How to use Chrono

Let’s learn how to use Chrono to sign transactions on the Nine Chronicles blockchain network. Chrono is a Chrome browser extension that offers functionality similar to MetaMask

Users can register their private keys with Chrono and configure their desired network. They can also sign and broadcast transactions requested by web applications through Chrono

Installation

1. Chrome Web Store

You can easily install it from the Chrono page on the Chrome Web Store.

2. Manual Installation

Due to Chrome Web Store policies, there may be times when the latest version of Chrono is not available for installation from the Chrome Web Store. Here are the steps for manual installation for such cases.

2.1 Obtaining the Build Files

To install Chrono manually, you need to obtain the build files. You can choose from either of the two methods below to get the build files.

Downloading the repository release version

1. Download the latest version from Chrono’s GitHub repository.

   curl -L -o chrono_v1.0.5.zip https://github.com/planetarium/chrono/releases/download/1.0.5/chrono_v1.0.5.zip

2. Unzip the downloaded file.
3. Proceed to the next step.

Cloning the Chrono repository and building the project

1. Clone the Chrono GitHub repository.

   git

   git clone --recursive https://github.com/planetarium/chrono.git

   gh(GitHub)

   gh repo clone planetarium/chrono

   💡

   This document is based on the 1.0.5 tag.

   git checkout 1.0.5

2. Build Chrono from the root of the cloned repository.

   The Chrono project uses pnpm for package management. If you haven’t installed pnpm, refer to this link for installation instructions.

   cd chrono

   pnpm install

   pnpm run build

3. Once the build is complete, a /build directory will be created. Now proceed to the next step.

2.2. Loading Unpacked Extension in Chrome

1. Open Chrome browser and enter chrome://extensions in the address bar.
2. Enable Developer mode in the top right corner of the screen.
3. Click the Load unpacked button in the top left corner of the screen and select the directory where you unzipped the files or the /build directory if you built it manually.
4. Chrono is now installed.

First Run of Chrono and Registering a Private Key

First, for convenience, let’s pin Chrono.

1. First Run

When you run Chrono for the first time, you will need to set a password to use Chrono. The password must be at least 8 characters long, and make sure to choose a strong password to ensure security.

When Chrono is first run, it prompts you to create or register an account. If you already have a private key, click Recover and enter the Seed Phrase of your private key to register the account. To create a new account, click New and register the account using the automatically generated Seed Phrase.

🚨

Never share your password and Seed Phrase with anyone. They can be used to access your account.

Chrono does not currently support setting up the first account using an existing private key directly during the initial run. In such cases, click on New to proceed and then register the private key later as described below.

2. Registering a Private Key

🚨

In this example, we expose the private key for demonstration purposes only. Never expose your private key if it’s used for any other purpose.

First, open Chrono. Select the Account 1 button in the top left corner and click the Import button.

Set the account name as My private key, enter the plaintext private key, and click the Import button.

After a short wait, My private key will be successfully added.