# Bech32m Coding

## Overview

[`Bech32m`](/api/Bech32m) (BIP-350) combines a human-readable prefix with a checksummed data
part — the format behind Bitcoin Taproot addresses and other modern address schemes. The
checksum catches transcription errors before they become lost funds.

## Recipes

### Encode Data with a Prefix

[`Bech32m.encode`](/api/Bech32m/encode) takes a human-readable part (HRP) and the data bytes to
protect.

```ts twoslash
import { Bech32m } from 'ox'

const address = Bech32m.encode('tempo', new Uint8Array(20)) // [!code hl]
// @log: 'tempo1qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqwa7xtm'
```

### Decode & Verify a Checksum

[`Bech32m.decode`](/api/Bech32m/decode) verifies the checksum and returns the prefix and data,
throwing a typed error on corruption.

```ts twoslash
import { Bech32m } from 'ox'

declare const address: string

const { hrp, data } = Bech32m.decode(address) // [!code hl]
// @log: { hrp: 'tempo', data: Uint8Array(20) }
```

For raw BIP-173 base32 data without a checksum, use [`Base32`](/guides/data/base32).

## Best Practices

### Treat the Prefix as Part of the Address

The HRP is covered by the checksum: `tempo1…` and `other1…` encoding the same bytes are
different addresses. Validate that a decoded `hrp` matches the network you expect before using
the data part.

## See More

<Cards>
  <Card icon="lucide:binary" title="Base32 Coding" description="The raw, checksum-free alphabet Bech32m builds on." to="/guides/data/base32" />

  <Card icon="lucide:hash" title="Work with Bytes & Hex" description="The primitive types every codec converts to and from." to="/guides/data/bytes-hex" />
</Cards>