Trezor Suite® – Getting Started™ Developer Portal

Welcome to the official Trezor Suite Developer Portal, your comprehensive guide for building secure integrations with Trezor hardware wallets. This portal helps developers navigate from basic setup to advanced API usage with clear examples and best practices.

Overview

The Trezor Suite Developer Portal serves as the central resource for developers creating secure wallet applications, merchant integrations, and experimental apps communicating with Trezor devices. It covers hardware fundamentals, suite architecture, onboarding steps, API utilization, security considerations, and essential development tools.

What is Trezor & Trezor Suite?

Trezor hardware wallets provide secure key storage by keeping private keys inside a tamper-resistant element, exposing only safe operations such as signing and key derivation to external applications. The Trezor Suite is the official desktop and web interface that communicates with Trezor devices, offering users a seamless and secure experience.

Who This Guide Is For

• Frontend engineers building wallet integrations.
• Backend engineers implementing transaction relays or custody services.
• Security engineers auditing integration layers.
• Product teams prototyping crypto user experiences with real hardware.

Prerequisites

Before starting development, ensure you have:

• A Trezor hardware wallet (Trezor One or Model T recommended).
• A development machine with Node.js 16+ installed.
• Familiarity with JavaScript/TypeScript programming.
• Basic knowledge of BIP39, BIP32, BIP44 key derivation standards.
• Access to the latest Trezor Bridge or a WebUSB-enabled browser.

Hardware & Software Checklist

• Trezor device (Model T preferred for touchscreen workflows).
• Trezor Bridge installed or WebUSB-ready browser.
• Yarn or npm package manager installed.

Getting Started — Step by Step

Step 1 – Install Suite & Connect Device

Download and install the official Trezor Suite from the Trezor Start page. Connect your Trezor device and ensure your operating system recognizes it.

Quick Check

1. Open Trezor Suite and navigate to Devices.
2. Connect your device and install any firmware updates prompted inside the Suite.
3. Test communication by retrieving your device name or public key.

Step 2 – Register for Developer Portal (Optional)

While many resources are publicly accessible, some advanced API keys and SDKs may require registration or approval. Sign up if needed for private endpoints or extended resources.

Step 3 – Local Environment & SDK Setup

Clone or install the official SDK from npm to facilitate hardware communication:

npm install --save @trezor/connect
// or using yarn
yarn add @trezor/connect

Simple Connection Example (Browser)

import TrezorConnect from "@trezor/connect";

TrezorConnect.init({
  manifest: {
    email: 'dev@example.com',
    appUrl: 'https://example.com'
  }
});

const res = await TrezorConnect.getPublicKey({ path: "m/44'/0'/0'/0/0" });

if (res.success) {
  console.log("xpub:", res.payload.xpub);
} else {
  console.error(res.payload.error);
}

Developer Toolkit

Trezor Connect

Trezor Connect is a JavaScript SDK that abstracts hardware communication through a clean API for retrieving public keys, signing transactions, and authentication.

Suite Docs & Monorepo

The Suite codebase provides architecture notes, UI patterns, signing workflow examples, and browser compatibility layers.

Useful Artifacts Include:

• Reference UI components such as the wallet list and accounts.
• Transport adapters for USB, WebUSB, Bridge, and WalletConnect.
• Signing flow samples demonstrating on-device signature requests.

Recommended Development Tools & Environment

• Node.js LTS version
• Yarn or PNPM as package manager
• Modern web browsers with WebUSB support
• Trezor Bridge software and Trezor mobile Suite for testing protocols

Architecture & User Experience Patterns

Trezor Suite demonstrates important design patterns for security and UX:

• Show-only data vs sensitive actions separation.
• Progressive disclosure of advanced settings for simplicity.
• Clear error handling and lifecycle management for devices and firmware.

Account and Asset Management

Each cryptocurrency asset interface supports independent balance and activation flows, enabling apps to support multiple chains without UI clutter or user confusion.

Firmware and Device Lifecycle

Handle device initialization and firmware updates thoroughly with signature verifications and interruption-resilient processes following official Trezor guides.

Best Practices for Secure Integrations

Never Transmit Private Keys

Private keys stay strictly on the hardware device. Signing operations are done on-device, while hosts only control orchestrations and broadcast signed transactions.

Validate User Intent & Transaction Details

Ensure UI surfaces all transaction details clearly before calling for signing. The hardware device should confirm and display identical data, reducing phishing risks.

Reproducible Builds & Verification

When delivering binaries or packaged apps, provide reproducible build scripts and checksums, encouraging verification against official Trezor downloads and signatures.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Additional Resources

• Official Trezor Suite Guide
• Trezor Connect GitHub Repository
• Get Started with Trezor Suite
• Developer APIs and Documentation