MetaMask Snaps: Our first step on the road to becoming fully permissionless

Imagine a world that embraces decentralized innovation. Where web3 developers bring their most creative ideas to life and share them with the general community through features known as Snaps. They are not stifled, hindered, and exploited; but rather provided with an environment to craft, create, and catapult their innovative work to a curious and eager community.

This world is open. Infinitely scalable. And not just a faraway dream. It’s inevitable to us and that’s why today we’re launching MetaMask Snaps Open Beta—the first step on our path to get there.

We can’t build this world on our own. We need independent developers to build the features and functionality of MetaMask that capture the full extent of ingenuity in our web3 space. And they have.

No web3 wallet has ever democratized innovation like this before.

And we’re ready for you to try it out.

Test The Open Beta

What are Snaps and how do they work?

Snaps are features and functionalities that allow you to customize your MetaMask wallet. Built by independent developers, outside of MetaMask, Snaps are currently available for everyone to try out on MetaMask Extension v11.0 and up (available on Chrome now and coming to Firefox soon).

The Open Beta is your first opportunity to experience the potential of MetaMask Snaps. This launch is geared towards our power users and early adopters who are comfortable with trying out new features. You can try out Snaps in these 3 categories to enhance your MetaMask wallet experience:

• Transaction Insights - Stay informed with insights before you confirm transactions in MetaMask.
• Interoperability- Connect to non-Ethereum blockchains and dapps directly with MetaMask.
• Notifications - Stay in the know with web3-specific notifications directly in MetaMask.

How do Snaps work?

Snaps can be installed directly into your MetaMask wallet from the MetaMask Snaps Directory. All 30+ Snaps available in the directory today have been audited by our team and third parties. Our decision to have an allowlist was made both out of an abundance of caution, and because we have ideas for how to add additional safety for a permissionless model that will take longer to implement. Over time, we plan to phase out the vetting process to create a fully permissionless platform.

Remember: Never click on a link you don't trust and if you need help, reach out to our official support team. Visit our FAQ here for more information.

How to get started with MetaMask Snaps

If you’re one of our crypto-comfy users ready to test out the Open Beta, here’s how to get started:

1. Download, or update, MetaMask Extension (v11.0 and up, rolling out over the course of this week)
2. Browse our directory to discover new features/functionalities you would like to add to your wallet
3. Click “Add to MetaMask” on your desired Snap
4. Open your MetaMask Extension (v11.0 and up) and navigate to “Settings” in the top right of your home screen
5. Click “Snaps” in the menu and voilà, you should see your installed Snap(s).

What’s next for MetaMask Snaps

MetaMask Snaps Open Beta is the first step to pioneering a permissionless future for web3 wallets. We’re constantly working on improving the experience so please let us know what you think! Your feedback helps us build a better wallet for tomorrow.

If you’re a developer interested in building a Snap, start here, and then share your project with us here. We’re excited to see what you create! We’ll dive into the potential of Snaps more over the course of the coming weeks so stay tuned and follow us for more updates!

Finally, this marks a pivotal moment in our MetaMask journey. We’d like to thank the web3 developer community, our partners, and everyone involved in Snaps since its inception. Your novel ideas and feedback have been instrumental in shaping Snaps and getting it to where it is today. We’d also like to shout out the incredible MetaMask Snaps team behind this. Your commitment, expertise, and hard work transformed an ambitious vision into an executable product.

We’re so excited to embrace this open, democratized world with you. Ready to dive in?