Cardano Node CLI Reference

The Shelley command line interface (CLI) provides a collection of tools for key generation, transaction construction, certificate creation 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.
This section provides a reference of the core cardano-cli shelley commands and their associated sub commands:
cardano-cli shelley The set of cardano-cli shelley commands include:
address: Shelley payment address commands
stake-address: Shelley stake address commands
transaction: Shelley transaction commands
node: Shelley node operation commands
stake-pool: Shelley stake pool commands
query: Shelley node query commands. This queries the local node whose Unix domain socket is obtained from the CARDNAO_NODE_SOCKET-PATH environment variable. 
block: Shelley block commands
system: Shelley system commands
genesis: Shelley genesis block commands
text-view: commands for dealing with Shelley text view files that are stored on disk such as transactions or addresses
governance: Shelley governance commands
cardano-cli shelley address The address command contains the following sub commands:
key-gen: creates a single address key pair
key-hash: prints the hash of an address to stdout
build: builds a Shelley payment address, with optional delegation to a stake address
build-multisig: builds a Shelley payment multi-sig address.
info: prints details about the address
cardano-cli shelley stake-address The stake-address command contains the following sub commands:
key-gen: creates a single address key pair
build: builds a stake address
register: registers a stake address 
delegate: delegates from a stake address to a stake pool
de-register: de-registers a stake address
registration-certificate: creates a registration certificate
delegation-certificate: creates a stake address delegation certificate
deregistration-certificate: creates a de-registration certificate
cardano-cli shelley transaction The transaction command contains the following sub commands:
build-raw: builds a low-level transaction
sign: signs the transaction
witness: witnesses a transaction
sign-witness: signs and witnesses a transaction
check: checks the transaction
submit: submits the transaction to the local node whose Unix domain socket is obtained from the CARANO_NODE_SOCKET_PATH environment variable.
calculate-min-fee: calculates the minimum fee for the transaction
info: prints information about the transaction
cardano-cli shelley node The node command contains the following sub commands:
key-gen: creates a key pair for a node operator’s offline key and a new certificate issue counter
key-gen-KES: creates a key pair for a node KES operational key
key-gen-VRF: creates a key pair for a node VRF operational key
issue-op-cert: issues a node operational certificate
cardano-cli shelley stake-pool The stake-pool command contains the following sub commands:
register: registers a stake pool
re-register: re-registers a stake pool
retire: retires a stake pool
registration-certificate: creates a stake pool registration certificate
de-registration-certificate: creates a stake pool de-registration certificate
id:  builds pool id from the offline key
cardano-cli shelley query The query command contains the following sub commands:
pool-id: retrieves the node’s pool ID
protocol-parameters: retrieves the node’s current pool parameters
tip: gets the node’s current tip (slot number, hash, and block number)
utxo: retrieves the node’s current UTxO, filtered by address
version: retrieves the node’s version details
status: retrieves the current status of the node
ledger-state:  dumps the current state of the node
stake-address-info: get the current delegations and reward accounts filtered by stake address.
stake-distribution: get the node's current aggregated stake distribution
cardano-cli shelley block The block command contains the following sub command:
info: retrieves the pool ID that produced a particular block.
cardano-cli shelley system The system command contains the following sub commands:
start: starts the system
stop: stops the system
cardano-cli shelley governance The governance command contains the following sub commands:
create-mir-certificate: creates an MIR (move instantaneous rewards) certificate
create-update-proposal: creates an update proposal
protocol-update: performs a protocol update
cold-keys: retrieves the cold keys
cardano-cli shelley genesis The genesis command contains the following sub commands:
key-gen-genesis: creates a Shelley genesis key pair
key-gen-delegate: creates a Shelley genesis delegate key pair
key-gen-utxo: creates a Shelley genesis UTxO key pair
key-hash: prints the identifier, or hash, of a public key
get-ver-key: derives verification key from a signing key
initial-addr: gets the address for an initial UTxO based on the verification key
initial-txin: gets the transaction ID for an initial UTxO based on the verification key. 
create: creates a Shelley genesis file from a genesis template, as well as genesis keys, delegation keys, and spending keys. 
cardano-cli shelley text-view The text-view command contains the following sub command:
decode-cbor: prints a text view file, as decoded CBOR. 
Making a Shelley blockchain from scratch
Ouroboros protocol
Last modified 2yr ago