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If you created a NEAR account using a wallet or the CLI, you can export its seed phrase (or private key) to use it in other wallets or tools.
If you don’t have a NEAR account yet, check out our guide on Creating a NEAR account

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Exporting your seed phrase

You can export your seed phrase from the wallet you used to create your account. Most wallets will have an option to “Export Seed Phrase” or “Backup Account”. Follow the instructions provided by your specific wallet.
Never share your seed phrase with anyone. Anyone with your seed phrase has full access to your account and funds.

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Importing into a wallet

To import an existing account into a wallet:
1

Choose your wallet

Visit wallet.near.org and select the wallet you want to use.
2

Find the import option

Most wallets will have an option to “Import Account”, “Restore from Seed Phrase”, or similar.
3

Enter your seed phrase

Carefully enter your seed phrase exactly as it was provided. The order of words matters!
4

Verify and complete

Follow any additional steps required by your wallet to complete the import process.

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Importing into the CLI

To import an existing account into the CLI:
1

Run the import command

near account import-account
2

Follow the prompts

The CLI will prompt you to:
  • Enter your account ID
  • Provide your seed phrase or private key
  • Choose where to store the credentials
3

Verify the import

Once imported, verify your account:
near account view-account-summary <your-account>.testnet

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Security best practices

  • Never share your seed phrase with anyone
  • Don’t store it in plain text files on your computer
  • Consider using a password manager for secure storage
  • Write it down and keep it in a safe place
  • Keep separate accounts for testing (testnet) and production (mainnet)
  • Don’t use development accounts for storing valuable assets
  • Create dedicated accounts for specific applications
  • Export and securely store seed phrases for important accounts
  • Test the recovery process to ensure your backups work
  • Keep backups in multiple secure locations

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What’s next?

Create a new account

Learn how to create a new NEAR account

Build a smart contract

Start developing on NEAR

Get testnet tokens

Fund your testnet account

Understand access keys

Learn about NEAR’s access key system

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