedPayout, percentSteemDollars, allowVotes, allowCurationRewards, extensions).then(function(result) {
  console.log(result);
});

The extensions parameter supports the beneficiaries extension (tag 0). Pass an array of [tag, value], e.g. [[0, { beneficiaries: [{ account: 'foo', weight: 1000 }, { account: 'bar', weight: 5000 }] }]]. Beneficiaries are automatically sorted by account name before serialization to comply with the Steem protocol.

Convert

javascript

steem.broadcast.convertAsync(wif, owner, requestid, amount).then(function(result) {
  console.log(result);
});

Custom

javascript

steem.broadcast.customAsync(wif, requiredAuths, id, data).then(function(result) {
  console.log(result);
});

Custom Json

javascript

steem.broadcast.customJsonAsync(wif, requiredAuths, requiredPostingAuths, id, json).then(function(result) {
  console.log(result);
});

Delete Comment

javascript

steem.broadcast.deleteCommentAsync(wif, author, permlink).then(function(result) {
  console.log(result);
});

Escrow Operations

javascript

// Escrow Dispute
steem.broadcast.escrowDisputeAsync(wif, from, to, agent, who, escrowId);

// Escrow Release
steem.broadcast.escrowReleaseAsync(wif, from, to, agent, who, receiver, escrowId, sbdAmount, steemAmount);

// Escrow Transfer
steem.broadcast.escrowTransferAsync(wif, from, to, agent, escrowId, sbdAmount, steemAmount, fee, ratificationDeadline, escrowExpiration, jsonMeta);

// Escrow Approve
steem.broadcast.escrowApproveAsync(wif, from, to, agent, who, escrowId, approve);

Get Escrow

javascript

steem.api.getEscrowAsync(from, escrowId).then(function(data) {
  console.log(data);
});

Feed Publish

javascript

steem.broadcast.feedPublishAsync(wif, publisher, exchangeRate).then(function(result) {
  console.log(result);
});

Limit Order Operations

javascript

// Limit Order Cancel
steem.broadcast.limitOrderCancelAsync(wif, owner, orderid);

// Limit Order Create
steem.broadcast.limitOrderCreateAsync(wif, owner, orderid, amountToSell, minToReceive, fillOrKill, expiration);

// Limit Order Create2
steem.broadcast.limitOrderCreate2Async(wif, owner, orderid, amountToSell, exchangeRate, fillOrKill, expiration);

Limit Order Parameter Description:

Parameter	Description	Data Type	Notes
wif	Active private key	String
owner	Account name	String	No leading @ symbol
orderid	User defined ordernumber	Integer	Used to cancel orders
amountToSell	Amount to sell	String	"X.XXX ASSET" must have 3 decimal places. e.g. "25.100 SBD"
minToReceive	Amount desired	String	"X.XXX ASSET" must have 3 decimal places. e.g. "20.120 STEEM"
fillOrKill	Fill order from current order book or kill the order	Boolean	`false` places the order into the Order Book until either cancelled, filled, or the expiration time is reached
expiration	Time when order expires	Integer	Unit milliseconds. Zero is UNIX epoch

Account Recovery

javascript

// Recover Account
steem.broadcast.recoverAccountAsync(wif, accountToRecover, newOwnerAuthority, recentOwnerAuthority, extensions);

// Request Account Recovery
steem.broadcast.requestAccountRecoveryAsync(wif, recoveryAccount, accountToRecover, newOwnerAuthority, extensions);

Transfer Operations

javascript

// Transfer
steem.broadcast.transferAsync(wif, from, to, amount, memo);

// Transfer To Vesting
steem.broadcast.transferToVestingAsync(wif, from, to, amount);

// Transfer To Savings
steem.broadcast.transferToSavingsAsync(wif, from, to, amount, memo);

// Transfer From Savings
steem.broadcast.transferFromSavingsAsync(wif, from, requestId, to, amount, memo);

// Cancel Transfer From Savings
steem.broadcast.cancelTransferFromSavingsAsync(wif, from, requestId);

Transfer Parameter Description:

Parameter	Description	Data Type	Notes
wif	Active private key for the `from` account	String
from	Account name to take asset from	String	No leading @ symbol
to	Account name to place asset into	String	No leading @ symbol
amount	Amount of asset to transfer	String	"X.XXX ASSET" must have 3 decimal places. e.g. "5.150 SBD"

Vote

javascript

steem.broadcast.voteAsync(wif, voter, author, permlink, weight).then(function(result) {
  console.log(result);
});

Withdraw Vesting

javascript

steem.broadcast.withdrawVestingAsync(wif, account, vestingShares).then(function(result) {
  console.log(result);
});

Witness Update

javascript

steem.broadcast.witnessUpdateAsync(wif, owner, url, blockSigningKey, props, fee).then(function(result) {
  console.log(result);
});

Set Withdraw Vesting Route

javascript

steem.broadcast.setWithdrawVestingRouteAsync(wif, fromAccount, toAccount, percent, autoVest).then(function(result) {
  console.log(result);
});

Get Withdraw Routes

Gets withdraw routes (Steem Power withdraws).

javascript

steem.api.getWithdrawRoutesAsync(account, withdrawRouteType).then(function(data) {
  console.log(data);
});

Claim Reward Balance

Claims pending rewards, be they Steem, SBD or Vests.

javascript

steem.broadcast.claimRewardBalanceAsync(wif, account, reward_steem, reward_sbd, reward_vests).then(function(data) {
  console.log(data);
});

Parameter Description:

Parameter	Data Type	Description
wif	string	Use steem.auth.toWif(user, pass, type)
account	string	A Steem username
reward_steem	string	Balance like "0.000 STEEM"
reward_sbd	string	Balance like "0.000 SBD"
reward_vests	string	Balance like "0.000006 VESTS"

Multisig

You can use multisignature to broadcast an operation.

javascript

steem.broadcast.sendAsync({
  extensions: [],
  operations: [
    ['vote', {
      voter: 'guest123',
      author: 'fabien',
      permlink: 'test',
      weight: 1000
    }]
  ]
}, [privPostingWif1, privPostingWif2]).then(result => {
  console.log(result);
});

Transaction serialization (binary)

Broadcast and signing use a binary transaction format compatible with the Steem protocol (FC-style). The serializer lives in src/auth/serializer/transaction.ts and is used internally by steem.auth.signTransaction and steem.broadcast.sendAsync.

Usage

For signing / digest: steem.auth.serializeTransaction(trx) — returns the Buffer that is hashed for the signature. This is the public API for the binary serializer; steem.auth.transaction.toBuffer(trx) is the equivalent internal entry point.

javascript

// The public serializer (preferred for app code):
const buf = steem.auth.serializeTransaction(trx); // Buffer

Transaction shape: trx must include ref_block_num, ref_block_prefix, expiration, operations (array of [opType, opData]), and optionally extensions and signatures.

Serializer coverage

All Steem operation types used in operations are supported (op type indices 0–54), including:

Content & social: vote, comment, delete_comment, comment_options, custom_json
Accounts & authority: account_create, account_update, account_update2, account_create_with_delegation, create_claimed_account, request_account_recovery, recover_account, change_recovery_account, reset_account, set_reset_account, decline_voting_rights
Transfers & vesting: transfer, transfer_to_vesting, withdraw_vesting, set_withdraw_vesting_route, transfer_to_savings, transfer_from_savings, cancel_transfer_from_savings, delegate_vesting_shares
Market & convert: limit_order_create, limit_order_create2, limit_order_cancel, feed_publish, convert, fill_order
Escrow: escrow_transfer, escrow_dispute, escrow_release, escrow_approve
Rewards & system: claim_reward_balance, claim_reward_balance2, comment_reward, liquidity_reward, interest, fill_vesting_withdraw, fill_convert_request, fill_transfer_from_savings
Witness & custom: pow, pow2, witness_update, witness_set_properties, account_witness_vote, account_witness_proxy, custom, custom_binary

Field order and encoding (assets, authorities, time, extensions) follow the same layout as the C++ FC_REFLECT / steemutil protocol. Cross-language fixtures under test/fixtures/serializer/ are used to keep the JS output aligned with steemutil’s encoder where applicable.

Compatibility notes

Use STEEM / SBD / VESTS asset strings (e.g. "1.000 STEEM") for amount fields.
Authorities: owner / active / posting use weight_threshold, account_auths, and key_auths (array of [key, weight]); public keys as STM… strings.
Optional fields (e.g. owner in account_update) are encoded with a presence byte where the protocol requires it.
Serializer support does not imply a high-level steem.broadcast.* wrapper, JSON normalization, or string-only metadata handling for every operation listed above.

Where to go next

End-to-end vote / transfer / publish snippets: Getting started - Usage Examples.
Signing and verifying transactions by hand: Signed calls and signature verification.

steem-js: Broadcasting Operations ​

Broadcast API ​

Broadcast API ​

Broadcast Block ​

Broadcast Transaction Synchronous ​

Broadcast Operations ​

Broadcast Operations ​

Promise Support ​

Promise Pattern (Recommended) ​

Callback Pattern (Legacy) ​

Account Create ​

Account Create With Delegation ​

Delegate Vesting Shares ​

Account Update ​

Account Witness Proxy ​

Account Witness Vote ​

Change Recovery Account ​

Comment ​

Comment Options ​

Convert ​

Custom ​

Custom Json ​

Delete Comment ​

Escrow Operations ​

Get Escrow ​

Feed Publish ​

Limit Order Operations ​

Account Recovery ​

Transfer Operations ​

Vote ​

Withdraw Vesting ​

Witness Update ​

Set Withdraw Vesting Route ​

Get Withdraw Routes ​

Claim Reward Balance ​

Multisig ​

Transaction serialization (binary) ​

Where to go next ​

steem-js: Broadcasting Operations

Broadcast API

Broadcast API

Broadcast Block

Broadcast Transaction Synchronous

Broadcast Operations

Broadcast Operations

Promise Support

Promise Pattern (Recommended)

Callback Pattern (Legacy)

Account Create

Account Create With Delegation

Delegate Vesting Shares

Account Update

Account Witness Proxy

Account Witness Vote

Change Recovery Account

Comment

Comment Options

Convert

Custom

Custom Json

Delete Comment

Escrow Operations

Get Escrow

Feed Publish

Limit Order Operations

Account Recovery

Transfer Operations

Vote

Withdraw Vesting

Witness Update

Set Withdraw Vesting Route

Get Withdraw Routes

Claim Reward Balance

Multisig

Transaction serialization (binary)

Where to go next