A honeypot is a token you can buy but cannot sell. On Solana you check for one with a RugCheck page, a look at the freeze authority and the holders, and the pre-trade sell check inside Banana Gun.
The honeypot.is footer lists Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain and Base as its supported chains (checked 1 October 2026), so it is not the tool for a Solana token.
This page walks through six checks in the order you would run them, and where each one stops being reliable.
RugCheck page for Bonk showing a RugCheck Score of 7, six tiles and one listed risk, Mutable metadata, 1 October 2026
Check 1: open the right token on RugCheck
Where: the RugCheck token page. The header shows the token name, the Address button, the Search button, a Verified tag, a Jupiter tag and the price. On the Bonk page it reads $0.000004.
A bad result is landing on a token that only shares a name or ticker with the one you meant. Use the Address button and compare it with the contract you were given, not the name.
Example: the Bonk page header says Bonk, with tags for Verified and Jupiter. The tags are labels on the page; the address is what proves it is the token you wanted.
Check 2: read the RugCheck Score and the Risks box
Where: the left of the page shows the RugCheck Score, and the right shows the Risks box. On the Bonk capture the score reads 7 with the word Good under it, and the box lists one item, Mutable metadata.
A bad result is a Risks box with items you cannot explain. Each item has an info icon; open it before you guess.
Example: Bonk scores 7 and Good, and it still lists Mutable metadata. A good score does not mean an empty box, so read the box before the number.
The capture shows no field named honeypot. You build that answer from checks 3 to 5.
Check 3: look for a freeze authority
Where: the Token Overview section further down the RugCheck page, if it has a row for it. The Bonk overview we opened on 1 October 2026 showed a Mint Authority row and no freeze authority row, so a missing row is not a pass.
A bad result is a freeze authority that is still assigned. It lets its holder freeze the token accounts of holders, and a frozen account cannot sell.
Example: you buy a token that trades normally for an hour. Then the authority freezes the accounts holding it, and your sell never goes through.
If you cannot find the line, count the check as not done. Our token contract guide shows how to read these fields.
Check 4: check who holds it and whether the pool can be pulled
Where: the Holders tile and the Lockers & LP tile on the RugCheck page. Bonk reads 2.1M holders and $58K · 15% on the two tiles, and its Token Overview row reads LP Locked 14.74%.
A bad result is a few wallets holding most of the supply, or liquidity that is neither burned nor locked. A few large holders can sell into every buyer, and whoever holds the LP tokens can withdraw the pool.
Example: you buy a token with a thin pool, the LP tokens sit with the creator, and the creator withdraws. You hold the token, yet there is nothing left to sell it into.
RugCheck Token Overview for Bonk on 1 October 2026: Mint Authority shows no value, LP Locked reads 14.74%
Open both tiles. The count of holders alone does not show how the supply is split.
Check 5: read the tax and let the sell check run
Where: the Tax line in the Banana Gun buy menu, shown when you paste the contract, then the sell check that runs before the buy.
A bad result is a high tax or a blocked buy. etz-swap's explainer notes that a token with a 90% sell tax is technically sellable, but the holder loses nearly all the value. The Tax line is read at paste time, so it does not cover a later change.
Example: in Banana Gun's Copy Trade Advanced Settings, a Tax Limit of 10% makes a copy of a 15% tax token fail.
Menu names can shift between bot updates, so if a label reads slightly differently, look for the closest match in the same menu.
Check 6: get a second reading
Where: tokensniffer.com. Its site says Token Sniffer is a smart contract scam scanner, free to use, and lists Solana among 16 supported chains (page read 1 October 2026).
A bad result is a flagged token, or a score that disagrees with RugCheck. Treat a disagreement as a reason to stop and read both pages.
Example: RugCheck lists one minor risk and Token Sniffer flags a scam. Do not average them; skip the token.
The pages we read do not document what each of its tests covers, so use its result as a prompt to read more.
What Banana Gun checks for you
Banana Gun lists honeypot detection among its features. The default is a pre-trade sell check: it blocks tokens you cannot sell, before the buy.
It has limits. It does not claim to re-run when a limit order or a copy trade fires, and a honeypot check is not a rug check. A token can pass it and still have a pool the creator pulls later.
Anti-Rug is a separate protection with a documented 80 to 85 percent success rate on the scenarios it targets. See which protections are on by default for how they fit together.
Manual buys on Solana cost a 1% fee. A buy you cancel after the check costs nothing, which is the cheapest moment to find a problem.
Signals at a glance
What a checker cannot tell you
Checkers read the token as it is now. honeypot.is states on its own page that its method is not foolproof, and that a token passing today can change later. That page is about its EVM tool, and the point holds for any checker.
A clean result also says nothing about price. You can pass every check and still lose money because the token falls.
Frequently asked questions
What is a honeypot on Solana?
It is a token you can buy but cannot sell. On Solana, a freeze authority that is still assigned is one way this happens, because the holder of that authority can freeze your token account.
Can I use honeypot.is for a Solana token?
No. Its footer lists Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain and Base (checked 1 October 2026). For Solana, use a Solana-focused page like RugCheck.
Does Banana Gun check for honeypots?
Yes. A pre-trade sell check blocks tokens you cannot sell, before the buy. It is not a rug check, and it does not claim to re-run when a limit order or copy trade fires.
Is a good RugCheck score enough?
No. The Bonk page scores 7 and Good and still lists Mutable metadata. Read the Risks box, the holders and the liquidity as well.
Should I raise slippage if a sell fails?
Be careful. etz-swap's explainer says blindly raising slippage is not a test for an unknown contract, and the slippage you allow is price you may pay.
Open Banana Gun, paste a contract and let the sell check run before you tap Buy.
