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NIP-06

Basic key derivation from mnemonic seed phrase

UnrecommendedEncoding

Derives Nostr keys from a BIP-39 seed phrase along the path m/44'/1237'/<account>'/0/0. Unrecommended upstream: prefer handling a single nsec.

Status
Still documented, but new software should not build on it.
Last changed
May 31, 2026

Not recommended: prefer a single nsec

Try it

Edit the form or the JSON: both stay in sync, the badge says whether the result is valid, and tapping any field explains it.

Examples
Valid

Form

Turns a seed phrase and account number into a Nostr keypair.

Inputs

BIP-39 words separated by single spaces.

Account index (hardened). 0 for a single key.

Paste an encoded string here to decode it into the inputs.

The private key (hex and nsec) and public key (hex and npub) at the derived path.

What's inside

nsec10allq0gjx7fddtzef0ax00mdps9t2kmtrldkyjfs8l5xruwvh2dq0lhhkp

Prefix (what it is)
nsec
Separator
1
Data
0allq0gjx7fddtzef0ax…8l5xruwvh2dq
Checksum
0lhhkp
Derivation path
m/44'/1237'/0'/0/0
Secret key (hex)
7f7ff03d123792d6ac594bfa67bf6d0c0ab55b6b1fdb6249303fe861f1ccba9a
Public key (hex)
17162c921dc4d2518f9a101db33695df1afb56ab82f5ff3e5da6eec3ca5cd917
npub
npub1zutzeysacnf9rru6zqwmxd54mud0k44tst6l70ja5mhv8jjumytsd2x7nu

How this NIP works

Step 1 of 5

Unrecommended

Upstream now prefers a single nsec over seed phrases. The scheme still works and some wallets use it.

In the course

See also

Specification

Specification text is quoted in English from the nostr-protocol/nips repository. Our explanations and the interface are translated. Source on GitHub at commit 0046368

Read the spec170 words, quoted from the repository at commit 0046368.

BIP39 is used to generate mnemonic seed words and derive a binary seed from them.

BIP32 is used to derive the path m/44'/1237'/<account>'/0/0 (according to the Nostr entry on SLIP44).

A basic client can simply use an account of 0 to derive a single key. For more advanced use-cases you can increment account, allowing generation of practically infinite keys from the 5-level path with hardened derivation.

Other types of clients can still get fancy and use other derivation paths for their own other purposes.

Test vectors

mnemonic: leader monkey parrot ring guide accident before fence cannon height naive bean
private key (hex): 7f7ff03d123792d6ac594bfa67bf6d0c0ab55b6b1fdb6249303fe861f1ccba9a
nsec: nsec10allq0gjx7fddtzef0ax00mdps9t2kmtrldkyjfs8l5xruwvh2dq0lhhkp
public key (hex): 17162c921dc4d2518f9a101db33695df1afb56ab82f5ff3e5da6eec3ca5cd917
npub: npub1zutzeysacnf9rru6zqwmxd54mud0k44tst6l70ja5mhv8jjumytsd2x7nu

mnemonic: what bleak badge arrange retreat wolf trade produce cricket blur garlic valid proud rude strong choose busy staff weather area salt hollow arm fade
private key (hex): c15d739894c81a2fcfd3a2df85a0d2c0dbc47a280d092799f144d73d7ae78add
nsec: nsec1c9wh8xy5eqdzln7n5t0ctgxjcrdug73gp5yj0x03gntn67h83twssdfhel
public key (hex): d41b22899549e1f3d335a31002cfd382174006e166d3e658e3a5eecdb6463573
npub: npub16sdj9zv4f8sl85e45vgq9n7nsgt5qphpvmf7vk8r5hhvmdjxx4es8rq74h