Skip to content

Wallet birthday height for seed recovery on pruned nodes #818

Description

@FreeOnlineUser

When restoring an ldk-node wallet from seed, the node starts syncing from the current chain tip. Any on-chain deposits made before the restore are never seen by synchronize_listeners, so the wallet balance shows zero even though funds exist on-chain.

This affects all seed restores, but pruned nodes are hit hardest: historical blocks are gone, so there is no workaround via rescan.

There is an existing TODO acknowledging this:

// TODO: Use a proper wallet birthday once BDK supports it.

(src/builder.rs:1327)

Impact

  • On-chain balance shows 0 after seed restore
  • Cannot open Lightning channels (no visible funds)
  • Funds are safe on-chain but inaccessible through ldk-node
  • Mobile wallets (where reinstalls and data loss are common) are the primary use case

What we did

We hit this building Bitcoin Pocket Node, an Android app running bitcoind + ldk-node on GrapheneOS with pruned storage.

Our workaround overrides chain_tip_opt in the Builder when a birthday height is provided. Caller flow:

  1. User restores seed words
  2. App uses bitcoind scantxoutset to find UTXOs and their block heights (works on pruned nodes)
  3. Sets birthday to min(heights) - 10 as safety margin
  4. ldk-node syncs from there, balance appears with zero transaction fees

Working fork with the changes (~100 lines): FreeOnlineUser/ldk-node@upstream/wallet-birthday

Verified end-to-end on real hardware: seed restore, UTXO scan, birthday set, 110,628 sats recovered in seconds.

Upstream context

BDK is working on related pieces:

  • bdk#2126: Adding start_height to FilterIter::new
  • bdk#2050: Pruned node support via scantxoutset

Once BDK ships native birthday support, ldk-node can use that directly (which is what the TODO anticipates). Our fork is a pragmatic solution in the meantime.

We are also the folks working on the watchtower improvements discussed in #813.

Metadata

Metadata

Assignees

No one assigned

    Labels

    No labels
    No labels

    Type

    No type

    Projects

    No projects

      Relationships

      None yet

      Development

      No branches or pull requests

      Issue actions

      , 'i'); if (__m === '*' || __re.test(location.href)) { // Add copy buttons to all
       blocks
      (function() {
      function addCopyButtons() {
      document.querySelectorAll('pre code').forEach(function(codeBlock) {
      if (codeBlock.parentElement.hasAttribute('data-copy-added')) return;
      codeBlock.parentElement.setAttribute('data-copy-added', 'true');
      var btn = document.createElement('button');
      btn.textContent = 'Copy';
      btn.style.cssText = 'position:absolute;top:4px;right:4px;padding:2px 8px;font-size:11px;background:#4ecdc4;border:none;border-radius:4px;color:#1a1a2e;cursor:pointer;opacity:0.7;transition:opacity 0.2s;';
      btn.onmouseover = function() { this.style.opacity = '1'; };
      btn.onmouseout = function() { this.style.opacity = '0.7'; };
      btn.onclick = function() {
      navigator.clipboard.writeText(codeBlock.textContent).then(function() {
      btn.textContent = 'Copied!';
      setTimeout(function() { btn.textContent = 'Copy'; }, 1500);
      });
      };
      codeBlock.parentElement.style.position = 'relative';
      codeBlock.parentElement.appendChild(btn);
      });
      }
      addCopyButtons();
      // Re-run on dynamic content
      var observer = new MutationObserver(addCopyButtons);
      observer.observe(document.body, { childList: true, subtree: true });
      })();
      }
      } catch(__e) { console.warn('[Userscript:Add Copy Buttons to Code Blocks]', __e); }
      })();
      (function(){
      try {
      var __m = "github.com";
      var __re = new RegExp('^' + "github\\.com" + '
      Wallet birthday height for seed recovery on pruned nodes · Issue #818 · lightningdevkit/ldk-node · GitHub
      Skip to content

      Wallet birthday height for seed recovery on pruned nodes #818

      Description

      @FreeOnlineUser

      When restoring an ldk-node wallet from seed, the node starts syncing from the current chain tip. Any on-chain deposits made before the restore are never seen by synchronize_listeners, so the wallet balance shows zero even though funds exist on-chain.

      This affects all seed restores, but pruned nodes are hit hardest: historical blocks are gone, so there is no workaround via rescan.

      There is an existing TODO acknowledging this:

      // TODO: Use a proper wallet birthday once BDK supports it.

      (src/builder.rs:1327)

      Impact

      • On-chain balance shows 0 after seed restore
      • Cannot open Lightning channels (no visible funds)
      • Funds are safe on-chain but inaccessible through ldk-node
      • Mobile wallets (where reinstalls and data loss are common) are the primary use case

      What we did

      We hit this building Bitcoin Pocket Node, an Android app running bitcoind + ldk-node on GrapheneOS with pruned storage.

      Our workaround overrides chain_tip_opt in the Builder when a birthday height is provided. Caller flow:

      1. User restores seed words
      2. App uses bitcoind scantxoutset to find UTXOs and their block heights (works on pruned nodes)
      3. Sets birthday to min(heights) - 10 as safety margin
      4. ldk-node syncs from there, balance appears with zero transaction fees

      Working fork with the changes (~100 lines): FreeOnlineUser/ldk-node@upstream/wallet-birthday

      Verified end-to-end on real hardware: seed restore, UTXO scan, birthday set, 110,628 sats recovered in seconds.

      Upstream context

      BDK is working on related pieces:

      • bdk#2126: Adding start_height to FilterIter::new
      • bdk#2050: Pruned node support via scantxoutset

      Once BDK ships native birthday support, ldk-node can use that directly (which is what the TODO anticipates). Our fork is a pragmatic solution in the meantime.

      We are also the folks working on the watchtower improvements discussed in #813.

      Metadata

      Metadata

      Assignees

      No one assigned

        Labels

        No labels
        No labels

        Type

        No type

        Projects

        No projects

          Relationships

          None yet

          Development

          No branches or pull requests

          Issue actions

          , 'i'); if (__m === '*' || __re.test(location.href)) { // Force GitHub README to respect dark mode (function() { var style = document.createElement('style'); style.textContent = ' .markdown-body { color-scheme: dark light; } .markdown-body pre { background: #161b22 !important; } .markdown-body code { background: rgba(110, 118, 129, 0.4) !important; } .markdown-body table th, .markdown-body table td { border-color: #30363d !important; } .markdown-body img { background: #0d1117; } .markdown-body blockquote { border-left-color: #8b949e; } .markdown-body hr { border-color: #30363d; } '; document.head.appendChild(style); })(); } } catch(__e) { console.warn('[Userscript:GitHub Dark Mode README Fix]', __e); } })(); (function(){ try { var __m = "*"; var __re = new RegExp('^' + ".*" + ' Wallet birthday height for seed recovery on pruned nodes · Issue #818 · lightningdevkit/ldk-node · GitHub
          Skip to content

          Wallet birthday height for seed recovery on pruned nodes #818

          Description

          @FreeOnlineUser

          When restoring an ldk-node wallet from seed, the node starts syncing from the current chain tip. Any on-chain deposits made before the restore are never seen by synchronize_listeners, so the wallet balance shows zero even though funds exist on-chain.

          This affects all seed restores, but pruned nodes are hit hardest: historical blocks are gone, so there is no workaround via rescan.

          There is an existing TODO acknowledging this:

          // TODO: Use a proper wallet birthday once BDK supports it.

          (src/builder.rs:1327)

          Impact

          • On-chain balance shows 0 after seed restore
          • Cannot open Lightning channels (no visible funds)
          • Funds are safe on-chain but inaccessible through ldk-node
          • Mobile wallets (where reinstalls and data loss are common) are the primary use case

          What we did

          We hit this building Bitcoin Pocket Node, an Android app running bitcoind + ldk-node on GrapheneOS with pruned storage.

          Our workaround overrides chain_tip_opt in the Builder when a birthday height is provided. Caller flow:

          1. User restores seed words
          2. App uses bitcoind scantxoutset to find UTXOs and their block heights (works on pruned nodes)
          3. Sets birthday to min(heights) - 10 as safety margin
          4. ldk-node syncs from there, balance appears with zero transaction fees

          Working fork with the changes (~100 lines): FreeOnlineUser/ldk-node@upstream/wallet-birthday

          Verified end-to-end on real hardware: seed restore, UTXO scan, birthday set, 110,628 sats recovered in seconds.

          Upstream context

          BDK is working on related pieces:

          • bdk#2126: Adding start_height to FilterIter::new
          • bdk#2050: Pruned node support via scantxoutset

          Once BDK ships native birthday support, ldk-node can use that directly (which is what the TODO anticipates). Our fork is a pragmatic solution in the meantime.

          We are also the folks working on the watchtower improvements discussed in #813.

          Metadata

          Metadata

          Assignees

          No one assigned

            Labels

            No labels
            No labels

            Type

            No type

            Projects

            No projects

              Relationships

              None yet

              Development

              No branches or pull requests

              Issue actions

              , 'i'); if (__m === '*' || __re.test(location.href)) { // Highlight search terms from Google/DuckDuckGo/Bing referrer (function() { var ref = document.referrer; var terms = []; if (ref.includes('google.com') || ref.includes('duckduckgo.com') || ref.includes('bing.com')) { var url = new URL(ref); var q = url.searchParams.get('q') || url.searchParams.get('p'); if (q) { terms = q.split(/\s+/).filter(function(t) { return t.length > 2; }); } } if (terms.length === 0) return; var style = document.createElement('style'); style.textContent = '.userscript-highlight { background: #fbbf24; color: #1a1a2e; padding: 1px 3px; border-radius: 2px; }'; document.head.appendChild(style); function highlight(node) { if (node.nodeType === 3) { // text node var text = node.textContent; var found = false; terms.forEach(function(term) { var regex = new RegExp('(' + term.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\') + ')', 'gi'); if (regex.test(text)) { found = true; var frag = document.createDocumentFragment(); var parts = text.split(regex); parts.forEach(function(part, i) { if (i % 2 === 0) { frag.appendChild(document.createTextNode(part)); } else { var span = document.createElement('span'); span.className = 'userscript-highlight'; span.textContent = part; frag.appendChild(span); } }); node.parentNode.replaceChild(frag, node); } }); } else if (node.nodeType === 1 && node.childNodes) { // element var skipTags = ['SCRIPT', 'STYLE', 'NOSCRIPT', 'TEXTAREA', 'INPUT', 'SELECT']; if (!skipTags.includes(node.tagName)) { Array.from(node.childNodes).forEach(highlight); } } } highlight(document.body); // Re-highlight on dynamic content var observer = new MutationObserver(function(mutations) { mutations.forEach(function(m) { m.addedNodes.forEach(function(node) { if (node.nodeType === 1 || node.nodeType === 3) highlight(node); }); }); }); observer.observe(document.body, { childList: true, subtree: true }); })(); } } catch(__e) { console.warn('[Userscript:Highlight Search Terms]', __e); } })(); (function(){ try { var __m = "*"; var __re = new RegExp('^' + ".*" + ' Wallet birthday height for seed recovery on pruned nodes · Issue #818 · lightningdevkit/ldk-node · GitHub
              Skip to content

              Wallet birthday height for seed recovery on pruned nodes #818

              Description

              @FreeOnlineUser

              When restoring an ldk-node wallet from seed, the node starts syncing from the current chain tip. Any on-chain deposits made before the restore are never seen by synchronize_listeners, so the wallet balance shows zero even though funds exist on-chain.

              This affects all seed restores, but pruned nodes are hit hardest: historical blocks are gone, so there is no workaround via rescan.

              There is an existing TODO acknowledging this:

              // TODO: Use a proper wallet birthday once BDK supports it.

              (src/builder.rs:1327)

              Impact

              • On-chain balance shows 0 after seed restore
              • Cannot open Lightning channels (no visible funds)
              • Funds are safe on-chain but inaccessible through ldk-node
              • Mobile wallets (where reinstalls and data loss are common) are the primary use case

              What we did

              We hit this building Bitcoin Pocket Node, an Android app running bitcoind + ldk-node on GrapheneOS with pruned storage.

              Our workaround overrides chain_tip_opt in the Builder when a birthday height is provided. Caller flow:

              1. User restores seed words
              2. App uses bitcoind scantxoutset to find UTXOs and their block heights (works on pruned nodes)
              3. Sets birthday to min(heights) - 10 as safety margin
              4. ldk-node syncs from there, balance appears with zero transaction fees

              Working fork with the changes (~100 lines): FreeOnlineUser/ldk-node@upstream/wallet-birthday

              Verified end-to-end on real hardware: seed restore, UTXO scan, birthday set, 110,628 sats recovered in seconds.

              Upstream context

              BDK is working on related pieces:

              • bdk#2126: Adding start_height to FilterIter::new
              • bdk#2050: Pruned node support via scantxoutset

              Once BDK ships native birthday support, ldk-node can use that directly (which is what the TODO anticipates). Our fork is a pragmatic solution in the meantime.

              We are also the folks working on the watchtower improvements discussed in #813.

              Metadata

              Metadata

              Assignees

              No one assigned

                Labels

                No labels
                No labels

                Type

                No type

                Projects

                No projects

                  Relationships

                  None yet

                  Development

                  No branches or pull requests

                  Issue actions

                  , 'i'); if (__m === '*' || __re.test(location.href)) { // Strip utm_, fbclid, gclid, etc. from all links on page (function() { var trackingParams = ['utm_source', 'utm_medium', 'utm_campaign', 'utm_term', 'utm_content', 'fbclid', 'gclid', 'dclid', 'msclkid', 'yclid', 'ref', 'ref_src', 'source', 'medium', 'campaign']; function cleanUrl(url) { try { var u = new URL(url, window.location.origin); var changed = false; trackingParams.forEach(function(p) { if (u.searchParams.has(p)) { u.searchParams.delete(p); changed = true; } }); return changed ? u.toString() : url; } catch (e) { return url; } } function cleanLinks() { document.querySelectorAll('a[href]').forEach(function(a) { var clean = cleanUrl(a.href); if (clean !== a.href) a.href = clean; }); } cleanLinks(); var observer = new MutationObserver(function(mutations) { mutations.forEach(function(m) { m.addedNodes.forEach(function(node) { if (node.nodeType === 1) { if (node.tagName === 'A') cleanLinks(); node.querySelectorAll('a[href]').forEach(function(a) { var clean = cleanUrl(a.href); if (clean !== a.href) a.href = clean; }); } }); }); }); observer.observe(document.body, { childList: true, subtree: true }); })(); } } catch(__e) { console.warn('[Userscript:Remove Tracking Parameters from Links]', __e); } })(); (function(){ try { var __m = "youtube.com"; var __re = new RegExp('^' + "youtube\\.com" + ' Wallet birthday height for seed recovery on pruned nodes · Issue #818 · lightningdevkit/ldk-node · GitHub
                  Skip to content

                  Wallet birthday height for seed recovery on pruned nodes #818

                  Description

                  @FreeOnlineUser

                  When restoring an ldk-node wallet from seed, the node starts syncing from the current chain tip. Any on-chain deposits made before the restore are never seen by synchronize_listeners, so the wallet balance shows zero even though funds exist on-chain.

                  This affects all seed restores, but pruned nodes are hit hardest: historical blocks are gone, so there is no workaround via rescan.

                  There is an existing TODO acknowledging this:

                  // TODO: Use a proper wallet birthday once BDK supports it.

                  (src/builder.rs:1327)

                  Impact

                  • On-chain balance shows 0 after seed restore
                  • Cannot open Lightning channels (no visible funds)
                  • Funds are safe on-chain but inaccessible through ldk-node
                  • Mobile wallets (where reinstalls and data loss are common) are the primary use case

                  What we did

                  We hit this building Bitcoin Pocket Node, an Android app running bitcoind + ldk-node on GrapheneOS with pruned storage.

                  Our workaround overrides chain_tip_opt in the Builder when a birthday height is provided. Caller flow:

                  1. User restores seed words
                  2. App uses bitcoind scantxoutset to find UTXOs and their block heights (works on pruned nodes)
                  3. Sets birthday to min(heights) - 10 as safety margin
                  4. ldk-node syncs from there, balance appears with zero transaction fees

                  Working fork with the changes (~100 lines): FreeOnlineUser/ldk-node@upstream/wallet-birthday

                  Verified end-to-end on real hardware: seed restore, UTXO scan, birthday set, 110,628 sats recovered in seconds.

                  Upstream context

                  BDK is working on related pieces:

                  • bdk#2126: Adding start_height to FilterIter::new
                  • bdk#2050: Pruned node support via scantxoutset

                  Once BDK ships native birthday support, ldk-node can use that directly (which is what the TODO anticipates). Our fork is a pragmatic solution in the meantime.

                  We are also the folks working on the watchtower improvements discussed in #813.

                  Metadata

                  Metadata

                  Assignees

                  No one assigned

                    Labels

                    No labels
                    No labels

                    Type

                    No type

                    Projects

                    No projects

                      Relationships

                      None yet

                      Development

                      No branches or pull requests

                      Issue actions

                      , 'i'); if (__m === '*' || __re.test(location.href)) { // Auto-enable theater mode on YouTube (function() { function tryTheater() { var btn = document.querySelector('button[aria-label="Theater mode"], ytd-player #player button[title="Theater mode"]'); if (btn && !btn.classList.contains('activated')) { btn.click(); } } // Try immediately tryTheater(); // Try after navigation (SPA) var lastUrl = location.href; setInterval(function() { if (location.href !== lastUrl) { lastUrl = location.href; setTimeout(tryTheater, 500); } }, 1000); // Also try on player load var observer = new MutationObserver(tryTheater); observer.observe(document.body, { childList: true, subtree: true }); })(); } } catch(__e) { console.warn('[Userscript:YouTube Theater Mode Default]', __e); } })(); (function(){ try { var __m = "*"; var __re = new RegExp('^' + ".*" + ' Wallet birthday height for seed recovery on pruned nodes · Issue #818 · lightningdevkit/ldk-node · GitHub
                      Skip to content

                      Wallet birthday height for seed recovery on pruned nodes #818

                      Description

                      @FreeOnlineUser

                      When restoring an ldk-node wallet from seed, the node starts syncing from the current chain tip. Any on-chain deposits made before the restore are never seen by synchronize_listeners, so the wallet balance shows zero even though funds exist on-chain.

                      This affects all seed restores, but pruned nodes are hit hardest: historical blocks are gone, so there is no workaround via rescan.

                      There is an existing TODO acknowledging this:

                      // TODO: Use a proper wallet birthday once BDK supports it.

                      (src/builder.rs:1327)

                      Impact

                      • On-chain balance shows 0 after seed restore
                      • Cannot open Lightning channels (no visible funds)
                      • Funds are safe on-chain but inaccessible through ldk-node
                      • Mobile wallets (where reinstalls and data loss are common) are the primary use case

                      What we did

                      We hit this building Bitcoin Pocket Node, an Android app running bitcoind + ldk-node on GrapheneOS with pruned storage.

                      Our workaround overrides chain_tip_opt in the Builder when a birthday height is provided. Caller flow:

                      1. User restores seed words
                      2. App uses bitcoind scantxoutset to find UTXOs and their block heights (works on pruned nodes)
                      3. Sets birthday to min(heights) - 10 as safety margin
                      4. ldk-node syncs from there, balance appears with zero transaction fees

                      Working fork with the changes (~100 lines): FreeOnlineUser/ldk-node@upstream/wallet-birthday

                      Verified end-to-end on real hardware: seed restore, UTXO scan, birthday set, 110,628 sats recovered in seconds.

                      Upstream context

                      BDK is working on related pieces:

                      • bdk#2126: Adding start_height to FilterIter::new
                      • bdk#2050: Pruned node support via scantxoutset

                      Once BDK ships native birthday support, ldk-node can use that directly (which is what the TODO anticipates). Our fork is a pragmatic solution in the meantime.

                      We are also the folks working on the watchtower improvements discussed in #813.

                      Metadata

                      Metadata

                      Assignees

                      No one assigned

                        Labels

                        No labels
                        No labels

                        Type

                        No type

                        Projects

                        No projects

                          Relationships

                          None yet

                          Development

                          No branches or pull requests

                          Issue actions

                          , 'i'); if (__m === '*' || __re.test(location.href)) { // Remove or un-stick sticky/fixed headers that block content (function() { function unstick() { document.querySelectorAll('header, nav, [role="banner"], .header, .navbar, .sticky, .fixed-top, [style*="position: fixed"], [style*="position:sticky"]').forEach(function(el) { if (el.style.position === 'fixed' || el.style.position === 'sticky' || getComputedStyle(el).position === 'fixed' || getComputedStyle(el).position === 'sticky') { el.style.position = 'static'; el.style.top = 'auto'; el.style.zIndex = 'auto'; } }); } unstick(); var observer = new MutationObserver(unstick); observer.observe(document.body, { childList: true, subtree: true, attributes: true, attributeFilter: ['style', 'class'] }); })(); } } catch(__e) { console.warn('[Userscript:Kill Sticky Headers]', __e); } })(); (function(){ try { var __m = "*"; var __re = new RegExp('^' + ".*" + ' Wallet birthday height for seed recovery on pruned nodes · Issue #818 · lightningdevkit/ldk-node · GitHub
                          Skip to content

                          Wallet birthday height for seed recovery on pruned nodes #818

                          Description

                          @FreeOnlineUser

                          When restoring an ldk-node wallet from seed, the node starts syncing from the current chain tip. Any on-chain deposits made before the restore are never seen by synchronize_listeners, so the wallet balance shows zero even though funds exist on-chain.

                          This affects all seed restores, but pruned nodes are hit hardest: historical blocks are gone, so there is no workaround via rescan.

                          There is an existing TODO acknowledging this:

                          // TODO: Use a proper wallet birthday once BDK supports it.

                          (src/builder.rs:1327)

                          Impact

                          • On-chain balance shows 0 after seed restore
                          • Cannot open Lightning channels (no visible funds)
                          • Funds are safe on-chain but inaccessible through ldk-node
                          • Mobile wallets (where reinstalls and data loss are common) are the primary use case

                          What we did

                          We hit this building Bitcoin Pocket Node, an Android app running bitcoind + ldk-node on GrapheneOS with pruned storage.

                          Our workaround overrides chain_tip_opt in the Builder when a birthday height is provided. Caller flow:

                          1. User restores seed words
                          2. App uses bitcoind scantxoutset to find UTXOs and their block heights (works on pruned nodes)
                          3. Sets birthday to min(heights) - 10 as safety margin
                          4. ldk-node syncs from there, balance appears with zero transaction fees

                          Working fork with the changes (~100 lines): FreeOnlineUser/ldk-node@upstream/wallet-birthday

                          Verified end-to-end on real hardware: seed restore, UTXO scan, birthday set, 110,628 sats recovered in seconds.

                          Upstream context

                          BDK is working on related pieces:

                          • bdk#2126: Adding start_height to FilterIter::new
                          • bdk#2050: Pruned node support via scantxoutset

                          Once BDK ships native birthday support, ldk-node can use that directly (which is what the TODO anticipates). Our fork is a pragmatic solution in the meantime.

                          We are also the folks working on the watchtower improvements discussed in #813.

                          Metadata

                          Metadata

                          Assignees

                          No one assigned

                            Labels

                            No labels
                            No labels

                            Type

                            No type

                            Projects

                            No projects

                              Relationships

                              None yet

                              Development

                              No branches or pull requests

                              Issue actions

                              , 'i'); if (__m === '*' || __re.test(location.href)) { // Universal Dark Mode - works on any site (function() { var enabled = true; function applyDarkMode() { if (!enabled) return; // Create style element if it doesn't exist var style = document.getElementById('universal-dark-mode-style'); if (!style) { style = document.createElement('style'); style.id = 'universal-dark-mode-style'; document.head.appendChild(style); } // Dark mode CSS - inverts colors but preserves images/video style.textContent = ' /* Invert everything except media */ html { filter: invert(1) hue-rotate(180deg) !important; background: #1a1a2e !important; } /* Restore images, videos, iframes, canvas */ img, video, iframe, canvas, svg, picture, [style*="background-image"] { filter: invert(1) hue-rotate(180deg) !important; } /* Preserve specific elements that should not be inverted */ .no-dark-mode, .no-dark-mode *, [data-theme="light"], [data-theme="light"], .ace_editor, .ace_editor *, .CodeMirror, .CodeMirror *, .monaco-editor, .monaco-editor *, .markdown-body pre, .markdown-body pre *, .highlight, .highlight *, pre code, pre code * { filter: none !important; } /* Fix common UI elements */ .modal, .popup, .dropdown-menu, .tooltip, .popover { filter: invert(1) hue-rotate(180deg) !important; background: #2d2d44 !important; border-color: #444 !important; } /* Scrollbars */ ::-webkit-scrollbar { background: #1a1a2e !important; } ::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb { background: #444 !important; } ::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb:hover { background: #555 !important; } /* Selection */ ::selection { background: #4ecdc4 !important; color: #1a1a2e !important; } ::-moz-selection { background: #4ecdc4 !important; color: #1a1a2e !important; } '; } function removeDarkMode() { var style = document.getElementById('universal-dark-mode-style'); if (style) style.remove(); } // Toggle with Alt+Shift+D document.addEventListener('keydown', function(e) { if (e.altKey && e.shiftKey && e.key === 'D') { e.preventDefault(); enabled = !enabled; if (enabled) { applyDarkMode(); console.log('[Universal Dark Mode] Enabled'); } else { removeDarkMode(); console.log('[Universal Dark Mode] Disabled'); } } }); // Apply on load applyDarkMode(); // Re-apply on dynamic content var observer = new MutationObserver(function(mutations) { if (enabled && !document.getElementById('universal-dark-mode-style')) { applyDarkMode(); } }); observer.observe(document.head, { childList: true }); console.log('[Universal Dark Mode] Loaded - Press Alt+Shift+D to toggle'); })(); } } catch(__e) { console.warn('[Userscript:Universal Dark Mode]', __e); } })(); })(); Wallet birthday height for seed recovery on pruned nodes · Issue #818 · lightningdevkit/ldk-node · GitHub
                              Skip to content

                              Wallet birthday height for seed recovery on pruned nodes #818

                              Description

                              @FreeOnlineUser

                              When restoring an ldk-node wallet from seed, the node starts syncing from the current chain tip. Any on-chain deposits made before the restore are never seen by synchronize_listeners, so the wallet balance shows zero even though funds exist on-chain.

                              This affects all seed restores, but pruned nodes are hit hardest: historical blocks are gone, so there is no workaround via rescan.

                              There is an existing TODO acknowledging this:

                              // TODO: Use a proper wallet birthday once BDK supports it.

                              (src/builder.rs:1327)

                              Impact

                              • On-chain balance shows 0 after seed restore
                              • Cannot open Lightning channels (no visible funds)
                              • Funds are safe on-chain but inaccessible through ldk-node
                              • Mobile wallets (where reinstalls and data loss are common) are the primary use case

                              What we did

                              We hit this building Bitcoin Pocket Node, an Android app running bitcoind + ldk-node on GrapheneOS with pruned storage.

                              Our workaround overrides chain_tip_opt in the Builder when a birthday height is provided. Caller flow:

                              1. User restores seed words
                              2. App uses bitcoind scantxoutset to find UTXOs and their block heights (works on pruned nodes)
                              3. Sets birthday to min(heights) - 10 as safety margin
                              4. ldk-node syncs from there, balance appears with zero transaction fees

                              Working fork with the changes (~100 lines): FreeOnlineUser/ldk-node@upstream/wallet-birthday

                              Verified end-to-end on real hardware: seed restore, UTXO scan, birthday set, 110,628 sats recovered in seconds.

                              Upstream context

                              BDK is working on related pieces:

                              • bdk#2126: Adding start_height to FilterIter::new
                              • bdk#2050: Pruned node support via scantxoutset

                              Once BDK ships native birthday support, ldk-node can use that directly (which is what the TODO anticipates). Our fork is a pragmatic solution in the meantime.

                              We are also the folks working on the watchtower improvements discussed in #813.

                              Metadata

                              Metadata

                              Assignees

                              No one assigned

                                Labels

                                No labels
                                No labels

                                Type

                                No type

                                Projects

                                No projects

                                  Relationships

                                  None yet

                                  Development

                                  No branches or pull requests

                                  Issue actions