Export & backup

Take a custodial wallet’s key with you as a passphrase-encrypted .nota file, and share addresses safely with address cards.

Custodial wallets live server-side, but they’re not locked in. You can export a wallet’s private key as an encrypted .nota file: for backup, for migration to self-custody, or to import into other tooling.

An exported key file is the wallet. Anyone who obtains the file and the passphrase controls the funds. Treat both like production secrets even in a sandbox; the habits transfer.

Export a key

Key export is session-only: it must be performed from a signed-in browser session (the dashboard does this under Wallets → Export), and API keys are rejected with 403 session_required. This means a leaked API key can move sandbox funds, but it can never exfiltrate key material.

# Run from a session-authenticated context (cookie jar), not an API key
curl -s "$BASE/wallets/$WALLET/export" \
  -b cookies.txt \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"passphrase":"correct-horse-battery-staple"}' \
  | jq -r .data.nota > payouts-key.nota

How it’s protected:

• You choose a passphrase of 8–200 characters; pick a long one.
• The server decrypts the stored key transiently and immediately re-encrypts it under your passphrase with PBKDF2-SHA256 (310,000 iterations) + AES-256-GCM. The plaintext private key never leaves the server.
• The response is { filename, nota }; write nota to disk as the suggested .nota file.

Only custodial wallets can be exported; external wallets have no key (400).

Share an address, not a screenshot

For the receive side, produce an address card: a .nota file with the public address and chain context, zero key material:

curl -s "$BASE/wallets/$WALLET/nota" -H "Authorization: Bearer $KEY" \
  | jq -r .data.nota > payouts-address.nota

Address cards are safe to email or drop in a shared channel. Counterparties import them into any Aro recipient field (including external wallet registration) instead of transcribing hex.

Backup checklist

1. Export each custodial wallet you care about

   One .nota per wallet, each under a strong, unique passphrase.

2. Store file and passphrase separately

   File in encrypted storage; passphrase in your password manager. Together they are the wallet; apart they are inert.

3. Record the address mapping

   Keep each wallet’s address (or its address card) alongside your records so you can verify a restored key against the expected address.

Deactivating an account (an admin action) kills sessions and API keys immediately, but exported files you already hold remain valid ciphertext. Rotate what matters accordingly.