near-connect-quickstart

NEAR Connect — Quickstart

Zero-dependency wallet connector for NEAR blockchain. Wallets run in sandboxed iframes for security and auto-update via a remote manifest — no app redeploy needed when wallets change.

Setup

import { NearConnector } from "@hot-labs/near-connect";

const connector = new NearConnector({
  network: "mainnet",
});

await connector.whenManifestLoaded;

connector.on("wallet:signIn", (t) => {
  const address = t.accounts[0].accountId;
  const source = t.source;
});

connector.on("wallet:signOut", () => {
});

await connector.connect();

Install:

yarn add @hot-labs/near-connect

For mobile wallets that require WalletConnect:

import SignClient from "@walletconnect/sign-client";

const wc = await SignClient.init({
  projectId: "your-walletconnect-project-id",
  metadata: {
    name: "My App",
    description: "My NEAR dapp",
    url: window.location.origin,
    icons: ["https://example.com/icon.png"],
  },
});

const connector = new NearConnector({
  network: "mainnet",
  walletConnect: wc,
});

Core Patterns

Filter wallets by features

Only show wallets that support specific capabilities:

const connector = new NearConnector({
  network: "mainnet",
  features: { signMessage: true, testnet: true },
});

Available features: signMessage, signTransaction, signAndSendTransaction, signAndSendTransactions, signInWithoutAddKey, signInAndSignMessage, signInWithFunctionCallKey, signDelegateActions, mainnet, testnet.

Connect with signed message verification

Sign a message during sign-in to verify account ownership in one wallet interaction:

const nonce = crypto.getRandomValues(new Uint8Array(32));

await connector.connect({
  signMessageParams: {
    message: "Sign in to My App",
    recipient: "My App",
    nonce,
  },
});

connector.on("wallet:signInAndSignMessage", (t) => {
  const accountId = t.accounts[0].accountId;
  const signedMessage = t.accounts[0].signedMessage;
});

Get connected wallet and accounts

const wallet = await connector.wallet();
const accounts = await wallet.getAccounts();

Switch network

await connector.switchNetwork("testnet");

This disconnects the current wallet and reconnects on the new network.

Customize or disable branding

new NearConnector({
  footerBranding: { icon: "https://example.com/logo.svg", heading: "My App", link: "https://example.com", linkText: "Get a wallet" },
});

new NearConnector({ footerBranding: null });

Manifest and Wallet Freshness

Wallets are loaded from a remote manifest JSON. The connector fetches it on construction and caches executor code in IndexedDB. When a wallet updates its executor script, the connector fetches the new version on next use — no app redeploy needed.

To add a wallet to the ecosystem, submit a PR updating repository/manifest.json in the near-selector repo. After review, the wallet appears for all dapps automatically.

Some wallets may fall behind — their executor scripts can become stale or buggy. The connector has no built-in staleness detection. If a wallet's executor is outdated or broken, the issue is in the wallet's hosted script, not in near-connect. Contact the wallet team to update their executor URL.

Common Mistakes

CRITICAL Using near-wallet-selector API instead of near-connect

Wrong:

import { setupWalletSelector } from "@near-wallet-selector/core";
const selector = await setupWalletSelector({ modules: [...] });

Correct:

import { NearConnector } from "@hot-labs/near-connect";
const connector = new NearConnector({ network: "mainnet" });

near-wallet-selector is a different package with a completely different API. @hot-labs/near-connect uses a single NearConnector class, not a modular setup system.

Source: https://github.com/hot-dao/near-selector

HIGH Not awaiting manifest loading before calling connect

Wrong:

const connector = new NearConnector({ network: "mainnet" });
await connector.connect();

Correct:

const connector = new NearConnector({ network: "mainnet" });
await connector.whenManifestLoaded;
await connector.connect();

The manifest loads asynchronously in the constructor. Calling connect() before it resolves finds no wallets and throws.

Source: src/NearConnector.ts:89-137

HIGH Omitting WalletConnect config causes wallets to silently disappear

Wrong:

const connector = new NearConnector({ network: "mainnet" });

Correct:

const wc = await SignClient.init({ projectId: "your-id", metadata: { name: "My App" } });
const connector = new NearConnector({ network: "mainnet", walletConnect: wc });

Wallets that require WalletConnect are filtered out of the manifest when no walletConnect option is provided. No error is thrown — they simply don't appear in availableWallets.

Source: src/NearConnector.ts:128-133

HIGH Using library in SSR without guarding browser APIs

Wrong:

import { NearConnector } from "@hot-labs/near-connect";
const connector = new NearConnector();

Correct:

if (typeof window !== "undefined") {
  const { NearConnector } = await import("@hot-labs/near-connect");
  const connector = new NearConnector();
}

NearConnector uses window, document, localStorage, and IndexedDB. Constructing it during server-side render throws.

Source: src/NearConnector.ts:139-155

MEDIUM Using deprecated signIn constructor option

Wrong:

new NearConnector({ signIn: { contractId: "game.near", methodNames: ["action"] } });

Correct:

await connector.connect({
  addFunctionCallKey: {
    contractId: "game.near",
    publicKey: "ed25519:...",
    allowMethods: { anyMethod: false, methodNames: ["action"] },
  },
});

The signIn constructor option is deprecated. It requires an on-chain transaction during initial connection, which hurts UX. Use addFunctionCallKey in connect() instead, ideally after the user has started interacting with your app.

Source: src/NearConnector.ts:46-52

MEDIUM Not listening for signOut to detect wallet disconnection

Wrong:

connector.on("wallet:signIn", (t) => {
  setAddress(t.accounts[0].accountId);
});

Correct:

connector.on("wallet:signIn", (t) => {
  setAddress(t.accounts[0].accountId);
});
connector.on("wallet:signOut", () => {
  setAddress(null);
});

A wallet can disconnect externally (user removes access in wallet app). Without listening for wallet:signOut, the app shows a connected state with stale account data.

Source: src/types/index.ts:212-218

Version

Targets @hot-labs/near-connect v0.11.3.

See also: near-connect-transactions/SKILL.md — signing transactions and messages after wallet connection