Question about deposit_cycles

Developers
1

I’m implementing deposit_cycles in Azle, and I am not quite sure how the cycles get sent in Rust. Can someone confirm my thinking here?

I imagine that I need to call the management canister’s deposit_cycles method using the call_with_payment or call_with_payment128 functions, is that correct?

2

Correct. call_with_payment128 specifies the cycles that will be transferred.

3

A canister can also implement a function to accept cycles from anyone calling it, like so:

#[update]
fn wallet_receive() -> () {
    let amount = ic_cdk::api::call::msg_cycles_available128();
    if amount > 0 {
        ic_cdk::api::call::msg_cycles_accept128(amount);
    }
}

Using call_with_payment_128() on this fn works fine and the canister is credited.

ic_cdk::api::call::call_with_payment128(
        index_canister_id,
        "wallet_receive",
        {},
        cycles_amount,
    )
    .await

I imagine that I need to call the management canister’s deposit_cycles method using the call_with_payment or call_with_payment128 functions, is that correct?

As far as I understand only the controllers of a canister can call the management canister’s deposit_cycles. The code above is one of the ways to work around that. If you add that fn, anyone can add cycles to your canister.

4

Thanks to both of you!

5

This is incorrect, anyone can call deposit_cycles. wallet_receive does not exist to work around a limitation of deposit_cycles, but rather because when it was created, deposit_cycles did not exist.

6

Happy to stand corrected! I remember reading that the “cycles tipjar” project needed you to add a special canister as a controller so that their service works. I wonder if they know that the limitation was lifted sometime after they coded their app.

7

A permission-based limitation on giving a canister cycles never existed; previously the canister needed an explicit function for it to be possible, and now it does not. The tip jar requires the black hole as a controller because it reads a canister’s cycle balance in order to distribute based on need, which does require being a controller.

8

Thanks for the thorough explanation! I must have jumped to the conclusion that you can’t send cycles on my own :blush: