Offline, open-source app to recover a seed phrase with a missing word

A new open-source tool called Seed-Recovery has been released to help cryptocurrency users recover partial or misremembered BIP39 seed phrases. The tool can fix typos, brute-force missing words, and search for correct word order in wallet recovery phrases, all while running completely offline to protect users' sensitive information.

The project, hosted on GitHub, provides a solution for one of the most common problems in cryptocurrency: losing access to funds due to imperfectly remembered seed phrases. The tool never asks for the full phrase over a network and allows users to verify its code themselves before use.

Functionality and Limitations

Seed-Recovery offers several key features: it can fix typos through fuzzy-matching against the official BIP39 wordlist, brute-force 1-3 missing words using checksum validation, and search for correct word order when the set of words is known but the sequence is unclear. The tool also allows users to check candidate phrases against known Bitcoin or Ethereum addresses to verify which one is correct.

However, the tool has important limitations. It cannot recover a fully lost phrase with zero information, as no legitimate tool can do this. It also cannot brute-force a forgotten BIP39 passphrase unless users can supply a short list of candidates themselves. The project explicitly warns that any tool claiming otherwise is likely a scam.

Implementation and Security

The project exists in two forms: a CLI implementation in Python and a desktop GUI built with Tauri and Rust. The core BIP39 logic has been validated against official Trezor/BIP39 reference test vectors for both 12-word and 24-word phrases. The codebase is intentionally minimal, with the Python implementation using only standard library modules and no third-party dependencies.

Users are encouraged to verify the tool's trustworthiness by examining the code themselves and running the test vectors. The project emphasizes that users should disconnect from the internet before running anything on a real phrase and never paste seed phrases into web tools.

Free and Paid Options

The CLI implementation is completely free and open source under the MIT license. The desktop GUI offers a free tier with basic functionality (typo fix, one missing word with address check, and word order search) and a paid tier for multi-word searches. License keys are Ed25519-signed and checked offline without contacting any server.

The project also offers a 13-page guide called 'Don't Lose Your Crypto' for $19, which provides plain-English advice on backing up seed phrases safely. Both the guide and the license fees directly fund further development of the recovery tool.