Thread by @_k3tan

1/ As of now, the easiest way to use a hardware wallet with your own Bitcoin node is through @CryptoAdvance's Specter Desktop. It's even available for those on Windows! Here are the steps:

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Step 1: Download @bitcoincoreorg Bitcoin Core from bitcoincore.org and install it using the setup wizard.

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Step 2: Open Bitcoin Core and install it to "Use the default data directory".

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Step 3: Configure Bitcoin Core. In Settings>Options>Open Configuration File, use Notepad to add the following two lines:
server=1
blockfilterindex=1

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Step 4: Save it and shut down Bitcoin Core and open it up again for the changes to take effect.

Step 5: Download Specter Desktop from GitHub releases. Current version is specter_desktop-setup-0.7.2.exe
github.com/cryptoadvance/…

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Step 6: Install Specter Desktop using the setup wizard and Run Local Specter Server.

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Your Specter Desktop application should detect your Bitcoin Core node, tell you it hasn't synced yet and display the current block it is at. Pretty clever!

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Step 7: It's now time to "Add new device". My favourite hardware wallet is @COLDCARDwallet. You can import your Coldcard using the airgapped method. Instructions are provided in Specter to do this. Other device types are available too, and can be connected via USB.

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Step 8: Once you've imported your chosen device, it's now time to "Add new wallet". Let's go for a Single key wallet.

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Step 9: Name the wallet, use default segwit and choose the device. For me, it's the Coldcard.

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Step 10: Confirm the details and click create wallet! Optionally, you can scan for existing funds if the wallet isn't empty. This will only work once your Bitcoin Core node is synchronised to the network.

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Your wallet will have the basic send/receive functionality. Wait until Bitcoin Core has fully synchronised.

The final step is to tell your Grandma about it.

13/ The advantage to this setup is that your hardware wallet integrates through to Bitcoin Core via Specter Desktop. There's no other software required. It saves significant disk space. It also allows for multisig wallets to be created with devices from multiple hardware vendors.

14/ Try it out for yourself with small amounts and get familiar with it. If you want assistance or run into any bugs, join the Telegram chat on t.me/spectersupport.

15/ Hear from the developers on the recent episode of the @stephanlivera podcast. stephanlivera.com/episode/205/

16/ Eventually, I'll get around to doing a video tutorial on the @ministryofnodes YouTube channel. Maybe when Bitcoin Core syncs.