Why My Solana Wallet Broke Without "extractable: true" — And What PKCS8 Taught Me About Private Keys

Vinay — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 09:34:20 +0000

Last week, I built a small Solana wallet script where I could create, export, save, and reload a keypair.

Here's the link of the script for reference: Github

It all started with this line:

const wallet = await generateKeyPairSigner({ extractable: true });

When I tried exporting the private key:

await crypto.subtle.exportKey("pkcs8", wallet.keyPair.privateKey);

I learned two important things:

1. Why `extractable: true` is required

If the key is not extractable:

exportKey simply fails
The private key stays locked inside the crypto subsystem
You cannot save or reuse the wallet

So without extractable: true, the wallet is temporary (in-memory only).

2. Why "pkcs8" and not "raw"?

This part was subtle but important.

"pkcs8" is the standard format for exporting private keys
It wraps the key with metadata (algorithm, structure, etc.)
The Web Crypto API only allows private keys to be exported in PKCS#8 format

If you try:

crypto.subtle.exportKey("raw", wallet.keyPair.privateKey);

It will fail.

Because:

"raw" format is only valid for public keys
Private keys require a structured, secure encoding → hence PKCS#8

🧩 What I Did Next

After exporting in PKCS#8, I extracted the actual 32-byte private key:

const privateKeyBytes = new Uint8Array(pkcs8Buffer.slice(-32));

Then combined it with the public key:

`const keyPairBytes = new Uint8Array(64);
keyPairBytes.set(privateKeyBytes, 0);
keyPairBytes.set(publicKeyBytes, 32);`

This gave me the standard 64-byte Solana keypair, which I could:

Save to a file
Reload later

⚖️ Big Takeaway

This small detail clarified a bigger concept for me:

extractable: true → enables portability (save, backup, restore)
"pkcs8" → the only valid way to export private keys
"raw" → only works for public keys

🔑 From Usernames to Keypairs: Understanding Identity on Solana

Vinay — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 12:10:32 +0000

A few days ago, if you asked me what “identity” means in tech, I’d give you a very Web2 answer:

Email + password = identity

Every platform I used - GitHub, banking apps, social media - had its own login system. Different usernames, different passwords, all controlled by the companies behind them.

Then I started learning Solana.

And my understanding of identity completely changed.

🏨 Web2 vs Web3: A Simple Analogy

Web2 identity is like staying in a hotel.

You get a key card, but the hotel can deactivate it anytime.

Solana identity is like owning your own house.

You hold the only key. No one can lock you out… but if you lose it, you're stuck outside.

This shift from platform-controlled access to user-controlled ownership is the core idea behind on-chain identity.

🔑 Identity = Keypair

On Solana, your identity starts with a cryptographic keypair:

Public Key → your address (safe to share)
Private Key → your proof of ownership (must stay secret)

If you’ve used SSH before, this will feel familiar.

No signup. No email. Just keys.

🤯 One Keypair = My Identity

In Web2, my identity is scattered. Each service (Google, Social Media, Github, etc..) manages its own version of "me".

But on Solana, everything connects to one thing:

That’s when it clicked:

My public key isn’t just an address — it’s my identity across the entire network.

👀 The Weird Part: No Username?

In Web2, we all know how a username looks like..
I expected something like that.
Instead, I got this 😵‍💫:

14grJpemFaf88c8tiVb77W7T...

Not exactly memorable 😅

But then I learned, On Solana, your identity is your public key:

It’s mathematically generated
It uses Base58 encoding, avoiding confusing characters like 0, O, I, and l
Not controlled by any company

🔐 “Logging In” Doesn’t Exist

This is a subtle but important shift.

You’re not logging in. You’re proving ownership cryptographically.

No passwords. No sessions. Just signatures.

🏁 Final Thought

I started this journey thinking I was just learning how wallets and transactions work.

Instead, I ended up rethinking what “identity” even means.

And honestly, once that clicks — everything else in Web3 starts to make a lot more sense.

Forem: Vinay