[Bug]: Solana: buyRecord without processId registers name on the null ANT instead of auto-spawning

[wolflows]

I registered a permabuy ArNS name on Solana and it ended up bound to the null ANT (11111111111111111111111111111111), so it resolves to
nothing and I can't attach a target. I'd appreciate help recovering it.

What I did: I registered with the SDK (@ar.io/sdk v4.0.2) like this:

await ario.buyRecord({ name: 'my-name', type: 'permabuy' });
i.e. without a processId. Per the docs/README, omitting processId is supposed to auto-spawn an ANT ("Spawning ant, registering ant, …"). On Solana
that didn't happen — the name was registered bound to the null ANT. It looks like lib/esm/solana/io-writeable.js does params.processId ?? '111…1'
instead of spawning one.

What I tried: I separately spawned a valid ANT (spawnSolanaANT) and tried to point the name at it with reassignName. The transaction is rejected
on-chain:

Instruction: ReassignName
AnchorError caused by account: ant_asset
Error Code: InvalidAntAsset (6041) — must be a valid Metaplex Core asset.
I understand this is because the current ANT on the record is the null placeholder, so there's nothing valid to authorize the reassignment
against. setBaseNameRecord also has no ANT to write to.

My question: How can I recover this name? Is there an admin/migration path on your side to bind it to a valid ANT, or an instruction I can run as
the owner? I already have a spawned ANT ready to use, or a fresh one is fine. I'd prefer not to release it, since it's a permabuy and I'd lose it
to the returned-name auction. Happy to prove ownership by signing with the wallet, and I can share the name and transaction details privately.

Thanks very much!

[wolflows]

Update on this — still unresolved, and I don't think there's a client-side path out of it.

The SDK bug itself is fixed. #691 (merged to alpha, shipped in 4.1.0-alpha.5) makes buyRecord without a processId atomically spawn an ANT instead of binding to the 111…1 sentinel, so new registrations are correct now. Worth noting it isn't on the stable latest line yet — 4.0.3 still has the old behavior, so anyone on stable will keep hitting this.

The name I already registered is still stuck. reassign_name authorizes the change against the record's current ANT — which for this record is the null placeholder, not a real Metaplex Core asset — so it fails every time:

Instruction: ReassignName
AnchorError caused by account: ant_asset
Error Code: InvalidAntAsset (6041) — must be a valid Metaplex Core asset.

So a record in this state can't be rebound by its owner: the one instruction that changes the ANT requires a valid ANT to already be there. migrate_arns_record only fixes the record hash, and setBaseNameRecord has no ANT to write to. #691 doesn't help a record that's already bound.

My ask: is there an admin/authority path on your side to bind this record to a valid ANT? I have one spawned and ready, or a fresh one is fine, and I'm happy to prove ownership by signing with the registering wallet and to share the name + registration tx privately.

If that isn't possible, could you confirm it directly? The only alternative I can see is release_name into the returned-name auction, which for a permabuy means forfeiting what I already paid, a 50× premium to rebuy in the early window, and a real chance of losing the name to someone else — so I'd rather not go there unless recovery genuinely isn't an option. (I'm also not sure release_name even succeeds on a null-ANT record, given it passes the same ant_asset.)

Thanks!