2) iiname – Portable Usernames for II, Built on iilink [Mainnet]

[kayicp]

Introduction

Sharing an ICP principal looks like this:

"Send it to `e6agv-wen3n-4a4y3-4zpeu-47coa-kso4c-vvow5-p5fbv-2pjg4-bm53l-lqe`"

63 characters. No human can verify it by eye. One typo sends funds to the void, permanently. And even if you copy it correctly — it says nothing about who you are, and it changes every time someone uses a different app.

iiname is a portable, on-chain username system for ICP, built on top of iilink’s unified principal layer. Register once. Use it everywhere in the iilink ecosystem.

I shipped it to mainnet this week and wanted to share it here with the community.

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The Problem

Even if you solve the fragmented-principal problem with iilink, there’s still no way for users to refer to each other by name. Leaderboards show gibberish. Transfer recipient fields are error-prone. Developer-built UIs either truncate principals into something even less readable or copy-paste the full string.

The ICP ecosystem needs human-readable names that:

1. Resolve deterministically to an on-chain principal

2. Work across every app without re-registration

3. Are owned by the user, not the app

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The Solution: iiname

iiname is an on-chain name service where every registered name resolves to an iilink main principal — the same unified principal that works across all iilink-integrated apps.

Register kayicp → it points to your iilink principal → any app in the ecosystem can resolve it instantly with a single canister call.

Key properties:

• ->Names are lowercase letters, digits, and underscores (1–32 chars)

• ->Registration is annual, with generous bonus months for multi-year packages

• ->Shorter names are priced higher (rarity reflects real scarcity)

• ->Every registered name gets a free public profile page at /@name — live token balances, ICRC account, Account ID, and a QR code

• ->Built on iilink: your name is tied to your unified principal, not an isolated per-app identity

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Key Features

• ->Portable — name resolves to the same principal in every iilink-integrated app

• ->Free public profile — /@yourname shows live balances, addresses, and QR codes with no extra setup

• ->On-chain resolution — no server, no DNS, pure canister-based name → principal lookup

• ->Bidirectional — resolve name → principal AND principal → name

• ->Batch-friendly — resolve 100 names or principals per call

• ->Developer-ready — two read-only canister calls handle the full integration

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Pricing Structure

Names are priced per character length per year (in TCYCLES, payable in ICP or TCYCLES):

Length	TCYCLES / year
5 chars	50
6 chars	25
7 chars	10
8 chars	5
9 chars	2
10–19 chars	1
20–32 chars	0.5

Duration packages:

• ->1 year + 1 bonus month

• ->3 years + 4 bonus months

• ->5 years + 8 bonus months

Pricing is anchored to TCYCLES (pegged to compute, not ICP market volatility) for long-term stability.

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Developer Integration

The integration surface is intentionally minimal. Two read-only canister calls cover everything.

Principal → Name (batch display)

// accounts = array of { owner: Principal, subaccount: [] }
// Batch up to 100 per call

const names_res = await iiname.ans_names(accounts);

for (let i = 0; i < names_res.results.length; i++) {
  const { name, expires_at } = names_res.results[i];
  const isValid = name.length > 0
    && nano2date(expires_at) > new Date();

  display[i] = isValid
    ? `@${name}`
    : Principal.toText(accounts[i].owner);
}

Name → Principal (resolution)

javascript

// Resolve a name typed by a user in a recipient field

const res = await iiname.ans_accounts(['kayicp']);
const account = res.results[0]?.[0];

if (account == null) {
  // Name doesn't exist or has expired — show error
} else {
  // account = { owner: Principal, subaccount: [] }
  // Pass directly to your transfer or action function
  await sendTokens(account, amount);
}

Deep Link: Send Tokens to an iiname

iilink’s transfer flow already resolves iinames natively. You can pre-fill a send UI with a name via URL:

const url = `https://loxja-3yaaa-aaaan-qz3ha-cai.icp0.io/balances/send?to=kayicp&token=${ICP_TOKEN_ID}`;
window.open(url, 'iilink', 'popup,width=480,height=660');

Canister ID: zyfw5-4qaaa-aaaac-qc7za-cai (dashboard)

Read-only calls require no authentication.

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Existing Integrations

• ->iilink Transfer — the recipient field accepts iinames natively and resolves to principal before sending

  

• ->iiprofile — displays iiname instead of raw principal wherever user identity is shown

  

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Current State & Limitations

• ->No transfer/resale mechanism (FOR NOW) — names are bound to a principal, not tradeable like NFTs (YET). This is intentional for now (UNLESS you guys want it?)

• ->No subdomain support — flat namespace only

• ->No renewal reminders — users are responsible for tracking expiry. An on-chain notification mechanism is on the roadmap.

• ->Early stage — I’m the first registrant. The canister is live but the ecosystem around it is nascent.

Feedback on any of these design decisions is very welcome.

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Call to Action

If you’re building an app on ICP that shows user identities anywhere — leaderboards, transaction histories, profiles, @mentions — two canister calls gives you human-readable names.

Try it / claim your name: https://z7eqj-riaaa-aaaac-qc7zq-cai.icp0.io/

Check out my iiname profile: https://z7eqj-riaaa-aaaac-qc7zq-cai.icp0.io/@kayicp

Happy to help with any integration questions here or directly.

previous topic (iilink): https://forum.dfinity.org/t/1-iilink-one-unified-internet-identity-principal-across-ii-powered-apps-mainnet/69048/