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Evgeny @ SimpleX Chat
d00513ed27
* docs: user guide for the 7.1 apps * docs, website: guide order, badge benefits, message expiry; soft line breaks on the site * docs: guide videos for the first profile, invitations, joining and the address * docs: guide screens with the iPhone status bar * docs: guide shows full and cut screens only * docs: guide pages corrected in place, keeping master's structure * docs: group chat and SimpleX address pictures in the iPhone frame * docs: plainer wording in the guide * docs: guide checked against how SimpleX explains its features * docs: guide answers on profiles, channel privacy, SOCKS and names * docs: android guide picture from the emulator in the pixel 7 frame
147 lines
6.4 KiB
Markdown
147 lines
6.4 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Registering a SimpleX name
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---
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# Registering a SimpleX name
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A SimpleX name lets people reach you by typing a short `@name` instead of pasting
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a long link. You register the name on a website and add your SimpleX link to it,
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then claim the name in the app, to connect it with your SimpleX address or
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channel.
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A name is optional. It is useful for those who want to be found, such as
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channels and businesses. When the app looks up a name, the server sees only a
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hash of the name and cannot link the lookup with the address.
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> Names currently run on a testing network. The registration page is
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> [testing-names.simplex.chat](https://testing-names.simplex.chat) and names end
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> in `.testing`. The steps stay the same when the main names launch.
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>
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> In the app, **How to register a test name** on the SimpleX name screen of [Step
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> 4](#step-4-claim-the-name-in-the-app) opens
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> [simplex.domains/#testing](https://simplex.domains/#testing). Test names stop
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> working in the app when the SimpleX name sale starts, on 12 December 2026 at
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> 18:00 UTC. The app counts down to it under **SimpleX name sale starts in**.
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## What you need
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- A crypto wallet such as MetaMask.
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- The SimpleX app.
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- A link for the name to open: your **contact address** (for one-to-one chats),
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your **channel link** (to join a channel), or both.
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## How it works
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Setting up a name takes two parts. On the website you register the name and add
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your link, so people can find your link by name. In the app you set the same name
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on your profile - to prevent any other names from opening your profile or channel.
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## Step 1. Create a wallet
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Install MetaMask (browser extension or mobile app) and create a wallet. Write
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down your recovery phrase somewhere safe and offline, as anyone with that phrase
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controls your names.
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On the testing network you need a small amount of test ETH to pay network fees.
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## Step 2. Register the name and add your link
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Open the registration page and tap **Connect** to link your wallet. Type the
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name you want in **Search for a name** and open it. Choose how many years to
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register for, then tap **Next**. Names are currently 6 characters or more, and
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some names are reserved.
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On **Create your profile**, paste your SimpleX link into the matching field:
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- **SimpleX contact** for one-to-one chats. Copy your address from the app
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(**Create SimpleX address**) and paste it here. People reach it with `@name`.
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- **SimpleX channel** for a channel. Copy your **Channel link** and paste it here.
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People join it with `#name`.
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- **Advanced usage:** fill both to use one name for your chat (`@name`) and your
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channel (`#name`).
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Then tap **Next**.
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Finally, tap **Begin** and complete the three steps the site shows:
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> Before we start. Registering your name takes three steps:
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> 1. Complete a transaction to begin the timer.
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> 2. Wait 60 seconds for the timer to complete.
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> 3. Complete a second transaction to secure your name.
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These two transactions protect the name you are registering. The first records
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only a secret code for the name, not the name itself, so nobody watching the
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blockchain can see which name you want. The wait lets that first transaction
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settle, and the second transaction then reveals and claims the name. Without this
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two-step process, someone could see your registration in progress and grab the
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name before you.
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## Step 3. Check what the app sees
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Copy your `#name.testing` (or `@name.testing`). Paste the name into the search
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field, or simply type it, and tap **Connect to …**.
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The app reports that the name is registered but not yet added to your profile:
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> Unconfirmed name. The SimpleX name is registered, but not added to profile.
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> Please add it to your address or channel profile, if you are the owner.
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This is expected, and confirms the name points at your link. The next step
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finishes the setup.
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## Step 4. Claim the name in the app
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Set the name on the same profile the record points at.
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- For your **contact address**, open your SimpleX address, tap **Get SimpleX
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name (BETA)**, enter the full name, for example `@name.testing`, and save.
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- For your **channel**, open the channel information, tap **Get SimpleX name
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(BETA)** (under **Channel link**), enter the full name, for example
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`#name.testing`, and save.
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A name entered without a dot is saved with `.simplex`, so enter it with
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`.testing`.
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This proves to people who connect to you that `#name.testing` (or `@name.testing`) is your name.
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## Step 5. Connect by name
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On another device, copy `#name.testing` (or `@name.testing`). Paste the name
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into the search field, or simply type it, and tap **Connect to …**. This time
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the app connects, and the name shows a check mark next to it.
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You can paste the name in your own device too - the app will warn you that it is your own name.
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Anyone can now reach you by name, and their app confirms it is really you.
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When a contact or a channel has a SimpleX name, its chat info shows the name. A
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check mark next to the name means that the app verified it, and a red cross
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means that the verification failed. To verify a name, tap **Verify name** next
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to it. To verify names automatically when you open the chat info, turn on
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**Verify SimpleX names** in **Your privacy** > **More privacy**. It is off by
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default.
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## If something doesn't work
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| Message | Meaning | Fix |
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|---|---|---|
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| Unconfirmed name | The name points at a link, but the link's profile does not claim the name yet. | Do step 4: set the name on the profile it points at. |
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| Name not found | No name is registered. | Check the spelling, or register it (step 2). |
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| No valid link | The name has no contact or channel link. | Add a link to the name on the website, on its **Records** tab. |
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| Error saving name | You tried to claim a name that has no matching link on the website. | Add your contact address or channel link to the name, then set the name again. |
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| None of your servers are set to resolve SimpleX names | No server in the app is set to resolve names. | In **Network & servers**, open a server operator and turn on **To resolve names**. |
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## See also
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- [Making connections](./making-connections.md)
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- [Chat profiles](./chat-profiles.md)
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- [Channel webpage](./channel-webpage.md)
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