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Manage Chains

The chain management feature of the Arcana Auth SDK allows developers to control which subset of the supported blockchains should be displayed in the Arcana wallet once an app user authenticates. The developers can configure chains using the Arcana Developer Dashboard and specify the following details:

  • List of blockchains that should be displayed in the wallet dropdown list out of the box.
  • The blockchain selected as the default chain for the wallet address.
  • The custom RPC URLs for the configured chains.
  • Specify whether a configured chain represents a Testnet or Mainnet.

Once configured and the app is deployed, developers can reconfigure the list of chains displayed in the wallet UI. It is also possible to change the default chain setting programmatically by providing the chainConfig parameter in the AuthProvider. Developers can also add new chains and switch chains programmatically in the wallet.

If a developer configures the blockchains for an app using the Arcana Developer Dashboard and sets a default chain, it can be overridden through the app code by using the chainConfig parameter while instantiating the AuthProvider, provided the specified chain is part of the configured chain list in the Arcana Developer Dashboard.

Chain Configuration Example

Example I

Dashboard setting for App A: Polygon, Ethereum, Shardeum, Arbitrum (default selection)

chainConfig option in the AuthProvider: Shardeum

In this case, the Arcana wallet UI will display Shardeum as the default and other chains in the dropdown list as Polygon, Ethereum, and Arbitrum.

Example II

Dashboard setting for App A: Polygon, Ethereum, Shardeum, Arbitrum (default selection)

chainConfig option in the AuthProvider: Avalanche

In this case, the Arcana wallet UI will display Arbitrum as the default and other chains in the dropdown list as Polygon, Ethereum, and Shardeum.

The chain management feature is currently supported for EVM-compatible chains. Also, besides configuring these chains via the dashboard, the developers can programmatically add any new supported EVM-compatible chain using the wallet_addEthereumChain method supported by the Arcana wallet.

Changing Chains

If you change the chain list displayed in the wallet for EVM-compatible chains, it won't affect your wallet address. However, if you log into a chain that is not EVM-compatible but supported by Arcana Auth, you will be assigned a new set of keys for that specific chain.

If an app uses the 'Global Keys' feature, then the user has the same wallet address across all the apps in the Arcana ecosystem for all the EVM-compatible chains. In case of 'app-specific' keys (default), the user will be assigned a new wallet address for every app that a user logs into irrespective of the blockchain type - whether it is EVM-compatible or not.


Last update: May 25, 2023 by shalz