unionlabs/union · error · anyhow::Error

no balance for denom

Error message

no balance for denom {}

What it means

`CosmosClient::get_balance` issues a `/cosmos.bank.v1beta1.Query/Balance` grpc_abci_query and unwraps `resp.balance`. Cosmos SDK returns an empty balance when the account holds no Coin for that denom, and this code converts that None into an error rather than zero.

Solutions

1. List the account's actual balances (`/cosmos.bank.v1beta1.Query/AllBalances`) and use the exact denom string returned
2. Fund the account (faucet or bank send) before the step that requires the balance
3. If zero is a legitimate state in your flow, branch on the Option instead of calling this helper

Example fix

// before
let coin = client.get_balance(&addr, "uatom").await?; 
// after
let amount = client
    .get_balance(&addr, denom)
    .await
    .ok()
    .flatten_amount_if_any() // Option<Coin>
    .unwrap_or_else(|| Coin::default_for(denom));

// list real denoms before querying a specific one
let balances: QueryAllBalancesResponse = client
    .rpc.client()
    .grpc_abci_query("/cosmos.bank.v1beta1.Query/AllBalances", &QueryAllBalancesRequest { address: addr.clone().into(), ..Default::default() }, None, false)
    .await?.into_result()?.unwrap();
anyhow::ensure!(balances.balances.iter().any(|c| c.denom == denom), "denom {denom} not held by {addr}");

match client.get_balance(&addr, denom).await {
    Ok(coin) => Ok(coin),
    Err(e) if e.to_string().starts_with("no balance for denom") => {
        // decide explicitly: is zero acceptable, or should the account be funded first?
        fund_if_needed(&addr, denom).await?;
        client.get_balance(&addr, denom).await
    }
    Err(e) => Err(e),
}

When it happens

Trigger: Querying a denom the account has never held (zero balances are omitted by the bank module); a misspelled or differently-formatted denom (uatom vs atom, factory/ibc denom prefixes); the correct denom but an unfunded wallet.

Common situations: Test setup forgets to fund the account; faucet mint hasn't landed; base vs display denomination confusion on testnets; address copied for the wrong network.

Related errors

• client info not found
• config file must be specified
• error while creating a new delegation period record
• error while incrementing period
• Expected revert 0x , but transaction succeeded

AI-assisted analysis of unionlabs/union@031785bb6d (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3c56c726dbbf9c95. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at tools/union-test/src/cosmos.rs:625

    pub async fn get_balance(
        &self,
        address: impl Into<String>,
        denom: &str,
    ) -> anyhow::Result<protos::cosmos::base::v1beta1::Coin> {
        let req = QueryBalanceRequest {
            address: address.into(),
            denom: denom.to_string(),
        };
        let resp: QueryBalanceResponse = self
            .rpc
            .client()
            .grpc_abci_query("/cosmos.bank.v1beta1.Query/Balance", &req, None, false)
            .await?
            .into_result()?
            .unwrap();
        resp.balance
            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("no balance for denom {}", denom))
    }

    pub async fn send_cosmwasm_transaction_with_retry(
        &self,
        contract: Addr,
        msg: (Vec<u8>, Vec<Coin>),
        signer: &LocalSigner,
    ) -> Option<Result<TxResponse, BroadcastTxCommitError>> {
        let max_retries = 5;
        for attempt in 1..=max_retries {
            let outcome = self
                .send_cosmwasm_transaction(contract.clone(), msg.clone(), signer)
                .await;

            if let Some(Ok(_)) = &outcome {
                return outcome;
            }

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