hd-wallets

Development

Derive multiple Ethereum accounts from a mnemonic seed phrase using Nethereum HD wallets. Use this skill whenever the user asks about mnemonic phrases, seed phrases, BIP-39, BIP-32, BIP-44, HD wallets, deriving accounts from a seed, wallet recovery, 12-word or 24-word phrases, derivation paths, or generating multiple addresses from one key in C#/.NET.

QUICK START

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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/Nethereum/Nethereum/blob/HEAD/plugins/nethereum-skills/skills/hd-wallets/SKILL.md

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HD Wallets with Nethereum

Two implementations available:

Full HD Wallet (NBitcoin-based)

NuGet: Nethereum.HDWallet

dotnet add package Nethereum.HDWallet

Generate New Wallet

using Nethereum.HdWallet;
using NBitcoin;

var wallet = new Wallet(Wordlist.English, WordCount.Twelve);
var mnemonic = string.Join(" ", wallet.Words);

Restore from Mnemonic

var wallet = new Wallet("rapid squeeze excess salute ...", seedPassword: null);
var account = wallet.GetAccount(0, chainId: 1);
var web3 = new Web3(account, "https://your-rpc-url");

Derivation Paths

// Default: m/44'/60'/0'/0/x (MetaMask, TREZOR, MEW)
var wallet = new Wallet(words, null, Wallet.DEFAULT_PATH);

// Ledger/Electrum: m/44'/60'/0'/x
var wallet = new Wallet(words, null, Wallet.ELECTRUM_LEDGER_PATH);

Key Methods

var addresses = wallet.GetAddresses(10);     // First 10 addresses
var privateKey = wallet.GetPrivateKey(0);     // Private key bytes
var ethKey = wallet.GetEthereumKey(0);        // EthECKey for signing
var account = wallet.GetAccount(0, chainId: 1); // Account for Web3

Watch-Only (Public Wallet)

var xPub = wallet.GetMasterExtPubKey();
var publicWallet = new PublicWallet(xPub);
var addresses = publicWallet.GetAddresses(10);

Light HD Wallet (Zero Dependencies)

Included in Nethereum.Accounts — no extra package needed. Uses only System.Security.Cryptography. Modern .NET only (net6.0+).

using Nethereum.Accounts.Bip32;

// Generate mnemonic
var mnemonic = Bip39.GenerateMnemonic(12);

// Create wallet
var wallet = new MinimalHDWallet(mnemonic);

// Derive keys (m/44'/60'/0'/0/{index})
var key = wallet.GetEthereumKey(0);
var address = wallet.GetEthereumAddress(0);

// Custom path
var key = wallet.GetKeyFromPath("m/44'/60'/0'/0/5");

When to Use Which

Feature	`Nethereum.HDWallet`	`MinimalHDWallet`
Dependencies	NBitcoin	None
Frameworks	net452+	net6.0+
Extended keys (xPub)	Yes	No
Key caching	Yes	No
Best for	Full wallet apps	Embedded, mobile, WASM

For full documentation, see: https://docs.nethereum.com/docs/signing-and-key-management/guide-hd-wallets