Rabby vs Frame: desktop wallets for hardware users

Frame earned a loyal following among developers and hardware wallet users because it runs as a desktop app rather than a browser extension, so any browser, command-line tool or native app can use it. Rabby offers a browser extension and mobile apps; its old desktop app stopped working after 31 December 2025. The key question in 2026 is maintenance. Facts were checked on 25 October 2026.

Is Frame still maintained?

Based on Frame's public GitHub repository (checked 25 October 2026):

• The latest release is v0.6.11, tagged on 1 February 2025 and published on GitHub on 3 February 2025.
• The most recent code change on any public branch is from 17 March 2025.
• Before that, there was a gap of almost a year between v0.6.9 (March 2024) and v0.6.10 (January 2025).

We found no official announcement that Frame has been discontinued, but more than 18 months without a release is a long time for software that signs transactions. New networks, wallet standards such as EIP-7702 and hardware firmware changes need updates. If you still use Frame, keep large balances on a hardware wallet and consider moving to a maintained wallet. Unmaintained also means support questions go unanswered, installers are not refreshed for new operating system versions, and preset network lists slowly go out of date as chains change their RPC endpoints. Rabby, by contrast, shipped extension v0.94.13 on 23 October 2026 and publishes releases roughly weekly.

At a glance

Fees

Frame has no built-in swap or bridge, so it charges nothing beyond network gas; you swap through a DEX website. Rabby's built-in swap charges 0.25%, with 0% on stablecoin-to-stablecoin swaps, wrapping and native-to-liquid-staking swaps (Rabby source code, October 2026). You can also skip Rabby's swap and use a DEX directly, which avoids Rabby's fee in the same way. See Rabby swap fees.

Safety

Frame's design is attractive for security: it keeps keys in a separate desktop process, decodes transaction data into readable summaries using verified contract ABIs and gives you control over which apps can connect. Its open-source code is GPL-3.0. Its weakness today is age. Software that has not been updated since early 2025 will not include fixes for problems discovered since then, and it does not know about newer risks such as EIP-7702 delegation phishing.

Rabby simulates balance changes, decodes approvals and permits and runs a rule-based security engine before every signature. It also detects and revokes EIP-7702 delegations (added in August 2026). Rabby's record includes the October 2022 Swap contract exploit, which hit users who had approved that contract, and a signature bug fixed in August 2026 that needed a 10-minute auto-lock setting and had no known exploitation. It publishes regular audits by SlowMist and Least Authority. See Rabby security history.

Features

• System-wide access: Frame's standout feature. Any app on your computer, not just a browser, can request signatures. Useful for developers and command-line tools.
• Desktop app: Rabby has no working desktop app. Rabby shut down the backend of its old macOS and Windows desktop app on 31 December 2025 (Rabby announcement, December 2025), so that app no longer works; Rabby said a new version is planned, and we could not confirm one is available as of 25 October 2026. The extension works in Chromium browsers on macOS, Windows and Linux. See Rabby desktop app.
• Hardware: both support Ledger, Trezor and Lattice. Rabby adds OneKey, BitBox02, Keystone and others; see Rabby hardware wallets.
• Mobile: Rabby has iOS and Android apps. Frame is desktop only.
• Built-in swaps and bridges: Rabby includes a swap and bridge aggregator with a 0.25% fee, plus Hyperliquid perps. Frame leaves trading to dapps, which some users prefer because it keeps the wallet minimal.
• DeFi tools: Rabby adds automatic chain switching, an approvals manager, a Gas Account and Safe multisig.

How to move from Frame to Rabby

1. Install Rabby from the official listing linked on rabby.io and confirm the extension ID with our Rabby extension checker.
2. For hardware accounts, choose the option to connect a hardware wallet and select your Ledger, Trezor or Lattice. Pick the same accounts you used in Frame; your funds stay where they are. See Rabby with Ledger or Rabby with Trezor.
3. For software accounts, import the seed phrase or private key into Rabby on the same computer, offline from any website.
4. Re-add any custom networks you used in Frame.
5. Quit Frame and remove its companion extension, so dapps connect to Rabby only.
6. Review old approvals with Rabby's approvals page and revoke those you no longer need; see how to revoke approvals.

Choose Rabby if… / Choose Frame if…

Choose Rabby if

• You want a wallet that is updated every week.
• You want detailed balance-change previews and risk checks.
• You also want mobile apps or a wider choice of hardware wallets.

Choose Frame if

• You specifically need a system-wide signer for native apps or command-line tools, on Linux too.
• You use it only with a hardware wallet and accept the risk of unmaintained software.

Moving from Frame to Rabby is simple if you use a hardware wallet: connect the same device in Rabby and your addresses appear. For a software account, import the seed phrase into Rabby downloaded from rabby.io. Rabby never asks for your seed phrase outside its own setup screen.

Frequently asked questions