Knowledge base · V1
Keys, policies, recovery, and privacy in plain language. Start here before deciding which setup fits you or your family.
A wallet tracks addresses, coins, balances, and transaction proposals. A signer controls a private key and approves a transaction. Groot can keep both jobs on one device for a software wallet, or coordinate independent hardware signers without receiving their keys.
A 2-of-3 wallet can spend when any two of three independent keys sign. The policy, signer identity, and recovery descriptor matter as much as the threshold. Groot uses standard descriptor policies so another compatible coordinator can rebuild the wallet.
A public descriptor records how addresses and signing policy are derived without containing private keys. A Partially Signed Bitcoin Transaction carries a proposed transaction and its collected signatures. Together they make portable, offline, and remote workflows possible.
Recovery answers how you regain control after losing a device or key. Inheritance also needs people, instructions, evidence, timing, and rehearsal. A good plan minimizes today’s theft surface while remaining understandable to a spouse, parent, helper, or business successor.
A wallet backend learns the addresses and transactions it is asked about. Groot therefore uses the Bitcoin Core node selected by each wallet and does not silently fall back to a public explorer. Remote access requires HTTPS or an explicit Tor path.
Planned Groot Plus coordination will exchange encrypted invitations, proposals, and signatures between enrolled devices. The relay must not be able to read or alter a PSBT, sign, reconstruct a wallet, or become necessary for recovery. Standard offline exchange remains the escape path.
Free covers creating, signing, reviewing, exporting, and recovering the wallet. Plus and Teams add coordination, assurance, support, approval, and accounting workflows. Ending a subscription must never strand a wallet or prevent a user from moving bitcoin.
Groot currently targets Bitcoin test networks. Mainnet is compile-time disabled until physical-device, recovery, secure-storage, networking, reproducible-build, independent-review, and release evidence is complete.