wif

What is wif?

The 'wif' npm package is used for encoding and decoding Wallet Import Format (WIF) keys, which are commonly used in cryptocurrency applications. It provides utilities to convert between WIF and private keys, ensuring secure handling of private keys.

What are wif's main functionalities?

Encoding a private key to WIF

This feature allows you to encode a private key into the Wallet Import Format (WIF). The 'encode' function takes the version, private key buffer, and a boolean indicating if the key is compressed.

const wif = require('wif');
const privateKey = Buffer.from('your_private_key_hex', 'hex');
const wifKey = wif.encode(128, privateKey, true);
console.log(wifKey);

Decoding a WIF key to a private key

This feature allows you to decode a WIF key back into its original private key. The 'decode' function returns an object containing the private key buffer and a boolean indicating if the key is compressed.

const wif = require('wif');
const wifKey = 'your_wif_key';
const decoded = wif.decode(wifKey);
console.log(decoded.privateKey.toString('hex'));
console.log(decoded.compressed);

Other packages similar to wif

bitcoinjs-lib

The 'bitcoinjs-lib' package is a comprehensive library for Bitcoin-related operations, including key generation, transaction creation, and WIF encoding/decoding. It offers more extensive functionality compared to 'wif', making it suitable for broader Bitcoin application development.

bitcore-lib

The 'bitcore-lib' package is another full-featured library for Bitcoin development. It includes utilities for WIF encoding/decoding, as well as other features like transaction building and blockchain interaction. It is similar to 'bitcoinjs-lib' but is part of the BitPay ecosystem.

README

WIF

Bitcoin Wallet Import Format encoding/decoding module.

Example

var wif = require('wif')
var privateKey = Buffer.from('0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001', 'hex')
var key = wif.encode(128, privateKey, true) // for the testnet use: wif.encode(239, ...
// => KwDiBf89QgGbjEhKnhXJuH7LrciVrZi3qYjgd9M7rFU73sVHnoWn

var obj = wif.decode(key)
// => {
//	version: 128,
//	privateKey: <Buffer 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01>,
//	compressed: true
//}

wif.decode(key, 0x09)
// => Error: Invalid network version

// alternative syntax
wif.encode(obj)
// => KwDiBf89QgGbjEhKnhXJuH7LrciVrZi3qYjgd9M7rFU73sVHnoWn

LICENSE MIT