The account command provides complete account management functionality, from generating keypairs to checking balances and minting tokens.
Subcommands
new - Generate a new keypairlist - List all saved keypairsbalance - Check account balanceinfo - Show detailed account informationmint - Mint tokens to an account (authority only)
Generate Keypair Create a new Ed25519 keypair for signing transactions.
minichain account new [OPTIONS]
Basic Usage cargo run --release -- account new --name alice
Output: Generated new keypair: Address: 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e Public Key: 2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e8f4a... Private Key: 5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e8f4a2b9d7f... ✓ Saved to: data/keys/alice.json Keep your private key safe!
Options Name Saves the keypair with a custom filename. If omitted, uses a truncated address.
Example: minichain account new --name bob # Saves to: data/keys/bob.json minichain account new # Saves to: data/keys/account_3f8c2a6e.json
Data Directory Specifies where to save the keypair. Defaults to ./data.
Keypairs are saved as JSON files:
{ "address" : "0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e" , "public_key" : "2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e8f4a..." , "private_key" : "5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e8f4a2b9d7f..." }
Private keys allow full control of the account. Never share them or commit to version control. Add data/keys/ to your .gitignore.
List Keypairs Show all saved keypair files.
minichain account list [OPTIONS]
Example cargo run --release -- account list
Output: Saved Keypairs: authority_0.json: 0xf4a5e8c2b9d7f3a1e6b8c4d9f2a5e8c1 alice.json: 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e bob.json: 0x8d2c5e9f1a4b7c3d6e9f2a5c8b1d4e7f
If no keypairs exist:
No keypairs found. Use minichain account new to create a new keypair.
Check Balance Query the balance of any address.
minichain account balance < ADDRES S >
Example cargo run --release -- account balance 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e
Output: Address: 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e Balance: 50000
Addresses must be in hexadecimal format with the 0x prefix:
✓ 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e
✗ 3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e (missing prefix)
✗ 0x3f8c (too short)
You can query any address, even if you don’t have the private key. Accounts with zero balance still exist with a default state.
Show detailed account state including nonce and contract code.
minichain account info < ADDRES S >
Example For a regular account:
cargo run --release -- account info 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e
Output: Account Information: Address: 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e Balance: 48500 Nonce: 3 Is Contract: No
For a contract account:
cargo run --release -- account info 0xa7b3c9e5d1f4a8c2b6e9d2f5a8c1e4b7
Output: Account Information: Address: 0xa7b3c9e5d1f4a8c2b6e9d2f5a8c1e4b7 Balance: 0 Nonce: 0 Is Contract: Yes Code Hash: 0x8f2a5c9e1d4b7f3a6c9e2d5f8a1c4e7b...
Account State Fields
Address: The account’s unique identifierBalance: Current token balanceNonce: Number of transactions sent from this account (prevents replay attacks)Is Contract: Whether this account contains contract bytecodeCode Hash: Blake3 hash of the contract bytecode (contracts only)
Mint Tokens Mint tokens to any account. Only authorities can mint tokens.
minichain account mint --from < AUTHORIT Y > --to < ADDRES S > --amount < AMOUN T >
Example cargo run --release -- account mint \ --from authority_0 \ --to 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e \ --amount 50000
Output: Minting tokens... Authority: 0xf4a5e8c2b9d7f3a1e6b8c4d9f2a5e8c1 Recipient: 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e Amount: 50000 ✓ Minted 50000 tokens New balance: 50000
Options From Authority Keypair name of the authority (without .json extension). Must be one of the authorities generated during init.
Example: --from authority_0 --from authority_1
To Address Recipient address in hexadecimal format.
Amount Number of tokens to mint.
Authority Validation The mint command verifies the caller is a registered authority:
$ minichain account mint --from alice --to 0xABC... --amount 1000 Error: Address 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e is not an authority. Only authorities can mint tokens. Authorities: 0xf4a5e8c2b9d7f3a1...
Minting increases the total token supply. In production systems, implement proper governance around minting permissions.
Complete Workflow Here’s a typical account setup flow:
# 1. Initialize blockchain (creates authority_0) minichain init --authorities 1 # 2. Create user accounts minichain account new --name alice minichain account new --name bob # 3. List all accounts minichain account list # Output: # authority_0.json: 0xf4a5e8c2b9d7f3a1... # alice.json: 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a... # bob.json: 0x8d2c5e9f1a4b7c3d... # 4. Check initial balance (should be 0) minichain account balance 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a... # Output: Balance: 0 # 5. Mint tokens to Alice minichain account mint \ --from authority_0 \ --to 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a... \ --amount 50000 # 6. Verify balance minichain account balance 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a... # Output: Balance: 50000 # 7. View full account info minichain account info 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a... # Output: # Balance: 50000 # Nonce: 0 # Is Contract: No
Common Errors Keypair Not Found $ minichain account mint --from alice --to 0xABC... --amount 1000 Error: Keypair file not found: data/keys/alice.json. Use 'minichain account new' to create one.
Solution: Create the keypair first with account new.$ minichain account balance abc123 Error: Invalid address format: abc123
Solution: Use the correct format: 0x prefix + 32 hex characters.Chain Not Initialized $ minichain account balance 0xABC... Error: Failed to open storage. Did you run 'minichain init'?
Solution: Run minichain init first.Next Steps
Send Transactions Transfer tokens between accounts
Deploy Contracts Deploy smart contracts from your account