Your avatar is your profile picture; your header is the banner behind it. Both live on your ENS name as records, so any app that reads ENS in real time picks them up.
Pick Upload Image if you want later changes to be free. Pick Enter Manually if you want a GIF or SVG. Pick Select NFT if you want an NFT you already own as your avatar.
Good to know
Connect with the Manager — the wallet that controls a name's records. For wrapped names, the Manager role is merged into the Owner role.
The first save needs ETH on Ethereum Mainnet for gas — no other cost.
With Upload Image, later avatar and header changes are free (same name, same wallet). With the other two methods, every change costs gas.
The ENS App only handles
.ethnames and onchain subnames. For project subnames likebase.ethoruni.eth, use the project's own site.
Step 1. Open Edit Profile
Go to app.ens.domains and connect your wallet. Search for your name, open the Profile tab, and click Edit Profile.
Step 2. Click Add Avatar or Add Header
Then pick one of the three methods below.
Upload Image — recommended
Pay gas once. After that, change your avatar and header as often as you want for free.
Click Upload Image.
Choose an image file. Square works best — anything else gets borders.
Crop with the slider.
Click Continue, then Sign and Upload. Your wallet asks you to sign — no gas at this step. This saves the image to the ENS-hosted image service.
Once you're done editing your profile, click Save, then Open Wallet and approve. This is the one gas-paying transaction.
Why later changes are gasless
The first save writes a record on your name pointing at the ENS image service. Later changes update the image at that pointer without a new transaction. The service is open source.
Enter Manually — paste a URL
Good for GIFs, SVGs, or images already hosted somewhere.
Click Enter Manually.
Paste the image URL.
Click Save, then approve in your wallet.
Select NFT — avatar only
Click Select NFT.
Pick an Ethereum NFT from your wallet.
Click Save, then approve in your wallet.
Step 3. Wait for the transaction
Most confirm in 1–2 blocks (12–24 seconds); busy networks can take longer.
Once it lands, apps that read ENS records in real time show the new image right away. Cached sites can sometimes take a day or two.
GIFs and SVGs
Upload Image converts everything to JPG, so you lose the animation or vector. Use Enter Manually instead:
Host the file somewhere that gives a direct public URL.
Paste the URL in Enter Manually.
Keep file sizes small — large files load slowly on some apps.
Troubleshooting
My avatar has borders or is cropped wrong. The image must be square. Re-upload with Upload Image and crop.
My avatar isn't showing on the ENS App. Usually an avatar-metadata issue. Check on nftchecker.io. If flagged, re-set the avatar via Upload Image.
My avatar or header isn't showing on a third-party site. Apps that read ENS in real time show changes right away. Cached sites can take a day or two — some let you refresh metadata manually. If it persists, contact the site's support.
What's next?