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Command Line Interface

The Cardano DevKit CLI provides tools for wallet management, transaction building, devnet control, and project scaffolding.

Installation​

# Run directly with npx
npx cardano-devkit --help

# Or install globally
npm install -g cardano-devkit
cardano-devkit --help

Quick Start​

# Initialize a new project
cardano-devkit init

# Start local devnet
cardano-devkit devnet start

# Generate a test wallet
cardano-devkit generate wallet --network Preprod

# Check system health
cardano-devkit health

Project Initialization​

init​

Initialize a new Cardano project with configuration files.

# Basic initialization
cardano-devkit init

# Interactive wizard mode
cardano-devkit init --wizard

# Specify options directly
cardano-devkit init --network Preprod --template basic

Options:

OptionDescription
--wizardInteractive setup wizard
--network <network>Default network (Mainnet, Preprod, Preview, LocalDevnet)
--template <template>Project template (basic, full, minimal)
--typescriptGenerate TypeScript configuration
--skip-gitSkip git initialization

Wizard Mode:

The wizard guides you through configuration:

? Project name: my-cardano-app
? Select default network: Preprod
? Enable TypeScript? Yes
? Initialize local devnet configuration? Yes
? Select features:
  ◉ Wallet management
  ◉ Transaction building
  ◉ NFT minting
  ◯ Smart contracts
  ◯ Governance
? Create example files? Yes

✓ Created cardano.config.json
✓ Created tsconfig.json
✓ Created src/index.ts
✓ Initialized git repository

Run 'npm install' to install dependencies.

Code Generation​

generate​

Generate various code artifacts and configurations.

cardano-devkit generate <type> [options]

Types:

TypeDescriptionExample
seedGenerate a new seed phrasegenerate seed
walletGenerate wallet from seedgenerate wallet --network Preprod
addressGenerate address from seedgenerate address --seed "..."
policy-idGenerate minting policygenerate policy-id --type sig
keyGenerate key pairgenerate key
contractSmart contract templategenerate contract escrow
componentReact componentgenerate component WalletButton
configConfiguration filegenerate config

generate seed​

Generate a new seed phrase.

# Default 24 words
cardano-devkit generate seed

# Specify word count
cardano-devkit generate seed --words 15

# Output as JSON
cardano-devkit generate seed --json

generate wallet​

Generate a complete wallet configuration.

# Generate new wallet
cardano-devkit generate wallet --network Preprod

# From existing seed
cardano-devkit generate wallet --seed "your seed phrase here" --network Preprod

# Output formats
cardano-devkit generate wallet --network Preprod --json
cardano-devkit generate wallet --network Preprod --output wallet.json

Output:

Wallet Generated
════════════════════════════════════════
Network: Preprod
Address: addr_test1qz...
Seed: abandon abandon abandon...

⚠️  Store your seed phrase securely!

generate address​

Generate an address from a seed phrase.

# From environment variable
SEED="your seed phrase" cardano-devkit generate address --network Preprod

# With explicit seed
cardano-devkit generate address --seed "your seed phrase" --network Preprod

# Generate multiple addresses
cardano-devkit generate address --seed "..." --network Preprod --count 5

generate policy-id​

Generate a minting policy and policy ID.

# Signature policy
cardano-devkit generate policy-id --type sig

# Time-locked policy
cardano-devkit generate policy-id --type time --lock-until "2024-12-31"

# Multi-signature policy
cardano-devkit generate policy-id --type multi --required 2 --keys 3

generate contract​

Generate smart contract templates.

# Escrow contract
cardano-devkit generate contract escrow

# Vesting contract
cardano-devkit generate contract vesting

# Time-lock contract
cardano-devkit generate contract timelock

# Output to file
cardano-devkit generate contract escrow --output contracts/escrow.ts

generate component​

Generate React components.

# Wallet connect button
cardano-devkit generate component WalletButton

# Transaction builder form
cardano-devkit generate component TxBuilder

# Output path
cardano-devkit generate component WalletButton --output src/components/

generate config​

Generate configuration files.

# Default config
cardano-devkit generate config

# Specific network
cardano-devkit generate config --network Mainnet

# Full configuration
cardano-devkit generate config --full

Devnet Commands​

devnet start​

Start the local development network.

# Basic start
cardano-devkit devnet start

# With options
cardano-devkit devnet start --block-time 500 --explorer

Options:

OptionDescriptionDefault
--block-time <ms>Block production interval1000
--explorerStart block explorerfalse
--port <port>API port10080
--ogmiosEnable Ogmiosfalse
--kupoEnable Kupofalse

devnet stop​

Stop the local devnet.

cardano-devkit devnet stop

devnet status​

Check devnet status.

cardano-devkit devnet status

devnet fund​

Fund an address from the faucet.

cardano-devkit devnet fund <address> <amount>

# Example
cardano-devkit devnet fund addr_test1qz... 1000

devnet logs​

View devnet logs.

cardano-devkit devnet logs
cardano-devkit devnet logs --follow

Wallet Commands​

wallet balance​

Check wallet balance.

cardano-devkit wallet balance --address <address> --network Preprod

wallet utxos​

List wallet UTxOs.

cardano-devkit wallet utxos --address <address> --network Preprod

Transaction Commands​

tx send​

Send a simple ADA transfer.

cardano-devkit tx send \
  --from <seed-or-address> \
  --to <recipient> \
  --amount 10 \
  --network Preprod

tx build​

Build a transaction without submitting.

cardano-devkit tx build \
  --from <address> \
  --to <recipient> \
  --amount 10 \
  --network Preprod \
  --output tx.json

tx sign​

Sign a transaction.

cardano-devkit tx sign \
  --tx tx.json \
  --seed "your seed phrase" \
  --output tx.signed.json

tx submit​

Submit a signed transaction.

cardano-devkit tx submit --tx tx.signed.json --network Preprod

Diagnostic Commands​

health​

Quick system health check.

cardano-devkit health --network Preprod

# Output:
# ✓ Network: healthy
# ✓ Provider: connected
# ✓ Tip: slot 45678901

diagnose​

Run full diagnostics.

cardano-devkit diagnose --network Preprod

# Include wallet
cardano-devkit diagnose --network Preprod --address <address>

# JSON output
cardano-devkit diagnose --network Preprod --json

Utility Commands​

convert​

Convert between ADA and lovelace.

# ADA to lovelace
cardano-devkit convert 10 --to lovelace
# Output: 10000000

# Lovelace to ADA
cardano-devkit convert 5000000 --to ada
# Output: 5

validate​

Validate Cardano data.

# Validate address
cardano-devkit validate address <address>

# Validate transaction hash
cardano-devkit validate txhash <hash>

# Validate policy ID
cardano-devkit validate policyid <id>

decode​

Decode Cardano data.

# Decode CBOR transaction
cardano-devkit decode tx <cbor-hex>

# Decode address
cardano-devkit decode address <address>

Configuration​

Environment Variables​

VariableDescription
CARDANO_NETWORKDefault network
CARDANO_SEEDWallet seed phrase
CARDANO_API_KEYProvider API key
CARDANO_DEVNET_PORTDevnet API port

Configuration File​

Create cardano.config.json:

{
  "network": "Preprod",
  "providers": {
    "Preprod": {
      "type": "koios",
      "url": "https://preprod.koios.rest/api/v1"
    }
  },
  "devnet": {
    "blockTime": 1000,
    "enableExplorer": true
  }
}

Global Options​

All commands support these options:

OptionDescription
--network <network>Override network
--config <file>Config file path
--jsonOutput as JSON
--verboseVerbose output
--quietSuppress output
--helpShow help

Examples​

Complete Workflow​

# 1. Initialize project
cardano-devkit init --wizard

# 2. Start devnet
cardano-devkit devnet start

# 3. Generate test wallet
cardano-devkit generate wallet --network LocalDevnet --output test-wallet.json

# 4. Fund wallet from faucet
cardano-devkit devnet fund $(cat test-wallet.json | jq -r '.address') 1000

# 5. Check balance
cardano-devkit wallet balance --address $(cat test-wallet.json | jq -r '.address')

# 6. Send transaction
cardano-devkit tx send \
  --from "$(cat test-wallet.json | jq -r '.seed')" \
  --to addr_test1... \
  --amount 10 \
  --network LocalDevnet

# 7. Run diagnostics
cardano-devkit diagnose --network LocalDevnet

CI/CD Integration​

# Run health check in CI
cardano-devkit health --network Preprod --json || exit 1

# Validate before deployment
cardano-devkit validate address $DEPLOY_ADDRESS || exit 1

# Generate test fixtures
cardano-devkit generate seed --json > test-fixtures/seed.json

Exit Codes​

CodeDescription
0Success
1General error
2Invalid arguments
3Network error
4Wallet error
5Transaction error