Changing usernames
A Farcaster account can change between different usernames at any time. Changing names does not affect your history or your followers. It’s safe to change your name a few times a year. But changing your name more often may cause users or apps to lose trust in your account. If you want to change a public indicator, consider changing your display name instead.Offchain vs Onchain Names
An account can choose between two kinds of usernames:- Offchain ENS Names: free and controlled by farcaster. (e.g. @alice)
- Onchain ENS Names: costs money and controlled by your wallet. (e.g. @alice.eth)
Offchain ENS Names
- Offchain ENS names, also called fnames, are free and issued by Farcaster.
- Any Ethereum account can get one unique fname by calling the Fname Registry.
- Fnames are free but they can be revoked by Farcaster at any time.
Onchain ENS fnames
- Onchain ENS names, also called .eth names, are onchain and issued by ENS.
- Any Ethereum account can get an ENS by calling the ENS Registry.
- Names are not free but they cannot be revoked by Farcaster.
Resources
Specifications
- Farcaster Name - An ENSIP-10 offchain ENS name usable within Farcaster.
- UserData: Username - Sets a valid Username Proof as the current username.
- Username Proof - Proves ownership of an onchain or offchain username.
- Verifications - Proves ownership of an address, required for onchain Username Proofs.
APIs
- UserData API - Fetch the UserData for a user’s current username.
- Username Proofs API - Fetch a user’s Username Proofs from a Snapchain node.
- Verification Proofs API - Fetch a user’s Verifications from a Snapchain node.
- Fname Registry API - Register and track fname ownership programmatically.
Tutorials
- Get UserData - Get UserData messages from an account.
- Create UserData - Create a UserData message to select a valid username.
- Verify an Address - Verify ownership of an Ethereum account.
- Find account by username - Find an account by its username.
- Change farcaster name - Change a farcaster username.