@beesnap/snap

A MetaMask Snap for buying storage on Swarm and uploading files to a Bee node — directly from inside MetaMask, with no separate dApp tab.

⚠️ Early preview. Beesnap is not yet on MetaMask's stable Snap allowlist. To install today you need MetaMask Flask — the developer build. We'll update this notice when stable support lands.

Install

Don't npm install this directly. It's distributed as a MetaMask Snap and must be installed via MetaMask itself. Visit the official install page:

https://beesnap.swarmtools.eth.limo

The page detects MetaMask and prompts you to install Beesnap with wallet_requestSnaps. Once installed, open MetaMask → menu → Snaps → Beesnap.

What it does

• Buy storage on Swarm. Pick a depth (capacity) and duration. Beesnap fetches a live cross-chain quote from Relay, signs the purchase locally, and creates the postage batch on Gnosis.
• Upload files. Pick storage you own, pick a file. Beesnap signs an authentication message and posts the file to your Bee node. Returns a Swarm reference + gateway link.
• View storage and uploads. Both lists read directly from the on-chain registry / Bee API, with auto-refresh for newly-bought storage.
• Settings. Override the Bee API URL, see your derived account's xDAI balance.

How it works

                ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
   You          │   MetaMask Flask                     │
                │                                      │
   ┌────┐       │   ┌──────────────────────────────┐   │
   │site│──────▶│   │   Beesnap Snap (this pkg)    │   │
   └────┘ install   │   Home / Buy / Upload / …    │   │
                │   └──────────────────────────────┘   │
                │           │                          │
                │           │ fetch + sign             │
                └───────────┼──────────────────────────┘
                            ▼
              ┌───────────────────────────────┐
              │  Default: beeport.xyz proxy   │
              │  or local / remote Bee URL    │
              └───────────────────────────────┘
                            │
                  ┌─────────┴──────────┐
                  ▼                    ▼
          Relay API quote      Gnosis RPC
          (cross-chain)        (registry, signing)

The Snap signs and broadcasts every transaction itself with a Snap-derived account (snap_getEntropy). It never reads your normal MetaMask accounts' private keys — Snaps cannot call eth_sendTransaction on user accounts, so this design is the only way to do "buy + upload entirely inside MetaMask."

Beesnap account

Beesnap derives a dedicated Ethereum address from your MetaMask secret recovery phrase. It is not the same as any of your normal MetaMask accounts.

• The address is shown on the Beesnap home page in MetaMask (with a copy button).
• It's deterministic — same recovery phrase + same Snap id = same address every time.
• To use Beesnap, send xDAI on Gnosis to that address from any wallet. That funds storage purchases and gas.

Required permissions

| Permission | Why | |---|---| | endowment:rpc | Lets the install page call wallet_invokeSnap | | endowment:network-access | Talks to Bee, Relay, and Gnosis RPC | | endowment:page-home | Renders the Beesnap tab inside MetaMask | | snap_dialog | Welcome dialog on first install | | snap_manageState | Persistent encrypted local state (upload history, settings) | | snap_getEntropy | Derives the Beesnap address from your recovery phrase |

Beesnap deliberately does not request endowment:ethereum-provider — it never touches your normal MetaMask accounts.

Bee API URL (default and overrides)

By default Beesnap uses https://beeport.xyz as the Bee API. In Settings → Bee API URL you can point to your local Bee node (for example http://localhost:1633) or any other Bee-compatible endpoint you control.

If you run a Bee node yourself (not a proxy that already allows Snaps), it must allow Snap requests (they arrive with Origin: null). Start Bee with:

bee start --cors-allowed-origins "null,*"

Or in bee.yaml:

cors-allowed-origins:
  - "null"
  - "*"

Repository

• Source: https://github.com/ethersphere/beesnap
• Issues / feedback: https://github.com/ethersphere/beesnap/issues
• Swarm docs: https://docs.ethswarm.org
• MetaMask Snaps docs: https://docs.metamask.io/snaps

License

BSD-3-Clause