{"id":"EIP-5216","name":"ERC-1155 Allowance Extension","status":"Last Call","chain":"both","category":{"id":"transaction-friction","name":"Transaction Friction","description":"Reducing clicks, signatures, and mental overhead"},"journeyStages":[{"id":"approving","name":"Approving & Permissioning","description":"Granting permissions for actions"}],"uxImpact":"ERC-1155 tokens get granular approvals by ID and amount — no more 'approve all' for semi-fungible tokens. Design implications: design per-token-ID approval selectors, show approved quantities remaining, enable approval management dashboards for 1155 holdings. Design decisions: more control means more UI complexity — decide granularity of approval controls (per-ID, per-amount, or simplified presets), balance security benefits against approval fatigue for users with many token types.","hasDetailedContent":true,"content":{"id":"EIP-5216","summary":"EIP-5216 brings granular allowances to ERC-1155 multi-tokens. Instead of \"approve all or nothing,\" users can approve specific amounts per token ID. Want to let a game use 5 of your health potions but not your legendary sword? Now you can. This prevents the dangerous \"setApprovalForAll\" pattern and gives users fine-grained control over their multi-token collections.","applicability":{"whenToUse":["Your product addresses: eRC-1155 only offers all-or-nothing approval.","Your product addresses: no way to limit how many tokens can be spent.","The flow should deliver: approve exactly 10 health potions, nothing else.","You are designing a granular approval selector experience with visible states and recovery paths."],"whenToAvoid":["Default to exact amount needed, let user increase if wanted.","Always use granular allowances if EIP-5216 is supported.","Show \"8/10 potions remaining\" after 2 are used.","The flow is a single low-risk transfer where batching adds confusion."]},"designerTakeaways":["You can design UI that delivers approve exactly 10 health potions, nothing else.","You can design UI that delivers set allowance to specific amount (e.g., max 50 tokens).","You can design UI that delivers approve only the tokens you intend to trade."],"problemsSolved":[{"problem":"ERC-1155 only offers all-or-nothing approval","oldWay":"setApprovalForAll gives access to EVERY token in the collection","newWay":"Approve exactly 10 health potions, nothing else","impact":"critical"},{"problem":"No way to limit how many tokens can be spent","oldWay":"Operator can transfer unlimited quantity once approved","newWay":"Set allowance to specific amount (e.g., max 50 tokens)","impact":"critical"},{"problem":"Users must trust platforms with entire collection","oldWay":"Marketplace approval = access to all game items","newWay":"Approve only the tokens you intend to trade","impact":"high"},{"problem":"Revoking requires removing all access","oldWay":"Can only toggle full collection access on/off","newWay":"Reduce allowance for specific token IDs independently","impact":"medium"},{"problem":"No transparency on what's actually approved","oldWay":"\"This site has access to your collection\" - but which tokens?","newWay":"Clear list: \"5 potions, 2 scrolls approved\"","impact":"medium"}],"uxPatterns":[{"name":"Granular Approval Selector","description":"Let users choose exactly how many of each token to approve","mockup":"concept/permit-approval","userFlow":["dApp requests token approval","UI shows all tokens user owns","User sets specific amounts per token","Summary shows total approved","Single transaction sets all allowances"]},{"name":"Approval Dashboard","description":"View and manage all active allowances","mockup":"concept/permit-approval","userFlow":["User opens approval dashboard","Sees all operators with allowances","Expands to see per-token breakdown","Can edit amounts or revoke per operator","Changes reflected immediately"]},{"name":"Trade Flow with Exact Approval","description":"Approve only what's needed for this trade","mockup":"concept/permit-approval","userFlow":["User selects items to sell","UI calculates exact approvals needed","Shows clear list of what will be approved","Single click approves exact amounts","Listing created with precise allowances"]},{"name":"Allowance Increase Request","description":"Handle when more allowance is needed mid-action","mockup":"concept/permit-approval","userFlow":["User attempts action requiring more allowance","UI shows current vs required","Offers sensible preset amounts","User picks or enters custom amount","Allowance increased, action proceeds"]}],"uiComponents":[{"name":"TokenAllowanceInput","description":"Input for setting allowance per token ID","states":["empty","valid","exceeds-balance","max"],"props":["tokenId","balance","currentAllowance","onChange"]},{"name":"AllowanceProgressBar","description":"Shows used vs remaining allowance","states":["full","partial","depleted"],"props":["used","total","tokenSymbol"]},{"name":"BatchAllowanceEditor","description":"Edit multiple token allowances at once","states":["viewing","editing","saving","saved"],"props":["operator","allowances[]","onSave","onCancel"]},{"name":"ApprovalComparisonCard","description":"Compare old (all-or-nothing) vs new (granular) approach","states":["showing-old","showing-new","comparing"],"props":["collection","requestedTokens"]}],"antiPatterns":[{"pattern":"Defaulting to max allowance for convenience","why":"Defeats the security purpose of granular allowances","instead":"Default to exact amount needed, let user increase if wanted","severity":"critical"},{"pattern":"Falling back to setApprovalForAll when available","why":"Users expect granular control when they see the UI","instead":"Always use granular allowances if EIP-5216 is supported","severity":"critical"},{"pattern":"Not showing remaining allowance after partial use","why":"Users don't know how much the operator can still spend","instead":"Show \"8/10 potions remaining\" after 2 are used","severity":"high"},{"pattern":"Bundling all tokens into one approval prompt","why":"Users can't see or control individual token allowances","instead":"Itemized list with per-token amount controls","severity":"high"},{"pattern":"No indication when contract doesn't support 5216","why":"User may think they have granular control when they don't","instead":"Clear warning: \"This collection only supports all-or-nothing approval\"","severity":"medium"}],"onMonad":[{"aspect":"Batch Allowance Updates","ethereum":"Multiple allowance updates may require separate transactions","monad":"Fast finality makes multi-tx flows feel instant","designImplication":"Can offer \"edit all allowances\" without long waits"},{"aspect":"Gas for Granular Approvals","ethereum":"Each token ID approval costs gas, can add up","monad":"Lower gas costs make per-token approvals practical","designImplication":"Don't pressure users toward batch approval for gas savings"},{"aspect":"Real-time Allowance Tracking","ethereum":"May lag in showing updated allowances","monad":"Sub-second updates to allowance state","designImplication":"Dashboard can show live allowance changes"},{"aspect":"Reserve Balance","ethereum":"Setting many allowances might deplete gas funds","monad":"10 MON reserve for async execution safety","designImplication":"Users won't get stuck mid-approval flow; show spendable vs total"}],"keyTakeaways":["EIP-5216 = ERC-20 style allowances for ERC-1155","Default to exact amounts needed, not max","Show remaining allowance after partial use","Clearly indicate when collection doesn't support granular approvals","On Monad: leverage fast finality for responsive allowance management"],"technicalNotes":"EIP-5216 adds allowance(owner, operator, tokenId) and approve(operator, tokenId, amount) functions to ERC-1155. Unlike setApprovalForAll, this allows per-token-ID approval with specific amounts. The allowance decreases as tokens are transferred via transferFrom. Operators must be approved for each token ID they want to transfer."},"sources":[{"label":"Official specification","url":"https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-5216","type":"official-spec"},{"label":"Discussion","url":"https://ethereum-magicians.org/search?q=EIP-5216","type":"discussion"}],"urls":{"canonical":"https://www.eipsfordesigners.com/standards/EIP-5216","markdown":"https://www.eipsfordesigners.com/standards/EIP-5216/content.md","agent":"https://www.eipsfordesigners.com/standards/EIP-5216/agent.md","api":"https://www.eipsfordesigners.com/api/standards/EIP-5216","official":"https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-5216","discussion":"https://ethereum-magicians.org/search?q=EIP-5216"},"freshness":{"lastReviewed":"2026-04-05","lastUpdated":"2026-04-05"}}