Once you have downloaded and installed the Desktop Wallet, open it and click Create a new wallet.
If you have previously created a Radix Desktop Wallet but have lost access, you can restore it by clicking Restore a previous wallet.

You will now see the below screen.
The wallet has generated a random 12-word “seed phrase”. Write down this phrase in the order indicated by the wallet. Don’t store the seed phrase on your computer, phone, or tablet. Don’t take a picture with your phone to send in an email or text message. Don’t use a public printer to print the phrase. If someone can access this seed phrase, they can steal your funds.
You can read some suggestions on how to securely store a seed phrase here.
Warning: This seed phrase will give anyone access to your funds, and so it is necessary to take care of it; treat it even more carefully than the PIN code for a bank card. You will need this seed phrase if you ever lose access to the computer the wallet is stored on, or have to reinstall the wallet.
When you have written down this phrase, keep this as you will need this in the next step.

The next page will ask you to enter a random selection of words from your seed phrase. This is to confirm you have recorded it correctly.
Type the words in the order indicated by the wallet. If you didn’t record the words in the correct order, you will need to click Start Over in the bottom left to start again and generate a new seed phrase.

(Protect this seed phrase better than you would your bank PIN code)
If done correctly, the grey box will turn green. Please click the green box that now says, “I’ve written down my seed phrase”. If you have entered the words in the wrong order or made a spelling mistake, the box will stay grey.
Choose a password. You will need this each time you open your wallet. Don’t pick a password you’ve used anywhere else; make sure it’s unique and secure. Good ideas would be to include letters, numbers, and a special character – and make it as long as possible.

Password managers such as Lastpass can be a good tool to create and store strong, unique passwords.
Once passwords match, the grey Confirm Password box below will turn green. You can then click confirm password to move to the next screen.

Create a 4 digit PIN. You will need to enter this PIN when you initiate a transaction.
If the PIN matches, it will turn green. Press Confirm PIN.

You can now create your first account. Enter your chosen account name and click Save.

Congratulations, you have successfully set up your Desktop Wallet and created your first account!

Your first Radix address is shown in the upper left of the home screen, under the name you gave it. In our example the account is called “Satoshi Nakamoto”.
This is a public address and may be safely provided to others who want to send tokens to you. The icon to the right of the address is a convenient shortcut to copy the address to your clipboard for use elsewhere.
Clicking your current address will bring up a menu where you can create additional addresses within the Radix Desktop Wallet, by clicking “Add Account”. If you need to recover your wallet later (using your seed phrase), all of the accounts you have created here will be recovered at the same time.
Further reading:
- Start Here! Desktop Wallet Introduction
- How to Stake and Unstake XRD in the Desktop Wallet
- How do I send Tokens?