bip39

Generate and validate BIP-39 mnemonic sentences

disclaimer

The use of this tool does not guarantee security or suitability for any particular use. Please review the code and use at your own risk.

installation

This step assumes you have Go compiler toolchain installed on your system.

go install github.com/kubetrail/bip39@latest

Install shell completion. For instance bash completion can be installed by adding following line to your .bashrc:

source <(bip39 completion bash)

generate new mnemonic

bip39 gen

chaos mosquito citizen bone pencil crunch genuine this dice noise when digital grass urge jungle decade melody typical improve army couch degree anxiety rifle

bip39 gen --length=12

ankle already sight barely skate lazy admit estate plug sunset machine help

bip39 gen --length=15

royal guilt glad stereo match web muffin enough silent seek owner hungry expect resemble fault

bip39 gen --length=12 --language=English

walk pudding hotel ordinary unknown detect simple typical leg ridge armor bitter

bip39 gen --length=12 --language=Japanese

ただしい ほたる あける おおどおり からい はんい たいぐう めんきょ ふとん ねむたい てわけ もえる

validate mnemonics

Entering correct mnemonic will produce no output indicating that the input is valid

bip39 validate

Enter mnemonic: mosquito citizen bone pencil crunch genuine this dice noise when digital grass urge jungle decade melody typical improve army couch degree anxiety rifle

bip39 validate --language=Japanese

Enter mnemonic: ただしい ほたる あける おおどおり からい はんい たいぐう めんきょ ふとん ねむたい てわけ もえる

Entering invalid mnemonic will result in an error

bip39 validate

Enter mnemonic: this is an invalid mnemonic
Error: invalid mnemonic
Usage:
  bip39 validate [flags]

Flags:
  -h, --help           help for validate
      --language int   Language (default 1)

Global Flags:
      --config string   config file (default is $HOME/.bip39.yaml)

Error: invalid mnemonic

Mnemonic is not any arbitrary list of words. The words come from a predefined list and has a structure (last word has checksum). Altering the sequence of words from a correct mnemonic will also result in error

bip39 gen --length=12

sausage unhappy suffer cost wedding air about maid future expand solar stumble

bip39 validate

Enter mnemonic: unhappy sausage suffer cost wedding air about maid future expand solar stumble
Error: invalid mnemonic
Usage:
  bip39 validate [flags]

Flags:
  -h, --help           help for validate
      --language int   Language (default 1)

Global Flags:
      --config string   config file (default is $HOME/.bip39.yaml)

Error: invalid mnemonic

translate mnemonics between languages

Several wallets only support english mnemonics. Mnemonics can be translated between languages in the sense that the underlying entropy is preserved.

bip39 gen --language=Japanese

ちかい ばいばい いずみ たおる おとなしい とくべつ もくてき たりきほんがん ふっかつ うける ざいりょう むかえ むすう けもの ちいき いがい きさく こうない げぼく うわさ そそぐ こんぽん にうけ はんい

English language equivalent mnemonic can be obtained from the above mnemonic:

bip39 translate --from-language=Japanese --to-language=English

Enter mnemonic: ちかい ばいばい いずみ たおる おとなしい とくべつ もくてき たりきほんがん ふっかつ うける ざいりょう むかえ むすう けもの ちいき いがい きさく こうない げぼく うわさ そそぐ こんぽん にうけ はんい
napkin school another mass caution pole universe mix stay become flock tray trophy electric myth already coyote essay egg book left first quit shoot

generate hex seed from mnemonics

Hex seeds are directly used for key generation. These hex seeds are generated using mnemonic data and optional passphrase.

All mnemonics are translated to English before seed is generated except when mnemonic validation is explicitly switched off

For instance, let's generate a Japanese language mnemonic and translate it to English

bip39 gen --language=japanese --length=12

もくようび りきさく どうかん はつおん せんよう ぐんて げいじゅつ ぴっちり さとし こまる どぶがわ えつらん

bip39 translate --from-language=japanese --to-language=english

Enter mnemonic: もくようび りきさく どうかん はつおん せんよう ぐんて げいじゅつ ぴっちり さとし こまる どぶがわ えつらん
unknown wasp pipe select knock divide doll smoke fringe feature present bright

We can see that the seed generated using both these mnemonics are the same

bip39 seed --language=english

Enter mnemonic: unknown wasp pipe select knock divide doll smoke fringe feature present bright
29cc2a90e4f6cdd029cd1ff389c950ddcc1d895031c8cb3182af799ff37f69e9fe0f0de8b3a5d808fc9fe2e773c1a005d8d00c9a1a7f7d7a17e870234980e62e

bip39 seed --language=japanese

Enter mnemonic: もくようび りきさく どうかん はつおん せんよう ぐんて げいじゅつ ぴっちり さとし こまる どぶがわ えつらん
29cc2a90e4f6cdd029cd1ff389c950ddcc1d895031c8cb3182af799ff37f69e9fe0f0de8b3a5d808fc9fe2e773c1a005d8d00c9a1a7f7d7a17e870234980e62e

fun with mnemonics

Following mnemonics are interestingly valid. There are over 100 such mnemonic sentences.

Needless to say, never use these mnemonics or any such mnemonics that are not random despite the fact that they are valid.

twelve twelve twelve twelve twelve twelve twelve twelve twelve twelve twelve twelve
valid valid valid valid valid valid valid valid valid valid valid valid
word word word word word word word word word word word word

all all all all all all all all all all all all
awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome
believe believe believe believe believe believe believe believe believe believe believe believe
dilemma dilemma dilemma dilemma dilemma dilemma dilemma dilemma dilemma dilemma dilemma dilemma
life life life life life life life life life life life life
noble noble noble noble noble noble noble noble noble noble noble noble

bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon
beef beef beef beef beef beef beef beef beef beef beef beef
cereal cereal cereal cereal cereal cereal cereal cereal cereal cereal cereal cereal

pumpkin pumpkin pumpkin pumpkin pumpkin pumpkin pumpkin pumpkin pumpkin pumpkin pumpkin pumpkin
salad salad salad salad salad salad salad salad salad salad salad salad
sugar sugar sugar sugar sugar sugar sugar sugar sugar sugar sugar sugar
tobacco tobacco tobacco tobacco tobacco tobacco tobacco tobacco tobacco tobacco tobacco tobacco

and many more...

sontt9/bip39