Trezor Suite® – Getting Started™ Developer Portal

Everything you need to integrate, test, and ship hardware-backed crypto experiences with Trezor Suite®.

Introduction

Welcome to the Trezor Suite® – Getting Started™ Developer Portal guide. This hands-on walkthrough is aimed at developers of all levels who want to integrate Trezor hardware wallet functionality, understand security best-practices, and build delightful user experiences. If you’re here to learn the essentials, explore examples, and get production-ready, this guide is for you. For official resources and downloads, visit https://trezor.io.

What you'll learn (at a glance)

  • How to set up your developer environment and access the Trezor Suite® Developer Portal.
  • Core concepts of communicating with Trezor devices (USB, WebUSB, Bridge, and native SDKs).
  • Authentication, signing flows, and typical UX patterns for wallets and dApps.
  • Security, testing, and release recommendations.

Quick start: First 10 minutes

1. Inspect the official resources

Before you write code, browse the official pages for downloads, device specs, and developer notes at https://trezor.io.

2. Install Trezor Suite or Bridge

- If you need a full UI for manual testing, install Trezor Suite (desktop or web).
- For programmatic local access from browsers, ensure the Trezor Bridge (or WebUSB support) is installed.

3. Pick your SDK

Trezor provides libraries (JavaScript SDKs and language bindings). Clone the official SDK repo of your choice, then run basic device detection and a version check. Official download and SDK pointers are on https://trezor.io.

Architecture & core concepts

Device vs. Host

Trezor hardware devices are secure signers — they never reveal private keys. Your application (host) speaks to the device over USB, WebUSB, or via a bridge. Keep all private key operations isolated within the device.

Paths and deterministic keys

Understand BIP32/44 derivation paths and how accounts map to human-facing addresses. Expose minimal information to the user and provide clear UX explaining which account and path is being used.

Key operations

  • Get public key — to show addresses or generate receiving addresses.
  • Sign transaction — returns a signature after user confirmation on the device.
  • Verify — optional; helps validate data returned by the device.

Example: Simple Browser integration (concept)

The snippet below shows the conceptual flow using a JavaScript SDK: detect device, request user confirmation, request a public key, then send an unsigned transaction for signing. 

// conceptual example (pseudocode)
// 1. detect a Trezor device
const device = await TrezorConnect.requestDevice();

// 2. get a public key
const pub = await TrezorConnect.getPublicKey({ path: "m/44'/0'/0'/0/0" });

// 3. create tx and request signature
const signed = await TrezorConnect.signTransaction({...unsignedTx, path: "..."});

Note: This is conceptual. Use the official SDKs and follow their API for production. Visit https://trezor.io for links to SDKs and examples.

Security Best Practices

Security is why users choose hardware wallets. Respect that trust by following these recommendations.

Never transmit secrets

Private keys and recovery seeds must never leave the device. Never log, store, or transmit them in plain text.

Use deterministic addresses safely

Always show addresses to users before accepting funds. When signing, present human-readable summaries of transactions, amounts, and destination addresses.

Device confirmation UX

Require explicit user confirmation on the physical device for signing operations. Make your application’s UI show the same details the device prompts show — that builds user trust.

Audit and testing

Regularly audit your integration flow and run fuzz tests on transaction encoding. Keep dependencies up to date.

Testing and debugging

Unit tests & device emulation

Mock Trezor responses during unit tests. Some SDKs provide emulators and fixtures for typical device responses.

Manual QA

Perform manual tests with real hardware across different device models and firmware versions. The canonical downloads and firmware changelogs are visible at https://trezor.io.

Logging

Log events for debugging, but scrub sensitive values. Never log full transaction inputs that leak private data.

UX patterns & developer tips

Onboarding

Provide a short checklist: connect device, unlock device (PIN), confirm firmware version, and test an example signing flow.

Error handling

Surface hardware errors clearly: disconnected devices, wrong firmware, user rejection, or timeout. Offer actionable recover steps.

Graceful fallback

Plan fallback flows if the user doesn’t have a device or chooses not to use hardware for a quick test. But always encourage hardware for production use.

Advanced topics & integrations

Multi-account & multi-currency support

If you support many chains, centralize derivation path logic and present chain-specific UX. Consider lazy loading chain plugins.

Server-side signing flows (security note)

Never perform private-key signing on a server. Use servers only to build and broadcast unsigned transactions; keep signing client-side and gated by the user’s device confirmation.

Firmware & feature flags

Check device firmware and offered features before enabling certain integrations. Feature detection avoids runtime crashes.

Troubleshooting common issues

Device not detected

Check USB cables, permissions (WebUSB), and Bridge presence. If in doubt, consult the official help center at https://trezor.io.

Signing errors

Ensure transaction encoding matches the chain spec. Verify inputs and paths. If an operation is rejected, ask user to confirm details on device screen.

Firmware mismatch

Warn users when firmware is out-of-date. Offer a link to the official firmware update instructions at https://trezor.io.

Resources & community

Tap into official docs, SDK repos, community forums, and issue trackers. For official downloads and primary docs, be sure to check https://trezor.io.

Suggested reading

  • Official developer docs and SDK references.
  • Specification pages for the chains you plan to support.
  • Security advisories, release notes, and changelogs.

Community

Engage with developer forums and open-source repos. Community examples accelerate learning and provide reusable patterns.

Final checklist before production

  • Device compatibility matrix verified across firmware versions.
  • Clear, audited signing UI that matches device prompts.
  • Comprehensive test suite, including mocks and manual device tests.
  • Security review of client-side logic; secrets never leave device.
  • Up-to-date links to official resources and downloads: https://trezor.io.

Ready to ship? If your checks pass and your UX is clear and secure, you’re ready to roll out hardware-backed flows to users.