How ​​to Add a Watch-Only Wallet to Bitcoin on OSX/Linux with Bitcoind

When it comes to managing Bitcoin transactions and assets, it’s crucial to have a secure and controlled environment. One way to achieve this is by using a watch-only wallet, which allows you to control your private keys without exposing them to the public world. In this article, we’ll explore how to add a watch-only wallet to Bitcoind on OSX/Linux.

Understanding Watch-Only Wallets

A watch-only wallet is similar to a regular Bitcoin wallet, but with a few key differences:

• The owner can still control their private keys and send coins, but they have no purchasing power.

• There is no transaction history or records of wallet activities.

• The owner cannot access the wallet’s funds without using a mnemonic seed.

Adding a Read-Only Wallet to Bitcoind

To add a read-only wallet to Bitcoind on OSX/Linux, you will need to:

• Install Bitcoind from source: You can download and compile Bitcoind from its official repository at [ Make sure to configure the build process correctly.

• Choose a JSON RPC client library: You will need a library that allows you to connect to the Bitcoin network using JSON-RPC (JavaScript Object Request Packets) APIs. Some popular choices include bitcoinj and wallethub. For this example, we will use bitcoinj.

• Generate a mnemonic seed: You will need a mnemonic seed to restore your read-only wallet from a backup or recover it in case of loss. A mnemonic seed is a series of words that represent the private keys used for your wallet.

Step 1: Install and configure Bitcoind

Once you have installed Bitcoind, make sure it is running correctly by checking your logs:

bitcoind -version

Configure Bitcoind to use the JSON RPC client library:

bitcoind --jsonrpcurl 

Step 2: Generate a mnemonic seed

Generate a mnemonic seed using bitcoinj. You will need to specify the list of mnemonic words and the length of the seeds. For example, if you have a standard English dictionary, you can use it like this:

bitcoinj --seedwordlist /usr/share/mnemonic-wordlists/english-dictionary.txt -l 25

This will generate a seed phrase in JSON format that you will need to restore your wallet from a backup or recover it if lost.

Step 3: Add the read-only wallet

Create a new file called wallet.json with the following content:

{
"address": "0x...",
"mnemonicSeed": "...",
"privateKey": "...",
"publicKey": "..."
}

Replace the addresses, mnemonic seed, private key, and public key with your own values. The mnemonicSeed field must match the seed phrase generated by bitcoinj.

Step 4: Connect to Bitcoin using JSON-RPC

Connect to the Bitcoin network using JSON-RPC:

bitcoind --jsonrpcurl 

Once connected, you can use the wallet.json file as a starting point to create and manage your read-only wallet.

Use Case Example

Here is an example of how you can use the newly added read-only wallet to send coins:

bitcoind --jsonrpcurl  wallets/getaddr 0x... 
get the address associated with the mnemonic seed
bitcoind --jsonrpcurl  wallet/0x... 
restore the wallet using the private key and public key

By following these steps, you can add a read-only wallet to Bitcoind on OSX/Linux and start managing your Bitcoin assets securely.