BTCRECOVER / REFERENCE
BTCRecover glossary: passwords, seeds and search rules
Plain-language definitions of tokenlists, passwordlists, anchors, checksums, derivation paths, autosave and candidate verification.
Candidate
One possible password, passphrase or seed arrangement proposed by your search rules. Generating a candidate is different from verifying it against a wallet. See the candidate laboratory.
Passwordlist
A text file of whole-password guesses, normally one per line. Spaces can be part of a guess. Extra typo settings can expand those guesses. See the format comparison.
Tokenlist
A description of remembered fragments and alternatives used to generate candidates. A token is a piece, not necessarily a word or one character. Rules about optional lines, order and anchors affect what combinations are tried.
Required line and anchor
A leading + requires a token from that line. An anchor restricts a token’s position. These are separate constraints. A positional anchor counts token positions, not character positions; consult the upstream syntax before using advanced anchors.
Wildcard and typo
A wildcard expands a rule such as “one decimal digit.” A typo option modifies generated candidates, for example by changing letter case. Applying both can multiply the search. See wildcards and typos.
Mnemonic and BIP39 passphrase
A mnemonic is a word representation used by a seed scheme. In BIP39, the mnemonic plus an optional passphrase derives the seed. The passphrase is not the same as a device PIN or the password protecting a wallet file.
Checksum
Redundant information used to detect many invalid encodings. BIP39 checksum validity does not identify your wallet. A candidate still needs wallet verification.
Derivation path and address limit
A derivation path describes a route through a deterministic key hierarchy. An address limit bounds how many derived addresses are checked in the configured workflow. The wrong path or too small a range can miss an otherwise correct seed.
Extended public key
An extended public key carries public key and chain-code information that supports public child-key derivation in applicable BIP32 branches. It is not a private key, but can expose wallet address relationships; treat it as privacy-sensitive. Its usefulness for verification depends on the workflow.
Autosave and exhausted search
Autosave records progress for restoring a configured search. Preserve its original inputs. An exhausted search has tested its configured space without finding a match; it does not prove that all possible recovery approaches are exhausted. See no-match diagnosis.
Sources and evidence
How this material was prepared and tested. Upstream instructions can change; check your installed revision.