What Is MetaMask?

MetaMask is many things… From accessing Ethereum Dapps, to allowing users the ability to manage their assets within the wallet. MetaMask truly enables the end-user to have the freedom to explore the Web3 ecosystem without any roadblocks and securely.

Getting Started

MetaMask is a browser-based extension, which currently supports Chrome, Firefox, and Brave. In this article, I will be using the browser Brave to install and use MetaMask. Brave is a free and open-source web browser that focuses on the user’s privacy. Meaning, that Brave will automatically block ads and website trackers. To install or learn more about Brave, you can click here.

Using one of the supported browsers mentioned above, go to the browser’s extension store and download/install MetaMask. In this case, Brave uses the Chrome Web Store when installing extensions. Once at the store, type MetaMask inside the search bar and click enter. This will bring back a short list of available extensions. Before installing, please make sure the extension is from the official MetaMask team/website.

After verifying the extension is the official MetaMask wallet, click on the extension and install. During the installation phase, MetaMask will indicate what access level the extension has. After reading, click Add extension.

Now that MetaMask is installed, let’s pin the extension to the browser toolbar for easy access.

Setting Up A MetaMask Wallet

Once MetaMask is finished installing, it will automatically load the Welcome to MetaMask page. If not, click on the MetaMask extension icon to display this page. Once here, click Get Started. Clicking this will bring up two options, importing an existing wallet or creating a new wallet. In this case, I will be showing you how to create a new wallet. At the end of the article, I will show you how to import an existing wallet.

For now, click Create a Wallet. MetaMask will ask for you to create a password for your wallet. For OpSec purposes, please enter a strong password as this will help you protect your assets. Once entered, click Create. MetaMask provides a video and information on securing your wallet and explaining what a recovery phrase is. I highly recommend watching and reading this information to prevent your assets from being stolen or lost. After reading/watching, click Next.

The next window will explain and display your secret recovery phase. Again, this part of the setup is extremely important! Please read and understand the importance of storing your phase. Once you have properly stored your recovery phrase, remember the order of the words is extremely important, click Next. MetaMask will require you to manually click each phrase in order to make sure it is correct. After selecting the proper order, click Confirm.

Congratulations! You have just created your first MetaMask cryptocurrency wallet. After reading the tips, click Done.

Using MetaMask

After clicking All Done, your wallet dashboard will be displayed. If not, click the MetaMask icon pinned to your toolbar, then click the three vertical dots and finally click the option Expand View. On the dashboard, you will find a handful of menus and actions. You can access your address, buy/send funds, switch networks, and much more. For now, let’s focus on switching to a test network, adding test ether, and sending it to another wallet.

Click on the Ethereum Mainnet menu dropdown. This will bring up an option for Show/Hide test networks, click it. Next, MetaMask will display your wallet’s settings, and enable test networks by clicking the toggle button to on. Go back to your MetaMask dashboard by clicking the MetaMask icon, then click the Ethereum Mainnet menu dropdown, and select the Rinkeby Test Network. Next, we need to fund our wallet with test ether. To do this, we need to visit a “faucet” website, which in short is a tool that allows you to connect your wallet and receive test ETH. Test ETH is needed to send funds, pay for gas, and mint test NFTs. For this scope, we’ll focus on getting the test ETH and sending the test ETH.

Visit Chainlink’s faucet by clicking here. Next, you will need to connect your wallet to the website. To do this, click on the Connect wallet button in the middle of the page or in the top right-hand corner. Select MetaMask when asked which wallet you will be connecting select MetaMask and click Next. Finally, MetaMask will ask you if you approve this connection, click Confirm. Chainlink’s website will reload and display your wallet’s address with the request type selected for both LINK and ETH. Deselect LINK, click I’m not a robot, and then click Send request. This will display a “waiting for confirmation” window, which should only take a few seconds for the transaction to complete. Once completed, the window will display Request complete.

Switch back to your MetaMask wallet’s dashboard and check to see if your account has 0.1 test ETH. Click on the Rinkeby Test Network menu dropdown and select Create Account. On the next screen, click Confirm. You have now created a second account in your MetaMask wallet! Copy account 2’s address and flip back over to account 1.

On account 1’s overview, click the Send button and paste account 2’s address. For this example, let’s send 0.05 ETH to account 2. Please review the amount before clicking Next (good practice). Next, MetMask will display the amount plus gas associated with the transaction, click Confirm.

Congratulations, you have just sent your first transaction! To confirm, switch back to account 2 and check the balance.

Importing An Existing Wallet

Importing your wallet is needed if you do one of the following, you uninstall MetaMask from your browser, get a new computer, download the MetaMask mobile app, or decide to use another provider’s wallet like Coinbase Wallet. To import your wallet, click Import wallet. The next page will require you to enter your 12-word secret recovery phrase, along with a new password. I would recommend testing the import feature before funding you MetaMask account. This will ensure you wrote down the correct order and words for the account and that you understand how to recovery your account in the event your computer breaks. After entering the information, click Import

Congratulations, you have just learned how to import your wallet. Keep in mind, you will need to enable the settings from earlier (test networks, account 2, ect).