web3-eth-accounts

What is web3-eth-accounts?

The web3-eth-accounts package is a part of the Web3.js library that provides functionalities for managing Ethereum accounts. It allows you to create, sign, and recover accounts, as well as sign data and transactions.

What are web3-eth-accounts's main functionalities?

Create Account

This feature allows you to create a new Ethereum account. The account object contains the address, private key, and other relevant information.

const Web3 = require('web3');
const web3 = new Web3();
const account = web3.eth.accounts.create();
console.log(account);

Sign Transaction

This feature allows you to sign a transaction using an account's private key. The signed transaction can then be sent to the Ethereum network.

const Web3 = require('web3');
const web3 = new Web3();
const account = web3.eth.accounts.privateKeyToAccount('YOUR_PRIVATE_KEY');
const tx = {
  to: '0xRecipientAddress',
  value: '1000000000',
  gas: 2000000
};
account.signTransaction(tx).then(signed => {
  console.log(signed);
});

Recover Account

This feature allows you to recover an account address from a signed message. It is useful for verifying the authenticity of a message.

const Web3 = require('web3');
const web3 = new Web3();
const message = 'Hello, world!';
const signature = '0xSignature';
const account = web3.eth.accounts.recover(message, signature);
console.log(account);

Sign Data

This feature allows you to sign arbitrary data using an account's private key. The signed data can be used for various purposes, such as authentication.

const Web3 = require('web3');
const web3 = new Web3();
const account = web3.eth.accounts.privateKeyToAccount('YOUR_PRIVATE_KEY');
const data = 'Hello, world!';
const signature = account.sign(data);
console.log(signature);

Other packages similar to web3-eth-accounts

ethers

The ethers.js library is a complete and compact library for interacting with the Ethereum blockchain. It provides similar functionalities for managing accounts, signing transactions, and interacting with smart contracts. Compared to web3-eth-accounts, ethers.js is known for its simplicity and ease of use.

eth-lightwallet

The eth-lightwallet package is a lightweight JavaScript library for managing Ethereum accounts and signing transactions. It is designed to be used in browser environments and provides functionalities for creating and managing HD wallets. Compared to web3-eth-accounts, eth-lightwallet focuses more on hierarchical deterministic (HD) wallets.

ethereumjs-wallet

The ethereumjs-wallet library is a simple library for creating and managing Ethereum wallets. It provides functionalities for generating wallets, importing/exporting wallets, and signing transactions. Compared to web3-eth-accounts, ethereumjs-wallet is more focused on wallet management and less on interacting with the Ethereum network.

README

web3-eth-accounts

This is a sub package of web3.js

This is the accounts package to be used in the web3-eth package. Please read the documentation for more.

Installation

Node.js

npm install web3-eth-accounts

In the Browser

Build running the following in the web3.js repository:

npm run-script build-all

Then include dist/web3-eth-accounts.js in your html file. This will expose the Web3EthAccounts object on the window object.

Usage

// in node.js
var Web3EthAccounts = require('web3-eth-accounts');

var account = new Web3EthAccounts('ws://localhost:8546');
account.create();
> {
  address: '0x2c7536E3605D9C16a7a3D7b1898e529396a65c23',
  privateKey: '0x4c0883a69102937d6231471b5dbb6204fe5129617082792ae468d01a3f362318',
  signTransaction: function(tx){...},
  sign: function(data){...},
  encrypt: function(password){...}
}