Cosmostation Docs

Sign Message

Message signing allows a dApp to prove wallet ownership without creating an on-chain transaction.

This is commonly used for:

Wallet-based login
Off-chain authentication
Session binding
Account ownership verification

Cosmostation implements message signing via the Solana Wallet Standard SolanaSignMessage feature and follows the same behavior as Phantom and other standard-compliant wallets.

Using Wallet Adapter

When using Solana Wallet Adapter, message signing is exposed directly through the connected wallet.

import { useWallet } from '@solana/wallet-adapter-react';
 
const { signMessage, publicKey } = useWallet();
 
const sign = async () => {
  if (!publicKey || !signMessage) {
    throw new Error('Wallet not connected');
  }
 
  const message = new TextEncoder().encode('Sign in to My dApp');
 
  const signature = await signMessage(message);
 
  return signature;
};

Using Vanilla Provider

If you are not using Wallet Adapter, you can sign messages directly through the Cosmostation Solana provider.

Accessing the Provider

const solana = () => {
  if ('cosmostation' in window) {
    return window.cosmostation.solana;
  }
 
  window.open('https://cosmostation.io/wallet/#extension');
};
 
const provider = solana();

Signing a Message

const signMessage = async () => {
  const message = new TextEncoder().encode('Sign in to My dApp');
 
  const [{ signature }] = await provider.signMessage({
    message,
  });
 
  return signature;
};

Returned Data

type SolanaSignMessageOutput = {
  signature: Uint8Array;
};

Sign In

Sign In is a higher-level abstraction built on top of message signing. It provides a standardized way to implement wallet-based authentication with additional context such as domain and address.

Cosmostation implements SolanaSignIn according to the Solana Wallet Standard

What is Solana Sign In?

signIn generates a structured message that includes:

Domain (current site)
Wallet address
Optional statement / nonce
Optional expiration or resources

The wallet signs this message, and the dApp verifies it to establish a session.

Using Wallet Adapter

import { useWallet } from '@solana/wallet-adapter-react';
 
const { signIn } = useWallet();
 
const signInWithWallet = async () => {
  if (!signIn) {
    throw new Error('SignIn not supported');
  }
 
  const result = await signIn({
    statement: 'Sign in to My dApp',
  });
 
  return result;
};

Returned Data

type SolanaSignInOutput = {
  account: WalletAccount;
  signedMessage: Uint8Array;
  signature: Uint8Array;
};

Using Vanilla Provider

Cosmostation exposes signIn directly via the Solana wallet-standard interface.

const signIn = async () => {
  const [{ account, signedMessage, signature }] = await provider.signIn({
    statement: 'Sign in to My dApp',
  });
 
  return { account, signedMessage, signature };
};

When to Use Sign Message vs Sign In

Use Case	Recommended Method
Simple ownership verification	`signMessage`
Wallet-based login / auth	`signIn`
Session-based authentication	`signIn`
Custom message formats	`signMessage`

References

Sign Transaction Event