Mini Wallet Project

Build a CLI wallet that generates addresses, receives, and sends on regtest.

intermediate2 weeksproject // mini-wallet

Public lesson — sign in to track progress on this roadmap.

Learning objectives

Generate receive addresses from a descriptor or HD wallet
Track UTXOs and build a funded transaction on regtest
Sign and broadcast with tests covering change and fees

study // plan

Lessons are primers. Start with Step 1 (required reading) when present, then follow the numbered steps in the article. Depth comes from primary sources, labs, reflection, and evidence.

Research on Bitcoin Search

HD wallet Bitcoin wallet BDK wallet descriptor wallet

Step 1 // Required reading

Complete these before the numbered steps in the lesson body. Links are listed here once — not repeated below.

docsProject Spec: Mini Wallet
Pull project page — acceptance criteria and submit flow.
bookMastering Bitcoin
Ch. 5: Wallets

Reflection prompts

Explain Mini Wallet Project to a teammate without jargon - what problem does it solve?
What would break in production if you misunderstood Mini Wallet Project?
Which BIP, book chapter, or Core doc is authoritative here, and what did you verify?

Lab // Project milestone evidence

Complete Steps 2–4. Ship the Mini Wallet happy path on regtest and capture demo evidence before marking the lesson complete. Submit via the project page when ready for review.

evidence required

Link to public repo or branch
Commands or screenshots proving receive + send on regtest
Short note of one failure case you tested (fee, change, or sync)

This project turns protocol lessons into a working tool: a command-line wallet on regtest that can receive and send bitcoin.

Complete Step 1 // Required reading in the study plan above (project spec + wallets chapter), then continue here. This opens Projects.

Step 2 — Goal

Ship a CLI that can:

Create or load a wallet (seed/descriptor)
Show a receive address and balance
Send to an address with an explicit fee rate
Mine/confirm via Bitcoin Core RPC in tests

Loading diagram…

CLI drives wallet logic against a local regtest node.

Done when: You can describe the happy path in four bullets without opening the code.

Step 3 — Milestones

Phase	Ship
Milestone A	Address generation + sync/balance on regtest
Milestone B	Coin selection, change, broadcast, fee unit tests
Milestone C	Acceptance test: mine → send half → assert balances after one block

Done when: Milestone A works end-to-end before you start fee edge cases.

Step 4 — Build & evidence (lab)

Implement against /projects/mini-wallet. Capture repo link, happy-path proof, and one failure case you tested.

Common mistakes

Hard-coding mainnet network objects in tests
Forgetting change and overpaying the fee
Demo without a reproducible test command

Done when: Lab evidence is filed (and optionally submitted for review).

Next lesson

Block Explorer UI — visualize blocks, txs, and mempool for your private chain.

Review club

Practice on real Bitcoin OSS changes tied to this chapter. Read the diff, use the checklist, and optionally paste your review comment URL in your lab notes.

BDK documentation pull requests
Review a BDK docs PR and note whether examples would help a mini-wallet builder.
pr review
examplesAPI clarity
35 min·beginneropen on GitHub

review checklist

Does the change solve the stated problem?
Are edge cases and rollout behavior covered?
Are tests or test vectors included?
Is the diff minimal and clearly explained?

More repos and GFIs on /discover and /issues.

build // challenge

project // mini-wallet

./open-spec ./submit

Apply what you learned in a focused build session. Ship something small, test it on regtest, and document your approach before moving on.

progress // sign in

Reading is public. Sign in to mark lessons complete, sync across devices, and unlock your roadmap.

./sign-in-to-track

prevPSBT Workflows nextBlock Explorer UI

Step 2 — Goal

Ship a CLI that can:

Create or load a wallet (seed/descriptor)

Show a receive address and balance

Send to an address with an explicit fee rate

Mine/confirm via Bitcoin Core RPC in tests

Loading diagram…

CLI drives wallet logic against a local regtest node.

Done when: You can describe the happy path in four bullets without opening the code.

Phase

Ship

Milestone A

Address generation + sync/balance on regtest

Milestone B

Coin selection, change, broadcast, fee unit tests

Milestone C

Acceptance test: mine → send half → assert balances after one block

Step 4 — Build & evidence (lab)

Implement against /projects/mini-wallet. Capture repo link, happy-path proof, and one failure case you tested.

Hard-coding mainnet network objects in tests

Forgetting change and overpaying the fee

Demo without a reproducible test command

Done when: Lab evidence is filed (and optionally submitted for review).

Block Explorer UI — visualize blocks, txs, and mempool for your private chain.

Mini Wallet Project

Learning objectives

Step 1 // Required reading

Reflection prompts

Lab // Project milestone evidence

How to study this lesson

Step 2 — Goal

Step 3 — Milestones

Step 4 — Build & evidence (lab)

Common mistakes

Next lesson

further reading

Review club

build // challenge

Mini Wallet Project

Learning objectives

Step 1 // Required reading

Reflection prompts

Lab // Project milestone evidence

How to study this lesson

Step 2 — Goal

Step 3 — Milestones

Step 4 — Build & evidence (lab)

Common mistakes

Next lesson

further reading

Review club

build // challenge