Ledger® Live Wallet – Getting Started™ Developer Portal

This guide is tailored for developers, product managers, and builders who want to integrate with the Ledger® Live Wallet or build applications that interoperate with Ledger devices and Ledger’s suite of services. It covers the essentials: architecture, developer tools, security best practices, demo code snippets, and a curated set of official resources to get you from zero to production-ready quickly.

Why Ledger Live for developers

Ledger Live is a widely used hardware-wallet companion app that manages accounts, signs transactions, and provides a secure onramp to digital-asset management. For developers, Ledger Live and the Ledger ecosystem unlocks:

• Hardware-backed signing via certified devices (cold storage).
• Interoperability with a broad set of blockchains supported by Ledger.
• Established UX patterns for transaction flows and account management.
• Well-documented developer tools and open-source components to expedite building secure wallet integrations.

Who should read this

Anyone building wallets, custodial or non-custodial services, exchange integrations, DeFi tooling, or tools that require secure signing and account management. Familiarity with basic cryptography and web development helps, but the guide includes practical steps for both backend and frontend implementers.

Architecture overview

At a high level, Ledger-related integrations involve several layers:

1. Ledger Device Layer

The hardware device stores private keys and signs messages/transactions. Communication typically occurs over USB/Bluetooth using a secure transport layer. The device enforces user confirmation screens for high-risk ops.

2. Host Application Layer

Ledger Live (desktop/mobile) or a third-party app manages wallets and builds transaction structures. The host talks to the device using libraries (like @ledgerhq/hw-* families) and bridges transport to the device.

3. Blockchain Adapter Layer

Adapters translate generic transaction intent into blockchain-specific payloads and signing instructions. Ledger maintains adapters for many chains; you can either reuse or author your own for new chains.

Getting started — practical steps

Follow these steps to build a minimal integration that asks Ledger to sign a transaction:

Step 1 — Choose your stack

For web integrations, the common pattern uses a front-end (React/Vue), a server to assemble transactions (optional), and Ledger's JavaScript libraries for device communication. For native apps, use the Ledger SDK or native bindings.

Step 2 — Install core libraries

// npm
npm install @ledgerhq/hw-transport-webusb @ledgerhq/hw-app-eth
    

These libraries let a web app open a WebUSB connection to a Ledger device and access Ethereum signing flows as an example. Other chains have equivalent packages (e.g., hw-app-btc, hw-app-cardano, etc.).

Step 3 — Connect and request a signature (minimal example)

import TransportWebUSB from "@ledgerhq/hw-transport-webusb";
import AppEth from "@ledgerhq/hw-app-eth";

async function signExample() {
  const transport = await TransportWebUSB.create();
  const appEth = new AppEth(transport);
  // Example BIP44 path (Ethereum)
  const path = "44'/60'/0'/0/0";
  const address = await appEth.getAddress(path);
  console.log("address", address.address);
  // Build a raw tx on your backend, then sign
  const rawTxHex = "..." // constructed elsewhere
  const signature = await appEth.signTransaction(path, rawTxHex);
  return signature;
}
    

Security considerations (must-read)

Ledger’s entire value proposition is security. When integrating, follow these rules:

Never export private keys

Design your app so that private keys never leave the device. Use the device APIs to create addresses and sign only the intended payload presented to the user.

Show clear user prompts

Make sure the transaction summary shown in the Ledger UI matches what the host built. Mismatches are a primary UX/security anti-pattern.

Validate firmware and app versions

Check device firmware and app versions where possible, and warn users if they are out of date. Ledger periodically ships security-focused firmware changes.

Integration patterns & examples

Wallet as a service (non-custodial)

Users connect their Ledger device to your frontend; your backend assembles unsigned transactions and returns them to the frontend to forward to the device for signing. The device prompts the user to confirm and signs.

Custodial hybrid (key-management + hardware)

For enterprise or custodial settings, a hybrid approach can combine hardware security modules (HSMs) and Ledger signing devices to meet compliance while keeping highest-value keys offline.

Test and CI

Automated testing should mock device responses and validate you’re building correct transactions. For integration tests, use CI runners that can access test devices or device emulators where available.

Official resources (10 useful links)

Below are ten official-style links to help you explore code, docs, and support. They are styled for visibility and marked with the “official-link” class.

How to use these links

Start with the Developer Portal to understand API contracts and supported blockchains. Use the GitHub repos to inspect example apps and reference client libraries. Use Support & Docs when you need firmware or user-facing guidance.

Conclusion — launch checklist

Before going live, run this quick checklist:

• Device communication: tested on multiple OS (Windows/macOS/Linux) and transport methods (USB/Bluetooth if required).
• Transaction validation: ensure what the user sees on the device matches the host-built transaction.
• Version checks: warn about outdated firmware/apps and provide user instructions to upgrade safely.
• End-to-end tests: include mock device unit tests plus at least one integration run with a real device.
• Privacy & compliance: clearly document what user data you store and how you protect it.