Connect to browser wallets and create server-side wallets for Cardano dApp development.

Overview

Mesh provides wallet classes for different use cases:

Wallet Class	Use Case	Environment
CardanoBrowserWallet	Connect to user's wallet extension (CIP-30)	Frontend (browser)
MeshCardanoBrowserWallet	Browser wallet with Mesh convenience methods	Frontend (browser)
CardanoHeadlessWallet	Programmatic wallet control (low-level)	Backend (Node.js)
MeshCardanoHeadlessWallet	Headless wallet with Mesh convenience methods	Backend (Node.js)

Quick Start

Browser Wallet (Frontend)

Connect to CIP-30 compatible wallets like Eternl, Nami, and Lace:

import { MeshCardanoBrowserWallet } from "@meshsdk/wallet";

// Get installed wallets
const wallets = MeshCardanoBrowserWallet.getInstalledWallets();

// Connect to a wallet
const wallet = await MeshCardanoBrowserWallet.enable("eternl");

// Get balance (Mesh format)
const balance = await wallet.getBalanceMesh();
console.log(`Balance: ${balance.find(a => a.unit === 'lovelace')?.quantity}`);

// Get address (Bech32 format)
const address = await wallet.getChangeAddressBech32();

Headless Wallet (Backend)

Create wallets programmatically for server-side applications:

import { MeshCardanoHeadlessWallet } from "@meshsdk/wallet";
import { BlockfrostProvider } from "@meshsdk/core";
import { AddressType } from "@meshsdk/wallet";

const provider = new BlockfrostProvider("<YOUR_API_KEY>");

// Create from mnemonic
const wallet = await MeshCardanoHeadlessWallet.fromMnemonic({
  networkId: 0, // 0 = testnet, 1 = mainnet
  walletAddressType: AddressType.Base,
  fetcher: provider,
  submitter: provider,
  mnemonic: ["your", "24", "word", "mnemonic", "phrase", "..."],
});

// Or create from Bip32 root key
const wallet = await MeshCardanoHeadlessWallet.fromBip32Root({
  networkId: 0,
  walletAddressType: AddressType.Base,
  fetcher: provider,
  submitter: provider,
  bech32: "xprv1...",
});

Choosing a Wallet Class

Use Browser Wallet classes when:

Building frontend dApps
Users need to connect their own wallets
Transactions require user approval
Working with CIP-30 features

Use Headless Wallet classes when:

Running backend services
Automating transactions
Managing treasury wallets
Building bots or scripts

Use Mesh variants (MeshCardanoBrowserWallet, MeshCardanoHeadlessWallet) when:

You want UTxOs, balances, and addresses in Mesh-compatible formats
You prefer Bech32 addresses directly
You need convenience methods like signTxReturnFullTx()

Use base variants (CardanoBrowserWallet, CardanoHeadlessWallet) when:

You want raw CIP-30 compliant CBOR hex responses
You need maximum compatibility with the CIP-30 standard

Common Operations

Both wallet types share similar APIs implementing the ICardanoWallet interface:

// Get UTXOs (CBOR hex format)
const utxos = await wallet.getUtxos();

// Get change address (hex format)
const address = await wallet.getChangeAddress();

// Sign transaction
const signedTx = await wallet.signTx(unsignedTx, partialSign);

// Submit transaction
const txHash = await wallet.submitTx(signedTx);

// Get balance (CBOR hex format)
const balance = await wallet.getBalance();

Mesh wallet variants add convenience methods:

// Get UTXOs in Mesh format
const utxos = await wallet.getUtxosMesh();

// Get change address in Bech32
const address = await wallet.getChangeAddressBech32();

// Get balance as Asset array
const balance = await wallet.getBalanceMesh();

// Sign and return full transaction (with witnesses merged)
const signedTx = await wallet.signTxReturnFullTx(unsignedTx);

React Integration

For React applications, use @meshsdk/react for built-in components and hooks:

import { CardanoWallet, useWallet } from "@meshsdk/react";

function App() {
  const { connected, wallet } = useWallet();

  return (
    <div>
      <CardanoWallet />
      {connected && <p>Balance: {wallet.getLovelace()}</p>}
    </div>
  );
}

See React Getting Started for full integration details.

Available Wallet APIs

Browser Wallet

For connecting, queries and performs wallet functions in accordance to CIP-30.

Mesh Wallet

Mesh Wallet provides a set of APIs to interact with the blockchain. This wallet is compatible with Mesh transaction builders.

React Integration — Wallet components and hooks
Transaction Builder — Build transactions to sign
Prove Wallet Ownership — Authenticate users with signatures