Import Polkadot / Substrate Derived Accounts

If you want to create and manage several accounts on the network using the same seed, you can use derivation paths.

We can think of the derived accounts as child accounts of the root account created using the original mnemonic seed phrase. Many Polkadot key generation tools support hard and soft derivation. For instance, if you intend to create an account to be used on the Polkadot chain, you can derive a hard key child account using // after the mnemonic phrase.

If you want to create another account using the Polkadot chain using the same seed, you can change the number Substrate secret derivation path. For example, /1, /2, and /3 will create different derived accounts.

You can use any letters or numbers in the derivation path as long as they make sense to you; they do not have to follow any specific pattern. You may combine multiple derivations in your path, as well. For instance, //bill//account//1 and //john/polkadot/initial are both valid. To recreate a derived account, you must know both the seed and the derivation path, so you should either use a well-defined sequence (e.g. //0, //1, //2...) or be sure to write down any derivation paths you use.

To import a Polkadot / Substrate account which is not the default derivation path, you need to carry out the following steps:

1. Open the Nova Wallet application.

2. Select Import wallet.

3. Select Mnemonic Passphrase.

4. Input your account's mnemonic passphrase and Input a nickname for your account. Then Select the options button at the top right of the screen.

5. Change the Substrate secret derivation path to suit the derived account that you wish to import. (note: refer to the details at the top of this section for more info.)

6. Select Apply, and then Continue. You will now have imported your derived account.