Using the command line interface

The cardano-cli command line interface (CLI) is installed as part of the node installation process. This CLI provides a collection of tools for generating keys, constructing transactions, creating certificates, and other important tasks.

It is organized in a hierarchy of subcommands, and each level comes with its own built-in documentation of command syntax and options. For more details, read the CLI command reference.

To access the top level help, type the following command (without arguments):

cardano-cli

All the available sub-subcommands are displayed, one of which is node. To continue drilling down the hierarchy, type the following command:

cardano-cli node

To learn about the sub-sub-subcommand key-gen, type the following command:

cardano-cli node key-gen

The parameters that this command takes are displayed. To generate a key-pair of offline keys and a file for the issue counter, type the following command:

cardano-cli node key-gen \
--cold-verification-key-file cold.vkey \
--cold-signing-key-file cold.skey \
--operational-certificate-issue-counter-file cold.counter