Welcome to the Electrum Documentation!

Electrum is a lightweight, open-source, and secure Bitcoin wallet that puts you in control of your funds. This documentation will help you get started with Electrum and guide you through its features.

GUI and beginners

• Frequently Asked Questions
  • How does Electrum work?
  • What information does Electrum share with its servers?
  • What is the seed phrase?
  • How secure is the seed?
  • How do I access my wallet if I forgot my password?
  • Where does Electrum get Bitcoin prices from?
  • What to do if a transaction is not confirmed for a long time?
  • What does it mean to “freeze” an address in Electrum?
  • Is my wallet file encrypted?
  • Can I use Electrum with a cold wallet?
  • Can I import private keys into Electrum from other Bitcoin clients?
  • How do I sweep private keys in Electrum?
  • Where is the Electrum data directory?
  • Where can I find my Electrum wallet file?
  • How do I enable debug logging in Electrum?
  • How do I make a bulk payment in Electrum?
  • Does Electrum allow me to create and sign raw transactions?
  • Why does Electrum freeze when I try to send Bitcoins?
  • What is the gap limit?
  • How do I pre-generate new addresses in Electrum?
  • How to Upgrade Electrum?
  • Why does my antivirus program detect Electrum as malware?
  • Electrum needs a newer version of Python on my old Linux system. How to fix it?
  • Is the connection between Electrum clients and servers authenticated?
  • Does Electrum support altcoins?
• Invoices
• Two Factor Authentication
  • Creating a Wallet
  • Restoring from seed
• Multisig Wallets
  • Creating a Pair of 2-of-2 Wallets
  • Receiving Funds
  • Spending
    • Transfer a file
    • Use QR-Code
    • Use the Cosigner Pool Plugin
• Cold Storage
  • Creating an Offline Wallet
  • Create a watching-only version of your wallet
  • Create an unsigned transaction
  • Get your transaction signed
  • Broadcast your transaction
• Hardware wallets on Linux
• Running the Latest Electrum on Tails
  • AppImage Installation and Setup
• Plugins
  • Audio Modem
  • Cosigner Pool
  • Email
  • LabelSync
  • PayServer
  • Revealer Backup Utility
  • Two-Factor Authentication
  • Virtual Keyboard
• Protecting Your Funds from Malware and Other Risks
  • Common Attack Methods
    • Malicious clone
    • Clipboard hijacker (aka Clipper)
    • Malware
    • Fake Support
    • Backup Disclosure
    • Phishing
    • Planted wallet file
  • Defense, best practices
  • Help! My Coins Have Been Stolen!
    • Can I Keep Using the Wallet?
  • My Antivirus Has Flagged Electrum as Malware!

Advanced users

• Using cold storage with the command line
  • Preparing an Unsigned Transaction
  • Signing the Transaction
  • Broadcasting the Transaction
• Using Electrum Through Tor
  • Using a .onion Server
• Verify Electrum GPG Signature
  • Get ThomasV’s Public GPG Key
  • Download Electrum and Its Signature File
  • Verify Electrum GPG Signature

Daemon and Command Line

• Command Line
  • Getting Help
  • Using the Electrum Daemon
  • Special Command Shortcuts (Magic Words)
  • Aliases
  • Formatting Electrum Outputs with jq
  • Examples
    • Signing and Verifying Messages
    • Show the values of your unspents
    • Select only incoming transactions from history
    • Filter transactions by date
    • Encrypt and decrypt messages
    • Export private keys and sweep coins
• Configuring SSL for Electrum
  • Setting Up Your SSL Private Key
  • Adding Your SSL Certificate Bundle
  • Verifying Your SSL Certificate Configuration
• Accepting Bitcoin Payments on Your Website with Electrum
  • Set Up Your SSL Certificate in Electrum
  • Creating and Using Your Merchant Wallet
  • Starting the Electrum Daemon
  • Create a signed payment request
  • Open the payment request page in your browser
  • Lightning Payments
• How to setup a watchtower
  • Configuring a Watchtower
  • Setting Up Your Client to Use a Watchtower
• JSON-RPC Interface for Electrum Daemon

For developers

• The Python Console
• Simple Payment Verification
• Electrum Seed Version System
  • Using the Python Console
• Extended Transaction Serialization
  • Extended Public Keys
  • Standard Public Keys
• Plugin Guidelines