Overview
Para provides MPC (Multi-Party Computation) wallets where the private key is split into shares and never assembled in a single place. This makes Para ideal for AI agents that need to create wallets and sign transactions without ever holding a full private key.
All operations use Para's REST API with a single API key for authentication.
- Base URL (Beta):
https://api.beta.getpara.com - Base URL (Production):
https://api.getpara.com - Auth: Pass your API key in the
X-API-Keyheader on every request - Content-Type:
application/json - Request tracing: Optionally pass
X-Request-Id(UUID) for tracing; Para generates one if omitted
Setup
- Get an API key from developer.getpara.com
- Set the environment variable:
export PARA_API_KEY="your-secret-api-key" - Use the Beta base URL (
https://api.beta.getpara.com) during development. Switch to Production for mainnet.
Create a Wallet
POST /v1/wallets
Creates a new MPC wallet for a user. Each combination of type + scheme + userIdentifier produces exactly one wallet. Attempting to create a duplicate returns a 409 with the existing walletId.
Request Body
| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
type | string | Yes | EVM, SOLANA, or COSMOS |
userIdentifier | string | Yes | User identifier (email, phone, or custom ID) |
userIdentifierType | string | Yes | EMAIL, PHONE, CUSTOM_ID, GUEST_ID, TELEGRAM, DISCORD, or TWITTER |
scheme | string | No | Signature scheme: DKLS, CGGMP, or ED25519 (defaults based on wallet type) |
EVM Example
curl -X POST https://api.beta.getpara.com/v1/wallets \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-API-Key: $PARA_API_KEY" \
-d '{
"type": "EVM",
"userIdentifier": "alice@example.com",
"userIdentifierType": "EMAIL"
}'
Solana Example
curl -X POST https://api.beta.getpara.com/v1/wallets \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-API-Key: $PARA_API_KEY" \
-d '{
"type": "SOLANA",
"userIdentifier": "alice@example.com",
"userIdentifierType": "EMAIL"
}'
Response (201 Created)
The wallet starts in creating status. You must poll until it reaches ready.
{
"id": "0a1b2c3d-4e5f-6789-abcd-ef0123456789",
"type": "EVM",
"scheme": "DKLS",
"status": "creating",
"createdAt": "2024-01-15T09:30:00Z"
}
The response includes a Location header with the wallet's URL:
Location: /v1/wallets/0a1b2c3d-4e5f-6789-abcd-ef0123456789
Polling for Ready Status
After creating a wallet, poll GET /v1/wallets/{walletId} until status becomes ready:
# Poll every 1 second until the wallet is ready
WALLET_ID="0a1b2c3d-4e5f-6789-abcd-ef0123456789"
while true; do
RESPONSE=$(curl -s https://api.beta.getpara.com/v1/wallets/$WALLET_ID \
-H "X-API-Key: $PARA_API_KEY")
STATUS=$(echo "$RESPONSE" | grep -o '"status":"[^"]*"' | cut -d'"' -f4)
if [ "$STATUS" = "ready" ]; then
echo "$RESPONSE"
break
fi
sleep 1
done
Get Wallet Status
GET /v1/wallets/{walletId}
Retrieves the current status and details of a wallet.
Request
curl https://api.beta.getpara.com/v1/wallets/0a1b2c3d-4e5f-6789-abcd-ef0123456789 \
-H "X-API-Key: $PARA_API_KEY"
Response (200 OK)
When the wallet is ready, the response includes the address and public key:
{
"id": "0a1b2c3d-4e5f-6789-abcd-ef0123456789",
"type": "EVM",
"scheme": "DKLS",
"status": "ready",
"address": "0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc9e7595f...",
"publicKey": "04a1b2c3d4e5f6...",
"createdAt": "2024-01-15T09:30:00Z"
}
Response Fields
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
id | string | Unique wallet identifier (UUID) |
type | string | Blockchain network: EVM, SOLANA, or COSMOS |
scheme | string | Signature scheme: DKLS, CGGMP, or ED25519 |
status | string | creating or ready |
address | string | Wallet address (present when status is ready) |
publicKey | string | Public key (present when status is ready) |
createdAt | string | ISO 8601 creation timestamp |
Sign Data
POST /v1/wallets/{walletId}/sign-raw
Signs arbitrary data using the wallet's MPC key shares. The private key is never assembled — each share signs independently and the results are combined.
Important: The wallet must be in ready status before signing.
Request Body
| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
data | string | Yes | Data to sign as a 0x-prefixed hex string |
EVM Example
Sign a message hash (e.g., a keccak256 hash of a transaction):
curl -X POST https://api.beta.getpara.com/v1/wallets/0a1b2c3d-4e5f-6789-abcd-ef0123456789/sign-raw \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-API-Key: $PARA_API_KEY" \
-d '{
"data": "0x48656c6c6f20576f726c64"
}'
Solana Example
Sign a serialized Solana transaction:
curl -X POST https://api.beta.getpara.com/v1/wallets/aabbccdd-1122-3344-5566-778899aabbcc/sign-raw \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-API-Key: $PARA_API_KEY" \
-d '{
"data": "0x01000103b5d..."
}'
Response (200 OK)
{
"signature": "a1b2c3d4e5f6..."
}
The signature is a hex string without the 0x prefix.
Key Concepts
Wallet Uniqueness
Each combination of type + scheme + userIdentifier maps to exactly one wallet. If you try to create a duplicate, the API returns 409 Conflict with the existing wallet's ID in the response body. Use this to safely retry or look up existing wallets.
Async Wallet Creation
Wallet creation is asynchronous. The POST /v1/wallets call returns immediately with status: "creating". You must poll GET /v1/wallets/{walletId} until status becomes "ready" before you can use the wallet to sign.
MPC Security Model
Para uses Multi-Party Computation so the full private key never exists on any single machine. Key shares are distributed across independent parties. When you call sign-raw, each party signs with their share and the results are combined into a valid signature. This means:
- No single point of compromise can leak the private key
- Agents can sign transactions without ever having access to a full key
- Signing is functionally equivalent to a normal signature from the blockchain's perspective
Error Reference
All error responses include a message field describing the issue.
| Status | Message | Cause | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400 | "type must be one of EVM, SOLANA, COSMOS" | Invalid or missing request body fields | Check required fields and enum values |
| 401 | "secret api key not provided" | Missing X-API-Key header | Add the X-API-Key header with your API key |
| 403 | "invalid secret api key" | API key is wrong or revoked | Verify your API key at developer.getpara.com |
| 404 | "wallet not found" | Wallet ID doesn't exist or doesn't belong to your account | Check the wallet ID |
| 409 | "a wallet for this identifier and type already exists" | Duplicate wallet creation attempted | Use the returned walletId to access the existing wallet |
| 500 | "Internal Server Error" | Server-side issue | Retry with exponential backoff |
409 Conflict Response
The 409 response includes the existing wallet's ID so you can retrieve it:
{
"message": "a wallet for this identifier and type already exists",
"walletId": "0a1b2c3d-4e5f-6789-abcd-ef0123456789"
}
Complete Example: Create Wallet and Sign
# 1. Create an EVM wallet
RESPONSE=$(curl -s -X POST https://api.beta.getpara.com/v1/wallets \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-API-Key: $PARA_API_KEY" \
-d '{
"type": "EVM",
"userIdentifier": "agent-1@myapp.com",
"userIdentifierType": "EMAIL"
}')
WALLET_ID=$(echo "$RESPONSE" | grep -o '"id":"[^"]*"' | cut -d'"' -f4)
echo "Created wallet: $WALLET_ID"
# 2. Poll until ready
while true; do
WALLET=$(curl -s https://api.beta.getpara.com/v1/wallets/$WALLET_ID \
-H "X-API-Key: $PARA_API_KEY")
STATUS=$(echo "$WALLET" | grep -o '"status":"[^"]*"' | cut -d'"' -f4)
if [ "$STATUS" = "ready" ]; then
echo "Wallet is ready"
echo "$WALLET"
break
fi
echo "Status: $STATUS — waiting..."
sleep 1
done
# 3. Sign data
SIGNATURE=$(curl -s -X POST https://api.beta.getpara.com/v1/wallets/$WALLET_ID/sign-raw \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-API-Key: $PARA_API_KEY" \
-d '{"data": "0x48656c6c6f"}')
echo "Signature: $SIGNATURE"