I’m working on a project where I need to create an NFT and then modify its metadata afterwards. The minting part works fine, but I run into trouble when I try to update the metadata. Every time I attempt to change the NFT’s metadata through the token metadata program, I get hit with a custom program error that shows error code 0x3b. I’ve been stuck on this for a while now and can’t figure out what’s causing this specific error. Has anyone encountered this same issue before? I’m not sure if it’s something wrong with my code or if there’s a specific way I need to handle metadata updates. Any help would be really appreciated since I’m pretty new to working with NFT metadata on Solana.
Error 0x3b is an InvalidInstruction error in the token metadata program. Your instruction data doesn’t match what the program expects for metadata updates. I hit this same issue last month updating creator royalties on an NFT. Turned out I was using update_metadata_accounts instead of update_metadata_accounts_v2 - wrong instruction variant. Double-check you’re using the right instruction for your update and that all required accounts are in your transaction. Also verify your metadata account derivation is correct since that can trigger instruction parsing failures that show up as 0x3b errors.
totally get your frustration! i faced that error too. double-check your update authority settings; they can be tricky. also, ensure your metadata’s structured right. if it still doesn’t work, maybe ask the dev community for insights. they often have great tips!
Oh wow, this brings back memories! I banged my head against the wall with the same metadata issues when I started with Solana NFTs.
Quick question - are you signing the transaction with the correct update authority? Sounds basic but I’ve seen this trip up tons of people (myself included lol). What exactly are you trying to update? Name, description, image URI, or something else?
I ask because sometimes the error’s super misleading and it’s not about instruction format at all - it’s permissions or your new metadata being too large. I once spent hours debugging what I thought was a code issue when my new JSON metadata was just too big for the account space.
What SDK are you using? Anchor, Solana web3.js, or something else? Might help narrow down the issue. Also curious if you’re testing on devnet or mainnet - program versions sometimes behave differently.