Creating a default EOS account can be very easy but often lacks the security that creating an EOS account using a hardware wallet like the Ledger (Nano S) offers. Since many people are unsure how to do this we have created this article to guide you through the process of creating an EOS account using your Ledger device. If you would like to create an account without a Ledger, check out our other article!
Preparing your Ledger
Let’s start! First of all we recommend making yourself familiar with how EOS accounts work. If you are not familiar with how EOS accounts work yet, we recommend reading our article on understanding how EOS accounts work before continuing.
Now let’s move on to preparing your Ledger. Before you can start creating a new account using your Ledger you need to make sure your Ledger has the latest firmware and has the EOS app installed. If you have already completed this step, continue to the next part. If not, start off by downloading and installing the official Ledger Live application.
Once you have installed the Ledger Live app connect and unlock your Ledger and open the Ledger Live app. Then navigate to ‘Manager’, accept the action on your Ledger, and verify that there are no firmware updates available for your Ledger, and if there are, follow the steps to update the firmware to the latest version.
You may have a newer version of the EOS application
When you are done with the previous step, install the EOS Ledger app on your device from the same ‘Manager’ page. It will look like the image above. After the app has been installed you can continue to the next part and start generating your keys!
Generating keys with your Ledger
The Ledger Live application does not support the generation of keys, so we will use Scatter to generate our keys (and also use our account which we will explain later on). Scatter is a desktop application which supports EOS and is used to access most EOS dapps and toolkits. Scatter can be downloaded from here.
Your password alternative represents your password as a phrase
Continue by downloading and installing Scatter and follow the instructions. Start off by picking a password. Make sure to store it safely as you will need it to access your Scatter. You will then be prompted to the ‘Password Alternative’ screen, which gives you a phrase which represents your password. Store it safely and securely (preferably offline/on paper), as you will only need it if you lose your original password.
After you are done storing the password and alternative password you can continue. Accept the terms and agreements and choose a destination folder for the automatic backups.
The next step is importing the keys of your account into Scatter. Click ‘Import an existing key’ and then click ‘Import from a hardware wallet’. This will take you to the following screen:
Write the index of your key down!
Before continuing make sure you Ledger is connected, unlocked and that the EOS Ledger app is opened. After doing so choose any key index, click “Import key” and accept the key on your Ledger. We recommend writing the index of your key down as you might want to import the same key on a different device in the future.
Write down the associated permission with the key at your chosen index
Once you have imported the key you can give the key an easily recognizable name and you can link it to the owner permission of your future EOS account in Scatter by entering your_desired_account_name_@owner_ in the ‘Account Name’ section. You can make sure your account name is available by checking if the account (with that name) exists in a block explorer like Bloks. We also recommend writing down the associated permission (owner in this case) with the key at your chosen index. Then click ‘Back’ at the top left.
Congratulations! You have just imported your first key into Scatter. You now have to add the second key to your account. Click ‘Add Keys’ in Scatter and follow the same steps as before, but chose a different key index when importing the key. Then, when you reach the page in the image above, give the key a different, easily recognizable, name and link the key to the active permission of your future EOS account by entering your_desired_account_name_@active_ in the ‘Account Name’ section.
When you are done you have imported the keys which we will use to create the account into Scatter and you can move on to the next step. Both keys will now be visible in Scatter.
Creating an account
The next step will be creating an account using the keys we just imported. There are various ways to create an EOS account, some methods are really easy whereas other methods can be more secure yet more complicated. We will discuss two of the best and easiest ways to create an EOS account.
Account generator
The first and easiest way to create your own EOS account is to create your own EOS account using an account generator. An account generator only asks for your keys, an account name and then asks you to pay for the account which it then automatically creates.
Entering your keys in the account generator
We will be using the account generator by EOS Vibes for this tutorial. To start creating your account first enter your desired account name (which you have already entered in Scatter), then once you have chosen an available name click ‘continue’ and enter the keys you generated earlier. The public keys can be found by clicking on the key in Scatter and then going to “Keys & Blockchains”. Enter the key you linked to the owner permission on your account as the owner public key and enter the key you linked to the active permission on your account as the active public key. Once you have verified your keys you can continue to the next step which will be paying for the account. Choose your preferred method of payment and follow the instructions. When the payment has been received the account will get created and you can use your keys to access the account.
Toolkit
The second method to create your own EOS account is by using an EOS toolkit. An EOS toolkit can be seen as an interface for a lot of EOS functionalities, for example creating and managing an account. While this method is simpler and has more options than the previous method, it requires you to already have an EOS account (or know somebody with an EOS account). For this tutorial we will be using the toolkit by GenerEOS.
First of all you/the person whom already has an EOS account has to attach their EOS account to the toolkit using Scatter. If they do not have Scatter yet, they should download it and import their account. Once Scatter is configured and unlocked click ‘Attach account’ at the top left of the toolkit. Then navigate to the ‘Create account’ section.
Creating an account using a toolkit
Fill in your desired account name (the Creator name will automatically get filled in once you have connected Scatter) and the keys. Enter the key you linked to the owner permission on your account as the owner public key and enter the key you linked to the active permission on your account as the active public key. You can leave the CPU stake, Net stake and RAM purchase at the default settings, as these settings are fine for most users. Finally, make sure to turn the ‘Transfer’ option on to ensure the new account becomes fully separate from the original account, click CREATE and confirm the transaction using Scatter to execute the creation of the new account.
Always make sure the EOS account you are using to create the new account contains enough EOS to create a new account. The cost of creating a new account (using the above settings) can be calculated in the following way: (Current RAM price/Kb)*(8192/1024)+0.1+0.1=The minimum amount of EOS required to create a new account
Now you are all set to start using your favorite dapps and toolkits. Before you start using dapps make sure to unlock your Scatter application and have your Ledger connected and unlocked, with the EOS Ledger app open. Once this is done all applications can be accessed by clicking ‘Login with Scatter’, which you then have to accept on your Ledger. Always be wary when using dapps and toolkits though and always check a (trans)action before you accept it.
About us
Founding block producer for the EOS Mainnet. Partner in the Europechain sister chain. Investor in blockchain projects. Governance, intercultural cooperation and Security specialist. You can find us here:EOS Block Producer name: eosamsterdamWebsiteTwitterYoutubeSteem
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