Before You Start
Argos accepts a ZecWallet Lite seed phrase, a ZecWallet Lite or zcashd wallet file, or a standalone Sapling spending key. 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 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 Spending 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 recovered transparent and Sapling key counts, any Sprout notice, 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; unsupported Sprout records are reported 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. When upgrading to 1.5.5, older workspaces without the current storage protections are preserved but require a fresh scan in a new data directory. Keep the old directory and original recovery source, and reconcile previously broadcast transactions before recovering those funds again.
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.
Supported recovery at NU7
Argos checks the current consensus branch, transaction expiry and shielded bundle limits before submitting or retrying a supported sweep. Large recoveries may produce several transactions. Keep every reported transaction ID until its outcome is known; an unknown broadcast outcome stops later recovery work.
Sprout after NU7
NU7 disallows version 4 transactions, the only format supporting Sprout spends. Remaining Sprout funds are unspendable under those rules. Argos no longer imports standalone Sprout keys, scans Sprout history, or constructs Sprout sweeps.
A wallet file containing Sprout records can still recover its supported transparent and Sapling funds. Argos shows an explanatory notice; the recognized record count is not a Sprout balance.
Existing wallet files, checkpoints, journals, and packs are left untouched. Preserve old recovery artifacts and transaction records. This version does not reconcile or clean up artifacts from the removed Sprout workflow.
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 12, 15, 18, 21 or 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 contains Sprout records
NU7 makes Sprout funds unspendable. The notice does not prevent recovery of transparent and Sapling funds from the same wallet. Keep the original file; the supported-pool total is not a claim about the wallet's Sprout funds.
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.