Skip to main content

Cleos

Introduction

cleos is a command line tool that interfaces with the REST API exposed by nodeos. Developers can also use cleos to deploy and test Antelope smart contracts.

Installation

cleos is distributed as part of the Antelope software suite. To install cleos just visit the Antelope Software Installation section.

Using Cleos

To use cleos, you need the end point (IP address and port number) of a running nodeos instance. Also, the nodeos instance must be configured to load the eosio::chain_api_plugin when launched. This allows nodeos to respond to the RPC requests coming from cleos.

Cleos Commands

For a list of all cleos commands, run:

cleos --help
Command Line Interface to Antelope Client
Usage: cleos [OPTIONS] SUBCOMMAND

Options:
-h,--help Print this help message and exit
-u,--url TEXT=http://127.0.0.1:8888/
the http/https URL where nodeos is running
--wallet-url TEXT=unix:///Users/username/eosio-wallet/keosd.sock
the http/https URL where keosd is running
-r,--header pass specific HTTP header; repeat this option to pass multiple headers
-n,--no-verify don't verify peer certificate when using HTTPS
--no-auto-keosd don't automatically launch a keosd if one is not currently running
-v,--verbose output verbose errors and action console output
--print-request print HTTP request to STDERR
--print-response print HTTP response to STDERR

Subcommands:
version Retrieve version information
create Create various items, on and off the blockchain
convert Pack and unpack transactions
get Retrieve various items and information from the blockchain
set Set or update blockchain state
transfer Transfer tokens from account to account
net Interact with local p2p network connections
wallet Interact with local wallet
sign Sign a transaction
push Push arbitrary transactions to the blockchain
multisig Multisig contract commands
wrap Wrap contract commands
system Send eosio.system contract action to the blockchain.

Cleos Subcommands

To get help with any particular subcommand, run cleos SUBCOMMAND --help. For instance:

cleos create --help
Create various items, on and off the blockchain
Usage: cleos create SUBCOMMAND

Subcommands:
key Create a new keypair and print the public and private keys
account Create a new account on the blockchain
(assumes system contract does not restrict RAM usage)

cleos can also provide usage help for subcommands within subcommands. For instance:

cleos create account --help
Create a new account on the blockchain (assumes system contract does not restrict RAM usage)
Usage: cleos create account [OPTIONS] creator name OwnerKey [ActiveKey]

Positionals:
creator TEXT The name of the account creating the new account (required)
name TEXT The name of the new account (required)
OwnerKey TEXT The owner public key or permission level for the new account (required)
ActiveKey TEXT The active public key or permission level for the new account

Options:
-h,--help Print this help message and exit
-x,--expiration set the time in seconds before a transaction expires, defaults to 30s
-f,--force-unique force the transaction to be unique. this will consume extra bandwidth and remove any protections against accidently issuing the same transaction multiple times
-s,--skip-sign Specify if unlocked wallet keys should be used to sign transaction
-j,--json print result as json
--json-file TEXT save result in json format into a file
-d,--dont-broadcast don't broadcast transaction to the network (just print to stdout)
--return-packed used in conjunction with --dont-broadcast to get the packed transaction
-r,--ref-block TEXT set the reference block num or block id used for TAPOS (Transaction as Proof-of-Stake)
--use-old-rpc use old RPC push_transaction, rather than new RPC send_transaction
-p,--permission TEXT ... An account and permission level to authorize, as in 'account@permission' (defaults to 'creator@active')
--max-cpu-usage-ms UINT set an upper limit on the milliseconds of cpu usage budget, for the execution of the transaction (defaults to 0 which means no limit)
--max-net-usage UINT set an upper limit on the net usage budget, in bytes, for the transaction (defaults to 0 which means no limit)
--delay-sec UINT set the delay_sec seconds, defaults to 0s

Cleos Example

The following cleos command creates a local wallet named mywallet and displays the password to the screen:

cleos wallet create -n mywallet --to-console
Creating wallet: mywallet
Save password to use in the future to unlock this wallet.
Without password imported keys will not be retrievable.
"PW5JbF34UdA193Eps1bjrWVJRaNMt1VKddLn4Dx6SPVTfMDRnMBWN"