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Overview

Every Chainrails transaction follows three simple steps from setup to completion:

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Request a Quote

Define the parameters for the transaction (the intent) — amount, source chain, source token, destination chain, recipient, and refund address. This tells Chainrails what the user wants to send and where it’s going.

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Generate an Intent Address

Once the quote is confirmed, Chainrails creates a unique intent address for that transaction. Think of this as a one-time deposit address that tracks and processes the transfer logic automatically.

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Fund the Intent

The user then funds this intent address directly from their wallet. Once funded, Chainrails takes care of the rest — executing the cross-chain transfer, routing liquidity, and confirming settlement. The SDK abstracts most of these steps, so you can integrate this entire flow in just a few lines of code. In this Quickstart, we’ll walk you through how to get up and running in minutes.

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Get started in three steps

1

Installation

Begin by installing the Chainrails SDK.
npm install @chainrails/sdk
2

Obtain your API Key

Send us a message at [email protected] to get an API Key or create one from the dashboard. This key will be used to authenticate your requests.
3

Initialize the Payment Modal

Import and initialize the Chainrails payment modal in your application.
import { chains, tokens, PaymentModal, usePaymentModal, Chainrails } from "@chainrails/react"

Chainrails.config({ api_key: <ENTER_API_KEY> })

function App() {
  const cr = usePaymentModal({
    to: "0x4F41BCf288E718A36c1e6919c2Dfc2E07d51c675",
    chain: chains.BASE,
    token: tokens.USDC,
    onCancel: () => {
      console.log("Payment Cancelled")
    },
    onSuccess: () => {
      console.log("Payment Successful")
    },
  })

  return (
    <div>
      <button onClick={cr.open}> Open Modal </button>
      {/* Pass 'amount' here to set a fixed amount.
        If you remove the amount prop, the user can input their own.
      */}
      <PaymentModal {...cr} amount={1}/>
    </div>
  )
}
Where:
  • to: Your wallet address to receive payments/deposits.
  • chain: The blockchain network to receive payments to.
  • token: The token/currency you want to receive.
  • amount: The amount to be paid/deposited. Leave empty or set to 0 to allow user input.
And voila! You are now ready to accept your first payment.

Demo

Check out our demo application to see Chainrails in action.