Key Generation

Torsten CLI supports generating all key types needed for Cardano operations.

Payment Keys

Generate an Ed25519 key pair for payments:

torsten-cli key generate-payment-key \
  --signing-key-file payment.skey \
  --verification-key-file payment.vkey

Output files:

payment.skey -- Payment signing key (keep secret)
payment.vkey -- Payment verification key (safe to share)

Stake Keys

Generate an Ed25519 key pair for staking:

torsten-cli key generate-stake-key \
  --signing-key-file stake.skey \
  --verification-key-file stake.vkey

Output files:

stake.skey -- Stake signing key
stake.vkey -- Stake verification key

Verification Key Hash

Compute the Blake2b-224 hash of any verification key:

torsten-cli key verification-key-hash \
  --verification-key-file payment.vkey

This outputs the 28-byte key hash in hexadecimal, used in addresses and certificates.

DRep Keys

Generate keys for a Delegated Representative (Conway governance):

torsten-cli governance drep key-gen \
  --signing-key-file drep.skey \
  --verification-key-file drep.vkey

Get the DRep ID:

# Bech32 format (default)
torsten-cli governance drep id \
  --drep-verification-key-file drep.vkey

# Hex format
torsten-cli governance drep id \
  --drep-verification-key-file drep.vkey \
  --output-format hex

Node Keys

Cold Keys

Generate cold keys and an operational certificate issue counter:

torsten-cli node key-gen \
  --cold-verification-key-file cold.vkey \
  --cold-signing-key-file cold.skey \
  --operational-certificate-issue-counter-file opcert.counter

KES Keys

Generate Key Evolving Signature keys (rotated periodically):

torsten-cli node key-gen-KES \
  --verification-key-file kes.vkey \
  --signing-key-file kes.skey

VRF Keys

Generate Verifiable Random Function keys (for slot leader election):

torsten-cli node key-gen-VRF \
  --verification-key-file vrf.vkey \
  --signing-key-file vrf.skey

Operational Certificate

Issue an operational certificate binding the cold key to the current KES key:

torsten-cli node issue-op-cert \
  --kes-verification-key-file kes.vkey \
  --cold-signing-key-file cold.skey \
  --operational-certificate-issue-counter-file opcert.counter \
  --kes-period 400 \
  --out-file opcert.cert

Address Generation

Payment Address

Build a payment address from keys:

# Enterprise address (no staking)
torsten-cli address build \
  --payment-verification-key-file payment.vkey \
  --testnet-magic 2

# Base address (with staking)
torsten-cli address build \
  --payment-verification-key-file payment.vkey \
  --stake-verification-key-file stake.vkey \
  --testnet-magic 2

# Mainnet address
torsten-cli address build \
  --payment-verification-key-file payment.vkey \
  --stake-verification-key-file stake.vkey \
  --mainnet

Key File Format

All keys are stored in the cardano-node text envelope format:

{
  "type": "PaymentSigningKeyShelley_ed25519",
  "description": "Payment Signing Key",
  "cborHex": "5820a1b2c3d4..."
}

The cborHex field contains the CBOR-encoded key bytes. The type field identifies the key type and is used for validation when loading keys.

Key files generated by Torsten are compatible with cardano-cli and vice versa.

Complete Workflow Example

Generate all keys needed for a basic wallet:

# 1. Generate payment keys
torsten-cli key generate-payment-key \
  --signing-key-file payment.skey \
  --verification-key-file payment.vkey

# 2. Generate stake keys
torsten-cli key generate-stake-key \
  --signing-key-file stake.skey \
  --verification-key-file stake.vkey

# 3. Build a testnet address
torsten-cli address build \
  --payment-verification-key-file payment.vkey \
  --stake-verification-key-file stake.vkey \
  --testnet-magic 2

# 4. Get the payment key hash
torsten-cli key verification-key-hash \
  --verification-key-file payment.vkey

Torsten Documentation