Welcome to Cronos Wallet Docs

Cronos Wallet is a fully open-source, non-custodial wallet that unifies the EVM and IBC ecosystems in a single UX. Whether you are integrating our JSON-RPC, automating swaps from CI, or just looking to keep tokens safe, these docs cover everything you need.

What you will learn

• Install, verify, and update the desktop, mobile, and CLI builds.
• Create, import, and back-up wallets—plus social-recovery workflows.
• Invoke wallet methods from curl, ethers.js, or cosmjs.
• Bridge ERC-20 ↔︎ IBC tokens atomically via LayerZero & IBC.
• Audit logs, set CSP headers, and harden production deployments.

Need a five-minute primer? Jump straight to Quick Start.

1. Quick Start

Three commands spin up a local dev-net with funded accounts.

git clone https://github.com/cronos-wallet/cronos-wallet.git
cd cronos-wallet && make devnet
npm run example:swap

The script mints CRO, ETH, and USDC test funds to four deterministic wallets.

2. Installation

Desktop (macOS / Windows / Linux)

• macOS DMG:

  curl -LO https://github.com/cronos-wallet/releases/download/v1.3.0/CronosWallet-1.3.0.dmg
  sudo hdiutil attach CronosWallet-1.3.0.dmg
  sudo cp -R "Cronos Wallet.app" /Applications

• Windows MSI: download CronosWallet-Setup-1.3.0.msi and double-click—installer adds a Start-menu entry and registers the auto-updater.
• Linux:

  curl -LO https://github.com/cronos-wallet/releases/download/v1.3.0/CronosWallet-1.3.0.AppImage
  chmod +x CronosWallet-1.3.0.AppImage
  ./CronosWallet-1.3.0.AppImage --appimage-extract-and-run

Mobile

1. Search “Cronos Wallet” on App Store / Google Play.
2. Verify publisher: Cronos Foundation Ltd.
3. Enable push notifications for on-chain alerts (optional).

CLI & SDK

# Binary (headless daemon)
curl -LO https://github.com/cronos-wallet/releases/download/v1.3.0/cronosd-linux-amd64
chmod +x cronosd-linux-amd64 && sudo mv cronosd-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/cronosd

# TypeScript SDK
npm i @cronos-wallet/sdk

Checksum verification: every artifact ships with .sha256 and GPG signatures. Run shasum -a 256 -c CronosWallet-1.3.0.dmg.sha256 before installation.

3. Daily Usage

Create / Import

1. On first launch choose Create New Wallet or Import.
2. Backup the 12-word seed; the UI forces a re-type quiz to prevent screenshots.
3. Pick a password (8+ chars, one symbol); it encrypts the seed with AES-256-GCM.

Send & Receive

1. Navigate to Accounts → Send.
2. Paste destination address (EVM 0x… or Bech32 cro1…). The wallet auto-detects format.
3. Enter amount; gas is estimated and shown in fiat.

Swap & Bridge

• Gas-less swap: select “MetaTx” toggle; fees are auto-deducted in output token.
• Cross-chain bridge uses LayerZero if EVM↔EVM, or IBC if Cosmos zone detected.

Stake & Earn

Open Earn tab → choose validator → delegate CRO. Rewards compound every block; APR ≈ 10 %.

4. API Reference

The wallet exposes a local JSON-RPC on http://127.0.0.1:8545 once the desktop app or daemon runs. Use any HTTP client.

POST /jsonrpc HTTP/1.1
Host:127.0.0.1:8545
Content-Type:application/json

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"getBalance","params":["0x1234…"],"id":1}

WebSocket subscriptions are supported on ws://127.0.0.1:8546 — listen to newBlock, pendingTx, or any IBC event.

Authentication

For headless servers, set --auth-token <TOKEN> when starting cronosd. Include header X-Cronos-Auth on every RPC.

Common Methods

• sendTransaction — returns txHash once signed locally.
• swapExactTokens — routes through best DEX available.
• bridgeTransfer — abstracted bridge call; chooses protocol.

Error Codes

All errors follow EIP-1474; additional codes 5xxx map to Cosmos-SDK.

5. Backup & Recovery

Loss of seed = loss of funds. Cronos Wallet ships two layers of protection:

1. Encrypted Shards: split seed into n shares via Shamir’s Secret Sharing (n=3, k=2 default). Store QR-encoded shards in different locations.
2. Social Recovery: designate up to 5 guardians. Two guardians can co-sign a restore request via email + OTP. No shard ever leaves device unencrypted.

# CLI backup example
cronosctl keys export --armor mywallet > mywallet.asc
# Restore
cronosctl keys import --armor mywallet.asc

When importing on mobile, scan the encrypted QR; the app reconstructs the seed in-memory only.

6. Advanced Features

Gas-Less Meta-Transactions

Enable toggle “Sponsor Gas”; a relayer pays gas in CRO then deducts equivalent in the token you receive — great for new users without CRO balance.

Hardware Wallet Integration

Ledger, Trezor, and Keystone are supported over WebHID / Bluetooth. Transactions are signed on device; the desktop app simply relays the signature.

Programmable Automations

Setup rules like “auto-stake rewards > 10 CRO”. The daemon watches chain events and triggers CLI sub-commands.

DeFi Modules

• One-click liquid-stake to LiquidCRO.
• Vaults aggregator: harvest yield across 12 protocols.
• Integrated NFT viewer with on-chain metadata caching.

7. Security Practices

Security is not a checkbox; it is an ongoing process.

Verify Binaries

Each release is reproducible. Compare SHA-256 or use gpg --verify cronos.asc to match the signer key 0xC0DECAFE.

Enable MFA

Under Settings → Security enable biometric + TOTP. The desktop client supports YubiKey U2F fallback.

Cold-Key Policy

High-value accounts should remain on Ledger/Trezor. Cronos Wallet automatically disables send and swap if the hardware device is disconnected mid-sign.

Auto-Update Cadence

Stable channel receives security patches every 2 weeks. Canary updates nightly for testers.

8. Troubleshooting

9. Contributing

We welcome PRs! Follow the guidelines:

• Fork cronos-wallet, create a branch feature/my-thing.
• Run make setup && make test. The linter must pass (eslint + go vet).
• Include unit tests; CI requires ≥ 80 % coverage.
• Sign commits: git commit -S -m "feat: …".

Join Discord #dev for architecture chats.

10. Versioning & Releases

Cronos Wallet follows Semantic Versioning. Breaking changes bump MAJOR.

Channels

• Stable – audited every 8 weeks.
• Canary – nightly with debug logs.
• LTS – security patches 18 months.

Upgrade Path

CLI: cronosctl migrate --home ~/.cronos. GUI prompts auto-migrate at first launch.