Building and signing transactions

Transactions vary in complexity, depending on their intended outcomes, but all transactions share a number of attributes:
Input - contains funds that are spent by the transaction. It is simply the output of an earlier transaction. A transaction can have multiple inputs.
Output - determines where the funds go to. An output is given by a payment address and an amount. A transaction can have multiple outputs.
Payment address - an address that can receive payments. This is the only type of address that can be specified in a transaction output.
Payment and stake key pairs - sets of files containing a public verification key and a private signing key.
Time-to-live (TTL) - represents a slot, or deadline by which a transaction must be submitted. The TTL is an absolute slot number, rather than a relative one, which means that the --ttl value should be greater than the current slot number. A transaction becomes invalid once its ttl expires.
When building and submitting a transaction you need to check the current tip of the blockchain, for example, if the tip is slot 4000, and you want to submit a transaction to send some ADA, you should set the TTL to 4100, so that you have enough time to build and submit a transaction. Submitting a transaction with a TTL set in the past would result in a tx submission error.
Building a raw transaction
Before submitting a transaction, it must be built. Create a raw file that contains all relevant data for the transaction:
cardano-cli transaction build-raw \
​
--tx-in TX-IN            The input transaction as TxId#TxIx where TxId is the
                         transaction hash and TxIx is the index.
--tx-out TX-OUT          The ouput transaction as Address+Lovelace where
                         Address is the Bech32-encoded address followed by the
                         amount in Lovelace.
--ttl SLOT               Time to live (in slots).
--fee LOVELACE           The fee amount in Lovelace.
--certificate-file FILE  Filepath of the certificate. This encompasses all
                         types of certificates (stake pool certificates, stake
                         key certificates etc)
--withdrawal WITHDRAWAL  The reward withdrawal as StakeAddress+Lovelace where
                         StakeAddress is the Bech32-encoded stake address
                         followed by the amount in Lovelace.
--metadata-json-file FILE
                         Filepath of the metadata file, in JSON format.
--metadata-cbor-file FILE
                         Filepath of the metadata, in raw CBOR format.
--update-proposal-file FILE
                         Filepath of the update proposal.
--out-file FILE          Output filepath of the TxBody.
Fee calculation
Every transaction on the blockchain carries a fee, which needs to be calculated each time. This fee calculation requires protocol parameters.
cardano-cli query protocol-parameters \
​
--shelley-mode           For talking to a node running in Shelley-only mode
                         (default).
--byron-mode             For talking to a node running in Byron-only mode.
--epoch-slots NATURAL    The number of slots per epoch (default is 21600).
--security-param NATURAL The security parameter (default is 2160).
--cardano-mode           For talking to a node running in full Cardano mode.
--epoch-slots NATURAL    The number of slots per epoch (default is 21600).
--security-param NATURAL The security parameter (default is 2160).
--mainnet                Use the mainnet magic id.
--testnet-magic NATURAL  Specify a testnet magic id.
--out-file FILE          Optional output file. Default is to write to stdout.
cardano-cli transaction calculate-min-fee \
​
  --tx-body-file FILE      Input filepath of the TxBody.
  --mainnet                Use the mainnet magic id.
  --testnet-magic NATURAL  Specify a testnet magic id.
  --protocol-params-file FILE
                           Filepath of the JSON-encoded protocol parameters file
  --tx-in-count NATURAL    The number of transaction inputs.
  --tx-out-count NATURAL   The number of transaction outputs.
  --witness-count NATURAL  The number of Shelley key witnesses.
  --byron-witness-count NATURAL
                           The number of Byron key witnesses.
Signing a transaction
A transaction must prove that it has the right to spend its inputs. Most commonly, this means that a transaction must be signed by the signing keys belonging to the payment addresses of the inputs. If a transaction contains certificates, it must additionally be signed by somebody with the right to issue those certificates. For example, a stake address registration certificate must be signed by the signing key of the corresponding stake key pair.
cardano-cli transaction sign \
--tx-body-file FILE      Input filepath of the TxBody.
--signing-key-file FILE  Input filepath of the signing key (one or more).
--mainnet                Use the mainnet magic id.
--testnet-magic NATURAL  Specify a testnet magic id.
--out-file FILE          Output filepath of the Tx.
Submit a transaction
Submitting a transaction means sending the signed transaction through the local node whose Unix domain socket is obtained from the CARDANO_NODE_SOCKET_PATH enviromnent variable.
cardano-cli transaction submit
​
--shelley-mode           For talking to a node running in Shelley-only mode
                         (default).
--byron-mode             For talking to a node running in Byron-only mode.
--epoch-slots NATURAL    The number of slots per epoch (default is 21600).
--security-param NATURAL The security parameter (default is 2160).
--cardano-mode           For talking to a node running in full Cardano mode.
--epoch-slots NATURAL    The number of slots per epoch (default is 21600).
--security-param NATURAL The security parameter (default is 2160).
--mainnet                Use the mainnet magic id.
--testnet-magic NATURAL  Specify a testnet magic id.
--tx-file FILE           Filepath of the transaction you intend to submit.
QUESTIONS AND FEEDBACK
If you have any questions and suggestions while taking the lessons please feel free to ask in the forum and we will respond as soon as possible.
Using the faucet
Create a simple transaction
Last updated 1 month ago