Transfer Data

Send arbitrary data (messages) cross-chain using a three-step workflow: estimate fees, send the message, and track execution.

Workflow

Step	Command	Purpose
1. Estimate	send --only-get-fee	Get fee quote
2. Send	send --data	Execute transfer
3. Track	show	Monitor execution

Prerequisites

Configure RPC endpoints and wallet:

Bash

.env

RPC_SEPOLIA=https://ethereum-sepolia-rpc.publicnode.com
RPC_ARB_SEPOLIA=https://arbitrum-sepolia-rpc.publicnode.com
USER_KEY=0xYourPrivateKeyHere

Required balances on source chain:

• Gas for source transaction
• CCIP fee (native token or LINK)

Step 1: Estimate Fee

Get the fee quote before sending:

Bash

ccip-cli send \
  -s ethereum-testnet-sepolia \
  -r 0x0BF3dE8c5D3e8A2B34D2BEeB17ABfCeBaf363A59 \
  -d ethereum-testnet-sepolia-arbitrum-1 \
  --receiver 0xYourReceiverAddress \
  --data "hello world" \
  --only-get-fee

Output:

Fee: 0.000123456789012345 ETH (native)

To get the fee in LINK:

Bash

ccip-cli send \
  -s ethereum-testnet-sepolia \
  -r 0x0BF3dE8c5D3e8A2B34D2BEeB17ABfCeBaf363A59 \
  -d ethereum-testnet-sepolia-arbitrum-1 \
  --receiver 0xYourReceiverAddress \
  --data "hello world" \
  --fee-token LINK \
  --only-get-fee

Step 2: Send Message

Simple text message

Bash

ccip-cli send \
  -s ethereum-testnet-sepolia \
  -r 0x0BF3dE8c5D3e8A2B34D2BEeB17ABfCeBaf363A59 \
  -d ethereum-testnet-sepolia-arbitrum-1 \
  --receiver 0xYourReceiverAddress \
  --data "hello world" \
  --wallet ledger

Hex-encoded data

For binary data or contract calls, use hex encoding:

Bash

ccip-cli send \
  -s ethereum-testnet-sepolia \
  -r 0x0BF3dE8c5D3e8A2B34D2BEeB17ABfCeBaf363A59 \
  -d ethereum-testnet-sepolia-arbitrum-1 \
  --receiver 0xYourReceiverAddress \
  --data 0x1234abcdef \
  --wallet ledger

Pay fee in LINK

Bash

ccip-cli send \
  -s ethereum-testnet-sepolia \
  -r 0x0BF3dE8c5D3e8A2B34D2BEeB17ABfCeBaf363A59 \
  -d ethereum-testnet-sepolia-arbitrum-1 \
  --receiver 0xYourReceiverAddress \
  --data "hello world" \
  --fee-token LINK \
  --wallet ledger

With custom gas limit

For receivers with complex message handling:

Bash

ccip-cli send \
  -s ethereum-testnet-sepolia \
  -r 0x0BF3dE8c5D3e8A2B34D2BEeB17ABfCeBaf363A59 \
  -d ethereum-testnet-sepolia-arbitrum-1 \
  --receiver 0xYourReceiverAddress \
  --data "hello world" \
  --gas-limit 500000 \
  --wallet ledger

With estimated gas limit

Automatically estimate gas with a buffer:

Bash

ccip-cli send \
  -s ethereum-testnet-sepolia \
  -r 0x0BF3dE8c5D3e8A2B34D2BEeB17ABfCeBaf363A59 \
  -d ethereum-testnet-sepolia-arbitrum-1 \
  --receiver 0xYourReceiverAddress \
  --data "hello world" \
  --estimate-gas-limit 10 \
  --wallet ledger

Step 3: Track Message

Check message status:

Bash

ccip-cli show 0xYourTransactionHash

Wait for execution to complete:

Bash

ccip-cli show 0xYourTransactionHash --wait

Or include --wait in the send command:

Bash

ccip-cli send \
  -s ethereum-testnet-sepolia \
  -r 0x0BF3dE8c5D3e8A2B34D2BEeB17ABfCeBaf363A59 \
  -d ethereum-testnet-sepolia-arbitrum-1 \
  --receiver 0xYourReceiverAddress \
  --data "hello world" \
  --wallet ledger \
  --wait

Example

Bash

# Estimate fee
ccip-cli send \
  -s ethereum-testnet-sepolia \
  -r 0x0BF3dE8c5D3e8A2B34D2BEeB17ABfCeBaf363A59 \
  -d ethereum-testnet-sepolia-arbitrum-1 \
  --receiver 0xAB4f961939BFE6A93567cC57C59eEd7084CE2131 \
  --data "cross-chain message" \
  --only-get-fee

# Send message
ccip-cli send \
  -s ethereum-testnet-sepolia \
  -r 0x0BF3dE8c5D3e8A2B34D2BEeB17ABfCeBaf363A59 \
  -d ethereum-testnet-sepolia-arbitrum-1 \
  --receiver 0xAB4f961939BFE6A93567cC57C59eEd7084CE2131 \
  --data "cross-chain message" \
  --wallet ledger

# Track execution
ccip-cli show 0xabc123... --wait

Data Format

The --data option accepts two formats:

Format	Example	Behavior
Text	"hello world"	UTF-8 encoded automatically
Hex	0x1234abcd	Used as-is (must start with 0x)

For structured data, encode it as hex before sending:

Bash

# ABI-encoded function call
--data 0x095ea7b3000000000000000000000000...

Chain-Specific Behavior

EVM to EVM

Messages are delivered to the receiver contract's ccipReceive function. The receiver must implement the IAny2EVMMessageReceiver interface.

Receiver requirements:

• Must implement ccipReceive(Client.Any2EVMMessage)
• Must be a valid smart contract (not an EOA)

EVM to Solana

Messages are delivered to a Solana program. Additional accounts may be required.

Bash

ccip-cli send \
  -s ethereum-testnet-sepolia \
  -r 0x0BF3dE8c5D3e8A2B34D2BEeB17ABfCeBaf363A59 \
  -d solana-devnet \
  --receiver <SOLANA_PROGRAM_ADDRESS> \
  --data "hello solana" \
  --account <ACCOUNT_1> \
  --account <ACCOUNT_2>=rw \
  --wallet ledger

Solana to EVM

Source addresses use Solana format.

Bash

ccip-cli send \
  -s solana-devnet \
  -r <SOLANA_ROUTER> \
  -d ethereum-testnet-sepolia \
  --receiver 0xEvmAddress \
  --data "hello evm" \
  --wallet ledger

Failures

For failed messages, see Debugging Failed Messages.

Issue	Cause	Solution
Execution failed	Insufficient gas	Retry with manualExec --gas-limit
Receiver reverts	Contract logic error	Fix receiver contract
Invalid receiver	Not a contract	Use a valid contract address

Related

• send - Command reference
• show - Command reference
• Token Transfer - Transfer tokens
• Transfer Tokens and Data - Transfer both
• Configuration - RPC and wallet setup