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The fdctl keys command provides utilities for managing Agave-style validator identity keypairs.

Subcommands

keys pubkey

Prints the base58 encoding of the public key in the file at the specified path to standard output and exits.

Usage

fdctl keys pubkey <PATH>

Arguments

PATH
string
required
Path to an Agave-style identity.json key file

Output

The command writes the base58-encoded public key to stdout and diagnostic messages from logs to stderr.

Example

fdctl keys pubkey ~/.firedancer/fd1/identity.json
Output:
Fe4StcZSQ228dKK2hni7aCP7ZprNhj8QKWzFe5usGFYF
Use this command to verify the public key of your validator identity without having to parse the JSON file manually.

keys new

Creates a new keypair from the kernel random number generator and writes it to the file specified at the path.

Usage

fdctl keys new <PATH> [--config <path>]

Arguments

PATH
string
required
Path where the new keypair file will be created
--config
string
Path to a configuration TOML file which determines the user creating the file

Behavior

The default user for the operation is the user running the command and should have write access to the specified path. The user can be changed by specifying it in the TOML configuration file.

Configuration Example

user = "firedancer"
When a configuration file with a user field is provided, the keypair will be created with that user’s permissions.

Example

Create a keypair as the current user:
fdctl keys new ~/.firedancer/identity.json
Ensure you have proper write permissions to the target directory before creating a new keypair.

Key File Format

Both subcommands work with Agave-style identity.json keypair files. These files contain:
  • The keypair in JSON format
  • Compatible with Agave validator software
  • Can be used interchangeably between Firedancer and Agave

Security Best Practices

1

Protect Your Keys

Store keypairs in a secure location with restricted file permissions:
chmod 600 ~/.firedancer/identity.json
2

Backup Your Keys

Always maintain secure backups of your validator identity keys in multiple locations.
3

Verify Keys

After creating or copying keys, use fdctl keys pubkey to verify the public key matches your expectations.

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