Kristofer Lund

Announcing ic-siwe: Sign in with Ethereum (SIWE) for the Internet Computer

A project that enables Ethereum wallet-based authentication for applications on the Internet Computer (IC) platform.

ic-siwe is a project that enables Ethereum wallet-based authentication for applications on the Internet Computer (IC) platform. The goal of the project is to enhance the interoperability between Ethereum and the Internet Computer platform, enabling developers to build applications that leverage the strengths of both platforms.

Features

  • Ethereum Wallet Sign-In: Enables Ethereum wallet sign-in for IC applications. Sign in with any eth wallet to generate an IC identity and session.

  • Session Identity Uniqueness: Ensures that session identities are specific to each application’s context, preventing cross-app identity misuse.

  • Consistent Principal Generation: Guarantees that logging in with an Ethereum wallet consistently produces the same Principal, irrespective of the client used.

  • Direct Ethereum Address to Principal Mapping: Creates a one-to-one correlation between Ethereum addresses and Principals within the scope of the current application.

  • Timebound Sessions: Allows developers to set expiration times for sessions, enhancing security and control.

  • Prebuilt Identity Provider: Provides a prebuilt canister that can be integrated into any Internet Computer application, independent of the application’s programming language.

Usage

Developers have two options to use SIWE in their IC applications:

  1. Use the prebuilt ic_siwe_provider canister: This is the easiest way to integrate SIWE into an Internet Computer application. The pre-built canister is added to the project dfx.json and then configured to meet the needs of the application. ic_siwe_provider can be added to any Internet Computer application, independent of the application’s programming language.

  2. Use the ic_siwe library: This allows developers full control over the SIWE integration. The ic_siwe Rust library provides all the necessary tools for integrating SIWE into IC canisters.

SIWE login flow

The below diagram illustrates the high-level login flow when using the ic_siwe_provider canister.

  1. An ICP application requests a SIWE message from the ic_siwe_provider canister on behalf of the user.

  2. The application displays the SIWE message to the user who signs it with their Ethereum wallet.

  3. The application sends the signed SIWE message to the ic_siwe_provider canister to login the user. The canister verifies the signature and creates an identity for the user.

  4. The application retrieves the identity from the ic_siwe_provider canister.

  5. The application can now use the identity to make authenticated calls to canisters.

Sign in with Ethereum - Login flow

Resources

ic-siwe consists of two main packages: the Rust support library and the prebuilt identity provider canister. The project also includes React demo applications and React hooks for easy frontend integration with SIWE enabled Internet Computer canisters.

ic_siwe

Rust library that provides the necessary tools for integrating Sign-In with Ethereum (SIWE) into IC canisters, allowing users to sign in using their Ethereum wallets.

ic-siwe-provider

Prebuilt canister serving as a SIWE identity provider for Internet Computer canisters. ic_siwe-provider packages the ic_siwe library and makes it available as a canister that can easily be integrated into any Internet Computer application, independent of the application’s programming language.

ic-siwe-react-demo-rust

React demo application that demonstrates how to integrate SIWE into an Internet Computer canister using the ic-use-siwe-identity hook and ic-siwe-provider canister.

Try the deployed demo here: https://shtr2-2iaaa-aaaal-qckva-cai.icp0.io

ic-siwe-react-demo-ts

Same demo as above but this time the backend canister is written in TypeScript using Azle.

Try the deployed demo here: https://zwsg3-myaaa-aaaal-qdf7q-cai.icp0.io/

ic-use-siwe-identity

React hook and context provider for easy frontend integration with SIWE enabled Internet Computer canisters.

ic-use-actor

React hook and context provider for managing Internet Computer (IC) actors with features like type safety and request/response interceptors. ic-use-actor makes interacting with Internet Computer canisters more fun!

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Future Plans

The project is still in active development. Before using ic-siwe in production, I would like to do a more formal security audit.

Also, I want to integrate SIWE into more demo applications, ideally some wallet application.

Most likely, there are features missing in the current implementation. If you have any ideas or requests for features, please let me know by opening an issue on the GitHub repository.