How to Deploy a StarkNet Account: Step by Step Guide.

That happened to me last year. I was all excited to deploy some contracts, but nope - no account, no action. Starknet's different from Ethereum. You can't just connect MetaMask and go. You gotta deploy an account contract first. It's like setting up your own little wallet on chain. Kinda weird at first, but once it's done? Smooth sailing.

So this guide's for you if you're staring at your terminal thinking, "How do I even start?" We'll go step by step, mostly using the easiest way - Starknet Foundry's sncast tool. It's CLI based, free, and dead simple. I'll throw in wallet options too, since some folks prefer browsers. And yeah, we'll hit testnets like Sepolia, 'cause mainnet costs real STRK.

In my experience, deployment fees run about 0.01-0.05 STRK on testnet right now. Super cheap. But prefund wrong, and it'll fail. We'll cover that.

Pick Your Weapon: CLI or Wallet?

  • CLI (sncast/Foundry): Best for devs. Full control, scripts everything. What I use 90% of time.
  • Browser (Remix/Braavos/Argent): Quick for noobs. Point, click, deploy.
  • Code (starknet.js/py): If you're building apps. Advanced, but powerful.

Start with CLI. Trust me. Install Foundry first - it's like curl -L https://github.com/foundry rs/starknet foundry/releases | bash or whatever their latest says. Then foundryup. Boom, ready.

Local Playground: Test on Devnet First

Don't blow testnet tokens learning. Fire up a local Starknet Devnet. It's free ETH/STRK forever.

Okay, open terminal. Run this:

starknet devnet --seed 0

Leave it running. Grabs port 5050. Now import a predeployed account - no deployment hassle.

  1. sncast account import --url http://127.0.0.1:5050 --address 0x064b48806902a367c8598f4f95c305e8c1a1acba5f082d294a43793113115691 --private 0x0000000000000000000000000000000071d7bb07b9a64f6f78ac4c816aff4da9 --type oz --add profile devnet --silent
  2. Test it: sncast --profile devnet balance --address 0x064b48806902a367c8598f4f95c305e8c1a1acba5f082d294a43793113115691. Should show funds.

Why devnet? Zero risk. Mess up? Restart with --seed 0 for same accounts. Sound familiar? It's like Ganache but for Starknet.

Quick Deploy a Dummy Contract Here

To prove it works. Assume you got a simple Cairo contract like HelloStarknet. Declare it:

sncast --profile devnet declare --contract name HelloStarknet

Grab the class hash from output, say 0x51e0d3b26fb79035afdc64d2214eb18291629b4f2ef132e79c3f3fbe1ba57c4.

Deploy: sncast --profile devnet deploy --class hash 0x51e0d3b26fb79035afdc64d2214eb18291629b4f2ef132e79c3f3fbe1ba57c4 --salt 0. Done. Interact with sncast invoke. Local party's over? Kill devnet, move to real nets.

Main Event: Deploy Your First Real Account on Sepolia

Sepolia's the go to testnet. Free STRK from faucets. Here's the flow: create account info, prefund address, deploy. Takes 2 minutes if you don't screw funding.

First, create the account deets:

sncast account create --network sepolia --name mysepoliaaccount

Output spits address like 0x123.. and says "prefund me!" Estimated fee? Around 0.02 STRK. Why prefund? Deployment tx charges from that address. No funds = fail.

How to Fund It (Faucet Magic)

Hit Starknet Sepolia faucet. Search "Starknet Sepolia faucet". Paste your new address. Get 0.1-1 STRK free. Wait 10 secs. Check balance on Voyager (sepolia.voyager.online).

Or bridge from Ethereum Sepolia if you're fancy. But faucet's easier. I usually grab 0.5 STRK - covers deploys forever.

Funded? Deploy:

sncast account deploy --network sepolia --name mysepoliaaccount

Tx hash pops. Wait 10-30 secs. Check Starkscan (sepolia.starkscan.co/tx/YOURHASH). Success? You're live.

Common Fee Breakdown (Sepolia, approx)Amount
Account Deploy0.01-0.03 STRK
Contract Declare0.005 STRK
Contract Deploy0.002 STRK
L2 Gas (per tx)~1e6 units @ 1e17 wei

That table's from my runs last week. Fees fluctuate, but ballpark. Max fee too low? Tx reverts. Bump with --max fee 0x123...

Trouble? Yeah, Happens. Fixes Inside

Account not deploying? "Insufficient funds" - fund more. Double the estimate.

"Invalid signature" - wrong privkey. Recreate account.

Network busy? Sepolia sometimes lags. Wait or use devnet.

In my experience, 80% issues are funding. Check balance before deploy. Use sncast balance --network sepolia --address YOURADDR.

What's next? List accounts: sncast account list. Import old ones with sncast account import. Pro tip: Set default in ~/.snfoundry.toml.

Browser Way: Remix for Lazy Days

Hate CLI? Remix IDE. Go remix.epsilon.xyz, Starknet tab.

  1. Paste Cairo code or load example.
  2. Compile. Grabs Sierra artifact.
  3. Env: "Remote Devnet" or Sepolia.
  4. Pick devnet account, copy address, fund via faucet.
  5. Deploy button. Input owner (your address). Sign in wallet.

10 seconds. But Remix handles less edge cases. CLI's king for scripts.

Wallet extensions? Install Braavos or ArgentX Chrome. Connect Remix, deploy account via their "Add Account" flow. Computes address, you fund, they deploy. Easier for mobile ish vibes.

Code Nerds: starknet.js or Python

Building dApp? Program it.

JavaScript example (Node):

const { Account, RpcProvider } = require('starknet');
const provider = new RpcProvider({ nodeUrl: 'https://sepolia.rpc.net' });
const privKey = '0xYOUR_PRIVKEY'; // Generate securely!
const pubKey = ec.starkCurve.getStarkKey(privKey);
const address = hash.calculateContractAddressFromHash(pubKey, OZCLASSHASH, [pubKey], 0);
// Fund address first!
const account = new Account(provider, address, privKey);
const { tx } = await account.deployAccount({ classHash: OZCLASSHASH, constructorCalldata: [pubKey] });
await provider.waitForTx(tx);

OZCLASSHASH is OpenZeppelin v0.12.1: 0x05b4b537eaa2399e3aa99c4e2e0208ebd6c71bc1467938cd52c798c601e43564. Fund ~0.05 STRK.

Python? starknet.py. Similar: compute address, fund, Account.deployaccountv3(). Docs have full snippets. I scripted a batch deploy once - saved hours.

ArgentX class hash? 0x036078334509b514626504edc9fb252328d1a240e4e948bef8d0c08dff45927f. Braavos has custom funcs. Pick OpenZeppelin - most compatible.

Account Types: OZ vs Smart Wallets

OpenZeppelin (OZ): Basic, secure. Supports multisig later.

Argent/Braavos: Session keys, guardians. Fancier, but deployment class hashes differ.

To switch: sncast account create --type argentx --class hash 0x036... But stick OZ first.

Verify Your Beast

Deployed? Check Voyager. Go contract tab, READ, getsigner. Matches your pubkey? Good.

Send tx: sncast --account mysepolia_account transfer --to 0xDEADBEEF.. --amount 1000000000000000000. Native STRK.

Pro Moves: Mainnet & Beyond

Mainnet same steps, --network mainnet. Fund with real STRK (bridge StarkGate). Fees 10x testnet, ~0.2 STRK deploy.

Batch txs? Use account.execute for multis. Paymasters for gasless (v0.13+).

Custom account? Fork OZ, tweak signer. Cairo skills needed.

Script it all: