Legacy Wallet Support

Bitcoin Core v30 completely removed Berkeley DB legacy wallet support, forcing users to migrate to descriptor wallets. Bitcoin Knots maintains full legacy wallet support — one reason Knots adoption surged 850% in 2025.

Why This Matters

Feature	Core v30	Knots v29.2
Legacy wallet creation	Removed	Supported
Berkeley DB wallets	Removed	Supported
dumpprivkey RPC	Descriptor only	Both types
importprivkey RPC	Descriptor only	Both types
Direct key management	Limited	Full

Many users need legacy wallets for:

• Older hardware wallets with specific BIP32 paths
• Cold storage setups using direct private key management
• Business workflows built around importprivkey/dumpprivkey
• Compatibility with older software and scripts
• Migration at your own pace — not forced by an upgrade

Creating a Legacy Wallet

Via RPC

# Create a legacy wallet (descriptors=false is the key parameter)
bitcoin-cli createwallet "mylegacy" false false "" false false

Parameters:

Position	Name	Value	Description
1	wallet_name	"mylegacy"	Name of wallet
2	disable_private_keys	false	Enable private keys
3	blank	false	Create with keys
4	passphrase	""	Optional encryption
5	avoid_reuse	false	Address reuse policy
6	descriptors	false	Legacy wallet

Via GUI

1. File → Create Wallet
2. Uncheck "Descriptor Wallet"
3. Set wallet name and options

Legacy Wallet Commands

Export Private Keys

# Dump a single address's private key
bitcoin-cli -rpcwallet=mylegacy dumpprivkey "1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa"

# Dump the HD master private key (Knots-only)
bitcoin-cli -rpcwallet=mylegacy dumpmasterprivkey

Import Private Keys

# Import a WIF private key
bitcoin-cli -rpcwallet=mylegacy importprivkey "5KJvsngHeMpm..." "label" false

# Import multiple (importmulti)
bitcoin-cli -rpcwallet=mylegacy importmulti '[{"scriptPubKey":{"address":"..."},"keys":["..."]}]'

Backup and Restore

# Backup wallet
bitcoin-cli -rpcwallet=mylegacy backupwallet "/path/to/backup.dat"

# Wallet file location
~/.bitcoin/wallets/mylegacy/wallet.dat

HD Wallet Derivation

Legacy wallets use BIP32/44 derivation paths:

m/44'/0'/0'/0/0  # First receiving address
m/44'/0'/0'/0/1  # Second receiving address
m/44'/0'/0'/1/0  # First change address

Migration to Descriptor Wallet

If you eventually want to migrate (optional in Knots):

# Migrate legacy to descriptor wallet
bitcoin-cli -rpcwallet=mylegacy migratewallet

Migration Notes

• Creates a new descriptor wallet
• Old wallet becomes read-only backup
• Watchonly items go to separate watchonly wallet
• Make a backup before migrating

Descriptor Wallets (Default in v23+)

Since Knots v23.0, new wallets default to descriptor format. Key differences:

Feature	Legacy	Descriptor
Database	Berkeley DB	SQLite
Key model	Key-based	Script-based
dumpprivkey	Works	Not available
importprivkey	Works	Not available
Output descriptors	No	Yes

To create a descriptor wallet explicitly:

bitcoin-cli createwallet "mydesc" false false "" false true

Knots-Specific Wallet Commands

Command	Description
dumpmasterprivkey	Export HD master key (legacy)
sweepprivkeys	Import and sweep in one step
importfromcoldcard	Import Coldcard wallet

See Also

• Sweep Keys — Import and sweep private keys
• Codex32 Support — Seed phrase recovery
• Wallet Management — Full wallet guide