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Last updated 2026-11-05

What Is Keystore?

A keystore is an encrypted copy of a private key, saved as a file and opened with a password. This page explains what the file contains, when you would use one, and why it does not replace your recovery phrase.

Who this is for

Anyone offered a JSON file while importing or backing up a wallet, and anyone who has found one in a downloads folder.

What it is

A keystore is a text file in JSON format. It contains an encrypted private key along with the parameters needed to decrypt it, such as the cipher settings and a salt. On its own the file signs nothing.

To use it, you import it into a wallet and enter its password. The wallet decrypts the key, and the key exists in memory only while the wallet is unlocked. Change the password and the file is re-encrypted; you do not create a new key.

A keystore protects one key. A recovery phrase rebuilds a whole wallet, including every address derived from it, which is why the two are not substitutes. The phrase is described in Private Key, Mnemonic and Wallet Password, along with the other secret a wallet uses.

A Bitgold example: import a keystore, type the password, and the address holding your BTG appears with its balance. That proves the pair. The file without the password is useless, and the password without the file unlocks nothing.

Why it matters

A keystore is a second copy of a key in another format, and every copy is another way to lose control. If the file leaks and the password is weak, an attacker can guess offline at full speed, with no lockout and nobody watching. If the file is lost and the password is forgotten, the key inside it is gone.

That is why it cannot stand in for a phrase. Phrase-backed restoration starts from nothing; keystore restoration needs the file and its password together. Keep the phrase offline, and treat a keystore as a working file to delete rather than an archive to keep.

Where the file sits matters as much as what it holds. A keystore on a laptop that browses and installs software is part of a hot-wallet setup, and the exposure that comes with it is covered in What Is a Hot Wallet?.

Common misunderstandings

  • "The keystore is my backup." It is a copy of one key that needs a password. The recovery phrase is the backup.
  • "A strong password makes it safe to store anywhere." A weak password can be guessed offline; a strong one still leaves the file exposed to whoever copies it.
  • "The file and password are a full wallet." They unlock one address, not the set of addresses a phrase would rebuild.
  • "Deleting the file destroys the key." The key controls an address that still exists on chain. Deleting your copy only removes your access to it.

Key takeaways

  • A keystore is an encrypted JSON file containing a private key.
  • Its password decrypts that file; it does not regenerate a wallet.
  • A leaked file with a weak password is a compromised key, with no one to slow the attempt.
  • Keep the recovery phrase as the backup and treat keystore files as disposable working copies.

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