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Privy enables developers to create wallets for AI agents and autonomous systems that can execute onchain transactions independently while maintaining strict policy controls and security guardrails. Agentic wallets are designed for use cases where autonomous systems need to make decisions and execute transactions without human intervention, such as trading agents, portfolio managers, automated market makers, and autonomous service providers. At a high-level, this recipe will teach developers how to set up wallets that AI agents can control, implement policies to constrain agent behavior, and enable secure autonomous transaction execution.
1

Choose your control model

Privy supports two primary models for agentic wallets depending on your custody and control requirements:Model 1: Agent-controlled, developer-owned wallets
  • Your application backend controls the wallet via authorization keys
  • Suitable for fully autonomous agents where users delegate complete control
  • Agent can execute transactions within policy constraints without user approval
Model 2: User-owned wallets with agent signers
  • Users maintain ownership while granting limited permissions to agents
  • Agent operates as an additional signer with scoped policies
  • Users retain ultimate control and can revoke agent access at any time
For this recipe, we’ll focus on Model 1 for fully autonomous agents. For Model 2, see the session signers guide.
2

Create authorization keys

Set up authorization keys that your application backend will use to control agent wallets.To start, create authorization keys in the Privy Dashboard and securely store the corresponding private keys. Your backend will use these keys to sign requests to Privy’s API on behalf of agents.For enhanced security, register the authorization keys in a key quorum. This enables multi-party approval for critical actions like updating policies or exporting wallets.

Create authorization keys

Create authorization keys in your Privy Dashboard.

Key quorums quickstart

Set up a key quorum for enhanced security.
3

Define agent policies

Policies are critical as they define the boundaries within which your AI agents can operate. Well-designed policies prevent agents from taking unintended or harmful actions while allowing them to function effectively.Common policy constraints for agents include:
  • Transfer limits: Maximum amounts per transaction or within time windows
  • Allowlisted contracts: Restrict agents to interact only with approved protocols
  • Recipient restrictions: Limit where funds can be sent
  • Time-based controls: Define when agents can operate
  • Action-specific rules: Control parameters for swaps, trades, or other operations
Follow the guide below to create policies for your desired use case. After creating your policy, save the id to assign the policy to the wallet(s) you create later.

Policies overview

Learn how to construct policies with Privy’s policy language.

Create a policy

Create policies for your agents.
4

Create the agent wallet

Create a wallet owned by your authorization key, with the policies you previously defined attached. Make sure to:
  • Set the owner_id of the wallet to the id of the authorization key you created earlier
  • Set the policy_ids array of the wallet to a singleton containing the id of the policy you created earlier
You can reuse the same policy ID to provision additional wallets so every agent in your fleet is subject to these controls.

Wallets quickstart

Create a wallet.
5

Execute transactions

You can now send transactions, sign transactions, or sign messages with Privy’s API. Follow the guide below to send a transaction.

Send EVM transaction

Execute transactions on Ethereum and EVM chains.

Send Solana transaction

Execute transactions on Solana.

Tier 2 chains

Execute transactions on other supported chains.
6

Monitor and observe agent behavior

Implement monitoring and logging to track your agent’s actions and ensure it operates as intended. Privy provides webhooks for transaction events and balance changes.

Transaction webhooks

Monitor transaction status and completion.

Balance webhooks

Track deposits and withdrawals.

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Learn more

x402 payments quickstart

Set up your agent to pay for APIs and content.

Hyperliquid quickstart

Set up your agent to trade on Hyperliquid.

Gas sponsorship

Automatically sponsor gas fees for agent transactions.