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Use headless mode

By default, MetaMask Connect renders its own QR code modal when connecting to MetaMask Mobile via MetaMask Wallet Protocol (MWP). Headless mode suppresses this built-in modal so you can render your own connection UI.

Use headless mode when you want to:

  • Display a custom-styled QR code that matches your dapp's design.
  • Show the connection URI in a different format (for example, a deeplink button instead of a QR code).
  • Integrate the connection flow into an existing modal or onboarding wizard.

Prerequisites​

Follow Step 1 of the quickstart to install the EVM client.

Steps​

1. Initialize the client with headless mode​

Initialize an EVM client using createEVMClient, and set ui.headless to true:

import { createEVMClient, getInfuraRpcUrls } from '@metamask/connect-evm'

const evmClient = await createEVMClient({
  dapp: {
    name: 'My Dapp',
    url: window.location.href,
  },
  api: {
    supportedNetworks: {
      ...getInfuraRpcUrls({ infuraApiKey: '<YOUR_INFURA_API_KEY>' }),
    },
  },
  ui: { headless: true },
})

2. Register a display_uri listener before connecting​

The display_uri event fires on the EIP-1193 provider during the connecting phase with a one-time-use pairing URI. You must register the listener before calling connect, or you may miss the event:

const provider = evmClient.getProvider()

provider.on('display_uri', uri => {
  showCustomQrModal(uri)
})

As an alternative to provider.on, you can pass a displayUri callback when initializing the client via eventHandlers (see the migration guide).

3. Connect and handle the result​

Call connect to connect to MetaMask, and handle the result:

try {
  await evmClient.connect({ chainIds: ['0x1'] })
  hideCustomQrModal()
} catch (err) {
  hideCustomQrModal()
  if (err.code === 4001) {
    // User rejected — show retry UI
  } else {
    console.error('Connection failed:', err)
  }
}

Important considerations​

URI is one-time-use​

The pairing URI delivered by display_uri is a one-time-use token. Once used or expired, it cannot be reused. If the connection fails, call connect again to generate a fresh URI.

display_uri only fires during connecting​

The event fires only while the client status is 'connecting'. After the connection resolves (success or error), display_uri stops firing.

Extension connections skip QR​

When the MetaMask browser extension is installed and ui.preferExtension is true (the default), the SDK connects directly through the extension. No display_uri event fires because no QR code is needed.

To display the QR connection option even when the extension is available, set ui.preferExtension to false:

const evmClient = await createEVMClient({
  dapp: { name: 'My Dapp', url: window.location.href },
  api: {
    supportedNetworks: {
      ...getInfuraRpcUrls({ infuraApiKey: '<YOUR_INFURA_API_KEY>' }),
    },
  },
  ui: {
    headless: true,
    preferExtension: false,
  },
})

Monitor connection status​

The EVM client exposes a status property ('loaded' | 'pending' | 'connecting' | 'connected' | 'disconnected') you can read when updating UI.

Next steps​

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