Private Key Setup

For agents to make payments automatically, they need access to a private key. This guide covers secure configuration.

Environment Variables

Store the private key in an environment variable:

For Base (EVM):

# .env file
PRIVATE_KEY=0xac0974bec39a17e36ba4a6b4d238ff944bacb478cbed5efcae784d7bf4f2ff80

For Solana:

# .env file
SOLANA_PRIVATE_KEY=4wBqpZM9xwh...your-base58-key

Loading in Code

TypeScript (EVM):

import { privateKeyToAccount } from 'viem/accounts';

const account = privateKeyToAccount(
  process.env.PRIVATE_KEY as `0x${string}`
);

TypeScript (Solana):

import { Keypair } from '@solana/web3.js';
import bs58 from 'bs58';

const secretKey = bs58.decode(process.env.SOLANA_PRIVATE_KEY!);
const keypair = Keypair.fromSecretKey(secretKey);

Security Best Practices

✅ Do

• Use environment variables
• Use secrets managers in production
• Create a dedicated wallet for the agent
• Fund only what's needed
• Rotate keys periodically

❌ Don't

• Never commit private keys to git
• Never log private keys
• Never include keys in error messages
• Don't use your main wallet
• Don't store more funds than needed

Create a Dedicated Wallet

Generate a new wallet specifically for your agent:

Generate EVM Wallettypescript

import { generatePrivateKey, privateKeyToAccount } from 'viem/accounts';

// Generate a new wallet
const privateKey = generatePrivateKey();
const account = privateKeyToAccount(privateKey);

console.log('Address:', account.address);
console.log('Private Key:', privateKey);
// Save the private key securely!

💡 Recommended starting amount: $10-50 USDC depending on expected usage.