An Automation Forwarder is a per-upkeep proxy contract that sits between the Chainlink Automation network and your target contract. Instead of Automation nodes calling performUpkeep directly on your contract, they call it through the forwarder — giving your contract a stable, predictable msg.sender to verify.

Why It Exists#

Without a forwarder, performUpkeep is called by whichever Automation node wins the turn. The caller address rotates across a set of node-operated transmitter addresses that can change over time. This makes access control difficult: you can’t simply check msg.sender against a known address.

The forwarder solves this by giving each upkeep its own dedicated proxy address. Your contract checks msg.sender == myForwarder and that’s it.

How It Works#

Automation Node  →  Forwarder (stable address)  →  Your Contract

1. When an upkeep is registered on a v2.0+ registry, the registry deploys a forwarder contract for that upkeep.
2. Automation nodes call performUpkeep on the forwarder.
3. The forwarder delegates the call to your contract, preserving performData.
4. Your contract sees msg.sender as the forwarder address.

Getting the Forwarder Address#

After registration, query the registry for your upkeep’s forwarder:

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import {IAutomationRegistryConsumer} from "@chainlink/contracts/src/v0.8/automation/interfaces/IAutomationRegistryConsumer.sol";

address forwarder = registry.getForwarder(upkeepId);

Or read it from the Automation dashboard at automation.chain.link — the upkeep detail page shows the forwarder address.

Using the Forwarder for Access Control#

See Securing performUpkeep for the full pattern. The short version:

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import {AutomationCompatibleInterface} from "@chainlink/contracts/src/v0.8/automation/AutomationCompatible.sol";

contract MyAutomatedContract is AutomationCompatibleInterface {
    address public immutable automationForwarder;

    constructor(address _forwarder) {
        automationForwarder = _forwarder;
    }

    function performUpkeep(bytes calldata performData) external override {
        require(msg.sender == automationForwarder, "Only forwarder");
        // ...
    }
}

If you don’t know the forwarder address at deploy time (because registration hasn’t happened yet), use a setter that the admin calls once after registration:

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address public automationForwarder;
address public immutable admin;

function setForwarder(address _forwarder) external {
    require(msg.sender == admin, "Only admin");
    require(automationForwarder == address(0), "Already set");
    automationForwarder = _forwarder;
}

Forwarder vs Direct Call#

Further Reading#

• Chainlink Docs — Using the Forwarder
• Automation Architecture