Introduction
Welcome to the Ledger® Live Wallet – Getting Started™ Developer Portal guide. This post walks you through everything a developer needs to get started with Ledger Live: from high-level architecture to practical steps for signing transactions, integrating with the Ledger Bridge/Connect APIs, testing on emulators and building a secure UX that keeps private keys offline.
Who this guide is for
If you are building wallet integrations, exchange flows, custodial backends, or dApps that want to support hardware-backed security, this guide is for you. It assumes you know basic web development, JSON, and cryptography concepts (signatures, keypairs), but it keeps the detail pragmatic and example-driven.
What you'll learn
- How Ledger Live fits into the ecosystem (desktop/mobile/bridge)
- How to use the Developer Portal and APIs
- How to implement account discovery, signing and transaction flows
- Security and best practices for production
- Testing, debugging and going live
Quick start — first 30 minutes
Follow these steps to go from zero to a working integration:
- Create a developer account on the Ledger Developer Portal and register your app (app ID + redirect URIs).
- Install Ledger Live on your machine and enable "Developer mode" if needed for local testing.
- Connect a Ledger device (Nano S, Nano X) via USB/Bluetooth and confirm firmware is up to date.
- Run a small example that enumerates accounts and reads a public key (example code below).
- Test signing with a testnet coin or a low-value transfer to validate UX and safety prompts.
Sample pseudocode — enumerate accounts
// Pseudocode (JavaScript-like)
const transport = await Transport.create(); // bridge or WebUSB
const ledgerApp = new LedgerApp(transport); // coin-specific app (e.g. BTC, ETH)
const publicKey = await ledgerApp.getPublicKey("m/44'/60'/0'/0/0");
console.log("Public key:", publicKey);
High-level architecture
Ledger Live acts as the official consumer wallet and as a companion to hardware devices. For developers, the crucial pieces to understand are:
1. Device (ledger hardware)
The hardware stores private keys in a secure element and never exposes them. All signing happens locally with on-device confirmation. Your app should never request private key material.
2. Transport layer
Transport options include USB (WebUSB, HID) and Bluetooth (for mobile). The Developer Portal documents recommended transports and provides SDKs/wrappers. A transport is the bridge between your web/native app and the Ledger device.
3. Ledger apps (coin-specific)
Ledger's device runs coin-specific applications (e.g., Bitcoin app, Ethereum app). For each chain you must use the correct app to format APDUs and requests.
4. Ledger Live and Bridge APIs
Ledger Live and official Bridge/Connect libraries provide helper functions for common flows: account discovery, transaction construction, and user confirmation screens. For web integrations, commonly used packages abstract away low-level APDUs.
Using the Developer Portal
The Developer Portal is your hub for keys, documentation, SDK downloads, and test credentials. Typical steps:
- Sign in, register an app, and get client credentials (if required).
- Read API docs and install the recommended SDK for your platform (Node/Browser/React Native).
- Download sample projects and developer tooling.
Registering your application
When registering, provide a descriptive app name, logo, and accurate redirect URIs. Use distinct credentials for staging and production. The portal often allows setting scopes and permitted origins.
SDKs, libraries and tools
Official SDKs cover transports and coin-specific logic. The portal lists recommended third-party libraries for convenience, but prefer the official SDKs for security-critical operations. Examples of common packages you might see:
@ledgerhq/hw-transport-webusb— WebUSB transport for browser-based flows.@ledgerhq/hw-app-eth— Ethereum-specific helpers (public keys, signing).ledgerjs— umbrella tooling and helpers.
Building the integration
Below are the canonical flows you will implement in your app: account discovery, transaction creation, signing, and broadcast.
Account discovery
Discovery usually involves iterating deterministic derivation paths (BIP32/BIP44/BIP49/BIP84 for Bitcoin; BIP44 or EIP-84 for other chains) and asking the device for public keys. Use the discovery algorithm recommended by the portal and stop when consecutive empty accounts exceed a threshold (commonly 5).
Key points
- Run discovery only on demand or with explicit user consent.
- Cache discovered accounts securely; avoid repeated device prompts.
- Respect user privacy — only request data you need.
Transaction signing
Signing requires preparing a correctly formatted transaction payload for the target coin. For Ethereum, that means RLP-encoded transactions or EIP-1559 style requests. For Bitcoin, construct inputs, outputs, and pass the PSBT where supported.
// Signing flow (conceptual)
const tx = buildTransaction({to, from, value, gas});
const prepared = await ledgerApp.prepareTransaction(tx);
const signature = await ledgerApp.signTransaction(prepared);
await broadcast(signature);
User confirmation
One core security feature: the device displays details and requires explicit confirmation. Design your UX to make prompts clear before sending requests to the device. Never auto-confirm or simplify prompts that hide important transaction elements (amounts, recipient).
Security best practices
Hardware wallets are a critical security layer but developers still must follow best practices:
- Never ask users for seed phrases or private keys. Educate users to keep seed phrases offline.
- Use HTTPS everywhere and enforce CSP and secure cookies for web integrations.
- Perform input validation and avoid client-side trust of transaction parameters — always let the device present the final values.
- Isolate signing code paths and log only non-sensitive metadata for troubleshooting.
Threat modeling
Consider attacks like device impersonation, host compromise, or man-in-the-middle. Mitigations:
- Use transport-level authentication where available (e.g., HID with device certificate validation).
- Pin trusted origins and certificates for your app in production.
- Encourage users to verify device fingerprint or app name on the device screen when pairing.
Testing and sandboxing
Use the Developer Portal's sandbox/testnet credentials and test devices (or emulators) to iterate without risk. Sample test strategies:
Unit tests
Mock transport layers and run signing logic against precomputed vectors.
Integration tests
Use a hardware test device connected to a test runner to programmatically verify flows end-to-end.
Manual QA
Walkthrough UX with non-technical testers, validate copy on device screens, and confirm error/edge cases.
Developer examples and patterns
Below are common patterns you'll implement; each pattern includes a short conceptual example and a bullet of pitfalls to avoid.
Pattern: Account sync
Sync public keys and then fetch balances from your node or a trusted indexing service. Always map derived paths to addresses consistently.
Pitfalls
- Don't assume every device supports the same derivation scheme — detect and adapt.
Pattern: PSBT (Bitcoin)
Use PSBT flow to construct unsigned PSBTs server-side and send them to the Ledger device to sign. This separates responsibility: the backend computes inputs/fees, the device confirms on-screen.
Pattern: Ethereum and EVM chains
For EVM chains, consider supporting EIP-1559 fields and typed data signing (EIP-712) for dApp interactions. Ledger apps typically expose helpers for signing typed data in a user-friendly way.
Going to production — checklist
Before launch, run this checklist:
- Complete security review and third-party audit (if handling custody or large volumes).
- Switch credentials from staging to production in the Developer Portal.
- Add robust telemetry for errors (without leaking sensitive data).
- Test on multiple device firmware versions and handle graceful fallbacks.
- Provide clear user help flows for lost devices, recovery phrase usage, and device replacement.
FAQ
Do I need to be on the Developer Portal to integrate?
Yes — the portal provides SDKs, app registrations, and test credentials that streamline integration and ensure you follow platform rules. Register early to avoid surprises.
Can I run Ledger commands from the server?
No — private keys never leave the hardware device. Your server can construct unsigned transactions and provide them to the client, but signing must occur where the device is paired (client side) unless using an approved custody model.
What if a user loses their device?
Recovery is performed with the recovery phrase on a new device. Your app should provide clear recovery-mode instructions but never ask for the phrase directly.
Conclusion
Integrating with Ledger Live and Ledger devices brings industry-leading hardware security to your product. The Developer Portal is your authoritative resource for SDKs, documentation and test credentials. Focus on secure transports, clear UX around device confirmations, and thorough testing. Your users will benefit from the strong assurances hardware-backed signing provides.
Next steps
- Sign up on the Developer Portal and download the SDKs.
- Connect a device and run the sample account-discovery example.
- Implement a minimal sign-and-broadcast flow for a testnet coin.
- Iterate on UX and security reviews before launch.