If you already use Simple Base Swap, you do not need to do any of this. Our app connects to Base for you, with the correct network settings baked in. But if you are setting up a general purpose wallet like MetaMask, Rabby, or Trust Wallet for the first time, you may run into a screen asking you to add a network manually. This guide covers what those fields mean and where the correct values come from.
Why you sometimes have to add a network by hand
Most wallets ship with a handful of popular networks already configured: Ethereum mainnet, and often a few of the larger layer 2s. Base is widely supported now, so many wallets include it out of the box or offer an automatic "Add to wallet" button on sites like the Base documentation or chainlist.org.
Still, manual entry comes up in a few situations: an older wallet version that has not added Base yet, a wallet that only supports a small set of chains by default, or a browser extension where you want to double check the settings someone else configured. Knowing the fields yourself means you are not relying on a random link to get it right.
The five fields you will be asked for
Every EVM wallet asks for roughly the same information when you add a network manually:
Network Name. This is just a label for your own reference. "Base" is the conventional choice, though the wallet will not object to anything else.
RPC URL. This is the address your wallet uses to actually talk to the network, read balances, submit transactions, and check confirmations. The official public endpoint for Base is https://mainnet.base.org. We covered what an RPC endpoint does and why the choice matters in an earlier article on RPC endpoints.
Chain ID. Base mainnet's chain ID is 8453. This number is what actually distinguishes one EVM network from another under the hood. Two networks can share a similar name or branding, but the chain ID is what your wallet and any application you connect to use to know which network they are on. Getting this number wrong is one of the more common setup mistakes, so it is worth typing carefully rather than copying from an unfamiliar source.
Currency Symbol. Base uses ETH as its gas token, the same as Ethereum mainnet. You pay transaction fees in ETH, not in a separate Base-specific token.
Block Explorer URL. This is optional in most wallets but useful to fill in, since it lets you jump straight from a transaction in your wallet to its full details online. The main explorer for Base is https://basescan.org.
A quick sanity check before you save
Because these fields are typed by hand, it is worth a second look before confirming:
- Chain ID reads exactly
8453, no extra digits or a hex value where a decimal one was expected. - RPC URL starts with
https://, nothttp://. - The network name you are editing is not accidentally overwriting an existing entry for a different chain.
If a browser extension, ad, or unfamiliar website prompts you to "add a network" with a single click, it is worth glancing at the chain ID and RPC URL it fills in before approving. A malicious or careless site could point you at a lookalike network name with different settings underneath, which will not steal funds by itself but can lead to confusing situations, like signing a transaction you thought was going to a different chain. Sticking to the official values above, or a reputable aggregator like chainlist.org, avoids that entirely.
Public RPC vs. your own
The https://mainnet.base.org endpoint is shared infrastructure, free and open to anyone. It works fine for everyday use, but it is rate limited and can slow down during periods of heavy network activity. If you find pages loading slowly or transactions taking longer to confirm than expected, that is often the public RPC under load rather than an issue with Base itself. Switching to a different RPC provider, several offer free tiers, can resolve this, though for most casual users the default endpoint is perfectly adequate.
What adding the network does not do
Adding Base to your wallet only changes which chain your wallet is pointed at. It does not create a new wallet, does not generate a new recovery phrase, and does not move any funds. Your address is the same across every EVM chain, Ethereum, Base, and others all use the same underlying address format. What differs is which assets actually exist at that address on each individual chain. Having ETH on Ethereum mainnet does not mean you have ETH on Base; the two balances are entirely separate until you bridge or otherwise fund the Base side. We cover the funding step itself in our guide on how to get ETH on Base.
The short version
Adding Base manually takes under a minute once you know the five fields: name, RPC URL, chain ID, currency symbol, and block explorer. The values that matter are 8453 for the chain ID and https://mainnet.base.org for the RPC URL; everything else is either optional or cosmetic. If you would rather skip this altogether, Simple Base Swap and most modern wallets handle it automatically, but it is a small thing to understand once, especially if you ever help someone else get set up.