EIP-2645 HD Paths

Ledger derives private keys using Hierarchical Deterministic Wallet derivation paths (HD paths). A single Ledger device can use an unlimited number of keys — any given combination of seed phrase + path always produces the same key pair.

Therefore, it's important to decide on, and document the HD paths used for your accounts. While it's trivial to use a key pair given an HD path, the reverse is not true — recovering which path corresponds to a given public key can be extremely difficult. Following established patterns (e.g. incrementing from zero) is strongly recommended.

The EIP-2645 Standard

If you've used hardware wallets before, you may be familiar with paths like m/44'/60'/0'/0/0. This format will not work with the Starknet Ledger app — it only accepts the EIP-2645 HD path format:

m/2645'/layer'/application'/eth_address_1'/eth_address_2'/index

where layer, application, eth_address_1, eth_address_2, and index are 31-bit unsigned numbers.

The sncast Extension

EIP-2645 paths in raw numeric form are difficult to read and write (e.g. m/2645'/1195502025'/355113700'/0'/0'/0). sncast provides two extensions to make them more user-friendly.

Using Non-Numerical Strings

The layer and application levels are defined in EIP-2645 as hashes of names. Instead of manually computing those hashes, sncast lets you write the names directly:

m/2645'/starknet'/sncast'/0'/0'/0

sncast automatically converts the string segments into their SHA-256-derived numeric values. The hash of "starknet" is 1195502025, so the two forms below are equivalent:

m/2645'/starknet'/sncast'/0'/0'/0
m/2645'/1195502025'/355113700'/0'/0'/0

📝 Note

String-based path segments are an extension of sncast and are not understood by other HD wallet tools. To see the resolved derivation path stored for an account, use sncast account list, which always displays the canonical numeric form:

$ sncast account list

- my_ledger_account:
  ledger path: m/2645'/1195502025'/355113700'/0'/1'/0
  ...

Omitting the 2645' Segment

Since sncast only works with EIP-2645 paths, the 2645' prefix can be omitted using the m// shorthand:

m//starknet'/sncast'/0'/0'/0

This is equivalent to m/2645'/starknet'/sncast'/0'/0'/0.

Path Validation Rules

sncast enforces these rules when parsing a derivation path:

• Must have exactly 6 levels after m/
• The first level must be 2645' (or omitted via m//)
• The layer, application, eth_address_1, and eth_address_2 levels must be hardened (marked with ')
• The index level must be a plain number (string names are not allowed here)

Path Management Best Practices

The single most important rule is to document the paths you've used, especially if you deviate from common patterns.

sncast recommends the following convention:

1. Always use m//starknet'/sncast'/ as the prefix for levels layer and application
2. Keep eth_address_1 fixed at 0'
3. Start eth_address_2 at 0' for your first account and increment it for each additional account
4. Keep index at 0

Examples following this convention:

️️️️📝 Note

Some guides suggest incrementing index instead of eth_address_2. This carries a small security risk: if any single private key in the set is compromised and the attacker obtains the xpub key at the eth_address_2 level, they can derive all sibling keys. Incrementing eth_address_2 prevents this vulnerability.