Metamask: “eth_requestAccounts” but without causing the MetaMask popup

Managing User Accounts Using window.ethereum.requestAccounts Without Prompting the User

In recent versions of MetaMask, users are often prompted to install and authorize an extension to access Ethereum accounts. However, for development purposes or when working with scripts that require direct interaction with a user’s Ethereum account, it is important to control when and how this prompt is displayed.

The “window.ethereum.requestAccounts” function, which was added in MetaMask 5.0.3, allows you to programmatically request an Ethereum account without prompting the user. However, its behavior has been changed to prevent direct interaction with the user.

To achieve your goal of running a script that requires an account without prompting the user, you can use the following approach:

Using window.ethereum.requestAccounts and on('accounts', function() { ... })

Using on('accounts', function()' instead of justrequestAccounts’, you will gain access to the list of accounts directly from MetaMask. This will override the default behavior, allowing your script to manage user accounts without prompting.

Here is an example implementation:

const accounts = await window.ethereum.requestAccounts();

In this code snippet, we use the on(‘accounts’, function()) callback to get a list of available Ethereum accounts. This approach does not prompt the user and allows your script to access and manage their accounts as needed.

Usage example:

window.on('accounts', function(accounts) {
console.log(Available accounts: ${accounts.length});
// Use the accounts array to perform operations on the user account
});

In this example, we define a callback that logs the number of available Ethereum accounts. You can then use this list of accounts in your script to perform various operations.

Important Note:

Please note that using “window.ethereum.requestAccounts” and the “on(‘accounts’, function())” approach may not work in all scenarios. For example, if you are running a script on a server or in a node.js environment without direct access to user accounts, this method may still prompt the user.

If you need more control over when users are prompted, or want to handle specific cases differently, consider using other methods to interact with Ethereum accounts, such as using Web3 libraries like “ethers.js”, or implementing your own custom solution.