transfer_admin

Transfers admin ownership of a Settings account to a new pubkey. Only the current admin can call this instruction.

Signature

pub fn transfer_admin(
    ctx: Context<TransferAdmin>,
    new_admin: Pubkey,
) -> Result<()>

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
`new_admin`	`Pubkey`	Public key of the new admin

Accounts

Account	Type	Description
`admin`	`Signer`	Current admin of the Settings account
`settings`	`Account<Settings>`	Settings PDA to transfer

Usage

TypeScript

import { buildTransferAdminInstruction } from './codama-ts-range-custom';

const instruction = await buildTransferAdminInstruction({
  admin: currentAdminPublicKey,
  newAdmin: newAdminPublicKey,
});

// Sign with current admin and send
const transaction = new Transaction().add(instruction);
await sendTransaction(transaction);

Anchor

await program.methods
  .transferAdmin(newAdminPublicKey)
  .accounts({
    admin: currentAdmin.publicKey,
    settings: settingsPda,
  })
  .rpc();

Behavior

Verifies caller is the current admin
Updates the admin field to new_admin
Current admin immediately loses all control
PDA address remains unchanged

Errors

Error	Cause
Constraint violation	Caller is not the current admin
Account not found	Settings account doesn’t exist

Use Cases

Organizational Handoff

Transferring control when changing team ownership:

// Current admin transfers to new team lead
const instruction = await buildTransferAdminInstruction({
  admin: currentTeamLead.publicKey,
  newAdmin: newTeamLead.publicKey,
});

Multi-sig Migration

Transferring to a multi-sig wallet for enhanced security:

// Transfer to a Squads multi-sig
const instruction = await buildTransferAdminInstruction({
  admin: singleSignerAdmin.publicKey,
  newAdmin: squadsMultisigPda,
});

Emergency Recovery

Setting up a recovery pubkey before deployment:

// Create backup admin keypair, store securely offline
const backupAdmin = Keypair.generate();
console.log('Backup admin:', backupAdmin.publicKey.toBase58());
console.log('Store this keypair securely offline!');

// Later, if primary admin is compromised:
const instruction = await buildTransferAdminInstruction({
  admin: primaryAdmin.publicKey,
  newAdmin: backupAdmin.publicKey,
});

Important Notes

PDA Remains Unchanged

The Settings PDA is derived from the original admin pubkey. After transfer:

// PDA derivation uses original admin
const [settingsPda] = PublicKey.findProgramAddressSync(
  [Buffer.from("settings"), originalAdmin.toBuffer()], // Original admin!
  RANGE_PROGRAM_ID
);

// But the new admin controls it
// settings.admin === newAdminPublicKey

This means existing integrations that reference the PDA continue to work.

Two-Step Secure Transfer

For high-value transfers, consider a two-step process:

// Step 1: Transfer to intermediate (verify new admin has access)
await buildTransferAdminInstruction({
  admin: currentAdmin.publicKey,
  newAdmin: intermediateAdmin.publicKey, // New admin's hot wallet
});

// Step 2: New admin transfers to their secure wallet
await buildTransferAdminInstruction({
  admin: intermediateAdmin.publicKey,
  newAdmin: secureMultisig.publicKey,
});