fix: say a contract creation has no recipient instead of a blank line (closes #250)

A transaction with no `to` showed a blank recipient line on the wait,
success and error screens and the transaction detail view: an empty
address, with a colour dot whose colour was `undefined`. The approval
screen showed "(contract creation)".

All five now say "This transaction creates a new contract. It has no
recipient." A transaction with a real `to` is unchanged. The new test
drives each screen both ways.

Model: opus-5-5

README.md

@@ -1437,7 +1437,9 @@ view would leave a wallet one click from deletion.
 - **Elements**:
     - "Transaction Broadcast" heading (no back button — tx is irreversible)
     - Amount + symbol
-    - To: color dot + full address + etherscan link
+    - To: color dot + full address + etherscan link; for a contract creation,
+      which has no recipient, "This transaction creates a new contract. It has
+      no recipient." instead
     - Transaction hash: full hash (tap to copy) + etherscan link
     - Count-up timer: "Waiting for confirmation... Ns"
 - **Behavior**: Polls `getTransactionReceipt` every 10 seconds. The wait is
@@ -1466,7 +1468,8 @@ view would leave a wallet one click from deletion.
     - Decoded action well (shown when the transaction carried recognized
       calldata; the top-level Amount and To are hidden in that case)
     - Amount + symbol
-    - To: color dot + full address + etherscan link
+    - To: color dot + full address + etherscan link, or for a contract creation
+      the same sentence as on WaitTx
     - Block number
     - Transaction hash: full hash (tap to copy) + etherscan link
     - "Done" button
@@ -1481,7 +1484,8 @@ view would leave a wallet one click from deletion.
 - **Elements**:
     - "Transaction Failed" heading
     - Amount + symbol
-    - To: color dot + full address + etherscan link
+    - To: color dot + full address + etherscan link, or for a contract creation
+      the same sentence as on WaitTx
     - Error message (dashed border box)
     - Transaction hash section (hidden if broadcast failed before getting hash):
       full hash (tap to copy) + etherscan link
@@ -1519,7 +1523,7 @@ view would leave a wallet one click from deletion.
     - From: blockie + color dot + full address (tap to copy) + etherscan link;
       ENS name if available
     - To: blockie + color dot + full address (tap to copy) + etherscan link; ENS
-      name if available
+      name if available. For a contract creation, the same sentence as on WaitTx
     - Time: ISO datetime + relative age in parentheses
     - Block: block number (tap to copy) + etherscan block link
     - Amount: value + symbol (bold)
@@ -1830,8 +1834,8 @@ view would leave a wallet one click from deletion.
     - Decoded action (if calldata is recognized): action name, token details,
       amounts, steps, deadline (see Transaction Decoding)
     - From: color dot + full address + etherscan link
-    - Contract: color dot + full address + etherscan link (or "contract
-      creation"), token symbol label if known
+    - Contract: color dot + full address + etherscan link, token symbol label if
+      known; for a contract creation, the same sentence as on WaitTx
     - Value: amount in ETH (4 decimal places, USD in parentheses)
     - Network fee (max): gas limit × fee per gas in ETH (4 decimal places, USD
       in parentheses), with the gas limit and the fee per gas in gwei below it

TODO.md

@@ -45,6 +45,13 @@ but the review is broader than any of them.
 
 # Completed Steps
 
+- 2026-10-04: A transaction with no `to` says "This transaction creates a new
+  contract. It has no recipient." on its recipient line
+  ([#250](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/AutistMask/issues/250)). The wait, success
+  and error screens and the transaction detail view showed a blank line there,
+  with a colour dot whose colour was `undefined`; the approval screen showed
+  "(contract creation)". A transaction with a real `to` is unchanged.
+
 - 2026-10-04: A method the wallet does not implement is refused with EIP-1193
   code `4200` ([#279](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/AutistMask/issues/279)). The
   background's `Unsupported method: <method>` error carried no code, so a site

src/popup/views/approval.js

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 const {
     $,
     addressTitle,
+    CONTRACT_CREATION_TEXT,
     escapeHtml,
     showView,
     showError,
@@ -320,7 +321,7 @@ function showTxApproval(details) {
         toHtml += approvalAddressHtml(toAddr);
         $("approve-tx-to").innerHTML = toHtml;
     } else {
-        $("approve-tx-to").innerHTML = escapeHtml("(contract creation)");
+        $("approve-tx-to").innerHTML = escapeHtml(CONTRACT_CREATION_TEXT);
     }
 
     const ethValueFormatted = formatTxValue(

src/popup/views/helpers.js

@@ -404,6 +404,12 @@ function addressTitle(address, wallets) {
     return null;
 }
 
+// What every recipient line says for a transaction with no `to`. Such a
+// transaction creates a contract, so there is no address to show, and a blank
+// line on these screens reads as a rendering fault.
+const CONTRACT_CREATION_TEXT =
+    "This transaction creates a new contract. It has no recipient.";
+
 // Render an address with color dot, optional ENS name, optional title,
 // and optional truncation. Title and ENS are shown as bold labels above
 // the full address.
@@ -615,6 +621,7 @@ module.exports = {
     escapeHtml,
     displaySymbol,
     addressTitle,
+    CONTRACT_CREATION_TEXT,
     formatAddressHtml,
     renderAddressHtml,
     copyableHtml,

src/popup/views/transactionDetail.js

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ const {
     showFlash,
     flashCopyFeedback,
     addressTitle,
+    CONTRACT_CREATION_TEXT,
     addressDotHtml,
     escapeHtml,
     isoDate,
@@ -94,13 +95,18 @@ function render() {
     $("tx-detail-hash").innerHTML = txHashHtml(tx.hash);
 
     const fromTitle = addressTitle(tx.from, state.wallets);
-    const toTitle = addressTitle(tx.to, state.wallets);
     $("tx-detail-from").innerHTML = txAddressHtml(
         tx.from,
         tx.fromEns,
         fromTitle,
     );
-    $("tx-detail-to").innerHTML = txAddressHtml(tx.to, tx.toEns, toTitle);
+    // A contract creation has no recipient: transactions.js gives it `to: ""`.
+    if (tx.to) {
+        const toTitle = addressTitle(tx.to, state.wallets);
+        $("tx-detail-to").innerHTML = txAddressHtml(tx.to, tx.toEns, toTitle);
+    } else {
+        $("tx-detail-to").innerHTML = escapeHtml(CONTRACT_CREATION_TEXT);
+    }
 
     // Exact amount (full precision, copyable)
     const detailSym = displaySymbol(tx.symbol);

src/popup/views/txStatus.js

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ const {
     $,
     showView,
     addressTitle,
+    CONTRACT_CREATION_TEXT,
     escapeHtml,
     renderAddressHtml,
     attachCopyHandlers,
@@ -58,7 +59,10 @@ function endWait() {
     }
 }
 
+// A contract creation reaches these screens with `to` as "" (approval.js
+// writes `to: toAddr || ""`).
 function toAddressHtml(address) {
+    if (!address) return escapeHtml(CONTRACT_CREATION_TEXT);
     const title = addressTitle(address, state.wallets);
     return renderAddressHtml(address, { title });
 }
@@ -202,8 +206,9 @@ function restoreWait() {
     if (!info || typeof info !== "object" || Array.isArray(info)) return false;
     // A string is the whole requirement: the empty string is what a
     // contract-deployment approval persists (approval.js writes `to: toAddr
-    // || ""`), and both fields render harmlessly when empty, so refusing it
-    // would abandon a wait the live path itself created.
+    // || ""`), an empty `to` renders as a contract creation and an empty
+    // amount renders harmlessly, so refusing it would abandon a wait the live
+    // path itself created.
     if (typeof info.to !== "string") return false;
     if (typeof info.amount !== "string") return false;
     if (typeof w.broadcastTime !== "number" || !isFinite(w.broadcastTime)) {

tests/contractCreation.test.js

@@ -0,0 +1,252 @@
+// The recipient line of a contract creation
+// (https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/AutistMask/issues/250).
+//
+// A transaction with no `to` creates a contract. The approval screen, the
+// wait, success and error screens, and the transaction detail view each say
+// so in a sentence on the recipient line, where they used to show a blank
+// line (an empty address, with a colour dot whose colour was `undefined`) or,
+// on the approval screen, "(contract creation)". A transaction with a real
+// `to` still shows that address.
+//
+// Driven against a minimal DOM stub in the shape
+// tests/typedDataPermit.test.js uses.
+
+jest.mock("../src/shared/log", () => ({
+    log: {
+        debugf: () => {},
+        infof: () => {},
+        warnf: () => {},
+        errorf: () => {},
+    },
+    // The transaction detail view fetches on-chain details after drawing; an
+    // answer that is not ok leaves the drawn lines as they are.
+    debugFetch: async () => ({ ok: false }),
+    setRuntimeDebug: () => {},
+    isDebug: () => false,
+}));
+
+// The wait screen polls for a receipt; this one never arrives.
+jest.mock("../src/shared/balances", () => ({
+    getProvider: () => ({ getTransactionReceipt: () => new Promise(() => {}) }),
+    refreshBalances: () => {},
+}));
+
+globalThis.chrome = {
+    storage: { local: { get: async () => ({}), set: async () => {} } },
+};
+
+const { state } = require("../src/shared/state");
+const approval = require("../src/popup/views/approval");
+const txStatus = require("../src/popup/views/txStatus");
+const transactionDetail = require("../src/popup/views/transactionDetail");
+
+const SENTENCE =
+    "This transaction creates a new contract. It has no recipient.";
+
+const FROM = "0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000a11";
+const RECIPIENT = "0x66133E8ea0f5D1d612D2502a968757D1048c214a";
+const TX_HASH =
+    "0x85215772ed26ea8b39c2b3b18779030487efbe0b5fd7e882592b2f62b837be84";
+// Init code for a contract creation's data.
+const INIT_CODE = "0x600160005500";
+
+function makeElement(id) {
+    const classes = new Set();
+    const el = {
+        id,
+        textContent: "",
+        value: "",
+        innerHTML: "",
+        disabled: false,
+        style: {},
+        dataset: {},
+        classList: {
+            add: (...names) => names.forEach((n) => classes.add(n)),
+            remove: (...names) => names.forEach((n) => classes.delete(n)),
+            contains: (n) => classes.has(n),
+            toggle: (n, force) => {
+                const on = force === undefined ? !classes.has(n) : force;
+                if (on) classes.add(n);
+                else classes.delete(n);
+                return on;
+            },
+        },
+        addEventListener: () => {},
+        querySelectorAll: () => [],
+    };
+    // Views reach for .parentElement to hide whole sections.
+    Object.defineProperty(el, "parentElement", {
+        get: () => node(id + "-parent"),
+    });
+    return el;
+}
+
+function makeDocument() {
+    const els = new Map();
+    return {
+        getElementById(id) {
+            // The debug banner is created on demand by helpers.js; absent
+            // is the state a non-debug, non-testnet popup is in.
+            if (id === "debug-banner") return null;
+            if (!els.has(id)) els.set(id, makeElement(id));
+            return els.get(id);
+        },
+        createElement: () => makeElement("created"),
+        body: { prepend: () => {} },
+    };
+}
+
+function node(id) {
+    return globalThis.document.getElementById(id);
+}
+
+// The line a transaction with a real `to` shows: that address, and nothing
+// left over from an empty one.
+function expectAddressLine(html) {
+    expect(html).toContain(RECIPIENT);
+    expect(html).not.toContain(SENTENCE);
+    expect(html).not.toContain("undefined");
+}
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+    globalThis.document = makeDocument();
+    globalThis.window = { location: { search: "" } };
+    state.wallets = [];
+    state.trackedTokens = [];
+    state.viewData = {};
+    state.viewStack = [];
+    state.currentView = null;
+    txStatus.init({ doRefreshAndRender: () => {} });
+});
+
+afterEach(() => {
+    txStatus.endWait();
+});
+
+// Open the transaction approval screen the way the popup does: the background
+// hands over the populated transaction and show() draws it.
+async function openTxApproval(to, data) {
+    globalThis.chrome.runtime = {
+        connect: () => ({ postMessage: () => {} }),
+        sendMessage: (msg, reply) => {
+            if (!reply) return;
+            if (msg.type !== "AUTISTMASK_GET_APPROVAL") return reply(null);
+            reply({
+                type: "tx",
+                hostname: "dapp.example",
+                isPhishingDomain: false,
+                approvedFrom: FROM,
+                approvedTx: {
+                    type: 2,
+                    from: FROM,
+                    chainId: "0x1",
+                    nonce: "0x7",
+                    gasLimit: "0x5208",
+                    maxPriorityFeePerGas: "0x3b9aca00",
+                    maxFeePerGas: "0x77359400",
+                    to,
+                    value: "0x0",
+                    data,
+                    accessList: [],
+                },
+            });
+        },
+    };
+    approval.init({});
+    await approval.show(1);
+}
+
+describe("the transaction approval screen", () => {
+    test("a contract creation says so instead of naming a contract", async () => {
+        await openTxApproval(null, INIT_CODE);
+        expect(node("approve-tx-to").innerHTML).toBe(SENTENCE);
+    });
+
+    test("a transaction with a recipient shows its address", async () => {
+        await openTxApproval(RECIPIENT, "0x");
+        expectAddressLine(node("approve-tx-to").innerHTML);
+    });
+});
+
+// approval.js carries a contract creation to these screens with `to` as "".
+describe("the wait, success and error screens", () => {
+    const creation = {
+        to: "",
+        amount: "0.0000",
+        token: "ETH",
+        tokenSymbol: null,
+    };
+    const transfer = { ...creation, to: RECIPIENT };
+
+    test("a contract creation says so on the wait screen", () => {
+        txStatus.showWait(creation, TX_HASH);
+        expect(node("wait-tx-to").innerHTML).toBe(SENTENCE);
+    });
+
+    test("a transaction with a recipient shows its address on the wait screen", () => {
+        txStatus.showWait(transfer, TX_HASH);
+        expectAddressLine(node("wait-tx-to").innerHTML);
+    });
+
+    test("a contract creation says so on the success and error screens", () => {
+        state.viewData = {
+            amount: "0.0000",
+            symbol: "ETH",
+            to: "",
+            hash: TX_HASH,
+            blockNumber: 1,
+        };
+        txStatus.renderSuccess();
+        expect(node("success-tx-to").innerHTML).toBe(SENTENCE);
+
+        txStatus.showError(creation, TX_HASH, "The transaction failed.");
+        expect(node("error-tx-to").innerHTML).toBe(SENTENCE);
+    });
+
+    test("a transaction with a recipient shows its address on the success and error screens", () => {
+        state.viewData = {
+            amount: "0.0050",
+            symbol: "ETH",
+            to: RECIPIENT,
+            hash: TX_HASH,
+            blockNumber: 1,
+        };
+        txStatus.renderSuccess();
+        expectAddressLine(node("success-tx-to").innerHTML);
+
+        txStatus.showError(transfer, TX_HASH, "The transaction failed.");
+        expectAddressLine(node("error-tx-to").innerHTML);
+    });
+});
+
+// The history list gives a contract creation `to: ""` (src/shared/
+// transactions.js), and that is what the detail view is opened with.
+describe("the transaction detail view", () => {
+    function historyTx(to) {
+        return {
+            hash: TX_HASH,
+            from: FROM,
+            to,
+            value: "0.0000",
+            exactValue: "0.0",
+            rawAmount: "0",
+            rawUnit: "wei",
+            symbol: "ETH",
+            timestamp: 1790000000,
+            isError: false,
+            directionLabel: "Sent",
+            direction: "sent",
+        };
+    }
+
+    test("a contract creation says so", () => {
+        transactionDetail.show(historyTx(""));
+        expect(node("tx-detail-to").innerHTML).toBe(SENTENCE);
+        expect(node("tx-detail-type").textContent).toBe("Contract Creation");
+    });
+
+    test("a transaction with a recipient shows its address", () => {
+        transactionDetail.show(historyTx(RECIPIENT));
+        expectAddressLine(node("tx-detail-to").innerHTML);
+    });
+});