Merge pull request #80 from ethpandaops/chore/7778-comments

docs: clarify gas semantics for EIP-7778 split between receipt and block gas

Author: mattevans

pkg/ethereum/execution/block.go

@@ -131,6 +131,10 @@ type Receipt interface {
 	// TxHash returns the transaction hash.
 	TxHash() Hash
 
-	// GasUsed returns the gas used by the transaction.
+	// GasUsed returns the post-refund gas used by the transaction (what the user pays).
+	//
+	// EIP-7778 context: This remains post-refund. The EIP-7778 split between receipt gas
+	// and block gas only affects ExecutionResult at the EVM layer; the Receipt's GasUsed
+	// field and its derivation from CumulativeGasUsed are unchanged.
 	GasUsed() uint64
 }

pkg/ethereum/execution/structlog.go

@@ -1,6 +1,15 @@
 package execution
 
+// TraceTransaction holds the result of a debug_traceTransaction call.
 type TraceTransaction struct {
+	// Gas is the post-refund gas used by this transaction (what the user pays).
+	// Set by the data source from the execution result or receipt's GasUsed.
+	//
+	// EIP-7778 context: After EIP-7778, Ethereum splits gas accounting into:
+	//   - ReceiptGasUsed (post-refund): what the user pays, stored in receipts
+	//   - BlockGasUsed (pre-refund): used for block gas limit accounting
+	// This field carries the receipt (post-refund) value. The computeIntrinsicGas()
+	// formula in structlog_agg depends on this being post-refund.
 	Gas         uint64  `json:"gas"`
 	Failed      bool    `json:"failed"`
 	ReturnValue *string `json:"returnValue"`

pkg/processor/transaction/structlog_agg/aggregator.go

@@ -356,12 +356,17 @@ func mapOpcodeToCallType(op string) string {
 // computeIntrinsicGas computes the intrinsic gas for a transaction.
 // This is the gas consumed before EVM execution begins (21000 base + calldata costs).
 //
-// Formula from int_transaction_call_frame.sql:
+// The receiptGas parameter MUST be the post-refund value (what the user pays).
+// This is the value from Receipt.GasUsed / ExecutionResult.ReceiptGasUsed.
 //
-//	IF gas_refund >= receipt_gas / 4 THEN
-//	  intrinsic = receipt_gas * 5 / 4 - gas_cumulative  (refund was capped)
-//	ELSE
-//	  intrinsic = receipt_gas - gas_cumulative + gas_refund  (uncapped)
+// EIP-7778 context: This formula remains correct after EIP-7778. The EIP splits
+// ExecutionResult into ReceiptGasUsed (post-refund) and BlockGasUsed (pre-refund),
+// but the receipt gas semantics that this formula depends on are unchanged.
+//
+// The computed intrinsic gas value does not encode whether the EVM refund cap
+// (EIP-3529: max refund = gasUsed/5) was applied. It is up to the consumer of
+// this data to determine whether the cap was hit, using the gas_refund and
+// gas_used columns.
 func computeIntrinsicGas(gasCumulative, gasRefund, receiptGas uint64) uint64 {
 	if receiptGas == 0 {
 		return 0

pkg/processor/transaction/structlog_agg/transaction_processing.go

@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ func (p *Processor) ProcessTransaction(ctx context.Context, block execution.Bloc
 
 		// For simple transfers (no EVM execution), all gas is intrinsic.
 		// This is true for both successful and failed transactions.
+		// trace.Gas is the post-refund receipt gas — see TraceTransaction.Gas doc.
 		intrinsicGas := trace.Gas
 		rootFrame.IntrinsicGas = &intrinsicGas
 
@@ -158,8 +159,14 @@ func (p *Processor) ProcessTransaction(ctx context.Context, block execution.Bloc
 		aggregator.SetRootTargetAddress(&addr)
 	}
 
-	// Get receipt gas for intrinsic gas calculation
-	// For now, we use trace.Gas as a proxy (TODO: get actual receipt gas from block receipts)
+	// Get receipt gas for intrinsic gas calculation.
+	// trace.Gas is the post-refund receipt gas set by the data source (erigone/xatu sets
+	// this from ExecutionResult.ReceiptGasUsed; RPC mode gets it from receipt.GasUsed).
+	//
+	// EIP-7778 context: computeIntrinsicGas() requires the post-refund value because its
+	// formula accounts for refunds: intrinsic = receiptGas - gasCumulative + gasRefund.
+	// This is correct both pre- and post-EIP-7778 since ReceiptGasUsed preserves the
+	// same post-refund semantics that GasUsed had before the split.
 	receiptGas := trace.Gas
 
 	// Finalize aggregation and get call frame rows