> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.theblockchainlibrary.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# BIP39 Mnemonic to Key Pair (Python)

> Generate a BIP39 mnemonic phrase and derive an Ethereum key pair using web3.py.

# BIP39 Mnemonic to Key Pair (Python)

Generate a BIP39 mnemonic phrase and derive an Ethereum key pair using web3.py.

Generate a BIP39 mnemonic phrase and derive an Ethereum key pair using web3.py.

## Explanation

This demonstrates how seed phrases map to blockchain accounts.

**Educational purposes only** — never generate keys on a production server or store private keys in plaintext.

**How BIP39 works:**

* A mnemonic is a human-readable encoding of 128–256 bits of entropy.
* BIP-32 derives a hierarchical tree of key pairs from the seed.
* BIP-44 defines the derivation path standard (e.g. `m/44'/60'/0'/0/0` for Ethereum).

Install dependencies: `pip install mnemonic eth-account`.

## Code

```python theme={null}
from mnemonic import Mnemonic
from eth_account import Account

# Generate a 12-word mnemonic
mnemo = Mnemonic("english")
mnemonic_phrase = mnemo.generate(strength=128)
print(f"Mnemonic: {mnemonic_phrase}")

# Enable HD wallet features
Account.enable_unaudited_hdwallet_features()

# Derive the first Ethereum account
account = Account.from_mnemonic(mnemonic_phrase)
print(f"Address:   {account.address}")
print(f"Private:   {account.key.hex()}")
```

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**Canonical knowledge ID:** `code-example:bip39-mnemonic-keypair-python`