HostHostDeFi › Features › Honeypot Checker
The honeypot question is simple: can you sell?
A honeypot lets you buy and blocks the exit. This check reads the mint's authorities and Token-2022 extensions on-chain — and fails closed, so a mint that can't be positively cleared never reads as safe.
The honeypot is the oldest trap in the book and still the most profitable: the chart pumps, your buy lands, and the sell transaction fails — or succeeds for everyone except you. On Solana the trap lives in two places: the mint's authorities and, for Token-2022 tokens, extension classes that turn the transfer itself into the weapon. A honeypot check reads both, straight off the mint account.
What the check reads
Freeze authority is the classic door — while it's live, the mint's owner can freeze any holder's token account, which is a can't-sell with extra steps. Mint authority is the quieter cousin — it can't stop your sell, but it can print enough supply to make your sell worthless. Token-2022 adds a third layer: extensions baked into the mint that rewire what a transfer does.
| Token-2022 extension | What it does to you |
|---|---|
| Transfer fee | Sells can be taxed up to 100% — the dev keeps the proceeds |
| Default-frozen accounts | New holders start frozen — you buy, you can't move |
| Non-transferable mint | Literally cannot be sold, by design |
| Permanent delegate | The dev can move tokens out of any wallet |
| Transfer hook | A dev program runs on every transfer — arbitrary sell logic |
| Pausable mint | All transfers can be frozen globally at the dev's word |
Fail-closed, on purpose
The dangerous version of this tool is the one that shrugs on an error and shows green. This check inverts it: an unreadable mint, an unknown token program, a node hiccup — all of them return not safe, with the reason stated. Positive clearance means the authorities and extensions were actually read and actually clean; anything less is a warning, not a pass.
The other half of the trap: a honeypot check proves the contract can trap you — a clean read doesn't prove the dev won't pull the liquidity instead. Run the full rug check for the wallet-side signals, and locked vs burned liquidity for the pool side.
Check a mint for the can't-sell trap
Paste the address — authorities and Token-2022 extensions come back read from the chain itself.
Frequently asked
How do I check if a Solana token is a honeypot?
Paste the mint into the scanner — it reads the mint account on-chain and reports live freeze authority, live mint authority, and every dangerous Token-2022 extension present. Any one of them means the sell side can be blocked or taxed.
What Token-2022 extensions make a token a honeypot?
Transfer fee (sells taxed up to 100%), default-frozen accounts, non-transferable mints, permanent delegate, transfer hooks, and pausable mints — each one hands the dev a way to block or confiscate your exit.
What does 'fail-closed' mean for a honeypot check?
If the mint can't be positively cleared — unreadable account, unknown program, node failure — the result is not safe, never an assumed pass. A warning only clears when the authorities were actually read clean.
Is the honeypot checker free?
Yes — paste a mint, get the verdict. No signup and no wallet connection; results are cached briefly so repeat checks are instant.
Can a token pass the honeypot check and still rug?
Yes — clean authorities prove the contract can't freeze or confiscate your tokens, but liquidity pulls and dev sell-offs are different traps. That's what the rug check's wallet and bundle signals are for.