Since announcing our wallet integration, teams have told us they love logging in with their ETH wallet. It removes passwords, keeps identity portable, and matches how they already work across chains and dapps.
We’re reintroducing how signing in with your wallet works at HackMD today, explaining why our community uses it, and the quickest way to connect your wallet and get back to building.
Why wallet sign-in works for collaborative docs
Your Ethereum wallet is more than a place to hold assets; it is a portable identity you control. With Sign-In with Ethereum (SIWE), implemented by battle-tested libraries from teams like SpruceID, you prove control of your key by signing a human-readable message, not by sharing a password. That message includes a nonce to prevent replay attacks, domain binding to ensure the signature only works for the site you see, issued-at and expiration times to limit session windows, and an intent statement that clarifies the action to the user.
Wallets sign this off-chain, so there are no gas fees. SpruceID’s approach also supports contract wallets and EIP-1271 verification, which helps teams using multisig or smart-account setups. In practice, this provides HackMD with cryptographic proof that you are who you claim to be, without storing any secrets on our side, and it maintains your identity consistency across repositories, DAOs, audits, and documentation workflows.
Over the past year, developers, auditors, DAO contributors, and hackathon teams have relied on SIWE because it delivers strong phishing resistance, portable identity, and a seamless sign-in flow that aligns with their existing workflows.
Our commitment to Web3
HackMD supports communities that value open knowledge and self-sovereignty. Reintroducing this feature is part of a broader commitment:
- Decentralized identity support: Your wallet is a valid first-class way to access docs.
- Interoperability: We focus on standards that work across clients and wallets.
- Privacy respect: We verify signatures for login, and we avoid collecting data we do not need.
We will continue to invest in features that help open-source maintainers, protocol teams, and educator communities collaborate with less friction.
How to connect your wallet
Connecting takes a minute. Here is the exact path inside HackMD.
- Open Settings: Click your avatar in the top left corner of your workspace, then select Settings.
- Find the wallet option: In General, look for Add a wallet at the bottom of the page.
- Connect your wallet: Launch MetaMask or another compatible wallet. WalletConnect-based wallets can also work through their connector.
- Review the prompt: You will see a message that describes the origin of the request. This message is not a transaction and does not incur any gas costs.
- Sign the message: Approve the signature in your wallet. This links your wallet to your HackMD account.
- Use wallet sign-in: On future logins, select 'Sign in with Wallet’, open your wallet, and sign the request.
FAQs
Does signing cost gas?
No. Sign in with wallet uses a message signature only, not an on-chain transaction.
Which wallets work?
Any standards-compliant Ethereum wallet that can sign messages in the browser. MetaMask is the most common. WalletConnect opens access to many others.
Can I still use email and password?
Yes. Wallet sign-in is an additional path. You can keep the email and password if your team prefers.
Try it today
If you already use a wallet across your Web3 tools, add it to HackMD and maintain a consistent identity from repository to documentation.
Open Settings, connect your wallet, and sign in with a single click. Your workspace stays the same, your identity becomes simpler, and your team gets back to shipping.
Web3 moves quickly. Your documentation should keep up. With Sign in with Wallet, your path from wallet to workspace is short, secure, and owned by you.
