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Read the state. Then decide.

A stake-account label is only one field in a larger record. Use the cluster, observation time, effective and inactive stake, authorities, and lockup to decide what the evidence supports.

FOLLOW THE LIFECYCLE

A status change does not move every SOL at once

InactiveNot currently delegated
ActivatingWarming across epoch boundaries
ActiveEffective stake may earn protocol rewards
DeactivatingCooling; portions can finish at different epochs
InactiveCheck amount, withdraw authority, lockup, and reserve

The timeline is conceptual, not a countdown. Warm-up and cooldown can take multiple epochs; network conditions affect the amount that changes state at each boundary. A current account view is not proof of a future completion time.

FORMATIVE · UNSCORED · NOT SAVED

Inspect six records

Choose the conclusion justified by the displayed fields. Read the feedback, then retry if needed.

01

ACTIVATING · NO REWARD CLAIM YET

A delegation was accepted, but the state is still warming up.

Cluster · observed: Devnet · slot 310,500,000
Stake account: StakeExample-A
Epoch: 410
Delegated stake: 10.000 SOL
Effective · activating · inactive: 0.000 · 10.000 · 0.000 SOL
Account status: Activating

What does this observation establish?The entire 10 SOL is active and earning rewards because the wallet accepted the delegation.The delegation is still activating; the record does not show active stake yet, and it gives no guaranteed completion time.The full balance can be withdrawn immediately because effective stake is zero.

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02

PARTIAL COOLDOWN · AMOUNTS MATTER

Some stake is inactive while the rest continues deactivating.

Cluster · observed: Devnet · slot 310,500,120
Stake account: StakeExample-B
Epoch: 410
Total stake: 100.000 SOL
Effective · deactivating · inactive: 0.000 · 65.000 · 35.000 SOL
Withdraw authority · lockup: RecoveryExample · none reported

Which conclusion is supported?All 100 SOL can be withdrawn: deactivating is equivalent to inactive.At most the 35 SOL shown inactive is potentially withdrawable now; verify authority, lockup, reserve, destination, and the exact transaction.Nothing can be withdrawn until the entire account becomes inactive.

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03

INACTIVE · LOCKUP STILL APPLIES

The delegation ended, but the account has a future lockup epoch.

Cluster · observed: Devnet · slot 310,500,260
Stake account · epoch: StakeExample-C · 410
Total · inactive: 12.000 · 12.000 SOL
Withdraw authority: RecoveryExample
Lockup: Until epoch 415 · current epoch 410

Can the learner conclude that 12 SOL can move now?Yes. Inactive status always overrides the lockup condition.Yes. Knowing the withdraw authority is enough to ignore the lockup.No. The stake is inactive, but the reported lockup has not expired; re-check current state after its condition is met.

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04

AUTHORITY · OPERATION MATCH

The operator can deactivate but is not the withdraw authority.

Stake authority: OperatorExample
Withdraw authority: RecoveryExample
Current stake: 0.000 effective · 8.000 inactive SOL
Lockup: None reported
Proposed action: OperatorExample alone signs withdrawal

What should the instruction reviewer expect?The stake authority can request deactivation, but the configured withdraw authority must authorize withdrawal of inactive stake.Any public key shown on the account can withdraw because the stake is inactive.The validator’s vote-account key authorizes withdrawal because it received the delegation.

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05

BALANCE CHANGE · DELEGATION UNCHANGED

A transfer arrived in a stake account that was already active.

Cluster · observed: Devnet · slot 310,500,390
Account status: Active · delegated to ValidatorExample
Before transfer: 20.000 SOL delegated and effective
After transfer: Account balance increased 5 SOL; delegated amount remains 20.000 SOL
Operation performed: Ordinary SOL transfer to the stake-account address

What does the additional 5 SOL represent?It increased the account balance but did not automatically increase the effective delegation shown in this observation.It became active stake automatically because the destination account was already delegated.It is proven to be a validator reward because the account is active.

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06

RPC METHOD REMOVED · ACCOUNT MAY STILL EXIST

An older stake viewer returns Method not found.

Cluster · observed: Devnet · slot 310,500,510
Endpoint software: Agave v2.0 or later
Legacy request: getStakeActivation(StakeExample-D)
RPC response: Method not found
Explorer observation: StakeExample-D is visible at the same cluster and recent slot

What should the learner conclude?The account was deleted because every valid stake account must support this RPC method.Submit a new stake transaction to recreate the account and force the method to return a value.The RPC method is unsupported or removed; use a current read path with the stake account, StakeHistory sysvar, and epoch to calculate the present state.

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TAKE THIS CHECKLIST TO A REAL READ-ONLY REVIEW

Record evidence before concluding

Cluster, endpoint, commitment or explorer, observation time, and slot.
Stake account address, account owner/type, total lamports, and rent-exempt reserve.
Effective, activating, deactivating, and inactive amounts from a method appropriate for the current software.
Stake authority, withdraw authority, validator vote address, and any lockup condition.
The exact requested operation, destination, fee payer, and wallet-displayed fee before an owner chooses to sign.

Solana removed the legacy getStakeActivation RPC in Agave v2.0; current calculation requires reading the stake account, StakeHistory sysvar, and epoch, then applying the warm-up/cooldown rules. Do not treat a missing RPC method as evidence that the account is gone.