Install grin-wallet with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• grin-wallet

Project history

The wallet grew with Grin rather than as a detached third-party client. Its repository describes two major pieces: wallet APIs for community wallet developers and a reference command-line wallet showing how those APIs are intended to be called. That split made the package both an end-user executable and a reference integration surface for other Grin wallets.

Grin's interactive transaction model shaped the wallet's evolution. Instead of a Bitcoin-style address-only send flow, early Grin transactions required sender and receiver coordination. The wallet therefore became the place where file-based slates, HTTP/Tor flows, payment proofs, and later Slatepack transaction exchange were exposed to users.

Adoption history

The Grin documentation treats `grin-wallet` as one of the two precompiled command-line binaries used in the quickstart path, alongside the `grin` node. That made it the default CLI wallet for operators and developers following the official documentation.

Slatepack broadened the wallet's role in the ecosystem. Official Grin documentation describes Slatepack as a universal transaction standard, introduced in the 4.0 wallet line and required for ecosystem compatibility by the 5.0 line. Wallets and services therefore had to track the reference wallet's transaction workflow.

How it is used

A typical package-manager user installs `grin-wallet`, initializes a wallet, stores the recovery phrase, and uses commands such as send, receive, finalize, post, and listen. The official handbook documents manual Slatepack posting and transaction handling, which are especially important for offline or asynchronous exchange.

The package matters less as a graphical wallet and more as a scriptable baseline. Its CLI and JSON-RPC API give developers a stable way to test Grin wallet behavior, while operators use it for node-adjacent wallet administration.

Why package nerds care

For package nerds, `grin-wallet` is interesting because it packages the complicated half of a privacy coin: local key material, output scanning, transaction state, Tor-mediated interaction, and evolving transaction formats. The package's config and seed files are as operationally important as the executable.

It also illustrates why cryptocurrency formulae often split node and wallet packages. The Grin node can sync and validate the chain without holding user keys; the wallet carries the user state, secrets, and transaction workflow.

Timeline

• 2016: Grin development began as a minimal Mimblewimble implementation.
• 2019: Grin mainnet launched, making a reference wallet necessary for normal user transactions.
• 2019: Payment proof work was proposed for sender-initiated transactions.
• 2020: Grin Wallet 4.0 introduced the Slatepack format and workflow.
• 2021: The Grin 5.0 compatibility point made Slatepack support mandatory for wallets and services.

Related projects

• Grin provides the node and consensus implementation that the wallet talks to.
• Grin RFCs document wallet-affecting standards such as payment proofs, wallet lifecycle, compact slates, and Slatepack.
• Grin++ and Niffler are related wallet projects documented by Grin as alternate user-facing wallets.

Sources

• https://docs.grin.mw/about-grin/story/
• https://docs.grin.mw/getting-started/quickstart/install/
• https://docs.grin.mw/getting-started/wallet-handbook/
• https://docs.grin.mw/wiki/services/slatepack-integration/
• https://docs.grin.mw/wiki/transactions/slatepack/
• https://github.com/mimblewimble/grin-wallet
• https://github.com/mimblewimble/grin-wallet/issues/456