Deriving the Wallet PEM file

erdpy can be used to simplify and automate the interaction with the Elrond network and can be easily used in scripts.

While erdpy has features that do not need a Wallet, submitting any sort of transaction with erdpy does require one. And to automate submitting transactions to the Elrond network, erdpy needs a so-called PEM file, associated with a specific Wallet. This is needed because erdpy must be able to sign transactions on your behalf, without your help. Having a PEM file obviates the need for manually entering a password, like on https://wallet.elrond.com. However, one might choose to use a JSON keyfile Wallet instead. erdpy has support for these as well - the associated password has to be provided by means of a separate file.

warning

A PEM file generated from a Wallet should be kept very safe, because it contains the private key of that Wallet.

To derive a PEM file for a Wallet, the mnemonic words of that account are needed. Make sure you have them before continuing. Also, make sure erdpy is installed on your system:

erdpy --version

If you see command not found it means you need to install erdpy first. See Installing erdpy for how to do that.

The command for generating the PEM file from mnemonic words is:

erdpy --verbose wallet derive <output-file> --mnemonic

In the above command, you must replace <output-file> with the name of the PEM file to be created. Upon running the command you will be asked to provide the mnemonic words.

Here is an example:

erdpy --verbose wallet derive ./walletKey.pem --mnemonic
> words here some mnemonic words more words et cetera

The command above will generate a file called walletKey.pem in the current folder, using the mnemonic words you provided.

Now, whenever you want to submit a transaction from the command-line, you can tell erdpy to use this generated PEM file to sign the transaction with.

tip

The Elrond network makes no distinction between manually submitting a transaction, and submitting a transaction through erdpy. This means that every transaction you send with erdpy will appear on https://wallet.elrond.com when you open the Wallet which you generated the PEM for.

warning

Always safeguard any PEM files you have. Anyone who has them can submit transactions and perform actions in the Elrond network as if they were you, so make sure nobody can get to them.