What is ArConnect?
ArConnect is a Chrome browser extension that makes it easy to manage your digital wallet for ArDrive. After installing ArConnect, you’ll see a little hedgehog icon at the top of your Chrome browser that enables you to quickly check your AR token balance and login to ArDrive. If you’ve ever used MetaMask before, you’ll find ArConnect similar.
ArConnect simplifies the login experience because you don’t have to upload your wallet every time you want to visit ArDrive. Instead, your wallet is encrypted and safely stored within ArConnect, and ArDrive securely accesses it as needed.
Get Started
Go to the ArConnect website to download the ArConnect Chrome extension
Once at the ArConnect site press on the ‘Download for Chrome’ button
You will be redirected to the ArConnect page of the Chrome store
Once at that page press the ‘Add to Chrome’ button
A pop-up will appear and please press ‘add extension’ and you will be directed to the Welcome page for ArConnect
Download ArConnect
We are now on the “Welcome to ArConnect” page
Please put in a username and password and press “Create”.
Note: Make sure to write down your ArConnect password as it can’t be recovered or reset.
2. You will be asked to either create a new wallet or load a wallet.
Add a Wallet
You'll need a digital wallet to pay for files you want to upload to ArDrive. If you do not have a wallet, there are two options to create one:
OPTION 1 : ArConnect
ArConnect is the easiest method for new wallet creation
To make a new wallet with ArConnect, press the “New Wallet” button, then copy the seedphrase and download the keyfile.
Note: Make sure to save your seedphrase and keyfile somewhere safe as they are not able to be recreated if lost.
The new wallet will be loaded into ArConnect automatically, but will have no AR.
OPTION 2: Arweave website
Creating a wallet through the Arweave website takes a few more steps and requires having a Twitter account. But as a reward for your patience, Arweave will add a small amount of AR into your wallet. Follow these instructions to create a new wallet with Arweave.
Once you have created your wallet with Arweave, you can load it into ArConnect:
Press “Load Wallet(s)” button, then press on “Load keyfile from filesystem”
Select your wallet address - the long string of letters and numbers (43 characters long) in the title of your wallet keyfile (JSON file).
Press ‘Load’ and a pop up will appear that says Loaded Wallets
Enable the ArConnect Chrome Extension
Press the ‘puzzle piece’ on your Chrome browser at the right of the URL box
You will see the ArConnect hedgehog and beside him is a ‘pushpin’
Click on the pushpin and the hedgehog will appear beside the puzzle piece
Press on the Hedgehog to see your token balance and any other assets in your ArConnect wallet
Now you can use your wallet to pay for uploading your files onto ArDrive.
Log into the ArDrive using ArConnect
Visit the ArDrive login screen
At the bottom of the login screen, press the “Use ArConnect” button and a window will pop up
Select your wallet and put in your ArConnect password
You will see a ‘Use Allowance Limit’ box checked which sets a limit on the amount of fee you are willing to pay for an upload. The default purchasing limit is 0.1 AR - more than enough for photos and small files. If you are planning on uploading larger files like videos, you may wish to uncheck this box or increase your allowance limit.
Finally you will be directed back to the login page for the ArDrive site where you will be asked to put in your ArDrive username and other password. Why two passwords? This allows for the extra privacy and security so only you can see and control your files.
Checking your balance on ArConnect
Simply press on the hedgehog to launch ArConnect
A dropdown will appear where you can see how much AR you have in your wallet
If you have any other tokens from the Arweave network you’ll also be able to see those in your wallet as well as any transactions that you have recently made.
ArConnect Differences
Using ArDrive with an ArConnect wallet is the same as using a local JSON file, however there are a few slight differences.
Logging out of the ArConnect extension will also log you out of ArDrive.
Disconnecting ArConnect from the ArDrive Web App will also log you out.
When ArDrive is logging in, please be patient and stay on the same tab or else it will lose connectivity to ArConnect!
When ArDrive is syncing your data, please be patient and stay on the same tab or else it will lose connectivity to ArConnect!
Comments
0 comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.