A wrapper extending the base @polkadot/keyring interface for usage in the browser: Key management of user accounts including generation and retrieval of keyring pairs from a variety of input combinations.

Usage Examples

All module methods are exposed through a single default export.

Regular

import keyring from @polkadot/ui-keyring

render () {
  // encode publicKey to ss58 address
  const address = keyring.encodeAddress(publicKey);

  // get keyring pair from ss58 address
  const pair = keyring.getPair(address);

  // ask questions about that particular keyring pair
  const isLocked = pair.isLocked();
  const meta = pair.getMeta();

  // save account from pair
  keyring.saveAccount(pair, password);

  // save address without unlocking it
  keyring.saveAddress(address, { ...meta });
}

Observables

import React from 'react';
import accountObservable from '@polkadot/ui-keyring/observable/accounts';

class MyReactComponent extends React.Component {
  componentDidMount () {
    accountObservable.subscribe((observedAccounts) => {
      this.setState({
        accounts: observedAccounts
      });
    })
  }

  render () {
    const { accounts } = this.state;

    return (
      <h1>All Accounts</h1>
      {
        Object.keys(accounts).map(address => {
          return <p> {address} </p>;
        })
      }
    )
  }
}

FAQ

Difference between Keyring Accounts and Addresses?
- From the perspective of the keyring, it saves a particular user's unlocked identities as an account, a la keyring.saveAccount(pair, password). So with these accounts you are able to send and sign transactions.
- To save addresses without unlocking them (i.e. because a user might want to have easy access to addresses they frequently transact with), use keyring.saveAddress(address, meta)
What are 'external' accounts, i.e. when to set the isExternal meta key to true?
- An external account is one where the keys are not managed by keyring, e.g. in Parity Signer or Ledger Nano.
SS58 Encode / Decode?
- SS58 is a simple address format designed for Substrate based chains. You can read about its specification in more detail in the Parity Wiki.

If you have any unanswered/undocumented questions, please raise an issue here.

Users

Keyring is core to many polkadot/substrate apps.