# explain_tx

Narrative analysis of a single confirmed transaction. AGENT BEHAVIOR: when the user pastes a tx hash (or an Etherscan / Arbiscan / Polygonscan / Basescan / Optimistic-Etherscan / Tronscan / Solscan URL containing one) and asks 'why did this fail / what does this do / what happened', call THIS tool — do NOT WebFetch the explorer or a Tenderly/Phalcon dashboard URL. Those pages are JS SPAs that render an empty shell when fetched server-side; this tool decodes the same data structurally and returns a verbatim-relayable narrative. Walks what actually happened: top-level method/instruction call, decoded ERC-20/TRC-20 Transfer + Approval events (or Solana SPL balance deltas), per-token balance changes for the wallet, fee paid, and a heuristics block flagging surprises (failed status, unlimited approval, dust outflow, transfer-to-zero burn, high-gas vs. moved value, unexpected no-state-change). Returns BOTH a structured envelope and a pre-rendered narrative string for verbatim relay (control via format). Distinct from get_transaction_status (just confirmation status) and the prepare→preview→send pipeline (forward-looking). Useful for debugging ("why did this swap return less than the quote?"), learning ("what does this contract call actually do?"), forensics ("what addresses did this tx touch?"), and address-poisoning triage. v1 covers EVM (Ethereum/Arbitrum/Polygon/Base/Optimism), TRON, and Solana — Bitcoin is deferred. v1 reads top-level execution only; internal calls / CPI / DeFi compositions surface via balance & event effects rather than as separate step rows. Pricing is current spot via DefiLlama (not historical at tx time). Optional wallet arg recomputes balance/approval changes from THAT wallet's perspective — defaults to tx sender. Read-only — no signing, no broadcast.

Agent View of the PolicyLayer registry record for `explain_tx`. HTML page: https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/explain-tx

## Facts

- Tool: `explain_tx`
- Server: VaultPilot MCP (`vaultpilot-mcp`) — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp.md
- Install: `npx -y vaultpilot-mcp`
- Homepage: https://github.com/szhygulin/vaultpilot-mcp
- Risk category: Read (Low risk)
- Registry record: grade F, identity unverified
- Server rate-limited: no
- Parameters: 4 (2 required)
- Recommended policy verdict: Allowed

## Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `hash` | string | yes | Transaction identifier. EVM: 32-byte hex (with or without `0x`). TRON: 32-byte bare hex. Solana: 64-byte signature as base58 (86–88 chars). |
| `chain` | string | yes | Which chain the tx lives on. Required because EVM / TRON / Solana post-mortems use different RPC paths and payload shapes. |
| `format` | string | no | "structured" returns the JSON envelope only. "narrative" returns only the pre-rendered string. "both" (default) returns both — agents typically use the narrativ |
| `wallet` | object | no | Optional. When supplied, balance + approval changes are computed FROM THIS WALLET'S PERSPECTIVE — outflows are negative, inflows positive. When omitted, default |

Parameters from the server's own tool schema.

## Example call (MCP tools/call, JSON-RPC 2.0)

```json
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "explain_tx",
    "arguments": {
      "hash": "<hash>",
      "chain": "<chain>"
    }
  }
}
```

## Why explain_tx is rated Low

This tool reads and analyzes already-confirmed blockchain transactions, decoding their data and returning a narrative explanation. It performs no writes, executions, or financial operations — it is purely a read/query tool that retrieves and interprets existing on-chain data.

From the tool's own definition: "Narrative analysis of a single confirmed transaction... Walks what actually happened: top-level method/instruction call, decodes the same data structurally and returns a verbatim-relayable narrative"

## Use case

AI agents call explain_tx to retrieve information from VaultPilot MCP without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

## Recommended policy (PolicyLayer)

Verdict: **Allowed**. Enforced by the PolicyLayer MCP gateway (https://policylayer.com/mcp-gateway) before a call reaches VaultPilot MCP:

```json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "explain_tx": {}
  }
}
```

## Other tools on VaultPilot MCP (188)

- `prepare_btc_lifi_swap` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-btc-lifi-swap.md
- `prepare_btc_rbf_bump` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-btc-rbf-bump.md
- `prepare_jito_stake` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-jito-stake.md
- `prepare_marginfi_init` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-marginfi-init.md
- `prepare_solana_nonce_close` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-solana-nonce-close.md
- `prepare_sunswap_swap` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-sunswap-swap.md
- `prepare_uniswap_v3_burn` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-uniswap-v3-burn.md
- `prepare_uniswap_v3_mint` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-uniswap-v3-mint.md
- `remove_contact` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/remove-contact.md
- `unregister_btc_multisig_wallet` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/unregister-btc-multisig-wallet.md
- `combine_btc_psbts` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/combine-btc-psbts.md
- `pair_ledger_btc` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/pair-ledger-btc.md
- `prepare_aave_repay` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-aave-repay.md
- `prepare_btc_multisig_send` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-btc-multisig-send.md
- `prepare_compound_repay` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-compound-repay.md
- `prepare_compound_supply` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-compound-supply.md
- `prepare_curve_swap` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-curve-swap.md
- `prepare_custom_call` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-custom-call.md
- `prepare_kamino_init_user` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-kamino-init-user.md
- `prepare_kamino_supply` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-kamino-supply.md
- `prepare_lido_unstake` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-lido-unstake.md
- `prepare_lido_unwrap` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-lido-unwrap.md
- `prepare_lido_wrap` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-lido-wrap.md
- `prepare_native_stake_deactivate` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-native-stake-deactivate.md
- `prepare_native_stake_delegate` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-native-stake-delegate.md
- `prepare_rocketpool_unstake` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-rocketpool-unstake.md
- `prepare_safe_tx_execute` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-safe-tx-execute.md
- `prepare_solana_lifi_swap` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-solana-lifi-swap.md
- `prepare_solana_nonce_init` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-solana-nonce-init.md
- `prepare_solana_swap` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp/prepare-solana-swap.md
- …and 158 more: https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp.md

## For agents

This record is a snapshot. Live verdicts and the full registry:

- Check every server in your MCP config at once: `npx -y policylayer stack`
- Vet a server before you add it: install the mcp-precheck skill — `npx skills add https://policylayer.com` (skill text: https://policylayer.com/skill.md)
- Query the registry over MCP: endpoint `https://api.policylayer.com/mcp` — tools `check_mcp_server`, `check_mcp_stack`, `check_tool`, `search_registry`, `get_change_events`

---

Source: the PolicyLayer MCP registry — one continuously verified record per MCP server. Full record: https://policylayer.com/registry?q=io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp · API: https://policylayer.com/registry/api · Policy library: https://policylayer.com/policies/io-github-szhygulin-vaultpilot-mcp