WIP: remove ConnectionControllerClient and move behavior account behavior to ConnectionController

[tomiir]

Description

Overview

This PR implements a significant architectural refactoring that moves account-related logic from AppKitBaseClient to ConnectionController and completely removes the connectionControllerClient abstraction layer. This change aligns with the AppKit stability improvements initiative and moves us closer to atomic state management.

🎯 Motivation

As outlined in the AppKit Refactor POC Findings & Recommendations, the current architecture has several issues:
Circular Dependencies: Controllers have circular deps through client abstractions
Tangled State: Multiple cross-controller dependencies make atomic updates impossible
Blurry Boundaries: State responsibilities are unclear between controllers
Proxy Pattern Anti-pattern: connectionControllerClient acts as unnecessary middleware

🔄 Changes Made

✅ Removed connectionControllerClient Completely

• Eliminated the client abstraction layer that was creating circular dependencies
• Direct controller-to-controller communication replaces client-mediated calls
• Simplified the call chain: views → controllers → adapters (instead of views → controllers → client → adapters)

🏗️ Moved Account Logic to ConnectionController

The following methods were moved from AppKitBaseClient to ConnectionController:

Connection Management Methods:

• connectExternal() - External wallet connection logic
• reconnectExternal() - Reconnection handling
• disconnect() - Disconnection flows
• switchConnection() - Multi-wallet connection switching

Account Operations:

• syncAccount() - Account synchronization
• syncIdentity() - Identity/ENS resolution
• updateBalance() - Balance updates

Provider execution

• signMessage() - Message signing functionality
• sendTransaction() - Transaction sending
• estimateGas() - Gas estimation
• writeContract() - Smart contract interactions
• (new) request() - Generic RPC request. Removed specific namespace requests

Utility Methods:

• parseUnits() / formatUnits() - Unit conversion utilities
• getEnsAddress() / getEnsAvatar() - ENS resolution
• checkInstalled() - Wallet installation checks

Updated Adapter Integration

Adapters now call ConnectionController methods directly instead of through client

• Removed adapter dependency on connectionControllerClient
• Simplified adapter initialization and connection flows

Type of change

• Chore (non-breaking change that addresses non-functional tasks, maintenance, or code quality improvements)
• Bug fix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue)
• New feature (non-breaking change which adds functionality)
• Breaking change (fix or feature that would cause existing functionality to not work as expected)

Associated Issues

Closes APKT-3837

Checklist

• Code in this PR is covered by automated tests (Unit tests, E2E tests)
• My changes generate no new warnings
• I have reviewed my own code
• I have filled out all required sections
• I have tested my changes on the preview link
• Approver of this PR confirms that the changes are tested on the preview link

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Note

Consolidates account and provider operations into ConnectionController, removes ConnectionControllerClient, and updates adapters, UI, tests, and examples to the new API.

• Core/AppKit:
  • Migrate connection/account flows and provider ops (connectExternal, reconnectExternal, disconnect, switchConnection, syncAccount, syncIdentity, updateBalance, signMessage, sendTransaction, estimateGas, writeContract, request) into ConnectionController.
  • Remove ConnectionControllerClient; simplify call chain and update AppKitBaseClient, appkit-core, and universal adapter client.
  • Adjust controller exports, types, and utils (balance/ENS/units) to route through ConnectionController.
• Adapters:
  • Update wagmi, ethers/ethers5, solana, bitcoin, polkadot, ton clients to call ConnectionController directly; refresh tests and mocks.
• UI/Scaffold:
  • Update modal/views/widgets to consume new controller APIs (connect, networks, send/swap/receive flows).
• Controllers:
  • Refactor ChainController, SendController, SwapController, BlockchainApiController to align with new responsibilities and API surface.
• Tests:
  • Broad test updates across appkit, controllers, adapters, and scaffold-ui; add/adjust cases for connection, balance, send/estimate, ENS, smart sessions.
• Examples/Packages:
  • Align example apps and package configs to new API surface; minor package.json updates across apps/examples/packages.

^{Written by Cursor Bugbot for commit f872b74. This will update automatically on new commits. Configure here.}

[cursor]

Bug: CAIP Network IDs Malformed by Missing Data

The caipNetworkId is constructed as a template literal with as const assertion, but when syncAccountChainId is undefined, it creates an invalid CAIP network ID like "eip155:undefined". This happens in the else branch at line 675 where syncAccountChainId might be undefined, leading to malformed CAIP network IDs being passed to ConnectionController.syncAccount.

 

[cursor]

Bug: Connection Persistence Broken

The setConnections method no longer persists connections to storage. The removed line StorageUtil.setConnections(connections, chainNamespace) was not replaced, and ConnectionController.setConnections only updates in-memory state without persisting to localStorage. This breaks reconnection functionality on page reload since connections won't be stored.

packages/appkit/src/client/appkit-base-client.ts#L1250-L1256

appkit/packages/appkit/src/client/appkit-base-client.ts

Lines 1250 to 1256 in f872b74

	public setConnections: (typeof ConnectionController)['setConnections'] = (
	connections,
	chainNamespace
	) => {
	ConnectionController.setConnections(connections, chainNamespace)
	}

 

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