For all the interesting, awesome features the AENS system presents, one must wonder — how difficult is it to get a .chain name?

The plain and simple answer is — not at all!

All that is required to obtain a .chain name is the Superhero Wallet. Once you gain access to yours, you should be able to see “claim your .chain name” on the very top of the screen.

AENS, of course, much like ENS, allows users to craft and use human-readable names — .chain names — that elevate the level of usability and approachability of blockchain technology. AENS, being the next evolutionary step after ENS, allows users more freedom, flexibility, and creative breadth when choosing who they wish to be online.

Claiming a .chain name is a very simple process — you simply click on “register your chain name,” in the Superhero Wallet, and enter the desired one you wish to have and use. There are two paths toward completing this process:

• Should you choose a .chain name that is 13 characters or longer, the process is quite short and simple — you input your desired name, you pay the requisite (very minor) fee that covers the transaction — and you’re done! The fee for the name will be written below, prominently, so you know exactly, in advance, what it will take to get it.
• Should you choose a name that is 12 characters or shorter — you’d have to engage in an auction process first. Following the completion of this process, if your bid is the highest, the name is yours!

So, the process goes:

Step 1 — Open your Superhero Wallet

Step 2 — Select “claim your .chain name”

Step 3 — Input the name you wish to have

Step 4 — Choose the length of the name!

If you chose a name that is 12 characters or shorter — you’ll be prompted to participate in an auction

OR

If you chose a name that is 13 characters or longer (or if your bid won the auction) — proceed to claim your name!

When choosing the name, you can see how much it would cost:

If you’re participating in a bid process — be it initiated on your end, or if you get in on a preexisting one — you will be able to see the current highest bid and when the auction expires.

Step 5 — Preclaim and claim transactions

If you won the bid, or opted for a name that is 13 characters of longer — you can proceed with the final steps of the .chain name claiming process! (to learn more about these, from a technical standpoint, please see here)

And presto — that’s it, you now have your own .chain name.

The fees exist in order to discourage spam and squatting, but they are not prohibitively high in any way — they are calculated based on the proposed length of the desired .chain name.

Please note — after a certain period of time expires, the .chain name can expire. The main motivation for this feature is to prevent situations where the private keys, which control the name, are lost, making the name unusable as well. However, you can always set your .chain name to be auto-extended, like so:

Selecting the option to auto-extend your .chain name will cost you almost nothing, but a small transaction fee. And, thanks to all of the æternity blockchain advanced features, transaction fees are rather minuscule — oftentimes under a cent!