Here is a step-by-step article on how to convert an address to a public key in Solana using web3.js v2 with TypeScript:

Converting Addresses to Public Key: A Guide to Working with Solana Addresses and Wallet Signatures

In this article, we will explore the process of converting a wallet address to a public key in Solana using web3.js v2. We will also cover how to receive wallet addresses and signatures from the frontend side in our backend program.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• A Solana node installed (either locally or on a cloud provider)

• TypeScript configured with @types/web3.js and typescript

• The necessary dependencies installed: solana-web3, web3, typescript

Step 1: Creating a wallet

First, let’s create a new wallet using the Solana CLI:

npx solana-keygen generate  --pubkey-gen-fp 2048 --out 

Replace with the wallet name you want and with the path where you want to store the private key file.

Step 2: Creating a Web3 instance

Create a new TypeScript file (e.g. solana.ts) and import the necessary dependencies:

import * as web3 from '@web3js/web3';
import * as solanaWeb3 from 'solana-web3';

Next, create a function to initialize the Solana wallet instance:

function initWallet() {
const keyPath = './path/to/wallet/private/key.json'; // Replace with the path to your private key file
return new web3. Web3(new solanaWeb3. PublicKey(keyPath));
}

Step 3: Converting the address to a public key

Now, let’s create a function that converts a wallet address to a public key:

function convertAddressToPubkey(address: string) {
const wallet = initWallet();
return wallet.publicKey;
}

This function takes a wallet address as input and returns the corresponding public key.

Step 4: Verifying the signature

In our backend program, we will need to verify the signature of a received message. We will create a new function that will verify the signature using the verifySignature function from @solana/web3.js. First, let’s import the necessary dependencies:

import { verifySignature } from '@solana/web3.js';

Next, we will add the following code to our backend program:

export async function verifiedMessage(message: string) {
const address = 'your_wallet_address'; // Replace with the wallet address received from the frontend
const signature = 'your_signature'; // Replace with the signature received from the frontend
try {
await verifiedSignature(message, address, new web3.PublicKey(signature), { network: 'mainnet' });
} catch (error) {
console.error(error);
}
}

In this example, we use the verifySignature function to verify the signature of a received message. We pass the address, signature, and network URL as arguments.

Step 5: Converting the address to a public key on the frontend

To receive wallet addresses and signatures from the frontend side, we can create a simple endpoint that takes an address and a signature as input:

import axios from 'axios';
export async function receiverAddressAndSignature(address: string, signature: string) {
const response = await axios. post('/api/verify', { address, signature });
console. log(response. data);
}

This endpoint uses the axios library to send a POST request to our backend program.

In this example, we are sending a POST request with the wallet address and signature as input data. Our backend program will receive the request and verify the signature using the verifySignature function from @solana/web3.js.

That’s it! With these steps, you should be able to convert addresses to public keys in Solana using web3.js v2 with TypeScript.