Skip to content

cli.mdx

Latest commit

 

History

History
74 lines (60 loc) · 3.16 KB

cli.mdx

File metadata and controls

74 lines (60 loc) · 3.16 KB
Raw
title The CLI
description Configuration, global options, generated commands, and non-interactive use.

The btcli command is the SDK with a shell in front: every read in the catalog is btcli query <name>, every transaction is btcli tx <name>, and both are generated from the same registries as the Python API, so they cannot diverge from it.

Configuration

Set connection and identity once, override per-command as needed:

btcli config set network finney
btcli config set wallet my_coldkey
btcli config get

Precedence, highest first: CLI flag > environment variable > config file > built-in default.

Option Env Meaning
--network, -n BT_NETWORK finney / test / local, or a ws:// endpoint
--wallet, -w BT_WALLET coldkey wallet name
--wallet-hotkey, -H BT_WALLET_HOTKEY hotkey name within the wallet
--wallet-path BT_WALLET_PATH wallet directory
--json machine-readable JSON output
--yes, -y skip confirmation prompts
--dry-run preview a mutation without submitting
--quiet, -q suppress informational output
--signer wallet (default) or extension — sign in a browser extension like Talisman or Polkadot.js

Command groups

  • btcli query <name> — every read; query --help lists them grouped by topic.
  • btcli tx <name> — every transaction; tx --help lists them grouped by pallet. All support --dry-run, --yes, and --proxy-for.
  • Familiar workflows also have hand-written groups that wrap the same machinery: wallet, stake, subnets, weights, axon, proxy, multisig, crowd, lock, timelock, config.
  • The v9 shorthands still work as hidden aliases: w, st, s, su, c, wt, cr, d (plus variants like wallets, subnet, conf), and every hyphenated command also accepts its snake_case spelling (wallet new_hotkey, tx add_stake). -h works as --help everywhere.
  • btcli evm — the EVM layer: keys, funding, precompiles, and contract deployment.
  • btcli tools — the JSON catalog of every transaction op with schemas, for agents.

Interactive by default, safe when it can't be

Run a tx command with required options missing and the CLI prompts for them, then shows the plan and asks for confirmation. In a non-interactive session (no TTY) without --yes, the command is declined rather than left hanging — automation never blocks on a prompt it can't answer.

Address arguments

Any address option (--dest, --hotkey, --coldkey, ...) accepts a raw ss58 address, an address-book or proxy-book name, or a local key name (HOTKEY, WALLET/HOTKEY, or a wallet name for coldkey options). --hotkey / --coldkey fall back to the configured wallet when omitted; destination options never default.

Shell completion

Completion scripts for bash, zsh, and fish ship in completions/ and install into the standard system locations. If your shell doesn't auto-load them (e.g. a venv install), source the script from your rc file, or run btcli --install-completion.