Before You Start
Argos accepts a 24-word ZecWallet Lite seed, a ZecWallet Lite or zcashd wallet file, or a standalone Sapling spending key. It also recovers Sprout from zcashd wallet files; the CLI accepts standalone Sprout keys. You need a trusted computer, internet access, and a modern Zcash destination you control.
Have ready
- Your seed phrase, original wallet file, or standalone spending-key backup.
- A Zcash Unified Address from a wallet you control.
- A recovery workspace folder with enough disk space for synced wallet state.
- A rough wallet creation date or block height, if known.
Install
- Download the correct Argos release for your operating system.
- Verify the release signature or checksum when published with the build.
- Install the app on a computer you trust and keep updated.
- Open Argos and confirm the app title says ZecWallet Lite Recovery.
Recovery Walkthrough
1. Welcome
Choose I have my 24-word seed phrase for the legacy ZecWallet Lite
HD path, or I have a wallet file for a ZecWallet Lite file, zcashd
wallet.dat, or standalone Sapling key. A seed recovery does not require
a wallet file.
2a. Seed Entry
Paste the full seed phrase and click Validate seed. Argos checks the word count and BIP-39 checksum locally. The app clears the seed field after a scan session starts.
2b. Wallet File or Sapling Key
Choose, drag, or enter the path to a wallet file. Argos reads the file but never modifies it. For an encrypted wallet, enter the passphrase when prompted; it is used in memory and is not written to disk. Review the counts for transparent, Sapling, and Sprout keys and any records Argos could not read before continuing.
If you have a zcashd Sapling extended spending key instead of a file, paste one or
more secret-extended-key-main1… or
secret-extended-key-test1… keys, one per line, and check them before
continuing. Viewing keys are not accepted because they cannot authorize a sweep.
3. Configure
Choose mainnet or testnet, enter a birthday height, and provide a lightwalletd URL. Comma-separated lightwalletd URLs are tried in order as fallbacks. Birthday and account-range controls apply to seed-derived HD recovery; an imported key set is fixed and does not use the HD gap-limit search.
Leave auto gap-limit mode on for most recoveries. Use an explicit account count only when you know how many accounts you need to inspect.
4. Scan
Argos syncs compact blocks, checks either the derived legacy account layout or the imported keys, and summarizes the covered balances. Seed recovery covers transparent, Sapling, and Orchard. A seedless zcashd import covers its transparent and Sapling keys; Sprout is shown and recovered separately so a partial total cannot be mistaken for the whole wallet. The local workspace lets you resume or repeat a scan without starting from nothing.
5. Sweep
Validate the destination Unified Address, review gross value, fee estimates, net value, memo, and skipped accounts. Imported Sapling accounts and transparent UTXOs may produce separate transactions. Broadcasting a sweep is irreversible.
6. Complete
Review broadcast and confirmation results. Transactions may remain pending if they were accepted by lightwalletd but not mined before the bounded wait window ends.
Sprout Recovery
Sprout support is included in normal Argos builds. A ZecWallet Lite seed alone cannot
reconstruct Sprout keys, because the legacy wallet generated those independently.
Use a zcashd wallet.dat or, with the CLI, an SK… mainnet or
ST… testnet spending-key file.
After opening a wallet file, Argos first checks whether it already contains spendable note data and a cached witness. If it does, use Sweep Sprout funds; no chain scan is required. If it contains keys but no usable note data, Argos offers a resumable full-block scan.
That checkpoint is spend-capable: it contains the Sprout spending keys, recovered note plaintexts, and witnesses. Protect it like the original wallet file. Argos removes it after a successful sweep; remove any leftover only after confirming the destination transaction.
Sprout funds can only land in Sapling. Argos accepts a bare Sapling address or the Sapling receiver of a Unified Address. A single transaction cannot reach Orchard because Sprout JoinSplits and Orchard actions use different transaction versions. Move the funds from Sapling to Orchard afterward from your destination wallet if you want that second hop.
Recovery Report
The complete screen can save a plain-text recovery report. Store it with your own recovery notes. The report is useful for remembering destination addresses, broadcast transaction IDs, skipped accounts, and the workspace path used for the session.
Troubleshooting
The sweep fails but the scan found my funds
Check your Argos version first. Zcash activated the Ironwood network upgrade (NU6.3) at mainnet block 3,428,143. Versions of Argos before 1.1.0 build sweep transactions the network no longer accepts, so the sweep is rejected.
Scanning is unaffected, which is what makes this confusing: your funds are found and displayed normally, and only the final sweep fails. Nothing is lost, and no funds move — the rejected transaction never took effect. Download the current version and run the recovery again.
The sweep said it completed, but nothing arrived at my destination
Check your Argos version. Sweeping transparent funds takes two steps: Argos shields the funds, then sends the shielded balance to your destination address. In versions before 1.3.0, the wait between those two steps could give up and skip the send while still reporting the sweep as complete.
Your funds were never at risk. They are shielded in the same wallet, under the keys derived from your seed phrase — nothing left your control and nothing moved to anyone else. The recovery report for an affected sweep shows a shielding transaction but no sweep transaction.
Download 1.3.0 and run the recovery again. The sweep picks up the shielded balance and sends it to your destination.
The seed validation fails
Count the words, check for typos, and verify that the phrase is the ZecWallet Lite recovery phrase. A valid phrase has exactly 24 BIP-39 words.
The scan is slow
Older birthday heights require more compact-block sync. Use the closest safe wallet creation date you know, keep the workspace folder, and let the app resume.
The server does not connect
Try the recommended preset, switch networks if needed, or enter multiple comma-separated lightwalletd endpoints.
The sweep is skipped for an account
Review the skipped reason in the sweep proposal. Common causes include dust values, fee guard limits, or insufficient spendable balance.
A wallet has Sprout keys but no spendable notes
The keys are intact, but the file lacks the cached note and witness data needed for a direct sweep. Keep the original file and run the full-block Sprout scan. Do not treat the ordinary transparent/Sapling total as the wallet's complete balance.
Security Checklist
- Use a computer you control and avoid screen sharing while any recovery secret is visible.
- Prefer an encrypted disk and encrypted swap (or disable swap); avoid suspend or hibernate while secrets are in memory.
- Confirm you downloaded Argos from the official release page.
- Validate the destination Unified Address before sweep review.
- Set a max fee guard if you want the app to stop above a chosen fee.
- Keep the original wallet file until every relevant pool has been swept and confirmed.
- Keep the recovery report, but do not store seeds, passphrases, or spending keys inside it.