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I've got some Go code that successfully generates private keys and vanity addresses as described by the wiki.

So I have all the parameters around the private key but I'm not sure what to do with that info to make it usable by the bitcoin core application.

Should I build a wallet.dat file to point the wallet software at? What's the format for that file? Is there an alternative format so I can import my new key alongside my old keys instead of replacing the existing file so that the software has more control of what the structure of the wallet.dat is?

I could layout the key in the same format that paper wallet QR codes use but I'm not sure what I'd do with that string for a desktop computer to accept it.

What format should I put the raw private key into and where should I put it for wallet software to use it?

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  • That sounds perfect! The second answer calls it Wallet Import Format or WIF and that's 100% what I was after! I guess that makes this question a duplicate. EDIT: they deleted their comment, but not after linking to this question.
    – Corey Ogburn
    Commented Aug 18, 2017 at 20:07
  • My bad didnt mean to post as comment. Reposted as an answer
    – Christoph Winter
    Commented Aug 18, 2017 at 20:09

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In Core, go to "Help" and "Debug Window". Go to the console and type importprivkey [key]. This might also interest you: How do I import a private key into Bitcoin-Qt?

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    It might also be worth mentioning WIF in the answer as for what format that key needs to be in.
    – Corey Ogburn
    Commented Aug 18, 2017 at 20:09

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