> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.chestfi.cash/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.chestfi.cash/tools/token-locker.md).

# Token Locker

Lock ERC-20 tokens in a smart contract until a date you choose. Nobody — not you, not ChestFi — can withdraw them before that timestamp.

* **Path:** Web App → **Token Locker → Create Lock**
* **Status:** Live
* **Fee:** `0.000615 ETH` per lock + gas

### Why lock tokens

A lock converts a promise into a fact. "We won't sell for six months" is a claim; a lock with an on-chain unlock timestamp is something anyone can verify in ten seconds.

Common uses:

* **Team & founder allocations** — prove you're not exiting on day one.
* **LP tokens** — prove the liquidity can't be pulled. *(Use this locker until the Liquidity Locker ships.)*
* **Treasury reserves** — commit to a spending schedule.
* **Presale / OTC deals** — enforce cliffs on counterparties.

### Creating a lock

#### Step 1 — Token Address

Paste the contract address of the token you want to lock (`0x...`). ChestFi reads the token's name, symbol, and decimals directly from the contract. If you created the token with ChestFi, this is the address returned at deployment.

#### Step 2 — Amount to Lock

The number of tokens to lock, **in token units** — enter `50000` to lock fifty thousand tokens, not the raw wei value. Your wallet needs to hold at least this amount at the moment the transaction executes.

#### Step 3 — Lock Until

The date and time at which the tokens become withdrawable. Must be **in the future**.

The timestamp is enforced by the smart contract, not by ChestFi's interface. There is no admin key, no early-release button, no support ticket that unlocks it. Pick your date carefully.

#### Step 4 — Approve and Lock

Locking takes **two transactions**:

1. **Approve** — you grant the locker contract permission to move the specified amount of your token. This is the standard ERC-20 `approve` call.
2. **Lock** — the locker pulls the tokens into escrow and records your unlock timestamp. The `0.000615 ETH` fee is charged here.

Both must be confirmed. If you approve and then close the tab, nothing is locked and nothing is charged beyond the approve gas.

### ⚠️ Tokens you must not lock

> **Do not lock tokens with tax, fee-on-transfer, or rebasing mechanics.**

This is not a soft recommendation. Here's the mechanism:

* **Fee-on-transfer / tax tokens** deduct a percentage on every transfer. You send 100, the locker receives 95, but the contract has recorded a 100-token claim. On withdrawal the accounting doesn't reconcile and the transaction reverts — **your tokens are stranded permanently.**
* **Rebasing tokens** change balances algorithmically. The locker's stored balance drifts out of sync with reality, producing the same failure.

Tokens created through ChestFi's Token Creation are plain, no-tax ERC-20s and are always safe to lock. If you are locking a token you did not deploy, check its contract for `_taxFee`, `_liquidityFee`, `rebase()`, or similar before committing anything.

### Managing locks

**Path:** Web App → **Token Locker → My Locks**

Every lock you have created appears here with its token, amount, unlock date, and status. From this screen you can:

* **Copy the public proof link** — a shareable URL your community can open to independently verify the lock. Put it in your docs, your pinned tweet, your Telegram description.
* **Withdraw** — the button activates the moment the unlock timestamp passes. Withdrawal costs gas only; no additional ChestFi fee.

Unclaimed tokens sit safely in the contract indefinitely after unlock. There is no deadline to withdraw.

### Before you click

* The token is not a tax, fee-on-transfer, or rebasing token.
* The token address is correct — pasted from the explorer, not typed from memory.
* The amount is right, and you're comfortable being unable to touch it until the unlock date.
* The unlock date is what you meant. `12/31/2026` and `12/31/2027` look very similar at a glance.
* You hold enough ETH for the `0.000615` fee plus gas on two transactions.

Locks are irreversible. Read the row above one more time.


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