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Cryptocalc 0.1.17

1. Purpose
Cryptocalc is a standalone desktop application which generates Crypto wallets with the Hierarchical Deterministic (BIP32) paradigm. Even though there is already a similar tools online, the purpose is to use these features locally on your computer in order to reduce the risk of your Private Key / WIF or Seedphrase informations being stolen.
NB: Cryptocalc uses ElectronJS as well as many modern and popular Desktop applications

  1. Setup
  2. 2.1. Fast and Furious (for end users)
    • 2.1.1. Download Cryptocalc installer from SourceForge (NB: the installer was generated with
      electron packager and Inno Setup.
      Notice that the installer is not signed so Windows Defender Smartscreen will require that you validate yourself the application source. If you dont't want to so then proceed to Wizard's Lair setup instead (see 2.2)
    • 2.1.2. Default setup folder is C:\Users\$CURRENT_USER\AppData\Local\Programs\Cryptocalc
    • 2.1.3. Default subfolder where Wallet informations are saved:
      • $DEFAULT_SETUP_FOLDER\resources\app\_output

  3. 2.2. Wizard's Lair (for custom local setup and developers)

    • 2.2.1. Prerequisites
    • 2.2.2. Open a command line interpreter
      • Use Windows Menu Start then input cmd
      • Change current disk to where you plan to install (eg. if its D then type D:)
      • Change current directory to where you to install (eg. md tools then cd tools)
    • 2.2.3. Import Cryptocalc from github
      • Open the Cryptocalc repository
      • Use the [<> Code v] green button
      • Copy the displayed .git URL
      • In the command line interpreter, type git clone followed by the .git URL\ e.g. git clone https://github.com/ALADAS-org/Cryptocalc.git
      • Type cd Cryptocalc
      • Type npm install

  4. Release notes

    • 3.1. Features in 0.1.17
      • Picture at last step of setup with Cryptocalc Standalone installer
    • 3.2. Features in 0.1.16
      • When saving a wallet the Popup dialog allows to show where it is saved
      • Bug fix in the behavior of [Save...] button in Tools/Options dialog
      • Update of Screenshots
    • 3.3. Features in 0.1.15
      • Cryptocalc Standalone installer (see 4.1.1)
      • Bigger icons in the main toolbar (16x16px > 24x24px)
      • Logo in desktop shortcut and .exe (Standalone installer) and in the the Task Bar (when Cryptocalc is launched) as well
      • Default Blockchain is Bitcoin (with 128 bits of Entropy by default)
      • Progress in the implemention of the Simple Wallet mode (where Entropy is both the Private Key (in hexadecimal) and Seedphrase (when converted to Mnemonics)
      • Update of README.md
    • 3.4. Features in 0.1.14
      • Added Tools/Options menu item: allows to set Options values for Default Blockchain and Entropy Size. These values are defined in www/config/options.json file.
      • Bug Fix: when switching to Fortunes, Entropy Source was undefined
    • 3.5. Features in 0.1.12
      • Added Border to generated QR codes
      • Added svg version of the QR code for WIF (if applicable, only Bitcoin ATM)
      • Rename of mnemonics field of wallet_info.txt to Seedphrase
      • Rename of Entropy_MicroQR.svg (or .png) to Entropy_rMQR.svg (or .png)
      • Optimized rMQR (Rectangular Micro QR code) variant depending on Entropy Size
      • Experimental generation of Ultracode for Entropy (2D color Barcode, 46% less space than regular B&W QR code). Didn't found yet a compatible Android app reader yet.

  5. Cryptocalc User Guide
    Double click on _run.bat: this will launch Cryptocalc desktop standalone application

    • 4.1. Features
      • 4.1.1. Cryptocalc Standalone installer
        • 4.1.1.a: Download Cryptocalc installer
        • 4.1.1.b. Default subfolder where Wallet informations are saved:
          $DEFAULT_SETUP_FOLDER\resources\app\_output: Node that this folder won't be deleted automatically if you uninstall Cryptocalc
      • 4.1.2. Generate Entropy from Entropy Source
        Use [Generate] button to draw a random image (cf. 4.1.3) which then will be used as the Entropy (with the Salt) to generate a new Seedphrase (between 12 and 24 words) which is derived to get the Private Key from which the Wallet Address is obtained (NB: Private Key and Wallet Address are in the Wallet Tab). There is also a conversion to the Shortened Seedphrase: as only the 4 first characters of each mnemonic are useful (cf. BIP39 specification) then in the Shortened Seedphrase each mnemonic is represented only by its 4 first characters (with the first character in Uppercase as a mean to separate mnemonics).
        NB: As some mnemonics are only 3 characters long, the abbreviation will of course only be whole mnemonic.
        Here is an example below:
        Seedphrase
              rent expand super sea summer pull catalog mobile proud solve oven goose
        Shortened Seedphrase
              RentExpaSupeSeaSummPullCataMobiProuSolvOvenGoos
        NB: Please notice that the Shortened Seedphrase is not meant to be used to import a wallet in a Wallet Manager, it's only a trick to compress the Seedphrase and make it easier to store on a device with limited memory like a NTAG213 NFC (see 4.2.3).
      • 4.1.3. Entropy Source : Image or Fortunes
        Entropy Source may be switched between Image (Default source) and Fortunes (drawn from a compilation of 12803 Fortune Cookies). Please notice that a text is not considered as random enough for an Entropy Source thus Image is now the default Entropy Source (Notice that an image is much better in terms of randomness than a text).
        • 4.1.3.a: You can Drag'n'Drop images (png, jpg or svg) from you local folders.
        • 4.1.3.b: Image samples are provided in www/js/img folder.
        • 4.1.3.c: When using [Generate], Cryptocurrency logos are drawn from the www/js/img/CryptoCurrency folder and the first image is always our logo (Zilver_64px.svg).
      • 4.1.4. Several wallets in the same BIP32 HD wallet tree
        The BIP32 HD wallet tree_ is determined by the Entropy or Seedphrase. These are 2 isomorphic representations of the SRP (Secret Recovery Passphrase).
        So you can generate new wallets (Address + Private Key or WIF) by Pasting a previous Entropy or Seedphrase. This will hide the Entropy Source and Salt fields which are meaningless in this situation. You can then change either the Account or Address Index fields in the Wallet tab page. This will show a new [Refresh] button to recompute the wallet once you gave finished editing these fields (you can input a decimal value between 0 and 9999).
        Pushing the [Refresh] button (or hitting either [ Return ] or [ Enter ] keys) will recompute the wallet accordingly.
      • 4.1.5. Check generated wallets against Ian Coleman BIP39
        an item in the menu (Help/Resources/Ian Coleman BIP39) eases the checking by opening Ian Coleman BIP39.
      • 4.1.6. Import a wallet in Guarda
        an item in the menu (Help/Resources/Guarda) eases importing a wallet in a Wallet Manager application by opening Guarda.
      • 4.1.7. Salted Entropy
        The Salting is adding a unique information (e.g. a UUID) so that even if the Entropy Source is the same, the Entropy will be unique
        at each press of [Generate] button.
      • 4.1.8. Choose Entropy Size
        The Entropy Size is between 128 to 256 bits (32 to 64 hexadecimal digits). This is equivalent to a Seedphrase size between 12 and 24 words. Changing Entropy Size impacts the Seedphrase size and conversely.
      • 4.1.9. Display of the Checksum bits (see explanations in 4.1.12)
      • 4.1.10. Save Wallet Informations
        With File/Save (or the Save icon in the main toolbar), you can save the Wallet Informations in a timestamped subfolder (eg. 2024_03_07_21h-4m-4s-3_BTC) under _output folder.
        This subfolder contains wallet_info.txt and a wallet.json with the informations displayed in Seed and Wallet tab pages. A popup dialog confirms the saving and allows to show where this subfolder is located.
        The Wallet Informations subfolder contains QR Codes (png images) for Address, Private Key, Seedphrase, Entropy, Entropy_rMQR (a Rectangular Micro QRCode of Entropy) and WIF (if applicable, BTC only ATM).
        Notice that there is a svg subfolder where these QR codes are provided in the svg format and there is also a Rectangular Micro QR code (rMQR) of the Entropy (Rectangular Micro QR Code, R15x59 or R15x77 version depending on
        Entropy size).
        • 4.1.10.a: How to retrieve a Wallet Address from the Rectangular Micro QR Code
          • 4.1.10.a.I: Notice that most Android QR Code reader apps will not be compatible with Rectangular Micro QR Code but it works with QRQR
            an Android QR Code reader published by Arara on the Google Play Store.
          • 4.1.10.a.II: Then convert the Entropy to the matching Seedphrase by doing a copy/paste in the Entropy field of Cryptocalc.
            Caution: Take care to set Cryptocalc with the same Entropy Size and Derivation path (if applicable, don't forget to use the [Refresh] button) than those used when the wallet was created (these informations are provided in the wallet_info.txt file).
      • 4.1.11. Select Seedphrase Language
        You can select the Wordlist Language (eg. English, French, Deutsh, etc...). Please notice that only English is accepted for most Wallet Manager applications. Changing Wordlist Language is indeed a mean to add a scramble step in order to make it harder to steal your Secret Recovery Passphrase because it should be translated to English to be used with a Wallet Manager.
        NB: the translation between languages is native in Cryptocalc because the reference is the Word Indexes (see 4.1.11) not the words.
      • 4.1.12. Display of Word Indexes
        The Word Indexes are between 0 and 2047, it is the index of each of the Seedphrase words in the BIP39 dictionary (see also 6.1.1). You can choose to display these indexes in Decimal or Binary (in Binary you can check that the computed Checksum bits are added at the end of the converted Entropy to determine the index of the last word).
      • 4.1.13. Display of the BIP32 Derivation Path
        The BIP32 Derivation Path is displayed in the Wallet tab page. You can edit the Account or Address Index fields to generate new wallets which belong to the same BIP32 hierarchy that is determined by the Seedphrase (also called the Secret Recovery Passphrase).
      • 4.1.14. Change/Reset of Options (Tools/Options)
        Currently it allows to set default values for Default Blockchain and Entropy Size. These values are defined in www/config/options.json file.
        It is also possible to reset Options to Default Options (defined in www/config/defaults/options.json)
      • 4.1.15. Support of Localization
        In Cryptocalc, the Localization (l10n) feature is the translation of GUI Labels to adapt to the locale (eg. en). A locale name can be composed of a base language, country (territory) of use, and optionnally a codeset (eg. de_CH.UTF-8).
        The locale is provided as part of your machine's environment. Cryptocalc only uses the 2 letter language part (eg. en). Localization is enabled by a JSon file in the www/js/L10n folder (eg. gui-msg-en.json) . Currently only en and fr are provided.
    • 4.2. Use cases
      • 4.2.1. Generate a new Wallet and import it in a Wallet manager
        With a Wallet Manager like Guarda you can import a wallet generated by Cryptocalc:
        • 4.2.1.a. Choose a coin (e.g. BTC,ETH,DOGE,LTC,``SOL)
        • 4.2.1.b. Enter Private Key (NB: or WIF for BTC wallets)
      • 4.2.3. Store Shortened Seedphrase in a NFC SmartRing
        The entry level SmartRings (price range: 7..15$) contains a NTAG213 NFC with 144 bytes useable capacity. This is enough to store the Shortened Seedphrase, with a 24 words Shortened Seedphrase the maximum required capacity is 96 bytes/characters (24*4, cf. 4.1.1) or even less (as some mnemonics have only three characters).
      • 4.2.4. Store Master password
        This is similar to the previous case, but the Shortened Seedphrase can be used as a Master password for a Password Manager or for tools like PGP Tool which provide encryption/decryption of your documents.

  6. Appendix

    • 5.1. BIP39: a Dictionary of 2048 words
      BIP39 (BIP is the acronym of Bitcoin Improvement Proposal) is a specification regarding:
      • 5.1.1. A Dictionary of 2048 words
        The Dictionary contains 2048 English words each with a their unique 4 starting characters (or 3 if the word is 3 characters long). This dictionary exists also in other languages (e.g. French, Deutsh, Spanish, Italian_, Portuguese, etc...) but Wallet Managers (e.g. Guarda, Metamask, Atomic Wallet, etc...) and Hardware Wallets (eg. Ledger, Trezor, Tangem, etc...) will most probably accept only English words.
      • 5.1.2. Conversion of Seedphrase from and to Entropy
        The Seedphrase is obtained by drawing words (also called or menemonics) from the dictionary. Drawing a word is indeed choosing an index between 0 and 2047. This index can be represented by 11 bits in Binary (because 2^11 = 2048).
        • Conversion from Entropy to Seedphrase The Entropy is represented in Binary and divided in 11 bits segements but the entropy is a multiple of 8 bits (128, 160, 192, 224, 256) there are "missing bits" for choosing the last word. These "missing bits" are provided by computing the Entropy Checksum. e.g. For an Entropy Size of 128 bits (converted to a 12 words Seedphrase), 132 bits are needed (11 * 12), so the Entropy Checksum provides the missing 4 bits.
        • Conversion from Seedphrase to Entropy For each word its index is retrieved from the Dictionary, its value is represented as a 11 bits segment and a number of bits corresponding to tne Entropy Checksum are removed at the end of the concatenation of 11 bits segments. e.g. For a Seedphrase of 12 words (converted to a 128 bits Entropy), 132 bits are obtained from the Word Indexes (11 * 12), and because the Entropy Checksum is 4 bits long then the 4 bits at the end are removed.
      • Reference
        BIP39 — Mnemonic Generation with detailed explanation

    • 5.2. BIP32: Hierarchic Deterministic wallets BIP32 specifies how to generate wallets with are all derived from the same Entropy or Seedphrase (also called the Secret Recovery Passphrase). A Seedphrase of only 12 words is enough is most Wallet Managers but it is more secure to use a 24 words Seedphrase if possible (e.g. Ledger hardware wallet manager).
      Example: meaning of each part for m/44'/60'/0'/0/0:

      • Start at the master key (m)
      • Follow the BIP44 specification (44′)
      • Derive the key for Ethereum (for which Coin type is 60) (60′)
      • Access the first account (0′)
      • Choose the external chain, used for public addresses (0)
      • And finally, generate the first address in this sequence (0)

    • Reference

Source: README.md, updated 2024-08-02