Sign-In with Ethereum

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Sign-In with Ethereum (SIWE) enables passwordless authentication using Ethereum accounts. Users prove ownership of their address by signing a structured message (EIP-4361).

Overview

SIWE authentication flow:

Server generates a unique nonce
Client creates a SIWE message with the nonce
User signs the message with their wallet
Server verifies the signature matches the address in the message
Server creates a session for the authenticated user

Creating SIWE Messages

Use Siwe.create() to construct a message with required fields:

import { Siwe, Address } from "@tevm/voltaire";

// Create the user's address
const userAddress = Address("0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc454e4438f44e");

// Create a basic SIWE message
const message = Siwe.create({
  domain: "myapp.com",
  address: userAddress,
  uri: "https://myapp.com/login",
  chainId: 1,
});

// Message automatically includes:
// - nonce (randomly generated)
// - issuedAt (current timestamp)
// - version ("1")

Adding Optional Fields

Include statement, expiration, and resources for enhanced messages:

const message = Siwe.create({
  domain: "myapp.com",
  address: userAddress,
  uri: "https://myapp.com/login",
  chainId: 1,
  statement: "Sign in to access your dashboard",
  expirationTime: new Date(Date.now() + 3600000).toISOString(), // 1 hour
  notBefore: new Date().toISOString(),
  requestId: "unique-request-123",
  resources: [
    "https://myapp.com/api/profile",
    "https://myapp.com/api/settings",
  ],
});

Custom Nonce

For server-generated nonces, pass your own value:

// Generate nonce on server
const serverNonce = Siwe.generateNonce(); // 16 alphanumeric chars

// Pass to client, then create message with it
const message = Siwe.create({
  domain: "myapp.com",
  address: userAddress,
  uri: "https://myapp.com/login",
  chainId: 1,
  nonce: serverNonce,
});

Formatting Messages for Signing

Convert the message object to the EIP-4361 text format for wallet signing:

const messageText = Siwe.format(message);
console.log(messageText);

Output:

myapp.com wants you to sign in with your Ethereum account:
0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc454e4438f44e

Sign in to access your dashboard

URI: https://myapp.com/login
Version: 1
Chain ID: 1
Nonce: abc123xyz789
Issued At: 2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z
Expiration Time: 2024-01-15T11:30:00.000Z

Signing SIWE Messages

The message hash uses EIP-191 personal sign format. Sign with any Ethereum wallet:

Using PrivateKeySigner (Server-side or Testing)

import { Siwe, Address } from "@tevm/voltaire";
import { PrivateKeySignerImpl } from "@tevm/voltaire/crypto";

// Create signer from private key
const signer = PrivateKeySignerImpl.fromPrivateKey({
  privateKey: "0xac0974bec39a17e36ba4a6b4d238ff944bacb478cbed5efcae784d7bf4f2ff80",
});

// Create and format the message
const message = Siwe.create({
  domain: "myapp.com",
  address: Address(signer.address),
  uri: "https://myapp.com/login",
  chainId: 1,
});

const messageText = Siwe.format(message);

// Sign the message (returns hex string)
const signatureHex = await signer.signMessage(messageText);

// Convert to Uint8Array for verification
const signature = new Uint8Array(
  signatureHex.slice(2).match(/.{2}/g)!.map((byte) => parseInt(byte, 16))
);

Using Browser Wallet (Client-side)

import { Siwe, Address } from "@tevm/voltaire";

// Get address from connected wallet
const accounts = await window.ethereum.request({
  method: "eth_requestAccounts",
});
const userAddress = Address(accounts[0]);

// Create message
const message = Siwe.create({
  domain: window.location.host,
  address: userAddress,
  uri: window.location.origin,
  chainId: 1,
  statement: "Sign in to MyApp",
});

// Format and sign
const messageText = Siwe.format(message);
const signatureHex = await window.ethereum.request({
  method: "personal_sign",
  params: [messageText, accounts[0]],
});

// Convert signature for verification
const signature = new Uint8Array(
  signatureHex.slice(2).match(/.{2}/g).map((byte) => parseInt(byte, 16))
);

Verifying SIWE Signatures

Basic Verification

Siwe.verify() checks that the signature was created by the address in the message:

const isValid = Siwe.verify(message, signature);

if (isValid) {
  console.log("Signature valid - user authenticated");
} else {
  console.log("Invalid signature");
}

Full Message Verification

Siwe.verifyMessage() validates both the signature and message constraints (expiration, notBefore):

const result = Siwe.verifyMessage(message, signature);

if (result.valid) {
  // User authenticated, create session
  createSession(message.address, message.nonce);
} else {
  // Handle specific error
  console.error(result.error.type, result.error.message);
}

Validation Without Signature

Validate message structure and timestamps before signature verification:

const validation = Siwe.validate(message);

if (!validation.valid) {
  switch (validation.error.type) {
    case "expired":
      console.error("Message has expired");
      break;
    case "not_yet_valid":
      console.error("Message is not yet valid");
      break;
    case "invalid_nonce":
      console.error("Nonce must be at least 8 characters");
      break;
    case "invalid_domain":
      console.error("Domain is required");
      break;
    default:
      console.error(validation.error.message);
  }
}

Testing with Custom Time

For testing expiration logic:

const futureTime = new Date(Date.now() + 7200000); // 2 hours from now
const result = Siwe.validate(message, { now: futureTime });

if (!result.valid && result.error.type === "expired") {
  console.log("Message would be expired at that time");
}

Session Management Patterns

Server-Side Session Flow

// 1. Generate nonce endpoint
app.get("/auth/nonce", (req, res) => {
  const nonce = Siwe.generateNonce();
  // Store nonce in session or database with expiration
  req.session.siweNonce = nonce;
  res.json({ nonce });
});

// 2. Verify endpoint
app.post("/auth/verify", (req, res) => {
  const { messageText, signature } = req.body;

  // Parse the message from text
  const message = Siwe.parse(messageText);

  // Verify nonce matches what we generated
  if (message.nonce !== req.session.siweNonce) {
    return res.status(401).json({ error: "Invalid nonce" });
  }

  // Verify domain matches our domain
  if (message.domain !== "myapp.com") {
    return res.status(401).json({ error: "Invalid domain" });
  }

  // Convert signature to Uint8Array
  const sigBytes = new Uint8Array(
    signature.slice(2).match(/.{2}/g).map((b) => parseInt(b, 16))
  );

  // Verify signature and message validity
  const result = Siwe.verifyMessage(message, sigBytes);

  if (!result.valid) {
    return res.status(401).json({ error: result.error.message });
  }

  // Create authenticated session
  req.session.address = message.address;
  req.session.chainId = message.chainId;

  // Clear used nonce
  delete req.session.siweNonce;

  res.json({ success: true });
});

Parsing Messages

Parse a formatted message string back to an object:

const messageText = `myapp.com wants you to sign in with your Ethereum account:
0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc454e4438f44e

Sign in to access your account

URI: https://myapp.com/login
Version: 1
Chain ID: 1
Nonce: abc123xyz789
Issued At: 2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z`;

const message = Siwe.parse(messageText);
console.log(message.domain); // "myapp.com"
console.log(message.statement); // "Sign in to access your account"

Domain Binding Security

Always verify the domain matches your application to prevent phishing:

function verifyDomain(message: SiweMessageType): boolean {
  const allowedDomains = ["myapp.com", "www.myapp.com", "staging.myapp.com"];
  return allowedDomains.includes(message.domain);
}

// In verification flow
const message = Siwe.parse(messageText);
if (!verifyDomain(message)) {
  throw new Error("Message domain does not match application");
}

Complete Example

Full client-server authentication flow:

// === Client Side ===
import { Siwe, Address } from "@tevm/voltaire";

async function signIn() {
  // 1. Get nonce from server
  const nonceRes = await fetch("/auth/nonce");
  const { nonce } = await nonceRes.json();

  // 2. Connect wallet
  const accounts = await window.ethereum.request({
    method: "eth_requestAccounts",
  });
  const address = Address(accounts[0]);

  // 3. Create message
  const message = Siwe.create({
    domain: window.location.host,
    address,
    uri: window.location.origin,
    chainId: 1,
    statement: "Sign in to MyApp",
    nonce,
    expirationTime: new Date(Date.now() + 300000).toISOString(), // 5 min
  });

  // 4. Sign message
  const messageText = Siwe.format(message);
  const signature = await window.ethereum.request({
    method: "personal_sign",
    params: [messageText, accounts[0]],
  });

  // 5. Send to server for verification
  const verifyRes = await fetch("/auth/verify", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
    body: JSON.stringify({ messageText, signature }),
  });

  if (verifyRes.ok) {
    console.log("Authenticated!");
    // Redirect to dashboard
  }
}

Error Handling

Handle all validation error types:

import type { ValidationError } from "@tevm/voltaire";

function handleValidationError(error: ValidationError): string {
  const messages: Record<ValidationError["type"], string> = {
    invalid_domain: "Invalid domain in message",
    invalid_address: "Invalid Ethereum address format",
    invalid_uri: "URI is required",
    invalid_version: "Unsupported SIWE version",
    invalid_chain_id: "Invalid chain ID",
    invalid_nonce: "Nonce must be at least 8 characters",
    invalid_timestamp: "Invalid timestamp format",
    expired: "Authentication request has expired",
    not_yet_valid: "Authentication request is not yet valid",
    signature_mismatch: "Signature does not match address",
  };
  return messages[error.type] || error.message;
}

API Reference

Function	Description
`Siwe.create(params)`	Create a new SIWE message
`Siwe.format(message)`	Convert message to EIP-4361 text
`Siwe.parse(text)`	Parse EIP-4361 text to message object
`Siwe.validate(message, options?)`	Validate message structure and timestamps
`Siwe.verify(message, signature)`	Verify signature matches address
`Siwe.verifyMessage(message, signature, options?)`	Full validation + signature verification
`Siwe.generateNonce(length?)`	Generate random alphanumeric nonce
`Siwe.getMessageHash(message)`	Get EIP-191 hash for signing

​Overview

​Creating SIWE Messages

​Adding Optional Fields

​Custom Nonce

​Formatting Messages for Signing

​Signing SIWE Messages

​Using PrivateKeySigner (Server-side or Testing)

​Using Browser Wallet (Client-side)

​Verifying SIWE Signatures

​Basic Verification

​Full Message Verification

​Validation Without Signature

​Testing with Custom Time

​Session Management Patterns

​Server-Side Session Flow

​Parsing Messages

​Domain Binding Security

​Complete Example

​Error Handling

​API Reference

​Related Resources

Overview

Creating SIWE Messages

Adding Optional Fields

Custom Nonce

Formatting Messages for Signing

Signing SIWE Messages

Using PrivateKeySigner (Server-side or Testing)

Using Browser Wallet (Client-side)

Verifying SIWE Signatures

Basic Verification

Full Message Verification

Validation Without Signature

Testing with Custom Time

Session Management Patterns

Server-Side Session Flow

Parsing Messages

Domain Binding Security

Complete Example

Error Handling

API Reference

Related Resources