Sometimes you need a wallet’s private key, to import it into another wallet app or to keep an offline backup. Merlin Guild makes this possible but wraps it in deliberate safeguards, because a private key is the full control of a wallet.

Where to find it

Open the Wallets page. Each wallet row has an Export action alongside its other options.

How it works

The export happens in a single window with three steps. You can cancel at any point.

Warning

When you start an export, the app first reminds you what a private key is, what can happen if it leaks, and that Merlin Guild will never ask you for it. You must confirm you understand before continuing; there is no way to skip this.

Password confirmation

Even with the app already unlocked, you re-enter your master password before the key is shown. This is a deliberate are-you-sure check, so that brief physical access to an unlocked app is not enough to walk away with your keys.

Reveal

The key appears blurred by default. To see it, you press and hold a reveal control; let go and it blurs again. A short countdown hides it automatically even if you keep holding. On this step you can:

Switch format to match your destination wallet, for example a format for browser wallets, one for command-line tools, or raw hex.
Copy to clipboard, after which the app automatically clears the clipboard a short time later.
Download a text file containing the key, so you can move it to offline storage.

When you close the window, lock the app, or switch away, the key is wiped from memory immediately.

Safety behaviours

The window closes itself if you switch to another app or the session locks; you start over.
The key re-blurs the moment you release the reveal control or the timer expires.
Clipboard auto-clear means a copied key disappears shortly after; paste it right away.
Too many rapid export attempts are refused, which prevents accidental or automated abuse.

What is recorded

For your own traceability, the app keeps a local history of export events: when a reveal was authorized and when it happened. The private key itself is never stored in this history, only the fact that an export occurred and when.

Good practices

Import the key into its destination immediately, then close the export window.
If you copied the key, paste it right away rather than relying on the auto-clear.
If you downloaded the file, move it to encrypted or offline storage and delete the original.
Never paste a private key into a website, chat, support ticket, or email.