Private Key Accounts

Overview

Private Key Accounts provide the simplest way to create an Avalanche account from a single private key. They support both EVM (C-Chain) and X/P (X-Chain/P-Chain) operations with unified address management.

Best for:

Server-side applications
Automated bots and services
Testing and development
Scripts and tools

Security: Private keys must be kept secure. Never expose private keys in client-side code or commit them to version control. Use environment variables in production.

Creating Private Key Accounts

Basic Usage

import { privateKeyToAvalancheAccount } from "@avalanche-sdk/client/accounts";
import type { AvalancheAccount } from "@avalanche-sdk/client/accounts";

const privateKey = "0x1234...your_private_key_here";
const account: AvalancheAccount = privateKeyToAvalancheAccount(privateKey);

console.log("EVM Address:", account.getEVMAddress());
console.log("X-Chain Address:", account.getXPAddress("X"));
console.log("P-Chain Address:", account.getXPAddress("P"));

Working with Environment Variables

import { privateKeyToAvalancheAccount } from "@avalanche-sdk/client/accounts";

const account = privateKeyToAvalancheAccount(process.env.PRIVATE_KEY!);

Generating Private Keys

Generate Random Private Key

import {
  generatePrivateKey,
  privateKeyToAvalancheAccount,
} from "@avalanche-sdk/client/accounts";
import type { AvalancheAccount } from "@avalanche-sdk/client/accounts";

const privateKey: string = generatePrivateKey();
console.log("Generated private key:", privateKey);

const account: AvalancheAccount = privateKeyToAvalancheAccount(privateKey);

console.log("EVM Address:", account.getEVMAddress());
console.log("X-Chain Address:", account.getXPAddress("X"));
console.log("P-Chain Address:", account.getXPAddress("P"));

Account Properties

EVM Account

Each Avalanche account contains an EVM account for C-Chain operations:

import { privateKeyToAvalancheAccount } from "@avalanche-sdk/client/accounts";
import type { AvalancheAccount } from "@avalanche-sdk/client/accounts";

const account: AvalancheAccount = privateKeyToAvalancheAccount("0x...");

// Access EVM account properties
const evmAccount = account.evmAccount;

console.log("Address:", evmAccount.address);
console.log("Type:", evmAccount.type); // "local"
console.log("Source:", evmAccount.source); // "privateKey"

// Get public key (if available)
if (evmAccount.publicKey) {
  console.log("Public Key:", evmAccount.publicKey);
}

XP Account

Each Avalanche account contains an XP account for X-Chain and P-Chain operations:

import { privateKeyToAvalancheAccount } from "@avalanche-sdk/client/accounts";
import type {
  AvalancheAccount,
  LocalXPAccount,
} from "@avalanche-sdk/client/accounts";

const account: AvalancheAccount = privateKeyToAvalancheAccount("0x...");

// Access XP account properties
if (account.xpAccount) {
  const xpAccount: LocalXPAccount = account.xpAccount;

  console.log("Public Key:", xpAccount.publicKey);
  console.log("Type:", xpAccount.type); // "local"
  console.log("Source:", xpAccount.source); // "privateKey"
}

Address Management

Get All Addresses

import { privateKeyToAvalancheAccount } from "@avalanche-sdk/client/accounts";
import type { AvalancheAccount } from "@avalanche-sdk/client/accounts";

const account: AvalancheAccount = privateKeyToAvalancheAccount("0x...");

// Get all addresses
const addresses = {
  evm: account.getEVMAddress(), // "0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b8D4C9db96C4b4d8b6"
  xChain: account.getXPAddress("X"), // "X-avax1..."
  pChain: account.getXPAddress("P"), // "P-avax1..."
  base: account.getXPAddress(), // "avax1..." (without chain prefix)
};

console.log("All Addresses:", addresses);

Network-Specific Addresses

import { privateKeyToAvalancheAccount } from "@avalanche-sdk/client/accounts";
import type { AvalancheAccount } from "@avalanche-sdk/client/accounts";

const account: AvalancheAccount = privateKeyToAvalancheAccount("0x...");

// Mainnet addresses (default)
const mainnetAddresses = {
  evm: account.getEVMAddress(),
  xChain: account.getXPAddress("X", "avax"),
  pChain: account.getXPAddress("P", "avax"),
};

// Testnet (Fuji) addresses
const testnetAddresses = {
  evm: account.getEVMAddress(),
  xChain: account.getXPAddress("X", "fuji"),
  pChain: account.getXPAddress("P", "fuji"),
};

console.log("Mainnet:", mainnetAddresses);
console.log("Testnet:", testnetAddresses);

Using with Wallet Client

import { createAvalancheWalletClient } from "@avalanche-sdk/client";
import { avalanche } from "@avalanche-sdk/client/chains";
import { privateKeyToAvalancheAccount } from "@avalanche-sdk/client/accounts";

const account = privateKeyToAvalancheAccount(process.env.PRIVATE_KEY!);

const walletClient = createAvalancheWalletClient({
  account,
  chain: avalanche,
  transport: { type: "http" },
});

// C-Chain transaction
const txHash = await walletClient.send({
  to: "0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b8D4C9db96C4b4d8b6",
  amount: 0.001,
});

// X/P-Chain transaction
const xpTx = await walletClient.xChain.prepareBaseTxn({
  outputs: [{ addresses: [account.getXPAddress("X")], amount: 1 }],
});
await walletClient.sendXPTransaction(xpTx);

Message Signing

import { signMessage } from "@avalanche-sdk/client/accounts";
import { privateKeyToAvalancheAccount } from "@avalanche-sdk/client/accounts";

const account = privateKeyToAvalancheAccount("0x...");

// EVM message signing
const evmSignature = await signMessage({
  account: account.evmAccount,
  message: "Hello Avalanche!",
});

// XP message signing
if (account.xpAccount) {
  const xpSignature = await account.xpAccount.signMessage("Hello Avalanche!");
  const isValid = account.xpAccount.verify("Hello Avalanche!", xpSignature);
}

Security

Never expose private keys in client-side code or commit them to version control. Use environment variables.

// ✅ Good
const account = privateKeyToAvalancheAccount(process.env.PRIVATE_KEY!);

// ❌ Bad
const account = privateKeyToAvalancheAccount("0x1234...");

Next Steps

Mnemonic Accounts - Learn about mnemonic-based accounts
HD Key Accounts - Learn about hierarchical deterministic accounts
Account Utilities - Account validation and utilities
Network-Specific Addresses - Working with different network addresses

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