What is the WALLET file format?
A .wallet file is the wallet container used by MultiDoge, a desktop Dogecoin client. MultiDoge is a fork of the MultiBit Bitcoin wallet and runs on dogecoinj, the Dogecoin port of the bitcoinj library. The file stores one or more private keys, their Dogecoin addresses, past transactions, and the last block the wallet synced. When you first run MultiDoge it creates an empty multidoge.wallet in its data folder.
Modern files are serialized with Google's Protocol Buffers, following bitcoinj's wallet.proto. Very old wallets used Java serialization instead and may need an older build to migrate. If you set a password, the keys are protected with scrypt key derivation and AES encryption. MultiBit Classic wrote the same .wallet format for Bitcoin, so you may meet one of these files from either app. Both projects are legacy: MultiBit shut down in 2017 and MultiDoge is no longer actively developed.
Security & safety
RISK: MEDIUMA genuine MultiDoge .wallet is a data file and does not execute code, but it contains the private keys that control real Dogecoin funds, so leaking or losing it means losing money. Handle it like a password file and keep offline backups. Separately, some ransomware families append a .wallet extension to files they encrypt; those are not crypto wallets and cannot be opened, only restored from backup.
Format details
in a nutshell- MultiBit Wallet File - Bitcoin wallets from MultiBit Classic use the same bitcoinj protobuf .wallet format; MultiBit was discontinued in 2017.
- Wallet ransomware - Several ransomware strains append .wallet to files they encrypt (for example the Dharma/CrySiS family). These are not crypto wallets and are unrecoverable without the attacker's key.
- Armory / generic crypto wallet backups - Various other cryptocurrency apps have used a .wallet name for their own backup files; these are unrelated proprietary formats.
Programs that open WALLET files
Windows3 apps
MultiDoge
Open-source Install MultiDoge, then choose File then Open Wallet and select your .wallet file to view balances and private keys.
MultiBit Classic
Open-source Use a legacy MultiBit Classic build to open older .wallet files or to migrate serialized wallets to protobuf.
decrypt_bitcoinj_seed
Open-source Run this Python tool against an encrypted bitcoinj .wallet to extract and decrypt the seed or private keys when the app will not load. 
macOS2 apps
MultiDoge
Open-source Launch MultiDoge and use File then Open Wallet to load a .wallet file stored under Application Support.
MultiBit Classic
Open-source Open legacy Bitcoin .wallet files with an old MultiBit Classic release when MultiDoge cannot read them. 
Linux2 apps
MultiDoge
Open-source Start MultiDoge and use File then Open Wallet, pointing it at the .wallet file in your home directory.
decrypt_bitcoinj_seed
Open-source Use this recovery script to read and decrypt keys from a password-protected bitcoinj protobuf wallet. Technical details
deep spec| Encoding | Protocol Buffers (protobuf) binary message; older wallets used Java serialization |
| Byte order | N/A (protobuf uses varint/little-endian internally) |
| Container | bitcoinj/dogecoinj protobuf Wallet message |
| Encryption | Optional. When enabled, keys use ENCRYPTED_SCRYPT_AES: scrypt key derivation from the wallet password plus AES-CBC encryption of each private key (16-byte initialisation vector stored per key). Unencrypted wallets store keys in the clear. |
| Typical size | A few KB to a few hundred KB depending on key and transaction count |
| Structure | Top-level Wallet message holds a network identifier, one or more Key entries (private/public keys, optionally encrypted), Transaction records, the last seen block hash, and encryption parameters (scrypt salt and cost). |
| Integrity | None built into the file; integrity relies on protobuf parsing and, for encrypted wallets, correct password-based decryption. |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Notes | Default filename is multidoge.wallet, created in the MultiDoge data directory on first launch (%APPDATA%/MultiDoge on Windows, ~/Library/Application Support/MultiDoge on macOS, ~/MultiDoge on Linux). A companion .info sidecar and .spvchain block-index file usually sit alongside it. MultiDoge is a Dogecoin port of MultiBit; MultiBit was discontinued in 2017, so the format is legacy. |
| Released | 2013 |
| Latest version | bitcoinj/dogecoinj protobuf wallet (protobuf2 and protobuf3) |
| Specification | github.com |
WALLET conversions
Community Q&A
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