Wallet file location finder
Pick your operating system and the wallet you used. Get the folder it kept its files in, what those files are called, how that changed between versions, and a copy-paste command that searches a whole drive, including an old one, for them.
This tool never sees your wallet. It doesn't ask for a file, a password, or a seed phrase. You pick an operating system and a wallet program, and it tells you where that program keeps its files and gives you search commands to paste into your own terminal. Those commands only list file names and dates. They don't open, change, move, or send anything.
Nothing you pick here is uploaded or saved. If you'd rather run it disconnected, download the offline copy.
Nothing here is uploaded or saved. Your choices live only in this tab.
Found an old laptop? Search it before you wipe it
Bitcoin isn't stored in a wallet file. The coins are recorded on the blockchain, and the wallet file holds the private keys that can move them. That's why a file from 2011 can still be worth something today: if the keys are in it, so is the money. It's also why an old computer, a dead-looking hard drive, or a forgotten USB stick deserves a search before it gets formatted, recycled, or sold.
You don't need to know which wallet you used. Pick "I don't know which wallet I used" above and the command searches for every wallet file name on this page at once. If it finds something, the name tells you which program made it.
Default wallet file locations
Most desktop wallets keep their files in a hidden per-user folder, not in Documents, which is why people can't find them. The main ones:
- Bitcoin Core:
wallet.datin%APPDATA%\Bitcoin\on Windows (%LOCALAPPDATA%\Bitcoin\for fresh installs of 28.0 and later),~/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/on macOS,~/.bitcoin/on Linux. Newer data folders put it in awalletssubfolder. - MultiBit Classic:
multibit.walletin%APPDATA%\MultiBit\,~/Library/Application Support/MultiBit/, or~/MultiBit/, with timestamped backups inmultibit-data. - MultiBit HD:
mbhd.wallet.aesinside anmbhd-folder in%APPDATA%\MultiBitHD\,~/Library/Application Support/MultiBitHD/, or~/.MultiBitHD/. - Electrum:
default_walletin thewalletsfolder of%APPDATA%\Electrum\or~/.electrum/(Mac and Linux). Before version 1.9 it waselectrum.dat. - Armory:
armory_<ID>_.walletin%APPDATA%\Armory\,~/Library/Application Support/Armory/, or~/.armory/. - Litecoin Core and Dogecoin Core:
wallet.dat, in aLitecoinorDogecoinfolder where Bitcoin Core would useBitcoin. - Exodus: an
exodus.walletfolder in%APPDATA%\Exodus\,~/Library/Application Support/Exodus/, or~/.config/Exodus/. - Wasabi: one
.jsonper wallet inWalletsunder%APPDATA%\WalletWasabi\Client\or~/.walletwasabi/client/. - Sparrow: one
.mv.dbper wallet inwalletsunder%APPDATA%\Sparrow\or~/.sparrow/. - Blockchain.com: no program folder. The backup is a
wallet.aes.jsonyour browser downloaded.
On Windows XP and earlier, every %APPDATA% path above lived under C:\Documents and Settings\<you>\Application Data\ instead of C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Roaming\.
Why the folder you remember may be wrong
Wallet software moved its files over the years. Bitcoin Core kept wallet.dat at the top of its data folder until 0.16.0 started putting new installs' wallets in a wallets subfolder, and on Windows version 28.0 moved the default data folder from AppData\Roaming to AppData\Local (it keeps using the old one if it exists). Electrum renamed electrum.dat to wallets/default_wallet in 1.9. MultiBit Classic and MultiBit HD are separate programs with separate folders, so a Classic wallet is never in the MultiBitHD folder. The tool above shows each wallet's history.
Searching a drive from another computer
An old laptop that won't boot usually still has a readable drive. Take it out, connect it to a working computer with a USB drive adapter, and it shows up as another drive letter on Windows, under /Volumes on a Mac, or under /media or /mnt on Linux. Type that location into step 3 and the commands search only that drive. The old user's wallet folders will be inside that drive's own Users (or Documents and Settings) folder. If the drive clicks, isn't detected, or the files were deleted, stop there: more attempts can make recovery harder. Read deleted wallet file recovery first.
You found a file. Now what?
Copy it, and keep the original untouched. Then find out what it is: the Wallet File Inspector identifies wallet files and tells you whether a wallet.dat is encrypted or damaged, entirely in your browser. For MultiBit files use the MultiBit diagnostic, for Electrum the Electrum inspector, and for a wallet.aes.json the Blockchain.com backup checker. None of them upload anything, and all have offline copies.
Don't upload the file to a website that promises to open or decrypt it, and don't send it to anyone who reached out to you first. Anyone holding a copy of an unencrypted wallet file, or of an encrypted one plus your password, can take the coins. If you're weighing a recovery service, run it through the recovery scam checker first.
If the file needs a password you've forgotten, or won't open at all, that's the work I do: Bitcoin Core, MultiBit, Electrum, Blockchain.com, and corrupt wallet files.
What this tool doesn't do
It never reads, receives, or scans your files. It builds text commands; your own computer runs them, and they only list names, sizes, and dates. It can only point at locations the wallet makers document or set in their source code, so a wallet saved to a custom folder will only turn up in the full-drive search.
FAQ
Where is wallet.dat on Windows?
For Bitcoin Core, in %APPDATA%\Bitcoin\, which is C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Roaming\Bitcoin\. A fresh install of Bitcoin Core 28.0 or later uses %LOCALAPPDATA%\Bitcoin\ (AppData\Local) instead. Inside, the file is either wallet.dat at the top level or in the wallets subfolder. AppData is hidden, so paste the path into the File Explorer address bar.
Where does MultiBit keep its wallet in AppData?
MultiBit Classic uses %APPDATA%\MultiBit\ (AppData\Roaming\MultiBit): the wallet is multibit.wallet and backups are in multibit-data. MultiBit HD uses %APPDATA%\MultiBitHD\, with each wallet in an mbhd- folder as mbhd.wallet.aes. They're separate programs, so check both.
Are these search commands safe to run?
Yes. Get-ChildItem, find, ls and mdfind only list file names, sizes and dates. They don't open, change, move, delete or send anything. Read any command before you run it, including these.
I found a wallet file. Is that enough to get the bitcoin back?
It's the most important piece. If the wallet was encrypted, you also need its password, and some wallets (Wasabi, MultiBit HD) need a password or phrase to spend even with the file. The Wallet File Inspector tells you whether a wallet.dat is encrypted without asking for the password. If it is and the password is gone, ask for a free evaluation.
The search found nothing. Are the coins gone?
Not necessarily. Search every old drive, USB stick, and backup disk, and old email attachments for wallet.aes.json backups. A file that was deleted may still be recoverable from the drive if nothing has overwritten it: see deleted wallet file recovery. And if you have a recovery phrase instead of a file, you don't need the file at all.