<p>Nobody<sup>†</sup> knows.</p>
<p>The <em>motivation</em> for features in Bitcoin core is rarely documented in easily accessible places - though you might examine the source code for hints. It might be, for example, that the original author of <code>dumpwallet</code> felt that <code>backupwallet</code> was adequate for people seeking to preserve the seed and that they intended <code>dumpwallet</code> as a debugging aid for developers and not as a way for end-users to make a note of their seed for recovery purposes. If so, for this debugging purpose, the lack of prominence of the seed is unimportant.</p>
<hr />
<p>Footnotes:</p>
<p><sup>†</sup> Approximately. Presumably the original author knew at the time they implemented the dumpwallet feature but they may have forgotten or died.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-10T11:18:46.160Z
verify = `dumpwallet`, trust = `backupwallet`
tread
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-16T10:00:20.957Z
Actually, sipa introduced the dumpwallet RPC: https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/commit/4e534aa9d892dd6db64afda979ba1f8d44371389 (he definitely hasn't died I hope!)
meshcollider
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-16T15:11:11.017Z
Not the best of my knowledge.
Pieter Wuille
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-16T17:15:31.340Z
Glad to hear it :-)
RedGrittyBrick
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-10T11:08:39.250Z
2022-01-16T15:05:43.507Z
2022-01-16T15:05:43.507Z
RedGrittyBrick
<p>The most important bit is the master seed, which is at the top of the file. A user deciding what parts of a backup file are &quot;important&quot; to them isn't really a consideration regardless.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-12T21:34:50.257Z
As OP points out, the seed is not at the top of the file.
Pieter Wuille
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-12T20:57:24.570Z
2021-08-12T20:57:24.570Z
Claris
<p>The dumpwallet RPC was introduced in <a href="https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/commit/4e534aa9d892dd6db64afda979ba1f8d44371389" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this commit</a>, in the v0.9 release of Bitcoin Core.</p>
<p>This was back in time when the wallet was just a random bag of independent keys. That is, before HD wallets came along. So there was no such thing as a seed, hence the dumpfile being simply a long list of keys.</p>
<p>Since HD wallets were introduced, no-one has modified this RPC to put the seed at the top. That's all there is to it :)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-16T18:23:53.223Z
Not to mention that the seed by itself was not useful for a long time as there was no way to import a seed and set the wallet to use a particular seed.
Ava Chow
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-16T10:06:47.263Z
2022-01-16T10:06:47.263Z
meshcollider
<p>When I dump my wallet in bitcoin core:</p>
<pre><code>bitcoin-cli dumpwallet mywallet.txt
</code></pre>
<p>The output looks like this, obfuscating keys with <code>XXX</code></p>
<pre><code># Wallet dump created by Bitcoin v0.21.0
# * Created on 2021-08-12T17:19:57Z
# * Best block at time of backup was 695445 (00000000000000000004f27a30ca376652c836a0c498d1c93ced4727e94074d0),
#   mined on 2021-08-12T17:15:35Z

# extended private masterkey: xprv9XXXXX

XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qq9XXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/50'
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qq9XXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/200'
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qqfXXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/238'
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qq0XXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/134'
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qq0XXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/174'
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qqjXXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/58'
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qq5XXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/159'
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qqkXXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/153'
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qqhXXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/62'
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z hdseed=1 # addr=bc1qqaXXX
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qq7XXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/127'
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qqlXXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/205'
</code></pre>
<p>As a new user, I would think that based on the structure of this file the important part to backup is <strong># extended private masterkey: xprv9XXXXX</strong></p>
<p>However, this is not the case <a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/91156/backup-of-a-bitcoind-wallet-using-the-extended-private-masterkey-only">according to this answer for storing the seed</a>, the important part is the <code>hdseed</code>:</p>
<pre><code>XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z hdseed=1 # addr=bc1qqaXXX
</code></pre>
<p>The <strong>XXX</strong> portion from above.</p>
<p>Why is that not made clearer in the output of <code>dumpwallet</code>?</p>

<bitcoin-core>
Why is the seed not at the top of the file and clearly identified when dumping a wallet in bitcoin core?
tread
# Why is the seed not at the top of the file and clearly identified when dumping a wallet in bitcoin core?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-08-12)

When I dump my wallet in bitcoin core:
bitcoin-cli dumpwallet mywallet.txt

The output looks like this, obfuscating keys with XXX
# Wallet dump created by Bitcoin v0.21.0
# * Created on 2021-08-12T17:19:57Z
# * Best block at time of backup was 695445 (00000000000000000004f27a30ca376652c836a0c498d1c93ced4727e94074d0),
#   mined on 2021-08-12T17:15:35Z

# extended private masterkey: xprv9XXXXX

XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qq9XXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/50'
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qq9XXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/200'
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qqfXXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/238'
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qq0XXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/134'
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qq0XXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/174'
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qqjXXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/58'
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qq5XXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/159'
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qqkXXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/153'
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qqhXXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/62'
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z hdseed=1 # addr=bc1qqaXXX
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qq7XXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/127'
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z reserve=1 # addr=bc1qqlXXX hdkeypath=m/0'/0'/205'

As a new user, I would think that based on the structure of this file the important part to backup is # extended private masterkey: xprv9XXXXX
However, this is not the case according to this answer for storing the seed, the important part is the hdseed:
XXX 2021-08-12T12:29:33Z hdseed=1 # addr=bc1qqaXXX

The XXX portion from above.
Why is that not made clearer in the output of dumpwallet?

**Tags:** bitcoin-core


---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2022-01-16. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

The dumpwallet RPC was introduced in [this commit](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/commit/4e534aa9d892dd6db64afda979ba1f8d44371389), in the v0.9 release of Bitcoin Core.

This was back in time when the wallet was just a random bag of independent keys. That is, before HD wallets came along. So there was no such thing as a seed, hence the dumpfile being simply a long list of keys.

Since HD wallets were introduced, no-one has modified this RPC to put the seed at the top. That's all there is to it :)

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: Not to mention that the seed by itself was not useful for a long time as there was no way to import a seed and set the wallet to use a particular seed.  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-01-10. Score: 1

Nobody† knows.

The *motivation* for features in Bitcoin core is rarely documented in easily accessible places - though you might examine the source code for hints. It might be, for example, that the original author of `dumpwallet` felt that `backupwallet` was adequate for people seeking to preserve the seed and that they intended `dumpwallet` as a debugging aid for developers and not as a way for end-users to make a note of their seed for recovery purposes. If so, for this debugging purpose, the lack of prominence of the seed is unimportant.

---

Footnotes:

† Approximately. Presumably the original author knew at the time they implemented the dumpwallet feature but they may have forgotten or died.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: verify = `dumpwallet`, trust = `backupwallet`  
> **username_2**: Actually, sipa introduced the dumpwallet RPC: https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/commit/4e534aa9d892dd6db64afda979ba1f8d44371389 (he definitely hasn't died I hope!)  
> **username_3**: Not the best of my knowledge.  
> **username_1**: Glad to hear it :-)  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2021-08-12. Score: -2

The most important bit is the master seed, which is at the top of the file. A user deciding what parts of a backup file are "important" to them isn't really a consideration regardless.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: As OP points out, the seed is not at the top of the file.  

---

