@scure/bip39

What is @scure/bip39?

@scure/bip39 is an npm package that provides functionality for generating and working with BIP-39 mnemonic phrases, which are used in the creation of cryptocurrency wallets. It allows for the generation of mnemonic phrases, conversion between mnemonic phrases and seed values, and validation of mnemonic phrases.

What are @scure/bip39's main functionalities?

Generate Mnemonic

This feature allows you to generate a new BIP-39 mnemonic phrase using the English wordlist.

const { generateMnemonic } = require('@scure/bip39');
const { wordlist } = require('@scure/bip39/wordlists/english');
const mnemonic = generateMnemonic(wordlist);
console.log(mnemonic);

Mnemonic to Seed

This feature converts a BIP-39 mnemonic phrase to a seed value, which can be used to derive keys for cryptocurrency wallets.

const { mnemonicToSeedSync } = require('@scure/bip39');
const mnemonic = 'abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon about';
const seed = mnemonicToSeedSync(mnemonic);
console.log(seed.toString('hex'));

Validate Mnemonic

This feature checks if a given BIP-39 mnemonic phrase is valid according to the specified wordlist.

const { validateMnemonic } = require('@scure/bip39');
const { wordlist } = require('@scure/bip39/wordlists/english');
const mnemonic = 'abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon abandon about';
const isValid = validateMnemonic(mnemonic, wordlist);
console.log(isValid);

Other packages similar to @scure/bip39

bip39

The 'bip39' package is a popular alternative for working with BIP-39 mnemonic phrases. It provides similar functionality, including generating mnemonics, converting them to seeds, and validating them. It is widely used in the cryptocurrency community.

bitcore-mnemonic

The 'bitcore-mnemonic' package is part of the Bitcore library and offers functionality for BIP-39 mnemonic phrases. It allows for the generation, validation, and conversion of mnemonics to seeds. It is well-integrated with other Bitcore components for building cryptocurrency applications.

ethers

The 'ethers' package is a comprehensive library for interacting with the Ethereum blockchain. It includes functionality for generating and managing BIP-39 mnemonic phrases, among many other features related to Ethereum development. It is a good choice if you need a broader set of tools for Ethereum.

README

scure-bip39

Secure, audited & minimal implementation of BIP39 mnemonic phrases.

Compared to popular bip39 package, scure-bip39:

• Is 491KB all-bundled instead of 1.3MB
• Uses 2 dependencies instead of 15
• Wordlists are 157KB instead of 315KB
• Had an external security audit by Cure53 on Jan 5, 2022

Check out scure-bip32 if you need hierarchical deterministic wallets ("HD Wallets").

This library belongs to scure

scure — secure audited packages for every use case.

• Independent security audits
• All releases are signed with PGP keys
• Check out all libraries: base, bip32, bip39

Usage

npm install @scure/bip39

Or

yarn add @scure/bip39

import * as bip39 from '@scure/bip39';
import { wordlist } from '@scure/bip39/wordlists/english';

// Generate x random words. Uses Cryptographically-Secure Random Number Generator.
const mn = bip39.generateMnemonic(wordlist);
console.log(mn);

// Reversible: Converts mnemonic string to raw entropy in form of byte array.
const ent = bip39.mnemonicToEntropy(mn, wordlist)

// Reversible: Converts raw entropy in form of byte array to mnemonic string.
bip39.entropyToMnemonic(ent, wordlist);

// Validates mnemonic for being 12-24 words contained in `wordlist`.
bip39.validateMnemonic(mn, wordlist);

// Irreversible: Uses KDF to derive 64 bytes of key data from mnemonic + optional password.
await bip39.mnemonicToSeed(mn, 'password');
bip39.mnemonicToSeedSync(mn, 'password');

This submodule contains the word lists defined by BIP39 for Czech, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, and Spanish. These are not imported by default, as that would increase bundle sizes too much. Instead, you should import and use them explicitly.

function generateMnemonic(wordlist: string[], strength?: number): string;
function mnemonicToEntropy(mnemonic: string, wordlist: string[]): Uint8Array;
function entropyToMnemonic(entropy: Uint8Array, wordlist: string[]): string;
function validateMnemonic(mnemonic: string, wordlist: string[]): boolean;
function mnemonicToSeed(mnemonic: string, passphrase?: string): Promise<Uint8Array>;
function mnemonicToSeedSync(mnemonic: string, passphrase?: string): Uint8Array;

All wordlists:

import { wordlist } from '@scure/bip39/wordlists/czech';
import { wordlist } from '@scure/bip39/wordlists/english';
import { wordlist } from '@scure/bip39/wordlists/french';
import { wordlist } from '@scure/bip39/wordlists/italian';
import { wordlist } from '@scure/bip39/wordlists/japanese';
import { wordlist } from '@scure/bip39/wordlists/korean';
import { wordlist } from '@scure/bip39/wordlists/simplified-chinese';
import { wordlist } from '@scure/bip39/wordlists/spanish';
import { wordlist } from '@scure/bip39/wordlists/traditional-chinese';

Security

The library has been audited by Cure53 on Jan 5, 2022. Check out the audit PDF & URL. See changes since audit.

1. The library was initially developed for js-ethereum-cryptography
2. At commit ae00e6d7, it was extracted to a separate package called micro-bip39
3. After the audit we've decided to use NPM namespace for security. Since @micro namespace was taken, we've renamed the package to @scure/bip39

License

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2022 Patricio Palladino, Paul Miller (paulmillr.com)