Sphere Connect Example
Four runnable examples showing the different ways an app can work with a Sphere wallet — as a browser dApp, as a Node dApp, as a bot that runs its own wallet, or as a backend that just authenticates a user.
What is Sphere Connect?
Sphere Connect is a typed RPC protocol that lets a dApp talk to a user's Sphere
wallet — reading balances, sending tokens, signing messages — without ever
seeing the private keys. The dApp runs a ConnectClient; the wallet runs a
ConnectHost; a transport carries messages between them.
dApp (ConnectClient) ←→ Transport ←→ Wallet (ConnectHost)
Not every example uses Connect: the bot runs its own wallet directly, and the backend in backend-auth only verifies a signature. See the guide below.
Which example do I need?
The examples differ along two axes: whose wallet your app uses, and what it needs to do with it.
| Example | Your app is… | The wallet is… | Can move tokens? | Reach for it when… |
|---|---|---|---|---|
browser/ |
a web page / dApp | the user's, elsewhere | ✅ with per-action approval | your dApp runs in a browser and the user is present to approve each send — e.g. a browser game where the player approves in-game purchases |
nodejs/ |
a Node CLI / service | the user's, over WebSocket | ✅ with approval | you need a CLI / desktop / server dApp that drives a user's wallet over a WebSocket (see the caveat in its README) |
bot/ |
an autonomous agent | its own (own keys) | ✅ no approval — it owns the funds | you're building a tipping bot, faucet, game NPC that pays rewards, or an agent that acts from its own float with no human in the loop |
backend-auth/ |
a frontend + backend | the user's (frontend only signs) | ❌ auth only | you need to know who the player is — login, leaderboards, ownership, sessions — but do not need to move their tokens. Recommended for games/apps that need authenticated identity, not custody or intents |
Rules of thumb:
- Need to move a user's tokens? →
browser/(web) ornodejs/(Node over WS). The user approves each action. - Moving your own tokens autonomously? →
bot/. It is the wallet; no approval prompts. - Just need to know who the user is? →
backend-auth/. It authenticates and stops there — it never touches funds.
Quick Start
browser/ — web dApp over Connect
cd browser
npm install
npm run dev # http://localhost:5174Needs a Sphere wallet reachable at http://localhost:5173 (or the Sphere extension). See browser/README.md.
Testing a local dApp against the real (hosted) wallet? It only works via iframe — load your dApp as a custom agent at https://sphere.unicity.network/agents/custom. The popup path returns
403against the hosted wallet. (Applies to bothbrowser/andbackend-auth/frontend.)
nodejs/ — Node dApp over WebSocket
cd nodejs
npm install
npm run server # Terminal 1: mock wallet (ws://localhost:8765)
npm run client # Terminal 2: CLI dAppDrives a wallet over WebSocketTransport. See nodejs/README.md.
bot/ — a bot with its own wallet
cd bot
npm install
cp .env.example .env
npm start # boots its own wallet on testnet2, self-mints, DM-echoesNo Connect involved — the bot is the wallet. See bot/README.md.
backend-auth/ — sign in with a Sphere wallet
# Terminal 1 — backend (http://localhost:8787)
cd backend-auth/backend && npm install && cp .env.example .env && npm start
# Terminal 2 — frontend (http://localhost:5173)
cd backend-auth/frontend && npm install && cp .env.example .env && npm run devFrontend brokers a sign_message; backend recovers the pubkey and issues a JWT. See backend-auth/README.md.
Dependencies
All five packages pin the same published SDK version:
"@unicitylabs/sphere-sdk": "0.13.0"Documentation
- browser/CONNECT.md — full browser dApp integration guide
- sphere-sdk/docs/CONNECT.md — protocol reference
License
MIT
