1
Install Sparrow from sparrowwallet.com
Verify the download signature if you are recovering a significant balance. Sparrow publishes
signatures and the instructions for checking them.
2
Connect it to chain data
Sparrow needs a Bitcoin Core node you run, an Electrum server, or a public server it can connect
to. A public server learns which addresses you are interested in. For a large balance, connect it
to your own node.
Restoring a wallet from the phrase
What you are recovering, and how the index maps to addresses, is on Bitcoin.1
Create a new wallet file
From the File menu, create a new wallet and give it any name. The name is local and means nothing
on-chain.
2
Set the script type to Native Segwit (P2WPKH)
In the wallet’s settings the policy is single signature, and the script type dropdown offers
Native Segwit (P2WPKH). Set this before entering the seed: it determines the derivation path
Sparrow proposes.
3
Enter the seed under the Mnemonic Words (BIP39) keystore option
Choose the new or imported software wallet route, then the Mnemonic Words (BIP39) option,
not the Electrum seed option, and type the phrase. If the account has a passphrase, Sparrow has a
passphrase option on the same screen; it is a separate field, never part of the word list.
4
Check the derivation path
Sparrow shows the derivation it will use for the keystore. For a native segwit single-signature
wallet this is
m/84'/0'/0', the account above your addresses. Correct it if it shows anything
else.5
Apply, then read the addresses
Sparrow asks for a password to encrypt the wallet file, again new and local. Once the wallet is
open, the addresses list shows the receive branch in index order. Match the first one against your
first Trustodian Bitcoin wallet before doing anything else.
Importing a vault descriptor
A vault is not restored from the phrase. You need its Output descriptor from the Recovery Kit. The descriptor’s anatomy, and the warnings that go with it, are on Bitcoin vaults.1
Create a new wallet file
From the File menu, create a new wallet and give it any name.
2
Open the wallet's Settings and choose the custom policy
Sparrow’s Settings tab holds the script policy. Switching it from single signature to the custom
option gives you an editable descriptor, rather than asking you to assemble the wallet cosigner
by cosigner.
3
Paste the output descriptor
One unbroken line, checksum included. Sparrow parses it and fills in the threshold, the script
type and each cosigner’s origin and xpub.
4
Check what Sparrow shows before applying
The threshold and the number of cosigners must match the Recovery Kit. So must each cosigner’s
master fingerprint and derivation path.
5
Set the birthday before the first scan
Sparrow’s wallet settings carry a birthday under its advanced options: the point from which it
starts scanning, instead of scanning the whole chain. Changing it clears the wallet’s history and
triggers a fresh scan from there.Sparrow asks for a date, while the Recovery Kit records a block height. Look the height up
in any block explorer to get the block’s date, and give Sparrow that date or a slightly earlier
one. Skipping this step is not dangerous, only slow, potentially very slow against your own node.
6
Apply and verify both addresses
Compare the wallet’s first receive address against the First receive address printed in the
Recovery Kit, and the vault address against Vault address. Both must match exactly.
Adding your key so you can sign
A descriptor import is watch-only: it finds the money and builds unsigned transactions. To sign, add your seed as a keystore. Sparrow asks for the derivation, which for a vault is the BIP-48 account path, not your ordinary Bitcoin wallet path:{account} is the vault’s account index from the Recovery Kit. Check the master fingerprint Sparrow
reports against the one printed for your cosigner row: they match only if the phrase and the path are
both right.