Choose your wallet mode
MetaMask Agent Wallet supports two wallet modes and two trading modes. Most users should start with a server-wallet and Guard Mode.
Wallet modes
Server-wallet (recommended)
Keys are held in a Cubist TEE-backed environment. MetaMask manages key material; you retain self-custody and can export your secret recovery phrase when supported by your account.
Initialize:
mm init --wallet server-wallet --mode guard
Server-wallet mode uses an asynchronous signing model. Long-running operations return a
pollingId unless you pass --wait.
BYOK (bring your own key)
You supply a BIP-39 mnemonic. Useful when you need local key control or an existing seed phrase.
Never pass --mnemonic on the command line. Set the MM_MNEMONIC environment variable instead:
export MM_MNEMONIC="word1 word2 ..."
mm init --wallet byok
Optionally encrypt the mnemonic at rest with MM_PASSWORD or mm wallet password set.
Trading modes (server-wallet only)
| Mode | CLI flag | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Guard Mode | --mode guard | Default. Daily spend limits, protocol allowlists, and 2FA when a transaction violates policy. |
| Beast Mode | --mode beast | Opt-in. Fewer policy interruptions for scripted workflows. 2FA still triggers on malicious or flagged transactions. |
Switch modes by re-running mm init with a different --mode value, or update policies in the
MetaMask developer dashboard when available.
View current settings
mm init show