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Create a Keychain

Overview​

To become a Keychain operator, you need to create and configure a Keychain entity on-chain, as shown in this guide.

tip

In the steps below, you'll interact with a local chain. To become an actual Keychain operator, you need to join Buenavista instead. However, we recommend running a local chain first to test your configuration.

tip

You can skip this guide and test a preconfigured Keychain. Just run a local node using a just script or a devnet snapshot and start fulfilling requests.

1. Run a node​

  1. Run a local chain as explained here: Run a local chain.

    For the rest of this guide, we'll assume you have a running Warden Protocol node with a local account (key) that has a few WARD tokens. You'll use these tokens to fund the Keychain and its Writers.

  2. The next steps require your local account name, or key name. It's referenced as my-key-name in the provided command-line examples.

    You can check the list of available keys by executing this command:

    wardend keys list

    To check the local account balance, run this:

    wardend query bank balances my-key-name
    tip

    If you used a just script or a devnet snapshot to run your node, the local account name is shulgin.

  3. In some of the commands, you'll also need to specify your chain ID. The actual value depends on the configuration you used when running your node.

    To check your chain ID, run this:

    wardend status

    See the network field in the output.

    tip

    If you used a just script or a devnet snapshot to run your node, the chain ID is warden_1337-1.

2. Register a Keychain​

The following steps show how to register a new Keychain entity on-chain.

  1. Run this command to create a new Keychain:

    wardend tx warden new-keychain \
      --name 'my-keychain-name' \
      --from my-key-name \
      --chain-id chain_123-1 \

    Specify the required details:

    • name: The Keychain name
    • from: Your local account name (key name)
    • chain-id: The ID of the chain you're running

    Optionally, you can also set the following:

    • description: The Keychain description
    • keychain-fees: Keychain fees in aWARD (0.000000000000000001 WARD)
      • key_req: A fee for creating a key pair
      • sig_req: A fee for signing a transaction
    • For more settings, see wardend tx warden new-keychain --help.

  2. Confirm the transaction. A new Keychain object will be created on-chain.

  3. Every Keychain is created with a Keychain ID that identifies it in key and signature requests and collects fees from users. You'll need this ID to operate your Keychain. Run the following command and check the id field in the output:

    wardend query warden keychains
    keychains:
    - admins:
      - warden1h7akmejqcrafp3mfpjqamghh89kzmkgjzsy3mc
      creator: warden1h7akmejqcrafp3mfpjqamghh89kzmkgjzsy3mc
      description: my-keychain-description
      fees:
        key_req:
       - amount: "100"
         denom: award
     sig_req:
       - amount: "1"
         denom: award
      id: "1"
      name: my-keychain-name
    pagination:
      total: "1"

3. Add a Keychain Writer​

A Keychain Writer is an account that can write Keychain results (public keys and signatures) to the chain. The Keychain Writers list is essentially an allowlist of accounts that can interact on behalf of the Keychain.

To add a Keychain Writer, take these steps:

  1. Create a new key (account) with a preferred name:

    wardend keys add my-keychain-writer-name

    The output should look like this:

    - address: warden18my6wqsrf5ek85znp8x202wwyg8rw4fqhy54k2
      name: my-keychain-writer-name
      pubkey: '{"@type":"/cosmos.crypto.secp256k1.PubKey","key":"A2cECb3ziw5/LzUBUZIChyek3bnGQv/PSXHAH28xd9/Q"}'
      type: local


    **Important** write this mnemonic phrase in a safe place. It is the only way to recover your account if you ever forget your password.

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  2. Write down the mnemonic phrase and the address of the new account. You'll need this information to interact with the chain and restore the account. Note that only this address will be able to publish signatures and public keys on behalf of the Keychain.

  3. Fund the account with some tokens. Specify your key name, the Keychain Writer name, and chain ID:

    wardend tx bank send my-key-name $(wardend keys show -a my-keychain-writer-name) \
      1000000000000000000award \
      --chain-id chain_123-1

    To check the Keychain Writer balance, run this:

    wardend query bank balances my-keychain-writer-name
    tip

    In this example, we used $(wardend keys show -a my-keychain-writer-name) to get the Keychain Writer address by its name. Alternatively, you can just specify the address obtained in the previous step.

  4. Finally, add the Writer account to your Keychain. Specify the Keychain ID from Step 2.3 and other details:

    wardend tx warden add-keychain-writer --from my-key-name \
    --keychain-id 1 --writer $(wardend keys show -a my-keychain-writer-name) \
    --chain-id chain_123-1

    To check the result, get the list of Keychains:

    wardend query warden keychains

    In the output, find your Keychain and check the writers list:

    keychains:
    - admins:
      - warden1h7akmejqcrafp3mfpjqamghh89kzmkgjzsy3mc
      creator: warden1h7akmejqcrafp3mfpjqamghh89kzmkgjzsy3mc
      description: my-keychain-description
      fees:
        key_req:
       - amount: "100"
         denom: award
     sig_req:
       - amount: "1"
         denom: award
      id: "1"
      name: my-keychain-name
      writers:
        - warden18my6wqsrf5ek85znp8x202wwyg8rw4fqhy54k2
    pagination:
      total: "1"

Next steps​

The next steps depend on your goals: