Pointers Deep Dive

The Pointer and PointerView precompiles bridge Cosmos assets and identities into Sei’s EVM. This guide covers the write/read split, typical mapping patterns, and operational safeguards before you dive into the individual ABI docs.

When to use Pointer vs PointerView

Pointer (write path)

PointerView (read path)

Pure lookups for contracts, front-ends, and indexers—no mutation risk.

Solo migrations

Pair Pointer with Solo when cloning CW balances into ERC wrappers.

Access control

Treat pointer writes as privileged; gate them behind multisig or governance modules.

Mapping patterns

Use Pointer for ownership/actions; use PointerView for safe queries. Contracts should never rely on off-chain caches for ownership truth.

Identifiers

ERC721 ↔ CW721	tokenId ↔ cw_token_id
ERC1155 ↔ CW1155	id ↔ cw_token_id
Owner	EVM address ↔ bech32 address

Examples

Register a CW20 token for EVM access


pragma solidity ^0.8.20;
 
interface IPointer {
    function addCW20Pointer(string calldata cwToken, address evmToken) external;
}
 
contract CW20Registrar {
    IPointer public immutable pointer;
 
    constructor(address pointerAddr) {
        pointer = IPointer(pointerAddr);
    }
 
    function register(string calldata cwToken, address evmToken) external {
        pointer.addCW20Pointer(cwToken, evmToken);
    }
}

Resolve ownership via PointerView


pragma solidity ^0.8.20;
 
interface IPointerView {
    function getCW721Pointer(string calldata cwCollection) external view returns (address);
}
 
contract OwnershipLens {
    IPointerView public immutable viewContract;
 
    constructor(address pointerView) {
        viewContract = IPointerView(pointerView);
    }
 
    function ownerContract(string calldata cwCollection) external view returns (address) {
        return viewContract.getCW721Pointer(cwCollection);
    }
}

Operational checklist

Audit CW contracts	Ensure token identifiers are immutable before registering pointers.
Gate writes	Route pointer mutations through trusted admin/governance contracts.
Backups	Export pointer tables periodically—they are critical state.
Indexers	Consume Pointer events and reconcile with PointerView reads to detect drift.

Troubleshooting

Error	Cause	Fix
`Pointer already exists`	Mapping previously created for the same CW contract/token id.	Verify intended target; rotate with dedicated migration scripts if needed.
`Pointer not found in PointerView`	Lookup is hitting the wrong namespace or stale deployment.	Use the correct getter (`getCW20Pointer`, `getCW721Pointer`, etc.) and check network aliases.
`Events missing`	`PointerRegistered` log not captured by indexer.	Replay from the registration block or rebuild mappings directly from PointerView.
`Unauthorized pointer write`	Write exposed to untrusted accounts.	Restrict `add*Pointer` to admin modules and monitor for rogue transactions.