linera-io/linera-protocol · error · Error

No MetaMask accounts connected

Error message

No MetaMask accounts connected

What it means

share_ownership adds a new owner to the chain, which requires the chain to currently have active ownership to build a valid Ownership operation. The guard ensure!(ownership.is_active()) fails with ChainError::InactiveChain when the chain has no owners at all — there is nobody left to sign the ownership change, so the operation cannot proceed.

Source

Thrown at web/@linera/metamask/src/signer.ts:50

  constructor() {
    if (typeof window === "undefined" || !window.ethereum) {
      throw new Error("MetaMask is not available");
    }
    this.provider = new ethers.BrowserProvider(window.ethereum!);
  }

  async sign(owner: string, value: Uint8Array): Promise<string> {
    if (!window.ethereum) {
      throw new Error("MetaMask is not available");
    }

    // Explicitly type the result and check for undefined
    const accounts = (await window.ethereum.request({
      method: "eth_requestAccounts",
    })) as string[] | undefined;

    if (!accounts || accounts.length === 0) {
      throw new Error("No MetaMask accounts connected");
    }

    const connected = accounts.find(
      (acc) => acc.toLowerCase() === owner.toLowerCase(),
    );
    if (!connected) {
      throw new Error(
        `MetaMask is not connected with the requested owner: ${owner}`,
      );
    }

    // Encode message as hex string
    const msgHex = `0x${uint8ArrayToHex(value)}`;
    try {
      const signature = (await window.ethereum.request({
        method: "personal_sign",
        params: [msgHex, owner],
      })) as string;

View on GitHub (pinned to 6c226ddcb3)

Solutions

1. Verify you are operating on the right chain: print chain_info() and check manager.ownership before calling share_ownership.
2. For an ownerless child chain, complete the assignment from the parent (assign_new_chain_to_key) so it becomes active, then share ownership.
3. If all owners were removed by mistake, the chain can only be recovered through governance/admin procedures — file/consult the Linera team; do not retry share_ownership.
4. In application code, gate ownership operations on an is_active() pre-check and surface a clear message.

Example fix

// before: sharing ownership on an ownerless chain
client.share_ownership(new_owner, 100).await?; // InactiveChain

// after: check ownership first and assign from the parent if inactive
let ownership = client.chain_info().await?.manager.ownership;
if !ownership.is_active() {
    parent.assign_new_chain_to_key(owner, description).await?;
}
client.share_ownership(new_owner, 100).await?;

// Guard ownership mutations with an activity check
let ownership = client.prepare_chain().await?.manager.ownership.clone();
if !ownership.is_active() {
    return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("cannot share ownership: chain {} is inactive", client.chain_id()));
}

pub async fn chain_is_active_for_ownership(client: &ChainClient) -> Result<bool, Error> {
    Ok(client.chain_info().await?.manager.ownership.is_active())
}

match client.share_ownership(new_owner, weight).await {
    Ok(outcome) => outcome,
    Err(Error::ChainError(ChainError::InactiveChain(chain_id))) => {
        // wrong chain or ownerless chain: assign an owner from the parent, or stop
        return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("chain {chain_id} has no owners; complete owner assignment first"));
    }
    Err(e) => return Err(e),
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling share_ownership on a chain where manager.ownership is inactive (no regular and no super owners). Producers: chains created but never assigned an owner; chains where all owner weights were set to 0; using a client bound to the wrong chain id.

Common situations: Misconfigured CHAIN_ID / wallet pointing at an ownerless chain; child chains not yet assigned from the parent; automated setups that try to rotate keys on a chain that lost its owners.

Related errors

• Invalid owner address
• no signer found for owner ${owner}
• Invalid owner address
• MetaMask is not available
• MetaMask is not connected with the requested owner: ${owner}

AI-assisted analysis of linera-io/linera-protocol@6c226ddcb3 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/bb673ad721439873. Report an issue: GitHub.