Implement multi-sig NFT minting with Mesh SDK. Coordinate signatures between browser and server wallets.

Overview

Multi-signature (multi-sig) transactions require multiple parties to sign before submission. This is essential for NFT minting services where users pay for minting but your application controls the minting policy. Cardano's native multi-asset system enables minting without smart contracts, using native scripts for policy control.

What you will build

A client-side component that connects user wallets
A server-side API that builds minting transactions
A complete multi-sig signing flow

The multi-sig minting flow

User wallet provides payment UTxOs
Server builds the transaction using user inputs
User partially signs the transaction
Server adds its signature and submits

Prerequisites

A Next.js application with Mesh SDK (see Next.js guide)
A server-side wallet (mnemonic or CLI keys)
A Blockfrost API key

Time to complete

45 minutes

Quick Start

View the complete implementation:

Full source code on GitHub

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Connect the user wallet

Create a client component to connect the user's browser wallet:

// components/MintButton.tsx
"use client";

import { useState } from "react";
import { CardanoWallet, useWallet } from "@meshsdk/react";
import { experimentalSelectUtxos } from "@meshsdk/core";
import type { UTxO, Unit, Quantity } from "@meshsdk/core";

const MINTING_FEE = "5000000"; // 5 ADA

export function MintButton() {
  const { wallet, connected } = useWallet();
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false);
  const [txHash, setTxHash] = useState("");

  async function handleMint() {
    if (!connected) return;
    setLoading(true);

    try {
      // Get user wallet info
      const recipientAddress = await wallet.getChangeAddress();
      const utxos = await wallet.getUtxos();

      // Select UTxOs for the minting fee
      const assetMap = new Map<Unit, Quantity>();
      assetMap.set("lovelace", MINTING_FEE);
      const selectedUtxos = experimentalSelectUtxos(assetMap, utxos, "5000000");

      // Send to server to build transaction
      const response = await fetch("/api/mint", {
        method: "POST",
        headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
        body: JSON.stringify({
          recipientAddress,
          utxos: selectedUtxos,
        }),
      });

      const { unsignedTx } = await response.json();

      // User signs with partial signing enabled
      const signedTx = await wallet.signTx(unsignedTx, true);

      // Send back to server for final signature and submission
      const submitResponse = await fetch("/api/mint/submit", {
        method: "POST",
        headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
        body: JSON.stringify({ signedTx }),
      });

      const { txHash } = await submitResponse.json();
      setTxHash(txHash);
    } catch (error) {
      console.error("Minting failed:", error);
    } finally {
      setLoading(false);
    }
  }

  return (
    <div>
      <CardanoWallet />

      {connected && (
        <button
          onClick={handleMint}
          disabled={loading}
          className="mt-4 px-4 py-2 bg-blue-500 text-white rounded"
        >
          {loading ? "Minting..." : "Mint NFT (5 ADA)"}
        </button>
      )}

      {txHash && (
        <p className="mt-4">
          Success! <a href={`https://preprod.cardanoscan.io/transaction/${txHash}`}>View TX</a>
        </p>
      )}
    </div>
  );
}

What to expect: A button that initiates the multi-sig minting flow.

Step 2: Create the server-side build endpoint

Create an API route that builds the minting transaction:

// app/api/mint/route.ts (Next.js App Router)
// or pages/api/mint.ts (Next.js Pages Router)

import { NextResponse } from "next/server";
import {
  MeshTxBuilder,
  BlockfrostProvider,
  ForgeScript,
  resolveScriptHash,
  stringToHex,
} from "@meshsdk/core";
import { MeshCardanoHeadlessWallet, AddressType } from "@meshsdk/wallet";
import type { UTxO, AssetMetadata } from "@meshsdk/core";

// Server wallet configuration (never expose in client)
const MNEMONIC = process.env.MINTING_WALLET_MNEMONIC!;
const BLOCKFROST_KEY = process.env.BLOCKFROST_KEY!;
const BANK_ADDRESS = process.env.BANK_WALLET_ADDRESS!;
const MINTING_FEE = "5000000";

export async function POST(request: Request) {
  const { recipientAddress, utxos } = await request.json() as {
    recipientAddress: string;
    utxos: UTxO[];
  };

  // Initialize provider and application wallet
  const provider = new BlockfrostProvider(BLOCKFROST_KEY);

  const appWallet = await MeshCardanoHeadlessWallet.fromMnemonic({
    networkId: 0,
    walletAddressType: AddressType.Base,
    fetcher: provider,
    submitter: provider,
    mnemonic: MNEMONIC.split(" "),
  });

  // Create forging script from application wallet
  const appAddress = await appWallet.getChangeAddressBech32();
  const forgingScript = ForgeScript.withOneSignature(appAddress);
  const policyId = resolveScriptHash(forgingScript);

  // Define the NFT
  const assetName = "MeshNFT";
  const tokenNameHex = stringToHex(assetName);
  const assetUnit = policyId + tokenNameHex;

  const assetMetadata: AssetMetadata = {
    name: "Mesh NFT",
    image: "ipfs://QmRzicpReutwCkM6aotuKjErFCUD213DpwPq6ByuzMJaua",
    mediaType: "image/jpg",
    description: "Minted via multi-sig transaction",
  };

  // Build the transaction
  const txBuilder = new MeshTxBuilder({ fetcher: provider });

  // Add user UTxOs as inputs
  for (const utxo of utxos) {
    txBuilder.txIn(
      utxo.input.txHash,
      utxo.input.outputIndex,
      utxo.output.amount,
      utxo.output.address
    );
  }

  const unsignedTx = await txBuilder
    // Mint the NFT
    .mint("1", policyId, tokenNameHex)
    .mintingScript(forgingScript)
    // Send NFT to user
    .txOut(recipientAddress, [{ unit: assetUnit, quantity: "1" }])
    // Send minting fee to bank
    .txOut(BANK_ADDRESS, [{ unit: "lovelace", quantity: MINTING_FEE }])
    // Add metadata
    .metadataValue(721, { [policyId]: { [assetName]: assetMetadata } })
    // Change goes back to user
    .changeAddress(recipientAddress)
    .complete();

  return NextResponse.json({ unsignedTx, policyId });
}

What to expect: An API that builds minting transactions using user UTxOs.

Step 3: Create the submit endpoint

Create an API route to add the server signature and submit:

// app/api/mint/submit/route.ts

import { NextResponse } from "next/server";
import { BlockfrostProvider } from "@meshsdk/core";
import { MeshCardanoHeadlessWallet, AddressType } from "@meshsdk/wallet";

const MNEMONIC = process.env.MINTING_WALLET_MNEMONIC!;
const BLOCKFROST_KEY = process.env.BLOCKFROST_KEY!;

export async function POST(request: Request) {
  const { signedTx } = await request.json() as { signedTx: string };

  const provider = new BlockfrostProvider(BLOCKFROST_KEY);

  const appWallet = await MeshCardanoHeadlessWallet.fromMnemonic({
    networkId: 0,
    walletAddressType: AddressType.Base,
    fetcher: provider,
    submitter: provider,
    mnemonic: MNEMONIC.split(" "),
  });

  // Add application signature (partial signing)
  const fullySignedTx = await appWallet.signTx(signedTx, true);

  // Submit the transaction
  const txHash = await appWallet.submitTx(fullySignedTx);

  return NextResponse.json({ txHash });
}

What to expect: An API that completes signing and submits the transaction.

Step 4: Configure environment variables

Create .env.local:

BLOCKFROST_KEY=your_blockfrost_preprod_key
MINTING_WALLET_MNEMONIC=your twenty four word mnemonic phrase for the minting wallet
BANK_WALLET_ADDRESS=addr_test1your_bank_address_for_collecting_fees

What to expect: Server-side credentials stored securely.

Complete Example

Here is the complete flow in a single file for reference:

Client Component:

"use client";

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

export function MultiSigMint() {
  const { wallet, connected } = useWallet();
  const [status, setStatus] = useState<"idle" | "building" | "signing" | "submitting" | "done">("idle");
  const [txHash, setTxHash] = useState("");

  async function mint() {
    try {
      // Step 1: Get user wallet info
      setStatus("building");
      const address = await wallet.getChangeAddress();
      const utxos = await wallet.getUtxos();

      const assetMap = new Map();
      assetMap.set("lovelace", "5000000");
      const selected = experimentalSelectUtxos(assetMap, utxos, "5000000");

      // Step 2: Build transaction on server
      const buildRes = await fetch("/api/mint", {
        method: "POST",
        headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
        body: JSON.stringify({ recipientAddress: address, utxos: selected }),
      });
      const { unsignedTx } = await buildRes.json();

      // Step 3: User signs
      setStatus("signing");
      const userSignedTx = await wallet.signTx(unsignedTx, true);

      // Step 4: Server signs and submits
      setStatus("submitting");
      const submitRes = await fetch("/api/mint/submit", {
        method: "POST",
        headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
        body: JSON.stringify({ signedTx: userSignedTx }),
      });
      const { txHash } = await submitRes.json();

      setTxHash(txHash);
      setStatus("done");
    } catch (error) {
      console.error(error);
      setStatus("idle");
    }
  }

  return (
    <div className="space-y-4">
      <CardanoWallet />

      {connected && (
        <button
          onClick={mint}
          disabled={status !== "idle" && status !== "done"}
          className="px-4 py-2 bg-blue-500 text-white rounded disabled:opacity-50"
        >
          {status === "idle" && "Mint NFT (5 ADA)"}
          {status === "building" && "Building transaction..."}
          {status === "signing" && "Please sign in wallet..."}
          {status === "submitting" && "Submitting..."}
          {status === "done" && "Mint Another"}
        </button>
      )}

      {txHash && (
        <p>
          Transaction:{" "}
          <a
            href={`https://preprod.cardanoscan.io/transaction/${txHash}`}
            target="_blank"
            className="text-blue-500 underline"
          >
            {txHash.slice(0, 16)}...
          </a>
        </p>
      )}
    </div>
  );
}

Next Steps

Smart contract transactions - NFT marketplace patterns
Minting API reference - Advanced minting options
Production deployment - Security best practices

Troubleshooting

User UTxOs already spent

Cause: The user's UTxOs were spent between selection and submission.

Solution: Implement retry logic or show an error asking the user to try again.

Signature verification failed

Cause: The transaction was modified after the user signed.

Solution: Never modify the transaction after the user signs. Build the complete transaction before returning it to the client.

Insufficient funds

Cause: Selected UTxOs do not cover the minting fee plus transaction fee.

Solution: Increase the UTxO selection amount to include buffer for fees:

const selectedUtxos = experimentalSelectUtxos(assetMap, utxos, "7000000");

CORS errors

Cause: API routes are not accessible from the client.

Solution: Ensure your Next.js API routes are correctly configured. In App Router, use route.ts files.

Mnemonic not found

Cause: Environment variables are not loaded.

Solution: For Next.js, ensure:

Variables are in .env.local (not .env)
Server-only variables do not have NEXT_PUBLIC_ prefix
Restart the dev server after adding variables

Security Considerations

Never expose mnemonics in client-side code
Validate user UTxOs before building transactions
Set reasonable minting fees to cover costs and prevent abuse
Implement rate limiting on API endpoints
Log minting events for auditing

References

Cardano Developer Portal: Native Tokens - Official documentation on Cardano's native multi-asset system
CIP-25: Media NFT Metadata Standard - The Cardano standard for NFT metadata
CIP-30: dApp-Wallet Web Bridge - The standard enabling partial signing for multi-sig transactions

Build Multi-Signature Minting Transactions