NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra · error · RuntimeError

No transaction

Error message

No transaction

What it means

Raised as RuntimeError by State.require_tx() when STATE.tx is None — i.e. the command is executing outside an open transaction. All trace mutations must occur inside an 'open_tx' context; without one there is no transaction to commit.

Source

Thrown at Ghidra/Debug/Debugger-agent-drgn/src/main/py/src/ghidradrgn/commands.py:133

    def require_trace(self) -> Trace[Extra]:
        if self.trace is None:
            raise RuntimeError("No trace active")
        return self.trace

    def require_no_trace(self) -> None:
        if self.trace != None:
            raise RuntimeError("Trace already started")

    def reset_trace(self) -> None:
        self.trace: Optional[Trace[Extra]] = None
        util.set_convenience_variable('_ghidra_tracing', "false")
        self.reset_tx()

    def require_tx(self) -> Tuple[Trace, Transaction]:
        trace = self.require_trace()
        if self.tx is None:
            raise RuntimeError("No transaction")
        return trace, self.tx

    def require_no_tx(self) -> None:
        if self.tx != None:
            raise RuntimeError("Transaction already started")

    def reset_tx(self) -> None:
        self.tx: Optional[Transaction] = None


STATE = State()


def ghidra_trace_connect(address: Optional[str] = None) -> None:
    """
    Connect Python to Ghidra for tracing

    Address must be of the form 'host:port'

View on GitHub (pinned to d5f144c24d)

Solutions

1. Wrap the mutation in `with trace.open_tx('label'):` so STATE.tx is set during the call.
2. Guard: if STATE.tx is None: open a transaction first.
3. Use commands.open_tracked_tx() helper which manages the tx lifecycle.

Example fix

// before
trace.create_object(...)  # require_tx() -> RuntimeError
// after
with trace.open_tx('my op'):
    trace.create_object(...)

trace = STATE.require_trace()
if STATE.tx is None:
    raise RuntimeError('open a transaction first via trace.open_tx(...)')

def in_transaction() -> bool:
    return getattr(STATE, 'tx', None) is not None

try:
    trace, tx = STATE.require_tx()
except RuntimeError as e:
    if 'No transaction' in str(e):
        with trace.open_tx('auto'):
            do_mutation(trace)
        return
    raise

When it happens

Trigger: Calling a mutating trace command outside a `with STATE.require_trace().open_tx(...)` block; after a transaction was reset/closed.

Common situations: Custom agent code mutating the trace without opening a tx; a tx that errored and was reset; mis-ordered refresh logic.

Related errors

• Transaction already started
• No memory mapper
• No register mapper
• Not connected
• Already connected

AI-assisted analysis of NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra@d5f144c24d (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/39a7980af784a1c6. Report an issue: GitHub.