Bal Electrum Plugin

⚡ Bitcoin Electrum plugin for managing heir inheritance and locktime-based transactions

This plugin extends Electrum wallet to support:

• Heir inheritance management - Define beneficiaries and inheritance shares
• Locktime transactions - Create time-locked transactions for future spending
• Multi-signature setups - Configure complex multisig scenarios with heirs
• User-friendly wizards - Easy setup interface

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📥 Installation

Method 1: Install from Release (Recommended)

1. Download the plugin

   • Go to: https://bitcoin-after.life/gitea/bitcoinafterlife/bal-electrum-plugin/releases
   • Download the latest bal-electrum-plugin-vX.X.X.zip file

2. Install in Electrum

   • Open Electrum Bitcoin wallet
   • Go to Tools → Plugins
   • Click Add
   • Select the downloaded .zip file
   • Click Open or Install
   • Restart Electrum if required

Method 2: Install from Source

1. Download the source code

   git clone https://bitcoin-after.life/gitea/bitcoinafterlife/bal-electrum-plugin.git
   cd bal-electrum-plugin
   

2. Create a zip file

   zip -r bal-electrum-plugin.zip bal_electrum_plugin/
   

3. Install in Electrum (follow Method 1, step 2)

Method 3: Install from Gitea Directly

1. Download the plugin archive

   wget https://bitcoin-after.life/gitea/bitcoinafterlife/bal-electrum-plugin/archive/main.zip -O bal-electrum-plugin.zip
   

2. Install in Electrum (follow Method 1, step 2)

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🚀 Quick Start

1. Enable the Plugin

• Open Electrum
• Go to Tools → Plugins
• Find Bal Electrum Plugin in the list
• Click the checkbox to enable it
• Click Apply and restart Electrum if prompted

2. Configure Your Heirs

• Go to Tools → Bal Electrum Plugin
• Click Setup Heirs
• Add beneficiaries with their Bitcoin addresses and inheritance percentages
• Set locktime conditions for each heir

3. Create a Locktime Transaction

• Go to Send tab
• Enter recipients and amount
• Enable Locktime option
• Set when the transaction can be spent (block height, timestamp, or relative time)
• Review and broadcast the transaction

4. Verify Heir Distribution

• Go to Tools → Bal Electrum Plugin → View Heirs
• Check the distribution summary
• Verify all percentages sum to 100%

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📁 Plugin Structure

bal-electrum-plugin/
├── bal_electrum_plugin/          # Main plugin code (what you zip)
│   ├── __init__.py               # Plugin entry point
│   ├── qt.py                     # Main Qt interface
│   ├── heirs.py                  # Heir management logic
│   ├── locktime.py               # Locktime transaction handling
│   ├── dialogs/                  # UI dialogs
│   │   ├── heirs_dialog.py       # Heir configuration dialog
│   │   ├── locktime_dialog.py    # Locktime setup dialog
│   │   └── wizard.py             # Setup wizard dialog
│   └── utils.py                  # Utility functions
├── README.md                     # This file
└── LICENSE                       # MIT License

Note: Only the bal_electrum_plugin/ directory needs to be zipped for installation.

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🔧 Configuration

Plugin Settings

After installation, configure the plugin in Electrum:

1. Go to Tools → Bal Electrum Plugin → Settings
2. Configure:
   • Debug mode: Enable for troubleshooting
   • Default locktime: Set default locktime for new transactions
   • Heir validation: Enable/disable heir address validation

Configuration File

The plugin stores settings in:

~/.electrum/plugins/bal_electrum_plugin/config.json

Environment Variables (Advanced)

# Enable debug logging
BAL_DEBUG=1

# Custom config path
BAL_CONFIG_PATH=/path/to/config.json

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🎯 Key Features

Heir Management

✅ Add/Remove Heirs - Manage multiple beneficiaries ✅ Inheritance Percentages - Set distribution shares (sum must be 100%) ✅ Locktime Conditions - Define when each heir can access their funds ✅ Address Validation - Verify Bitcoin addresses before saving ✅ Distribution Summary - View total inheritance breakdown

Locktime Transactions

✅ Absolute Locktime - Transaction can only be spent after a specific:

• Block height (e.g., 700000)
• Timestamp (Unix timestamp, e.g., 1609459200)

✅ Relative Locktime - Transaction can only be spent after:

• Days: Use suffix d (e.g., 3d = 3 days from now)
• Years: Use suffix y (e.g., 2y = 2 years from now)

✅ Locktime Types:

• Block-based: Locktime in blocks
• Time-based: Locktime in seconds since epoch
• Relative: Time intervals from current time

Multi-Signature Support

✅ Combine signatures with existing wallet signatures ✅ Configure required signatures for spending ✅ Support for complex multisig setups with heirs

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📖 Usage Examples

Example 1: Simple Heir Setup

1. Add an heir:

   • Address: bc1qar0srrr7xfkvy5l643lydnw9re59gtzzwf5mdq
   • Percentage: 50%
   • Locktime: 1y (1 year from now)

2. Add second heir:

   • Address: bc1qw508d6qejxtdg4y5r3zarvary0c5xw7kv8f3t4
   • Percentage: 50%
   • Locktime: 2y (2 years from now)

3. Create transaction:

   • Send 0.5 BTC to heir1 after 1 year
   • Send 0.5 BTC to heir2 after 2 years

Example 2: Locktime Transaction

# Create a transaction that can only be spent after 6 months
from bal_electrum_plugin.locktime import Locktime

locktime = Locktime(
    type="relative",
    value="6m",  # 6 months from now
    unit="blocks"  # or "seconds"
)

# This transaction will be locked for 6 months
tx = create_transaction(
    recipients=[recipient_address],
    amount=0.1,
    locktime=locktime
)

Example 3: Complex Inheritance

• Heir 1: 30%, locktime 1y
• Heir 2: 40%, locktime 2y
• Heir 3: 30%, locktime 3y

Total: 100% distributed over 3 years

---

🛠️ Development

Prerequisites

• Electrum Bitcoin wallet (version 4.0.0 or later)
• Python 3.7+
• PyQt5
• pytest (for testing)

Setup Development Environment

# Clone the repository
git clone https://bitcoin-after.life/gitea/bitcoinafterlife/bal-electrum-plugin.git
cd bal-electrum-plugin

# Create development zip
zip -r bal-electrum-plugin-dev.zip bal_electrum_plugin/

Install for Development

1. Copy the zip file to your Electrum plugins directory:

   cp bal-electrum-plugin-dev.zip ~/.electrum/plugins/
   

2. Install in Electrum (Tools → Plugins → Add)

3. Make changes to the source code in bal_electrum_plugin/ directory

4. Re-zip and reinstall to test changes:

   cd ~/.electrum/plugins/
   unzip bal-electrum-plugin-dev.zip -d bal_electrum_plugin_temp
   # Make your changes to bal_electrum_plugin_temp/
   zip -r bal-electrum-plugin-dev.zip bal_electrum_plugin_temp/
   rm -rf bal_electrum_plugin_temp
   

Running Tests

# Install test dependencies
pip install pytest

# Run all tests
pytest tests/

# Run specific test
pytest tests/test_heirs.py -v

Code Style

This project follows:

• PEP 8 style guide
• 4 spaces for indentation
• 79 characters line length
• Descriptive variable and function names
• Type hints for public functions

---

🐛 Troubleshooting

Plugin Not Showing in Electrum

❌ Problem: The plugin doesn't appear in Electrum's plugin list

✅ Solutions:

1. Verify you're using Electrum 4.0.0 or later
2. Check that the zip file contains the bal_electrum_plugin/ directory
3. Ensure the directory structure is correct inside the zip
4. Restart Electrum after installation
5. Check Electrum logs for errors (Help → Debug → Console)

Locktime Not Working

❌ Problem: Locktime conditions aren't being enforced

✅ Solutions:

1. Verify locktime format: 3d (days), 2y (years), or timestamp
2. Check that the locktime is in the future
3. Ensure your Bitcoin node supports locktime transactions
4. Test with a small amount first
5. Verify the transaction has the locktime field set correctly

Heir Configuration Errors

❌ Problem: Can't add or save heirs

✅ Solutions:

1. Verify Bitcoin addresses are valid (use testnet for testing)
2. Check that percentages sum to exactly 100%
3. Ensure locktime values are valid formats
4. Enable debug mode to see detailed error messages
5. Check plugin logs for specific error details

Common Error Messages

Error	Cause	Solution
Invalid checksum	Bad Bitcoin address	Verify the address
Percentage must sum to 100%	Invalid heir distribution	Adjust percentages
Locktime in the past	Invalid locktime value	Use future date/time
Plugin not found	Incorrect zip structure	Check zip contents

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🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions from the community! Here's how to help:

Ways to Contribute

1. Report bugs - Open an issue on Gitea
2. Suggest features - Share your ideas for new functionality
3. Write documentation - Improve README, add examples, create tutorials
4. Submit pull requests - Fix bugs or add new features
5. Test the plugin - Try different scenarios and report issues
6. Translate - Help translate the plugin to other languages

Contribution Guidelines

1. Fork the repository and create your feature branch
2. Add tests for new functionality
3. Follow PEP 8 style guide
4. Write clear commit messages following Conventional Commits
5. Update documentation for new features
6. Open a Pull Request to the main branch
7. Respond to feedback during code review

Development Workflow

# Fork the repository on Gitea

# Clone your fork
git clone https://bitcoin-after.life/gitea/YOUR_USERNAME/bal-electrum-plugin.git
cd bal-electrum-plugin

# Add upstream remote
git remote add upstream https://bitcoin-after.life/gitea/bitcoinafterlife/bal-electrum-plugin.git

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

# Make your changes
# ...

# Test your changes
pytest tests/

# Commit changes
git add .
git commit -m "feat: add new feature description"

# Push to your fork
git push origin feature/your-feature-name

# Open Pull Request on Gitea

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📜 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

License Summary

• Free to use and modify
• Commercial use allowed
• No warranty provided
• Attribution required

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🙏 Acknowledgments

• Electrum developers - For creating the amazing Electrum wallet
• Bitcoin community - For continuous innovation and support
• All contributors - For improving this plugin
• Early users - For testing and feedback

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📞 Support & Contact

Getting Help

• Documentation: This README file
• Issues: Gitea Issues
• Discussions: Gitea Discussions
• Wiki: Check the docs/ directory for additional documentation

Community

• Matrix/Element: #bal-electrum-plugin:matrix.org
• Telegram: @bal_electrum_plugin
• Email: support@bal-electrum-plugin.org

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📊 Version Information

Current Version: 1.0.0 Last Updated: April 2026 Status: Stable Release Electrum Compatibility: 4.0.0+

Version History

Version	Date	Changes
1.0.0	Apr 2026	Initial release with heir and locktime features
0.9.0	Mar 2026	Beta testing phase
0.1.0	Feb 2026	Initial development

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🔗 Links

• Repository: https://bitcoin-after.life/gitea/bitcoinafterlife/bal-electrum-plugin
• Releases: https://bitcoin-after.life/gitea/bitcoinafterlife/bal-electrum-plugin/releases
• Issues: https://bitcoin-after.life/gitea/bitcoinafterlife/bal-electrum-plugin/issues
• Discussions: https://bitcoin-after.life/gitea/bitcoinafterlife/bal-electrum-plugin/discussions

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⚠️ Important: This plugin deals with real Bitcoin transactions. Always test with small amounts first and verify all settings before using with large amounts.

🔒 Security: Never share your seed phrase or private keys. This plugin only creates transactions, it doesn't store your keys.