nkamoto

A terminal Bitcoin wallet CLI built around BIP-39 and BIP-84.

Security status: development release. Do not use this implementation to store real BTC until it has been independently reviewed and audited.

Requirements

• Node.js 20.19+.
• npm.

Commands

Running nkamoto without a command displays help.

nkamoto
nkamoto generate
nkamoto validate
nkamoto balance <bc1...>
nkamoto --help
nkamoto --version

nkamoto generate

Generates:

• 256 bits of cryptographically secure entropy.
• A 24-word BIP-39 English mnemonic.
• A separately generated 12-word BIP-39 passphrase.
• A Bitcoin mainnet BIP-84 native SegWit address.
• Terminal QR codes for the mnemonic and passphrase.

Derivation path:

m/84'/0'/0'/0/0

nkamoto validate

Reads the mnemonic interactively rather than accepting it as a command-line argument, reducing the chance of shell-history leakage.

nkamoto validate

It validates the BIP-39 checksum, accepts the optional BIP-39 passphrase interactively, and derives the first BIP-84 address.

nkamoto balance

Checks a public Bitcoin address using the Blockstream Esplora API.

nkamoto balance bc1q...

Only the public address is sent to the balance service. The command does not accept or require a mnemonic or private key.

The provider is isolated behind BitcoinBalanceProvider so a self-hosted or alternative backend can be added later.

Development

npm install
npm run lint
npm test
npm run build
npm start

For direct development:

npm run dev

Security

The mnemonic and BIP-39 passphrase are recovery secrets.

Do not:

• put them in shell arguments;
• paste them into websites or chat;
• commit them to source control;
• redirect wallet-generation output to files;
• use generated wallets with real funds before independent security review.

The public API intentionally does not return the derived BIP-39 seed.

License

MIT