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Manage Chains

The Arcana Auth product supports all EVM-compatible blockchain networks. By default, the Arcana Auth SDK comes pre-configured with a set of EVM-compatible chains. These blockchain networks are displayed in the Arcana wallet UI once a user logs in the app.

See supported blockchain networks for the current list.

App developers can use the chain management feature and add other EVM-compatible chains to this default, pre-configured set. They can also specify a different active chain in the wallet once the user logs in. App users have limited chain management capabilities.

There are multiple ways to add and automatically switch to newer chains:

Developers

  1. Configure Blockchain Networks: Use the Arcana Developer Dashboard and add newer EVM-compatible chains via the 'Chain Management' configuration section. The newly added chain becomes the active chain by default. Developers can select another chain from the pre-configured list in the dashboard and make it as the active chain. The active chain is displayed in the wallet UI once the user logs in. You can also specify custom RPC URLs for the newly added chains.

  2. chainConfig parameter: During app integration, use the chainConfig input parameter of the AuthProvider constructor to specify the active chain and a different RPC url (optional).

    chainConfig setting

    The chainConfig value overrides the active chain configuration setting specified in the dashboard if the chain corresponding to the value is present in the pre-configured list. If not, the dashboard setting is used to show the 'active' chain in the user's wallet.

  3. wallet_addEthereumChain: Use wallet_addEthereumChain EIP-3085 RPC method supported by the Arcana wallet to add newer EVM-compatible blockchain networks to the pre-configured list.

  4. Testnet/Mainnet Chain Type: Use the dashboard to choose whether the newly added chain is a Testnet or Mainnet type blockchain network.

App Users

  1. Use the Arcana wallet UI to add a new blockchain network. The newly added network becomes 'active' network in the wallet.

  2. Use the Arcana wallet UI dropdown to select a different chain as the 'active' network.

User Settings: Not Persistent

Note that any chain addition or changes to the 'active' chain selection made by the app users does not persist across user login sessions. Only the chain management configurations specified by the developers persist across user logins.

Once configured and the app is deployed, developers can reconfigure the list of chains displayed in the wallet UI.

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.

Switching Chains

EVM-compatible Chains:

In most cases, switching the 'active' chain displayed in the wallet won't affect user's wallet address. However, if users log into a blockchain network that is not EVM-compatible but supported by Arcana Auth, a new set of keys is assigned for such chains and the user will see a different wallet address as compared to the EVM-compatible chain.

Global/App-specific Keys

If an app is configured to use 'Global Keys', then the user will see the same wallet address across all the apps in the Arcana ecosystem. This is true for all the EVM-compatible chains. Otherwise, the user's wallet address will vary across apps for blochains that are not EVM-compatible.

In the case of 'app-specific' keys (default), the user will be assigned a new set of keys for each app in the Arcana ecosystem. Hence, the user will see a new wallet address across different apps after login. This is true irrespective of the blockchain network type - whether it is EVM-compatible or not.


Last update: March 15, 2024 by shaloo, shaloo