[INFO - DISCUSSION] EntropyLab - new Bitcoin air-gapped wallet tool

[cygan]

in this thread, i’d like to introduce you to the new Bitcoin key and wallet calculator.
the entire application runs from a single html file entropylab.html without a network connection and does not generate any entropy itself.
it includes tools for multisig, psbts, bip-85, silent payments, vanity addresses, exports from watch-only wallets and nonce analysis. users provide their own entropy and can calculate keys and wallets completely offline.
all additional information, as well as the first v1.0.0rc1 pre-release, can be found at the following GitHub link: https://github.com/OogaBoogaX/entropylab/releases/tag/v1.0.0rc1

[buwaytress]

Love this cygan but I learnt something some years ago to change the intro instructs (even if the audience is presumed to understand airgapping, let's say newcomers like myself). might suggest the instruction to be "make a copy of the file on or physically transfer to virgin/pristine airgapped device". Or at very least, disconnect first before transferring the html over.

[cygan]

@buwaytress as far as i can tell, there's a similar explanation/introduction under the link i posted, and i think it's also easy for anyone to understand:

entropylab.html is the application. Download it, verify it (below), transfer it to a trusted computer, disconnect that computer from all networks, and open it in a modern browser. Do not enter seed phrases or private keys on an internet-connected device.

[Lemonmate]

buwaytress is right, the instructions say download, verify, transfer, disconnect, with verification of the sha on a connected to internet machine, which verifies you got an okay download, but not (necessarily) what you open on the air gapped machine. Maybe include in the instructions that, after transferring to usb stick, it would be a good idea to run sha256sum on the usb file, and verify that it matches the sha in the release notes.

Other than that, I was really impressed by the level of care that went into making the RC verifiable, not just signed SHA256SUMS from four different signers, but github attestation, signed tag, reproducible build from docker so anyone can check for themselves that the html really does come from the tagged commit, etc. etc. I do have a couple questions/comments, though:

I dont understand where entropy comes into play here. The program doesnt generate any entropy itself, for example 100 d6 has about 100 × log2 6 = 258.5 bits of entropy, while 99 only has about 255.9 bits (slightly less than 256). Does the program check/warn about the entropy given to it?

Has anyone besides the people who signed the release rebuilt this themselves and checked that it matches?

The notes say that this is an RC, and recommend using it only for empty wallets or testnet/signet coins, etc., until a 1.0.0 is out, and I would heed that advice.

[Forsyth Jones]

I already tested accessing the HTML several times in the previous days, and I couldn't see the sensitive data, that checkbox wasn't showing up for me before. Now, when I opened it again, it appeared. I don't know if I'm going blind, but I could swear I didn't see that damn checkbox the previous times...



It's worth noting that Entropylab shows compatible descriptors like Bitcoin Core (xpubs and xprivs). It also provides a download button for wallet.dat, which I believe is a ready to run wallet.dat file with the correct descriptors.