Your secure interface between hardware wallet and the web
Trezor Bridge® is a lightweight, secure application that acts as the official gateway between your **hardware wallet** and web-based interfaces. It ensures seamless communication without needing browser plugins. Through an encrypted channel, Trezor Bridge® lets you operate your wallet safely for transactions, managing accounts, and firmware updates.
In this page, you will see how Trezor Bridge® integrates with modern wallet software, best practices for security, and how it compares to alternatives such as **Ledger.io/start** or **Ledger Bridge**. We'll also walk you through login flows, suite integrations, and answer common questions.
Once installed on your computer, Trezor Bridge® runs as a local background service. It listens on a designated local port and securely forwards commands from a wallet interface (like a web app) to the Trezor device. This architecture isolates browser dependencies from hardware transport, making it robust across operating systems.
All data passed through Trezor Bridge® is encrypted. It only responds to authenticated, origin-verified requests, and enforces strict access control. Because it's a standalone service, browser updates or plugin deprecations won’t break your ability to connect.
Trezor Bridge® receives regular updates from SatoshiLabs to patch potential issues or accommodate new device features. Users are prompted to upgrade to newer versions automatically or manually.
Leading wallet portals and web apps detect Trezor Bridge® automatically and use it to communicate with your device. This abstraction means that end users don’t need to worry about USB APIs or browser compatibility.
For users of Ledger hardware, you may be familiar with **Ledger.io/start**, **Ledger Login**, or **Ledger Suite**. These tools serve a similar role in enabling secure communication between browser or desktop wallets and Ledger devices.
- **Ledger.io/start** is the onboarding entry point for connecting a Ledger device - **Ledger Login** allows secure authorization of accounts using Ledger - **Ledger Suite** is the full desktop application suite managing apps, accounts, updates - **Ledger Bridge** is analogous to Trezor Bridge® in enabling local transport - **Ledger Hardware Wallet** refers to the physical Ledger device (Nano S, Nano X, etc.)
While the mechanics differ under the hood, the goal is the same — to offer secure, user‑friendly access to your crypto assets with minimal friction.
Download Trezor Bridge® from the official source. Run the installer, grant it the required permissions, and ensure it starts as a service. After installation, your system should be ready to talk to Trezor devices.
With Bridge running, open your wallet interface (web or desktop). The UI should detect the Trezor device. If prompted, approve the connection on the device itself. A handshake is performed, and the wallet interface can query accounts, sign transactions, or apply firmware updates.
If new firmware is available for your device, the wallet interface may prompt upgrade. Bridge ensures safe transfer of firmware data and verification checks. Upgrades always require confirmation on the device.
Wallet software may prepare multiple operations (e.g. multiple outputs). Trezor Bridge® passes these through to the device, which then displays and requests user confirmation for each step in a secure manner.
Some desktop wallet apps may prefer to talk to a “bridge-like” API rather than directly to USB. Thus, even desktop software may redirect through Bridge, or via a wrapper that mimics web‑style transport.
Browser plugins and native messaging connectors can break with updates or browser policy changes. A standalone Bridge is more stable and decoupled from browser evolution.
Because Bridge lives outside the browser sandbox, it reduces attack surface. It handles only the transport layer, not UI or signing logic.
Bridge works on multiple operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux). You don’t need a different extension per OS.
If your browser fails to detect your hardware wallet, make sure Bridge is running, check firewall rules, and ensure USB cables are functional and securely connected.
Uninstall previous versions, remove residual files, then install the latest release. Always restart your system if issues persist.
Sometimes services like **Ledger Bridge** or other USB forwarding tools may interfere. Temporarily disable or uninstall conflicting tools when diagnosing. Also avoid running multiple bridges concurrently unless you know they coexist cleanly.