Feather Wallet Installation and Usage Guide on Linux

• Deutsch: Feather Wallet Installations- und Gebrauchsanleitung für Linux

Feather Wallet is a wallet for managing the Monero cryptocurrency. This guide explains how to install, generate a wallet, and send and receive funds on Linux.

Installation of Feather Wallet software via Flatpak #

For Linux systems, installation via Flatpak is the recommended method. It does not require verification of checksums or PGP signatures. For installation on Whonix 18 and newer, starting the Whonix-Workstation virtual machine in the SYSMAINT session is required; this allows making system changes that require elevated privileges.

1. The Flatpak tool is installed by default in many recent Linux distributions. If the flatpak command is not available in the terminal, install Flatpak following the instructions for your chosen distribution. On Debian Linux, Flatpak can be installed with the commands:

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$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install flatpak

2. Add the Flathub repository, enable visibility for FLOSS applications (Free/Libre and Open Source Software), and install the package from the official site with the commands:

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$ flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
$ flatpak remote-modify --subset=floss flathub
$ flatpak install --from https://featherwallet.org

Confirm each prompt by pressing ENTER:

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$ Should the remote be kept for future installations? [Y/n]: (press ENTER)
$ Do you want to install it? [Y/n]: (press ENTER)
$ Proceed with these changes to the system installation? [Y/n]: (press ENTER)

After installation, if you are using Whonix-Workstation, close the SYSMAINT session and restart Whonix-Workstation in the default user session.

3. You can launch the program via the application menu shortcut or with the command:

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$ flatpak run org.featherwallet.Feather

Generating a wallet #

1. Before generating the wallet, select the Settings option, the Network → Proxy tab, then in the Node Traffic field choose Always over Tor and click OK. For Whonix-Workstation, set the local IP address of the Whonix-Gateway system, i.e. Socks5 Host: 10.152.152.10, uncheck Let Feather start and manage a Tor daemon and click OK.

2. Create a new wallet with the Create new wallet command and click Next.

3. The seed will be displayed. This is the recovery phrase that should be written down in a safe place along with the wallet creation date, for example, on an external USB drive encrypted with Veracrypt, TrueCrypt, or LUKS. If you need to recover the wallet, you will be asked to provide the recovery phrase to restore the wallet along with its creation date. The creation date is required to optimize block downloads from the Monero network. Providing a date that is too recent during recovery may result in an incorrect balance shown in the wallet. Click Next, then I understand.

4. Choose the name and directory where you will save the generated wallet and click Next.

5. Choose the password that will be needed at each run to decrypt the wallet file and click Create/Open wallet.

6. After the first run, wait for the node to retrieve the information, which will be announced by “Synchronized” in the lower left corner.

7. If you have connection problems, click the connection status icon (green 🟢, blue 🔵 or red 🔴) located in the bottom-right corner of the screen next to the Balance status. Then select the Network → Node tab. A list of remote nodes will appear; these are required to retrieve necessary information from the Monero network. To change the node, double-click the node with a green 🟢 icon (indicating it is currently available), then click OK and wait for synchronization.

Receiving funds #

1. Go to the Receive tab. A list of your Monero addresses used to receive funds will be displayed. You can generate new subaddresses by clicking the Create new address button. It is a good idea to use subaddresses once and generate a new one for each transaction to maximize the privacy of your funds. All incoming transactions to any of the subaddresses add up, and their balance is common to the entire account.

2. To receive funds, copy your address by right-clicking the address and selecting Copy address. Then paste it where you want to receive funds, for example, into the appropriate form field on a website or share it with the recipient.

3. After receiving the funds, go to the History tab. You can see the entire history of funds received and sent.

4. Before sending received funds, you must wait for 10 confirmations from the Monero network. This will be announced by the green mark displayed next to the transaction, and the Balance status from which the note unconfirmed disappears.

Sending funds #

1. To send funds, go to Send. Under Pay to, paste the destination Monero address. Under Amount, enter the amount and click Send. After a few seconds, a confirmation window will appear. Before confirming the sending, make sure you have entered the correct Monero destination address. Verify the Fee amount; it should be a few cents.

WARNING: This action cannot be undone. Providing an incorrect address may result in loss of funds.

After checking the transaction details, click the Send button.

2. Wait for 10 confirmations from the Monero network before continuing to use the subaddress after sending funds. This will be announced by the green mark next to the transaction, and the caption Unconfirmed disappears from the lower right edge of the screen, visible in the following image next to the caption Balance.