If you’ve ever been hit with the error “Object version mismatch”, you know how frustrating it can be. You’ve got the correct object ID, your code looks fine, and yet the transaction refuses to go through. What’s happening? The problem is Sui’s versioning system.

Every object on Sui has a version number that increments each time it’s mutated. If your script or transaction uses an old version reference, Sui will reject it — this is how it ensures consistency and prevents overwriting changes. The bad news is that in a fast-moving environment (or when testing with shared objects), versions can change between the time you fetch them and the time you submit your transaction.

The fix is simple but important: always fetch the latest object data right before using it. In the CLI, that’s:

sui client object <objectID>

In JavaScript, you’d do:

const object = await provider.getObject({
  id: objectId,
  options: { showContent: true }
});

This ensures you’re working with the freshest state.

For automated scripts, write a small helper that refreshes the object each time before you pass it into a transaction. In tests, avoid hardcoding versions entirely — instead, dynamically fetch them during test setup.

Once you adopt this habit, version mismatch errors become a rare sight, and your workflow will feel a lot smoother, especially if you’re collaborating with other developers who might be touching the same objects.