GUIDE 01
Preparing your artwork
For cards, try a square image at 2048 × 2048 pixels or larger. Keep the file under 25 MB. Preview it small as well as full size.
Accepted artwork formats · up to 25 MB each| Format | Useful for |
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| PNG | Crisp shapes and transparency. |
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| JPEG | Photos with smaller file sizes. |
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| WebP | Compact images and transparency. |
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| GIF | Simple animation and limited palettes. |
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| AVIF | Detailed images in compact files. |
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Remove location data from photos before sharing. Keep your source file and a backup of the exact export. Any re-export or edit changes its fingerprint. Studio fingerprints the image in your browser and never uploads it.
GUIDE 02
Names, descriptions and traits
Use a name people can recognise. Describe what they are looking at and how you made it.
WEAK“Art #1”
“A great picture.”
MORE USEFUL“Tide Glass #1”
“A sea-green circle with soft edges on a deep blue background. Drawn from a shoreline sketch.”
Traits are short labels and values. Try Background: Deep blue, Palette: Sea green and Shape: Circle. Use the same spelling and capitalisation throughout a series. Avoid mixing “Background”, “background” and “Backdrop” for the same trait.
What goes into metadata.json?
Studio uses monzero-metadata/1. It writes UTF-8 canonical JSON: sorted keys and no whitespace between values. The SHA-256 of those exact bytes is the metadata hash.
standard, class, name, description, creator, license and external_url describe the work.
image, image_sha256, image_mime, image_bytes, image_width and image_height describe the artwork file.
attributes is a list of objects with trait_type and value. edition_size is for editions; symbol and decimals are for tokens; collection links a member to its collection. Only relevant fields are included.
Do not reformat the downloaded JSON. Even adding a final newline changes the hash.
GUIDE 03
Choosing a licence
A licence tells others how they may use your work. Holding an asset does not, by itself, transfer copyright. Choose only rights you can grant.
The choices in Studio, in plain words| Licence | What it means |
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| All rights reserved | You keep your rights. Reuse generally needs your permission, apart from uses the law allows. |
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| CC BY 4.0 | Others may share and adapt the work, including commercially, with credit and notice of changes. |
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| CC BY-SA 4.0 | Like CC BY, but shared adaptations must use the same or a compatible licence. |
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| CC BY-NC 4.0 | Others may share and adapt it with credit, for noncommercial use. |
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| CC0 1.0 | You give up copyright and related rights as far as the law allows. Others can reuse the work without asking or giving credit. |
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These are short explanations, not legal advice. Read the full Creative Commons terms before choosing. Their permissions and conditions matter; rights such as privacy can still apply.
GUIDE 04
Hosting your files, step by step
- Finish the image. Keep a local backup.
- Upload it using one of the routes below. Copy its stable address.
- Paste that image address into Studio. Finish the details, then download
metadata.json. - Upload that exact metadata file. Copy its address into Studio’s metadata address field, then use “Check metadata address”.
- Download both hosted files and check them in Verify. Keep their hashes and local backups.
IPFS with IPFS Desktop
Import the image in IPFS Desktop. Copy its content identifier (CID) and use an address such as ipfs://[CID]. Repeat for the metadata after exporting it. Pin both files and keep a node or pinning arrangement online. A CID is an address, not a promise that someone will keep the file available.
Arweave
Use an Arweave upload tool for the image, then the metadata. Wait for each upload to be available and copy its retrieval address. Check the retrieved bytes and keep backups.
Your own website
Put both files at stable HTTPS addresses. Keep the domain and hosting active. Turn off automatic image conversion for this export, and do not overwrite the files.
Image and metadata addresses must have no spaces and be at most 256 bytes in UTF-8. Bytes are not always the same as characters. Hashes prove that files have not changed, so the host need not be trusted for integrity. They cannot keep an offline file available. Keep backups and maintain hosting or pinning.
GUIDE 05
Planning a collection
A Collection groups NFTs. Each member references its collection’s 64-hex-character ID. Plan the collection first. After activation, issue the collection and use its ID when preparing final member metadata.
- Set a naming pattern, such as
Tide Glass #{n}. - Choose consistent traits. If a trait is rare, make that an intentional count in your plan. Rarity is simply how often a trait appears.
- Prepare an optional CSV: a
file column with the exact image filename, then one column per trait. - Open the batch builder and drop in your images. Add the name pattern and optional traits CSV.
- Download the zip of numbered metadata files and a manifest CSV of fingerprints. Review the names, traits and fingerprints before hosting.
The batch builder helps prepare files. It does not issue assets or host your images.
GUIDE 06
Editions vs one-of-ones
Choose an NFT for one of one: a single work with a single copy. Choose an Edition for 2 to 1,000,000 numbered copies of the same work.
For example, one shoreline drawing can be an NFT. A run of 25 numbered copies can be an Edition. A group of different drawings can belong to a Collection.
Decide the edition size before issuing. Keep its name, description and licence clear so people know what the numbered copies represent.
GUIDE 07
Tokens: supply and decimals
A Token has a fixed supply. Nobody can mint more. Decimals, from 0 to 11, set the smallest unit: 0 means whole units; 2 means hundredths; 11 means 0.00000000001.
The smallest-unit supply is the total supply × 10decimals. It must be a positive whole number no greater than 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 (264−1).
Example: 1,000 tokens with 2 decimals use 100,000 smallest units. Decimals divide the supply more finely; they do not create more tokens.
Start a Token draft →GUIDE 08
Protecting yourself and your collectors
Assets are not active yet. They switch on with hard fork 17, after a public testnet and independent review. Nothing can be minted, bought or sold today.
Anyone selling Monzero NFTs or tokens, “pre-mints”, “whitelist spots” or “listing” now is a scammer. The team never asks for seed phrases or passwords and never DMs first.
Share your metadata hash and point collectors to Verify. Compare the metadata against the expected hash, then the image against its fingerprint. Also check the creator and their permission to use the work.
Nobody, including the founder, can mint, freeze or edit assets after launch. Keep backups. Do not rely on someone being able to change an issued asset later.
