‼️ IMPORTANT

Polkadot-JS UI is a web wallet meant for power users and developers. For everyday use, there are several user-friendly wallets funded by the Polkadot Treasury that support a plethora of features and platforms. Discover them on Polkadot's homepage.


In this article, you will learn how to restore your Polkadot account either from your mnemonic phrase, your JSON backup file, or a raw private key in Polkadot-JS UI.


If you haven't installed the Polkadot extension yet, you can find download instructions here.


‼️ IMPORTANT

We highly recommend that you add your accounts through the Polkadot browser extension, as it has many advantages:

· It provides better security than using the Web UI directly.
· Your browser won't "forget" your accounts if cookies are cleared.
· It allows you to interact with any Web 3.0-compatible site in the Polkadot ecosystem.
· The extension recognizes all known Polkadot scams and alerts you when you access a phishing site. This will help you protect yourself and your funds.


ℹ️ GOOD TO KNOW

The Polkadot extension is an account manager, not a wallet. You will still need to use Polkadot-JS UI to interact with your accounts and see your balance.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Restore from your 12-word mnemonic phrase


1. On Polkadot-JS UI, navigate to the Settings tab. In the account options, allow local in-browser account storage and click Save:



2. Navigate to the Accounts page and click on the "+ Account" button:



3. Delete the pre-generated 12 words shown and enter your own mnemonic phrase instead. Once you enter all the words, you should see an account address and icon generated.


‼️ IMPORTANT

If you're getting an error and your mnemonic phrase isn't accepted, please check this article.


4. Tick the box "I have saved my mnemonic seed safely" and click Next:



5. Give your account a descriptive name and a good password, then click Next:



6. Review the details and click Save. This will also download the JSON backup file for the account on your computer.



7. Your JSON backup file will have the name of your account and will go to your default download folder. Unless you rename it, it will be named like this:

[14z3P2EXllThisIsTheAddressOfYourAccountllfvro8BZmfjh4T4MZMTf].json


Your account has been successfully restored, and you will see it listed on your Accounts page.

Restore from your JSON file


‼️ IMPORTANT

You cannot restore a "batch" JSON file (that contains multiple accounts) directly on Polkadot-JS UI. These files can only be used to restore in the Polkadot extension.


1. On Polkadot-JS UI, navigate to the Settings tab. In the account options, allow local in-browser account storage and click Save:



2. Navigate to the Accounts page and click on the "From JSON" button:



3. On the next screen, either click in the "backup file" field to select your JSON backup file or drag and drop it into the field. Once you add the file, you'll see the name and icon of the account:



4. Enter the password you set for your account when you created it, and click Restore:



Your account has been successfully restored, and you will see it listed on your Accounts page.

Restore from your raw private key


1. Go to Polkadot-JS UI and navigate to the Settings tab. In the account options, allow local in-browser account storage and click Save:



2. Navigate to the Accounts page and click on the "+ Account" button:



3. Click on the word "Mnemonic" and select "Raw seed" from the drop-down menu that appears. Delete the shown private key and enter yours instead.


‼️ IMPORTANT

If your key doesn't start with 0x, add it manually in front of it.



4. This should generate your account address on top of the window. Check the box "I have saved my mnemonic seed safely" and click Next.


5. Give your account a descriptive name and a good password. Click Next, then review the details and click Save.


Your account has been successfully restored, and you will see it listed on your Accounts page.


If you would like to follow a video tutorial instead, here is a video to help you to restore your account from the mnemonic phrase or the JSON file from the Polkadot-JS UI: