Ethereum FAQ

FAQ Ethereum – Go tutorial

This article helps users of Ethereum cryptocurrency to get a kind of tutorial with Go commands for an effective usage of ETH. There are the descriptions of manual work with wallets, mining, keys and frequent questions.

Ethereum Go – Key Formats

Private Key

The format of your private key is 3a1076bf45ab87712ad64ccb3b10217737f7faacbf2872e88fdd9a537d8fe266.

Account or Address

The format of your account (which is generated from your public key) is 0xC2D7CF95645D33006175B78989035C7c9061d3F9.

Note that there is a lowercase version 0xc2d7cf95645d33006175b78989035c7c9061d3f9 and a partially uppercase version 0xC2D7CF95645D33006175B78989035C7c9061d3F9.

The partially uppercase version has a checksum to verify the address. See EIP55 - Yet another cool checksum address encoding

UTC JSON Keystore File

The password encrypted private key is stored in a JSON file with the following format (newlines and indents added for clarity, example on OS/X):

$ more ~/Library/Ethereum/keystore/UTC--2017-03-18T05-48-53.504714737Z--c2d7cf95645d33006175b78989035c7c9061d3f9 
{"address":"c2d7cf95645d33006175b78989035c7c9061d3f9",
  "crypto":{
    "cipher":"aes-128-ctr",
    "ciphertext":"0f6d343b2a34fe571639235fc16250823c6fe3bc30525d98c41dfdf21a97aedb",
    "cipherparams":{
      "iv":"cabce7fb34e4881870a2419b93f6c796"
    },
    "kdf":"scrypt",
    "kdfparams"{
      "dklen":32,
      "n":262144,
      "p":1,
      "r":8,
      "salt":"1af9c4a44cf45fe6fb03dcc126fa56cb0f9e81463683dd6493fb4dc76edddd51"
    },
    "mac":"5cf4012fffd1fbe41b122386122350c3825a709619224961a16e908c2a366aa6"
  },
  "id":"eddd71dd-7ad6-4cd3-bc1a-11022f7db76c",
  "version":3
}

How To Create New Accounts (or Addresses)

How To Create A New Account In Go Ethereum (geth)

You can generate a new Ethereum account by executing geth account new if you already have the geth Ethereum node software installed:

$ geth account new
Your new account is locked with a password. Please give a password. Do not forget this password.
Passphrase: xxxxxxxx
Repeat passphrase: xxxxxxxx
Address: {4e6cf0ed2d8bbf1fbbc9f2a100602ceba4bf1319}

A UTC--{year}-{month}--{account} encrypted account file is created (formatted):

$ more ~/Library/Ethereum/keystore/UTC--2017-03-03T13-24-07.826187674Z--4e6cf0ed2d8bbf1fbbc9f2a100602ceba4bf1319 
{"address":"4e6cf0ed2d8bbf1fbbc9f2a100602ceba4bf1319",
 "crypto":{
   "cipher":"aes-128-ctr",
   "ciphertext":"7a0629096348faa0ae8f71a09c613279d80323a400699658305a43f34279d56d",
   "cipherparams":{
     "iv":"003d6c6e3d77255d70d72088be034d03"
   },
   "kdf":"scrypt",
   "kdfparams":{
     "dklen":32,
     "n":262144,
     "p":1,
     "r":8,
     "salt":"8325cad5dcc8e70163d3cf42b43ad97bc3383db53418b084f6650573f7cabe1e"
   },
   "mac":"a627309776c6bc20b9476869c589c858f6bdf64a58881bff01476829555cf8b7"
 },
 "id":"ba2e1b9a-f140-4940-a1c1-f9dddedc0e1b",
 "version":3
}

Here your account or address is 0x4e6cf0ed2d8bbf1fbbc9f2a100602ceba4bf1319. The contents of the file also includes an encrypted version of your private key.

You can also generate a new account from within your running geth console:

 > personal.newAccount("insert a passphrase for this new account here")

geth will respond with the address of your newly created account. Again, you must retain the passphrase used to create the account.

How To Create A New Account In Ethereum Wallet / Mist

In Ethereum Wallet / Mist, select the menu item Accounts -> New Account to see the following screen. Enter a password AND save this password in a secure location. Click on OK, repeat the same password and confirm:

You will see a new account appear in your Ethereum Wallet / Mist screen:

Select the menu Accounts -> Backup -> Accounts to display the directory containing your newly create account JSON file with a name beginning with UTC-. Back this file (and any other existing files in the same directory) in a secure location.

See Network Ports, Files And Directories for the location of the directories and files on your computer.

How To Create A New Account In MyEtherWallet

IMPORTANT:

• Save your JSON file and password AND/OR your private key to be able to transfer funds from your new account
• Check that you are using the correct URL as there are similarly named phishing sites

Navigate to [1] and you will see the following screen:

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Enter a password in the following screen. You will have to remember this password, so save it in a secure location. Click on Generate Wallet:

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Your new wallet has been generated. Click on Download and download the file onto your computer. Back this file up in a secure location. Click on I understand. Continue:

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Following is content of a sample downloaded JSON file with the name UTC--2017-03-26T11-31-51.429z--dd4eccd742d17887f50c27aebb14d99bfd7571b6:

{"version":3,
 "id":"25d4a9e3-3a1e-4b77-8995-17627b00031a",
 "address":"dd4eccd742d17887f50c27aebb14d99bfd7571b6",
 "Crypto":{
   "ciphertext":"b819f1769169beaf7e6dcdb578dad519eccb86cf34a139c3707b450caa1383ba",
   "cipherparams":{
     "iv":"e85f34bb37ccb102287ade3660b1a32f"
   },
   "cipher":"aes-128-ctr",
   "kdf":"scrypt",
   "kdfparams":{
     "dklen":32,
     "salt":"67f458a5fa32647f294ff113464dfefdced9e0dd129c061bfa655ec53759a849",
     "n":1024,
     "r":8,
     "p":1
    },
    "mac":"35054e01efd959cbafe412411540a311e26ed70bad60b8eb26a8d2f9d76304fb"
  }
}

In the following screen, you will see the sample private key 85e3d0b2bb3011d00a139e5cdc4ae13144962752d6af7916bf2bd271a240094e. Save this private key in a secure location.

You can either use the JSON file with the password AND/OR this private key to unlock your account. You can print a paper wallet from the following screen:

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In the following screen, you upload the JSON file you just created, to test the new new account:

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Enter your password and click Unlock:

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You will see your account (sample 0xdd4eccd742d17887f50c27aebb14d99bfd7571b6) in the following screen. You can provide this address publicly to receive funds into your newly created account.

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How To Import Private Keys

How To Import A Private Key Into Go Ethereum (geth)

To import a private key using geth:

# Create a text file containing your private key
$ more privatekey
3a1076bf45ab87712ad64ccb3b10217737f7faacbf2872e88fdd9a537d8fe266
# Execute geth to import your private key
$ geth account import privatekey 
Your new account is locked with a password. Please give a password. Do not forget this password.
Passphrase: 
Repeat passphrase: 
Address: {c2d7cf95645d33006175b78989035c7c9061d3f9}
# Remember to delete the text file containing your private key
$ rm privateky

How To Import A Private Key Into Ethereum Wallet / Mist

You cannot import a private key directly into Ethereum Wallet / Mist. Instead, you will have to find the geth executable that is downloaded by Ethereum Wallet / Mist and use the procedure above.

See Network Ports, Files And Directories for the location of the geth executable.

How To Import A Private Key Into MyEtherWallet

• Navigate to https://www.myetherwallet.com/#send-transaction . Check that you are using the correct URL as there are similarly named phishing sites.. Click on Private Key, paste your private key into the text box and click Unlock:

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• The following screen shows an account with a zero balance.

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• If you have a non-zero ether balance, you can send ethers to another account.
• If you have a non-zero token balance AND you have a non-zero ether balance, you can send tokens to another account.

How To Import JSON Files

How To Import A JSON File Into Ethereum Wallet / Mist

In Ethereum Wallet / Mist, select the menu Accounts -> Backup -> Accounts. Ethereum Wallet / Mist will open up your file manager showing your keystore directory.

Copy your JSON file into this directory and your new account will be displayed in the Ethereum Wallet / Mist Wallets tab shortly.

Ethereum FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

What is the difference between a private key, public key and account (or address)?

See How are ethereum addresses generated? and Create full Ethereum wallet, keypair and address.

Are account (or address) generated uniquely?

See Account uniqueness guaranteed?

Can the private key be brute forced?

See Public key vulnerable to brute force in the future?

Are tokens stored with the same account (or address) as for normal ethers?

Yes. You store your ERC20 tokens in the same account you use for storing ethers. You can store ERC20 tokens in an account with 0 ethers, but when you want to transfer the tokens from your account, you will need some ethers to pay for the gas required to transfer your tokens.

I have lost my password for my JSON file, and I don't have my private key. What can I do?

From How can I recover or reset a lost wallet password?, you can try using the pyethrecover tool from https://github.com/burjorjee/pyethrecover to brute force your password. You will need to provide some password hints for the application to attempt finding your password.

How can I extract my private key from my JSON file?

The easiest way is to use the View Wallet Info tab in https://www.myetherwallet.com, select the Keystore File (UTC / JSON) option, select your JSON file, enter your password and click Unlock. Your private key will be displayed in the next page.

See also

• Blockchain
• ICO
• Smart contract
• Ethereum Classic
• Waves Platform
• Cryptocurrency

Sources

http://theethereum.wiki/