Setup Feather (Monero Wallet) on Tails

Install the Feather Monero wallet on Tails and practice a real send/receive on Monero stagenet — private crypto, no real funds, no risk.

BEGINNER
Estimated: 40 minutes
Type: GUI Desktop
Tasks: 16
XP: 210 XP

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Before you begin

Feather is a lightweight Monero wallet that runs great on Tails. In this lab you'll install it, create a wallet, and practice a real send/receive on Monero STAGENET — a free test network — so you never risk real money while learning. Note: in a real Tails install you'd enable Create Persistent Storage from the boot menu so Feather and your wallet survive a reboot. This lab VM can't persist, so treat everything here as practice.
Stagenet coins have no value and can't be sent to mainnet — that's the point.
1

Start Tails

Launch the Tails instance for this lab and wait for the desktop to load.
Give it a minute — Tails boots a fresh system every time.
2

Connect to Tor

In the Tor Connection window, choose 'Connect to Tor automatically'. Wait until it reports success. Everything Feather does will be routed over Tor.
No Tor, no network — Tails blocks non-Tor traffic by design.
3

Open the Tor Browser

Open Tor Browser so you can reach the Feather website to download the wallet.
Activities (top-left) → search 'Tor Browser'.
4

Get Feather from featherwallet.org

Go to https://featherwallet.org and open the Download page. Under the Linux options, choose the AppImage build (labelled for Tails/Whonix). Download it to the Tor Browser downloads folder.
The AppImage is self-contained — no installation needed.
5

Verify the download (recommended)

Serious privacy work means verifying what you run. Download the signature (.asc) next to the AppImage, import Feather's signing key, and verify the signature matches. If verification fails, do NOT run the file.
featherwallet.org publishes the exact key fingerprint and gpg commands on its 'Verify' page.
6

Make the AppImage executable

Open Files, find the AppImage, right-click → Properties → Permissions, and tick 'Allow executing file as program'. (Terminal equivalent: chmod +x feather-*.AppImage)
Linux won't run a downloaded binary until you mark it executable.
7

Run Feather

Double-click the AppImage to launch Feather. On Tails you'll see a warning about running downloaded software — that's expected. Launch it.
If double-click does nothing, run it from a terminal: ./feather-*.AppImage
8

Choose your node (over Tor)

Feather needs a Monero node. Pick a remote node from Feather's built-in list — on Tails it reaches it over Tor automatically. You don't run your own node here; a remote node can't see your keys, only broadcast your transactions.
Prefer an .onion node when available — it keeps the connection inside Tor end to end.
9

Create a new wallet

Select Create new wallet. Feather generates a 25-word Monero mnemonic seed. This seed IS your money — anyone with it controls the wallet. Set a wallet password too (it encrypts the local file, but does NOT replace the seed).
Restore height: for a brand-new wallet you can accept the current height so it doesn't rescan history.
10

Back up your seed correctly

Write the 25 words on paper, in order. Never photograph it, never type it into a website, never store it in cloud notes. In this practice VM there's nothing to lose — but build the habit now.
A password protects the file on disk; the SEED restores the wallet anywhere. Guard the seed above all.
11

Understand your address & subaddresses

Open the Receive tab. Your primary address starts with 4…. Feather can mint fresh SUBADDRESSES on demand — use a new one for each incoming payment so observers can't trivially link your receipts together.
Monero already hides amounts (RingCT), senders (ring signatures) and the real destination (stealth addresses) on-chain — subaddresses add link-ability protection on YOUR side.
12

Switch Feather to stagenet

Close the wallet and reopen Feather. On the start screen, change the network from Mainnet to STAGENET, then create a fresh wallet on stagenet. Stagenet mirrors mainnet exactly but the coins are free and worthless — perfect for practice.
You can also launch with the --stagenet flag. A stagenet wallet is separate from your mainnet one.
13

Fund it from a stagenet faucet

Copy a fresh subaddress from your stagenet wallet's Receive tab. In Tor Browser, open a Monero stagenet faucet, paste your address, and request coins. Watch them arrive in Feather (a few minutes / a couple of confirmations).
Search 'monero stagenet faucet' — community faucets come and go; pick one that's currently up.
14

Send a private test transaction

Generate a second subaddress in the same wallet (or use another stagenet address). Open the Send tab, paste the destination, enter a small amount, and send. Watch it confirm. You just moved Monero — privately — with zero real-world risk.
Notice the change output returns to you automatically; you don't manage 'change addresses' like in Bitcoin.
15

Persistence after reboot

On a real Tails USB you'd enable Persistent Storage and add Feather (and your wallet file) so they survive reboots. This VM resets on every boot — so on your own Tails, set up persistence before relying on a wallet.
Persistent Storage is encrypted with your Tails passphrase — it's the safe place for a real wallet file.
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