KERRIGAN
▸ GUIDES

How to Restore Your Kerrigan Wallet

Your coins live on the blockchain, not in the app. As long as you have your recovery words (or a wallet.dat file), you can get them back. Which method you use depends on what you have.

The part that trips people up: every Kerrigan wallet — web, desktop, and full-node (Qt) — derives the same addresses from the same words. So you don't have to restore into the exact app you started with. Your coins show up in any of them.

If you have your recovery words (12 or 24)

Easiest — the web or desktop wallet

  1. Open the web wallet (wallet.kerrigan.network) or the desktop wallet and choose Restore — on the unlock screen it's "Forgot passphrase? Restore from phrase."
  2. Paste your words in order. Spelling and order both matter.
  3. Set a new password to encrypt it on this device. It rebuilds your addresses and your balance appears once it syncs.

This is the fastest way back to your coins, and it works even if you originally used the Qt wallet.

Restoring words into the full-node (Qt) wallet

The Qt wallet's "Restore wallet" only accepts a wallet.dat file — there's no box to type your words. That's the confusing part, and it's why restore looks broken when all you have is a phrase. To restore from words in Qt, use the console:

  1. Start with a fresh, empty wallet — the words won't apply on top of an existing wallet.
  2. Open Window → Console and run, with YOUR words: upgradetohd "word1 word2 ... word12" This sets the seed from your phrase and rescans the chain for your coins automatically.

Prefer the startup route? Launch with -mnemonic="word1 ... word12" on a fresh data directory, then run rescanblockchain 0 in the console so it finds your funds.

⚠ Balance shows 0 after restoring in Qt? Don't panic — run rescanblockchain 0. A restored full-node wallet won't show old coins until it rescans the chain. The coins aren't gone; the wallet just hasn't looked for them yet.

If you have a wallet.dat file

Restore it in the full-node (Qt) wallet:

  1. Fully quit the wallet.
  2. Back up any existing wallet.dat, then drop your restore copy in its place: Windows: %APPDATA%\Kerrigan\wallet.dat macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Kerrigan/wallet.dat Linux: ~/.kerrigan/wallet.dat
  3. Reopen and let it sync.

The one thing that changes your addresses: a passphrase

If you set an extra passphrase (a "25th word") when you first made your wallet, you need it too — the words alone derive different, empty addresses. The web wallet doesn't support a passphrase, so a phrase you protected with one must be restored in the Qt wallet, adding -mnemonicpassphrase="your passphrase". (This is separate from the password that unlocks the app — that one doesn't affect your coins.)

If your balance still doesn't appear after a full sync and a rescan, bring your wallet type and version to

support.