The Kadena app for Ledger

The Kadena app is not currently in Ledger Live’s catalogue, so there is no “Install” button for it. This page is how you install it in the meantime — and how you prove that what landed on your device is the real thing.

First: which Ledger do you have?

This only works on the Nano S Plus. That is not a limitation we chose — whether an app can be installed outside Ledger Live is decided by the device itself.

If you have one of the others, the fix is the same for everyone: getting the app back into the Ledger Live catalogue. That work is underway.

And which computer?

Any computer, using the browser installer — it needs Chrome, Edge or Brave, and nothing to download. Firefox and Safari cannot connect to USB devices, so they will not work. There is also a command-line installer for Linux if you would rather not use a browser.

Installing it

Install from this browserOr download the Linux installer ↗

1. Download. Get the Linux release and unzip it. Keep the two files together in the same folder.
2. Prepare the device. Plug the Ledger in directly (not through a hub or monitor), enter your PIN, and leave it on the home screen. Close Ledger Live completely — while it is open it holds the connection and nothing else can reach the device.
3. Run it. Open a terminal in that folder and run chmod +x install-kadena-linux.sh then ./install-kadena-linux.sh. If your Ledger is not found, run it once with --install-udev-rules and replug the device.
4. Check the hash. Your device shows several screens — read them rather than counting them. The one labelled “Full hash” is the one that matters. It is not the “Code identifier” screen, which shows a different value, and the “Manager public key” is different on every run, which is normal. The installer tells you which Ledger OS version it found and which release it chose; compare the Full hash against the one below for that OS version, block by block, before you approve.

The one step that actually matters

While the app installs, your Ledger displays a hash on its own screen. Each Ledger OS version gets its own build of the app, so the hash depends on your OS version, and the installer tells you which one it found. For your Ledger OS version, the Full hash must read exactly:

To see your OS version on the device: open Settings and find Ledger OS version (called Firmware version on older OS versions); the number under Secure Element is your OS version. Ledger’s own instructions ↗

Everything else in this process runs on your computer, and a computer can be compromised — the download could be swapped, the installer replaced, the checksums it prints faked. The device screen is different. That number is computed by the Ledger itself from the bytes it actually received, on hardware your computer does not control.

A compromised computer can send your device the wrong app. It cannot make the device display the right hash for it. So the whole security of this rests on you making that comparison — please do not skip it. If the characters differ anywhere, reject the installation on the device and tell us.

Each value is published independently in that release’s notes (v1.3.3 ↗ and v1.3.4 ↗) and in the SHA256SUMS.txt attached to it. The app also builds deterministically, so anyone who compiles a release from source gets a binary with that release’s hash — you do not have to take our word for it.

Honest answers

Can this take my KDA? Not by reading your recovery phrase — no app installed on a Ledger can do that, which is the entire point of the device. The real risk with an app Ledger has not reviewed is narrower but serious: a tampered app could show you one payment on screen while signing a different one. The hash check above is what rules that out.

Will anything ask for my 24 words? No, and nothing ever should. Installing an app never needs your recovery phrase. Anyone who asks for it is attacking you — including if they claim to be us.

Can this damage my Ledger? No. Installing and removing apps never touches your recovery phrase, your PIN or the device firmware. If anything goes wrong, remove the app in Ledger Live under “My Ledger” and you are exactly where you started.

Why does my device warn me? Because the app is not in Ledger’s catalogue yet, so it is not signed by them. The warning is correct and you should expect it. It is also precisely why the hash check exists.

Where does the app come from? From the app-kadena repository ↗ — open source, Apache-2.0, continuing Zondax’s ↗ original work with their copyright intact. The installer downloads that published release, checks it against published checksums, and runs the exact installation it was tested with. It does not build, patch or repackage anything.

Beware of lookalikes

A tool that puts software onto a hardware wallet is exactly what scammers clone. The only places we publish this are github.com/SmartPacts/kadena-ledger-installer and this page. A different domain, a “support agent” sending you a file, or any version that asks for your recovery phrase is not us. If you find a copy elsewhere, please tell us ↗.

You may also find the Kadena app offered on Zondax’s Hub ↗. That is a legitimate site by the app’s original authors, but the newest version it offers is v1.2.0 from October 2025: it targets an older firmware generation, so a current Nano S Plus refuses to install it, and it predates the memory-safety fixes in the current releases. It is not a shortcut.

If something goes wrong

Nothing here can damage your device or put your KDA at risk, and it is always safe to unplug and try again. The troubleshooting guide ↗ covers the usual causes — device not found, Ledger Live still running, “not enough space”, and the macOS and Windows security prompts. Still stuck? Open an issue ↗ and paste what the installer printed. Never include your recovery phrase.