The short answer
mbhd.wallet.aes. The seed is the real backup. Later wallets generally restore in Electrum with BIP39 and path m/0'; early Beta-era wallets may need a version-specific procedure. Always verify against a known historical address before assuming the restoration is correct.What is MultiBit HD?
MultiBit HD was designed to fix the biggest weakness of its predecessor. MultiBit Classic stored a bag of independent private keys, and users who backed up inconsistently could lose funds after a crash or update. MultiBit HD introduced a hierarchical deterministic structure: one master seed generates a tree of addresses, so a single backup reproduces the entire wallet.
"HD" stands for Hierarchical Deterministic — every address is derived deterministically from the seed, in a strict hierarchy of accounts and receive/change chains.
MultiBit HD seed phrases: 12, 18 or 24 words
MultiBit HD records show wallet-word sets of 12, 18 and 24 words (from the standard BIP39 word list); 12- and 18-word sets appear more commonly in recovery documentation, but documented 24-word cases exist. The seed is the single most important thing you can have:
- With the seed, the entire wallet — every address and balance — can be rebuilt in compatible software.
- The seed words must be written down in order and stored securely, offline.
- MultiBit HD's seed design aligned with standards that survived, which is why later HD wallets restore in current Electrum — but an early HD wallet had a documented BIP32 compatibility issue (issue #445), so always verify against a known historical address.
Where MultiBit HD stores its files
MultiBit HD keeps its data in an operating-system-specific MultiBitHD folder:
| Operating system | Default folder |
|---|---|
| Windows | %APPDATA%\MultiBitHD\ |
| macOS | ~/Library/Application Support/MultiBitHD/ |
| Linux | ~/.multibit-hd/ |
Files you might find inside
mbhd.wallet.aes— the encrypted wallet file (bitcoinj protobuf, AES-encrypted with your password).zip-backup/— a folder of timestamped.aes.zipbackups created automatically.mbhd.spvchainandmbhd.checkpoints— SPV blockchain headers; irrelevant to your funds.
How to restore a MultiBit HD wallet
Because HD wallets derive everything from the seed, restoration is the cleanest path in the whole MultiBit family:
- Install Electrum and create a new standard wallet.
- Choose "I already have a seed" and enter your 12-, 18- or 24-word phrase.
- Check the BIP39 option.
- Set the derivation path to
m/0'(MultiBit HD's non-standard but documented path — see below). - Complete setup; Electrum derives your receive and change addresses and shows your balance.
⚠️ MultiBit HD did not use the modern m/44'/0'/0' path. It used early bitcoinj derivation under m/0' (receive chain m/0'/0, change chain m/0'/1). If the wallet appears empty, this is often the reason — but not always: an early MultiBit HD wallet had a documented BIP32 compatibility issue (issue #445). Full click-by-click instructions: restore a MultiBit HD seed.
MultiBit HD not opening?
If MultiBit HD won't open or crashes on launch, a launch failure alone does not mean the bitcoin has been lost — the wallet data lives in the mbhd.wallet.aes file and is controlled by your seed phrase, not by the app. Launch problems are usually Java- or sync-related, and you never actually need to open MultiBit again to recover: your seed restores directly in Electrum. See the won't open guide for the full fix.
Is MultiBit HD safe to use today?
No. Like Classic, MultiBit HD was discontinued in July 2017 and should not be used to store new bitcoin. Its design legacy is genuinely positive though — the seed-based model it helped normalize is now the industry standard, and later seed phrases generally remain usable — early Beta-era wallets may need a version-specific restore procedure.