Frame is a free, open-source Ethereum wallet that runs as a desktop app on macOS, Windows and Linux rather than as a browser extension 16. It is self-custodial: keys stay on your computer or on a connected Ledger, Trezor or GridPlus device. Frame also exposes a wallet connection to every app on your machine, including browsers, command-line tools and native programs 4. It works with any EVM chain 610. One thing to know before installing: as of October 23, 2026, Frame's GitHub repository is archived. The last release, v0.6.11, shipped in February 2025 12.
Frame is a wallet and signing layer that sits in your menu bar or system tray. Most Ethereum wallets live inside one browser. Frame runs as its own application and serves a local connection at 127.0.0.1:1248. Any program that speaks Ethereum JSON-RPC can use it to request accounts and signatures 4. Developers can point scripts or desktop apps at Frame. Ordinary users connect it to websites through the companion extension.
Frame is published by Frame Labs, Inc., according to the website footer 5. The code has been public since March 2018 under the GPL-3.0 license 1. There is no Frame token.
.yml file published with each release before running it 7.Websites expect a wallet to inject itself into the page. Frame's Companion extension for Chrome and Firefox does this by passing an EIP-1193 provider (window.ethereum) through to the desktop app 46. An "Appear as MetaMask" option helps with dapps that only recognize MetaMask 5. Frame's support docs note that other wallet extensions compete for the same window.ethereum object. Brave's built-in wallet takes priority by default, so disabling it is the usual fix when Frame does not connect 11.
Frame is free to download and use, and its code is free software 15. No Frame fee page was found in its documentation. What you do pay is network gas to the blockchain for each transaction. The app's Chain Monitor shows average gas per chain 12. If a dapp or swap aggregator you reach through Frame charges a fee, that charge comes from the dapp, not Frame.
Frame's code was developed in public from 2018 under GPL-3.0. That allowed independent review and builds from source 14. Release activity slowed after v0.6.8 (August 2023) and v0.6.9 (March 2024). Two maintenance releases, v0.6.10 and v0.6.11, came in January and February 2025 2. The final commits fixed Linux packaging, Ubuntu menus and Trezor USB transport 3. When we checked on October 23, 2026, the repository was flagged archived and frame.sh still offered v0.6.11 for download 15. No official statement explaining the archive was found. Users still running Frame may want to plan a move to a maintained software wallet or keep funds on a hardware wallet that can also be used with a different interface.
Desktop-adjacent alternatives that cover similar ground in different ways include MetaMask and Rabby (browser-based). Hardware users can also use Ledger or Trezor companion apps directly.
Hacks in DefiLlama’s public database are also scored as the security record on the Frame rating page.
For CoinPulse's separate assessment, see CoinPulse's Frame rating and evidence and the wallet ratings.
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