ImportPrivKey Into Bitcoin Core Wallet

[Paleus]

How do I import a private key into a totally new iteration of Bitcoin Core? The private key I have is in plain text format (52 character hexadecimal string).

The command I am using is: importprivkey [52 character private key]

The error the console is returning is: Only legacy wallets are supported by this command (error -4)

What command should I use instead of importprivkey if that command isn't supported by the current version of Bitcoin Core?

Thank you in advance for any assistance.

[noorman0]

Yep the wallet format in Bitcoin Core has changed. The new Core defaults to using wallet descriptors.

Code:

importdescriptors '[{"desc":"combo(Your_WIF-Key_here)#Checksum","timestamp":"now"}]'

More details

[nc50lc]

In the command above, you may set the "timestamp" to 0 or any unix timestamp to automatically trigger a rescan starting from that timestamp.
The value 0 will scan all of the blocks.

If you use "now", it will just import it without rescanning, you may use rescanblockchain command if you need to rescan for related transactions.

[Paleus]

I just came across this thread: https://asktom.cf/index.php?topic=5475186.0 and it seems I am not the only one encountering this error.

I am, quite frankly, disappointed because this is the first technical problem I've ever encountered in my years of using bitcoin. Something as fundamental as importing/exporting private keys should not be a technical hurdle ... The different versions since Bitcoin Core v21 and beyond as not as compatible as they could be.


I followed the instructions and inputted the recommended commands (importdescriptors).

I am now running 'rescanblockchain 0' so that it can rescan the whole blockchain.

Mod note: consecutive posts merged

[nc50lc]

I am, quite frankly, disappointed because this is the first technical problem I've ever encountered in my years of using bitcoin. Something as fundamental as importing/exporting private keys should not be a technical hurdle ... The different versions since Bitcoin Core v21 and beyond as not as compatible as they could be.

You're not the only one, I saw a few threads with similar reactions to the new import/export format.
It's less about the depreciation of the old command but the difference in the old and new command's learning curve which is a bit steep.

The old importprivkey was quite straightforward and simple,
while importdescriptors use JSON array and JSON objects which is quite a challenge even with examples in Bitcoin Core's help command.

[Paleus]

rescanblockchain 0 (currently 1% complete ...)

Hoping my balance will appear in the wallet after importing the private key ...

[BitMaxz]

rescanblockchain 0 (currently 1% complete ...)

Hoping my balance will appear in the wallet after importing the private key ...

I think it is much faster to check the balance if you just use the now option because you can take the address immediately and check it manually on any online blockchain explorer.

Using it would take too long before you could see your balance, unlike the "now" option. You can take the public address and manually check the balance in any explorer.

[Forsyth Jones]

I still can't grasp the logic of no longer exporting child private keys, especially since, starting with version v30, it will no longer be possible to create or load a legacy wallet (BDB).

Users who want to export child private keys for any reason (to recover from a fork or to send coins to the wrong chain, there are reasons), will use some third-party app, such as the iancoleman.io site (which puts the user at risk of falling victim to phishing), making things even worse along the way.

The justification for removing the feature to export child keys, that it makes it possible to derive the BIP32 master key from the child private key + xpub, makes no sense at all, because the user will bypass this through third-party tools like iancoleman.io

Preventing users from exporting child keys won't stop them from doing stupid shit, whoever wants to do stupid shit will do stupid shit one way or another, that's my point.

Anyway, I don't agree with the unnecessary removal, it's too drastic a change. I won't update my Core to v30 until v29 is still considered safe!

[nc50lc]

JSONimportdescriptors '[{"desc": "combo(Your52CharHexPrivKeyHere#checksum)", "timestamp": "now", "active": true}]'

There an issue with that format (without mentioning the "JSON" in front):
The #checksum should be outside of the parenthesis, not inside together with the private key WIF.

The first reply already has the correct format BTW.

Replace Your52CharHexPrivKeyHere with your actual hex key (no 0x prefix).

That 52 character private key isn't Hex, that's base58check (a.k.a.: WIF) and since it's not hex, it doesn't have a "0x" prefix.