This is another dumb question perhaps, but how do I actually use bitcoin-wallet? It doesn't appear as a command line option in Bitcoin Core itself. Is there a non-GUI way I should be accessing it? I understand it's an offline tool, which I take to mean it doesn't need to sync the blockchain, but I'm clueless as to where to type those commands to interact with it. Any help appreciated.
You'll find the "bitcoin-wallet.exe" in the same location as "bitcoin-cli.exe" and "bitcoind.exe" etc... on Windows, if you have used the Bitcoin Core Windows installer, that should be:
C:\Program Files\Bitcoin\daemon
So, using "Command Prompt" (press the Windows key, then type: "cmd" You should see "Command Prompt", then press enter)... you should be able to enter the follow commands, one at a time:
cd C:\Program Files\Bitcoin\daemon
bitcoin-wallet -wallet=WALLET_NAME salvage
Couple of notes:
- Make a backup (or three) of your wallet file
BEFORE you attempt to use the
salvage... it makes permanent changes to the wallet file!
- If your bitcoin datadir is NOT the default location (ie. you set a custom location when running Bitcoin Core for the first time), you'll need to use the
-datadir option as well (you can find the
datadir in Bitcoin Core GUI under "Window -> Information")