🔐 Base Wallet - Crypto Identity for AI Agents

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name: base-wallet

description: "🔐 Base Wallet - Crypto Identity for AI Agents. Create wallets, sign messages (SIWE), send transactions programmatically. No browser extensions, no human intervention. The foundation for autonomous Web3 agents."

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# 🔐 Base Wallet - Crypto Identity for AI Agents

> Every autonomous agent needs a wallet. Create one without human help.

**TL;DR:** Programmatic wallet creation on Base/Ethereum. SIWE auth, balance checks, transactions.

Why Base Wallet?

Create and manage Base chain (Ethereum-compatible) wallets programmatically.

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⚠️ Security First

| ✅ DO | ❌ DON'T |

|-------|----------|

| Use **environment variables** for private keys | Store private keys in plain text files |

| Set wallet files to **chmod 600** | Commit wallet files to git |

| Use `--env` mode (recommended) | Use `console.log(privateKey)` |

| Back up mnemonics **offline** | Share private keys or mnemonics |

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Quick Start

Create a New Wallet (Recommended)

# Output as environment variable format (safest)
node scripts/create-wallet.js --env

# Output example:
# export WALLET_ADDRESS="0x..."
# export PRIVATE_KEY="0x..."

Then copy to your shell or `.env` file.

Create with File Storage (Opt-in)

# Only if you need file-based storage
node scripts/create-wallet.js --managed my-agent

⚠️ This stores private key in `~/.openclaw/wallets/my-agent.json`

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Usage Examples

Load Wallet from Environment

const { ethers } = require('ethers');

// ✅ SECURE: Load from environment variable
const wallet = new ethers.Wallet(process.env.PRIVATE_KEY);
console.log('Address:', wallet.address);
// ❌ NEVER: console.log('Private Key:', wallet.privateKey);

Load from Mnemonic

const wallet = ethers.Wallet.fromPhrase(process.env.MNEMONIC);

Check Balance

const provider = new ethers.JsonRpcProvider('https://mainnet.base.org');
const balance = await provider.getBalance(wallet.address);
console.log('Balance:', ethers.formatEther(balance), 'ETH');

Sign Message (SIWE)

const message = `example.com wants you to sign in with your Ethereum account:
${wallet.address}

Sign in message

URI: https://example.com
Version: 1
Chain ID: 8453
Nonce: ${nonce}
Issued At: ${new Date().toISOString()}`;

const signature = await wallet.signMessage(message);

Send Transaction

const provider = new ethers.JsonRpcProvider('https://mainnet.base.org');
const connectedWallet = wallet.connect(provider);

const tx = await connectedWallet.sendTransaction({
  to: recipientAddress,
  value: ethers.parseEther('0.001')
});

const receipt = await tx.wait();
console.log('TX Hash:', tx.hash);

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Scripts

| Script | Description |

|--------|-------------|

| `create-wallet.js --env` | Create wallet, output as env vars (recommended) |

| `create-wallet.js --managed [name]` | Create wallet, save to file (opt-in) |

| `create-wallet.js --json` | Create wallet, output as JSON |

| `basemail-register.js [name]` | Register for BaseMail email |

| `check-balance.js [address]` | Check wallet balance |

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BaseMail Integration

Register for a @basemail.ai email using your wallet signature.

# If using environment variable:
PRIVATE_KEY="0x..." node scripts/basemail-register.js

# If using managed wallet:
node scripts/basemail-register.js my-agent

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Network Configuration

| Network | Chain ID | RPC URL |

|---------|----------|---------|

| Base Mainnet | 8453 | https://mainnet.base.org |

| Base Sepolia | 84532 | https://sepolia.base.org |

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📝 Audit Logging

Operations are logged to `~/.base-wallet/audit.log`.

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Secure Storage Pattern

// ✅ Recommended: Use environment variables
const privateKey = process.env.PRIVATE_KEY;
if (!privateKey) {
  throw new Error('PRIVATE_KEY environment variable not set');
}
const wallet = new ethers.Wallet(privateKey);

// ❌ Avoid: Storing private keys in code or files

If you must store to file (not recommended):

const fs = require('fs');
const path = require('path');

// Store with restricted permissions
const filepath = path.join(process.env.HOME, '.openclaw', 'wallets', 'wallet.json');
fs.writeFileSync(filepath, JSON.stringify({ 
  address: wallet.address,
  // Only store if absolutely necessary
  privateKey: wallet.privateKey
}), { mode: 0o600 }); // Owner read/write only

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.gitignore

Add to your project's `.gitignore`:

# Wallet files - NEVER commit!
.openclaw/
*.wallet.json
*.mnemonic
private-key*

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Dependencies

npm install ethers

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Changelog

v1.1.0 (2026-02-08)

v1.0.0