Near Hydra
Unofficial all-in-one CLI + MCP server for the NEAR stack β one NEAR account becomes a signing identity on 10 chains (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, BNB, Avalanche, Aurora, Solana) via Chain Signatures + NEAR Intents. Built for AI agents.
Ask AI about Near Hydra
Powered by Claude Β· Grounded in docs
I know everything about Near Hydra. Ask me about installation, configuration, usage, or troubleshooting.
0/500
Reviews
Documentation
π near-hydra
One NEAR account. Every chain. Every agent.
The unified CLI + MCP server for NEAR's chain-abstraction stack. Signs transactions across 10 chains from a single account. Built for AI agents and humans.

Try it right now (zero setup)
npx -y near-hydra account balance-all near
Returns ten real chain addresses + balances derived from the NEAR account near. No config file, no key, no signup. Defaults to read-only mainnet. Requires Node β₯ 20.
Latest release: v0.4.0 (Solana SPL support).
What you can do, in two lines
$ hydra account balance-all near
# β ten chains, ten addresses, ten balances. From one NEAR account.
$ hydra swap execute --from nep141:eth-0xdac17...omft.near \
--to nep141:sol.omft.near --amount 1000000 \
--recipient <your-solana-addr> --broadcast
# β USDT on Ethereum becomes SOL on Solana. One MCP call. No bridge UI.
near-hydra makes NEAR's primitives feel like a single product:
- Chain Signatures β one NEAR account derives + signs on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Aurora, Solana
- NEAR Intents β high-level cross-chain swaps via the 1Click API, auto-routed by origin asset
- NEAR-native β accounts, contracts, FTs, view + write
CLI for humans. MCP server for Claude Code, Cursor, OpenAI Agents SDK, anything that speaks Model Context Protocol.
Chain support matrix
| Chain | View | Derive | Native send | Token send | As swap origin | As swap dest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NEAR | β | n/a | β | β NEP-141 | β | β |
| Bitcoin | β | β | β | n/a | β | β |
| Ethereum | β | β | β | β ERC-20 | β | β |
| Polygon | β | β | β | β ERC-20 | β | β |
| Arbitrum | β | β | β | β ERC-20 | β | β |
| Base | β | β | β | β ERC-20 | β | β |
| Optimism | β | β | β | β ERC-20 | β | β |
| BNB Chain | β | β | β | β ERC-20 | β | β |
| Avalanche | β | β | β | β ERC-20 | β | β |
| Aurora | β | β | β | β ERC-20 | β | β |
| Solana | β | β | β | β SPL | β native + SPL | β |
Quickstart
From npm (recommended)
npm install -g near-hydra # CLI: `near-hydra ...`
npx -y near-hydra account balance-all near # β real on-chain data, no setup
Or for the MCP server:
npm install -g near-hydra-mcp # exposes `near-hydra-mcp` binary
From source
git clone https://github.com/nikshepsvn/near-hydra.git
cd near-hydra && npm install && npm run build
alias hydra="node $(pwd)/packages/cli/dist/index.js"
hydra account balance-all near
Requires Node β₯ 20. Defaults to mainnet, read-only.
Use from Claude Code (or any MCP client)
After npm install -g near-hydra-mcp, add to ~/.claude/settings.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"near-hydra": {
"command": "near-hydra-mcp",
"env": { "NEAR_HYDRA_NETWORK": "mainnet" }
}
}
}
Or with npx (no global install):
{
"mcpServers": {
"near-hydra": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "near-hydra-mcp"],
"env": { "NEAR_HYDRA_NETWORK": "mainnet" }
}
}
}
Restart Claude Code. Try:
What's the Bitcoin address derived from
near.near?
Claude calls hydra_address_derive and returns a real BTC address.
Your first cross-chain swap, step-by-step
Goal: swap 1 wNEAR for SOL on Solana, delivered to your derived Solana address.
# 1. Set up signing
export NEAR_HYDRA_READ_ONLY=false
export NEAR_HYDRA_ACCOUNT_ID=alice.near
export NEAR_HYDRA_PRIVATE_KEY="ed25519:..."
# 2. Find your Solana address
hydra address derive -c solana -p alice.near
# β "address": "vquhA...n4MB"
# 3. Dry-run the swap (verify the plan, no funds moved)
hydra swap execute \
--from nep141:wrap.near --to nep141:sol.omft.near \
--amount 1000000000000000000000000 --recipient vquhA...n4MB
# 4. Execute (this moves real money)
hydra swap execute \
--from nep141:wrap.near --to nep141:sol.omft.near \
--amount 1000000000000000000000000 --recipient vquhA...n4MB \
--broadcast
# 5. Watch settlement
hydra swap status <depositAddress-from-step-4>
The same flow works EVM-origin: pass nep141:eth-0x...omft.near as --from and hydra auto-routes to a Chain-Signature-signed ERC-20 transfer on Ethereum.
Documentation
Examples / cookbook:
- Multi-chain identity in 30 seconds β derive addresses on every chain from one NEAR account.
- Wire into Claude Code β MCP setup, sample prompts, signing flow, safety levers.
- Your first cross-chain swap β NEAR-origin, EVM-origin, and SPL-origin walkthroughs.
- Troubleshooting β RPC rate limits, MPC contract changes, gas, ESM bug, common gotchas.
Reference:
- Concepts β Chain Signatures, NEAR Intents, account model, why this only works on NEAR.
- Tool reference β every MCP tool, every input field, every output shape.
Tools (18 total)
Read-only β safe by default
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
hydra_config_show | Show the active configuration |
hydra_account_view | NEAR account state β balance, storage, code hash |
hydra_contract_view | Read-only contract view call |
hydra_address_derive | Derive a foreign-chain address from a NEAR account via MPC |
hydra_address_balance | Native-asset balance on a foreign chain |
hydra_account_balance_all_chains | Derive + balance across every supported chain |
hydra_swap_tokens | List 1Click-supported tokens |
hydra_swap_quote | Get a cross-chain swap quote |
hydra_swap_status | Check swap execution status |
hydra_swap_submit_deposit | Notify 1Click of broadcast deposit tx |
Signing β gated, dry-run by default
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
hydra_send_near | Send native NEAR |
hydra_send_ft | Send a NEP-141 fungible token |
hydra_contract_call | State-changing NEAR contract call |
hydra_send_evm | Send on any EVM chain via Chain Signatures (native or ERC-20) |
hydra_send_btc | Send BTC via Chain Signatures |
hydra_send_solana | Send native SOL via Chain Signatures |
hydra_send_spl | Send a Solana SPL token via Chain Signatures (auto-creates dest ATA) |
hydra_swap_execute | End-to-end cross-chain swap, auto-routed by origin chain |
Every signing tool throws unless policy.readOnly = false, and defaults dry: true. See SECURITY.md.
How it works
βββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
β Claude Code / Cursor / Agents SDK / human in the terminal β
βββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
β
MCP (stdio) β CLI (commander)
βΌ
βββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
β near-hydra core β
β βββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ β
β β policy β config β state cache β β
β βββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ β
βββββββ¬ββββββ¬βββββββ¬βββββββββ¬ββββββββββββ
β β β β
βΌ βΌ βΌ βΌ
@near-js/* chainsig.js 1Click SDK viem / @solana/web3.js
(NEAR) (MPC across (Intents) (chain RPCs)
every chain)
near-hydra doesn't reinvent any protocol. It composes the official libraries behind one config, one auth model, one tool surface β and adds the connective tissue (memoization, error mapping, policy, dry-run-by-default) that an autonomous agent actually needs.
Configuration
Defaults work out of the box. Override via ~/.near-hydra/config.json or env vars.
Most useful env vars
| Variable | Purpose |
|---|---|
NEAR_HYDRA_NETWORK | mainnet or testnet |
NEAR_HYDRA_ACCOUNT_ID | Your NEAR account |
NEAR_HYDRA_PRIVATE_KEY | ed25519:... (only needed for signing) |
NEAR_HYDRA_READ_ONLY | false to enable signing (default true) |
NEAR_HYDRA_MAX_VALUE_NEAR | Cap a single NEAR transfer (e.g. "5") |
NEAR_HYDRA_MAX_VALUE_WEI | Cap a single EVM native transfer in wei (does not cap ERC-20 transfers β those go through data not value) |
NEAR_HYDRA_RPC_<CHAIN> | Override any chain's RPC |
NEAR_HYDRA_MPC_CONTRACT | Override MPC contract (advanced) |
NEAR_HYDRA_ONECLICK_API_KEY | 1Click partner key (skips 0.2% fee) |
NEAR_HYDRA_ONECLICK_BASE_URL | Override 1Click base URL (advanced) |
NEAR_HYDRA_CONFIG | Path to alternate config file |
<CHAIN> is one of NEAR, ETHEREUM, POLYGON, ARBITRUM, BASE, OPTIMISM, BNB, AVALANCHE, AURORA, SOLANA, BITCOIN_MEMPOOL. When public endpoints rate-limit you, point at Alchemy / QuickNode / dRPC / your own infra.
Config file example
{
"network": "mainnet",
"account": {
"id": "alice.near",
"privateKey": "ed25519:..."
},
"policy": {
"readOnly": false,
"maxValueNear": "5"
},
"rpc": {
"ethereum": "https://your-ethereum-rpc",
"solana": "https://your-solana-rpc"
},
"oneClick": {
"apiKey": "your-1click-partner-key"
}
}
Architecture
core/ config β’ signers β’ Chain Signatures wrappers β’ 1Click client β’ policy
mcp-server/ exposes core as MCP tools (stdio transport)
cli/ exposes core as commander subcommands
Built on:
- chainsig.js β cross-chain MPC signing
- @defuse-protocol/one-click-sdk-typescript β NEAR Intents 1Click
- @near-js/accounts, /providers, /signers, /crypto, /utils β NEAR-native ops (modular packages, v2.x)
- viem β EVM client
- @solana/web3.js + @solana/spl-token β Solana + SPL token clients
- @modelcontextprotocol/sdk β MCP server
Roadmap
| Version | Scope |
|---|---|
| v0.1 | Read-only across 10 chains; 1Click swap discovery |
| v0.2 | NEAR sends + contract writes; EVM send via Chain Signatures; NEAR-origin swap_execute; policy layer |
| v0.3 | BTC + native-Solana sends; swap_execute auto-routes 4 origin chains |
| v0.4 (latest, on npm) | Solana SPL token send (auto-creates dest ATA); SPL-origin swap_execute via real-mint lookup; Solana broadcast bug fix |
| v0.5 | Function-call access key generator (hydra_create_agent_key); arbitrary message signing (SIWE / SIWS via Chain Signatures); MCP resources for chains/tokens; auto-bootstrap gas via 1Click |
| v0.6 | Raw NEAR Intents (custom intents, solver-relay); Omnibridge; nep245 multi-token bridges; Shade Agent deploy/whitelist; NEP-366 meta-transactions |
| v1.0 | Per-tool confirmations; allowlist enforcement; hydra do "<natural language>" goal verb |
FAQ
How is this different from other NEAR tools?
| Chain Signatures | NEAR Intents | Agent-native (MCP) | Scope | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
nearai/near-mcp | β | β | β | NEAR-native + Ref Finance (23 tools) |
IQAIcom/mcp-near-intents | β | β 1Click only | β | Intents quotes (5 tools) |
Bitte Protocol make-agent | β | β | publishing-only | Agent registry + AI wallet |
chainsig.js (lib) | β | β | β | Cross-chain signing library |
@defuse-protocol/intents-sdk (lib) | β | β | β | Intents library |
near-hydra | β 10 chains | β + auto-routing | β 18 tools | All of NEAR's stack, composed |
We don't compete with these β we compose them. near-hydra-core depends on chainsig.js, the 1Click SDK, and the modular @near-js/* packages. The agent-ergonomic surface and the safety layer are what's new.
Is this affiliated with NEAR Foundation?
No. It's an unofficial open-source project built on top of NEAR's official libraries. We file upstream issues for bugs we find.
Why "hydra"?
Many heads, one body. Each chain is a head. The NEAR account is the body. The agent has many faces but one identity. Cut off a chain β derive again. The agent endures.
Does this expose my private key to the LLM?
No. Private keys live in your local config or env vars. The LLM calls MCP tools that pass through near-hydra, which signs locally with your key. The LLM never sees the key bytes. That said β a malicious or prompt-injected LLM that's been given signing permission can ask hydra to send funds. Use function-call access keys with capped allowances (see policy and SECURITY.md).
Can I add more chains?
Yes β any chain chainsig.js already supports (Cosmos, XRP, SUI, Aptos) just needs adapter wiring + RPC config. PRs welcome. Chains MPC doesn't yet support need protocol-level work.
How is this funded?
Self-funded; not seeking grants currently. If you want to support, contribute PRs or upstream chainsig.js fixes.
Contributing
Issues + PRs welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md. The roadmap above is the priority list.
License
Apache-2.0 β security-related disclosures: SECURITY.md
