leo account

The leo account command provides tools for managing Aleo accounts, including generating keys, importing accounts, signing messages, and verifying signatures.

Syntax

leo account <SUBCOMMAND> [OPTIONS]

Subcommands

new

Generate a new Aleo account with a random private key.

leo account new [OPTIONS]

import

Import an Aleo account from a private key.

leo account import [PRIVATE_KEY] [OPTIONS]

sign

Sign a message using your Aleo private key.

leo account sign [OPTIONS]

verify

Verify a signature from an Aleo address.

leo account verify [OPTIONS]

decrypt

Decrypt a record ciphertext using your private or view key.

leo account decrypt [OPTIONS]

New Options

number

Seed the RNG with a numeric value for reproducible key generation.

Only use --seed for testing. Production keys should use secure randomness.

boolean

default:false

Write the private key to the .env file in the current directory.

boolean

default:false

Print sensitive information (private key) to an alternate screen for privacy.

string

default:"testnet"

Network type: mainnet, testnet, or canary.

string

default:"https://api.explorer.provable.com/v1"

Network endpoint URL.

Import Options

string

Private key to import. If not provided, will prompt interactively.

boolean

default:false

Write the private key to the .env file.

boolean

default:false

Print sensitive information discreetly.

string

default:"testnet"

Network type.

string

default:"https://api.explorer.provable.com/v1"

Network endpoint URL.

Sign Options

string

Private key to use for signing.

string

Path to file containing the private key.

string

required

Message (Aleo value) to sign.

boolean

default:false

Parse the message as bytes instead of Aleo literals.

string

default:"testnet"

Network type.

Verify Options

string

required

Address to use for verification.

string

required

Signature to verify.

string

required

Message (Aleo value) to verify against.

boolean

default:false

Parse the message as bytes instead of Aleo literals.

string

default:"testnet"

Network type.

Decrypt Options

string

Private key or view key to use for decryption.

string

Path to file containing the private key or view key.

string

required

Record ciphertext to decrypt (starts with record1).

string

default:"testnet"

Network type.

Examples

Generate New Account

leo account new

Output:

🔑 New Aleo Account Generated
──────────────────────────────────────────────
 Private Key: APrivateKey1zkp...
   View Key: AViewKey1...
    Address: aleo1...
──────────────────────────────────────────────

⚠️  Save your private key securely. It cannot be recovered if lost.

Store your private key securely. Anyone with your private key can access your account.

Generate and Write to .env

leo account new --write

Creates or updates .env:

PRIVATE_KEY=APrivateKey1zkp...

Generate with Seed (Testing)

leo account new --seed 12345

Generates the same key each time for testing:

Private Key: APrivateKey1zkp... (deterministic)

Generate Discreetly

leo account new --discreet

Displays sensitive info on an alternate screen that clears after viewing.

Import Account

leo account import APrivateKey1zkp...

Output:

✅ Account Imported Successfully
──────────────────────────────────────────────
 Private Key: APrivateKey1zkp...
   View Key: AViewKey1...
    Address: aleo1...
──────────────────────────────────────────────

Import Interactively

leo account import

Prompts for private key:

Enter your private key: [hidden]

Import and Write to .env

leo account import APrivateKey1zkp... --write

Sign a Message

Sign Aleo Literal

leo account sign \
  --private-key APrivateKey1zkp... \
  --message 1u32

Output:

Signature: sign1...

Sign from File

leo account sign \
  --private-key-file ~/.leo/private_key \
  --message "hello world"

Sign Raw Bytes

leo account sign \
  --private-key APrivateKey1zkp... \
  --message "Hello, Aleo!" \
  --raw

Verify a Signature

leo account verify \
  --address aleo1... \
  --signature sign1... \
  --message 1u32

Output:

✅ Signature is valid.

Or if invalid:

❌ Signature is invalid.

Verify Raw Message

leo account verify \
  --address aleo1... \
  --signature sign1... \
  --message "Hello, Aleo!" \
  --raw

Decrypt Record with Private Key

leo account decrypt \
  --key APrivateKey1zkp... \
  --ciphertext record1zy9q3y...

Output:

{
  owner: aleo1...,
  amount: 100u64,
  _nonce: 1234567890field
}

Decrypt Record with View Key

leo account decrypt \
  --key AViewKey1... \
  --ciphertext record1zy9q3y...

View keys can decrypt records but cannot spend them.

Decrypt from File

leo account decrypt \
  --key-file ~/.leo/private_key \
  --ciphertext record1zy9q3y...

Key Formats

Private Key

Format: APrivateKey1zkp... A private key allows:

Signing transactions
Decrypting records
Deriving view key and address
Full account control

View Key

Format: AViewKey1... A view key allows:

Decrypting records
Viewing transaction details
Cannot spend funds

Derived from private key:

Private Key → View Key

Address

Format: aleo1... A public address for:

Receiving funds
Identifying accounts
Public visibility

Derived from private key:

Private Key → View Key → Address

Key Derivation

The relationship between keys:

Private Key (secret)
    ↓ derive
View Key (semi-private)
    ↓ derive  
Address (public)

Private Key: Full control, keep secret
View Key: Read-only access, can share selectively
Address: Public identifier, safe to share

Security Best Practices

1. Generate Securely

# Good: Use system randomness
leo account new

# Bad: Use predictable seed (testing only)
leo account new --seed 12345

2. Store Safely

# Good: Use secure storage
leo account new > account.txt
chmod 600 account.txt

# Better: Use password manager or hardware wallet

# Good: Share address only
Address: aleo1...

# Bad: Share private key
Private Key: APrivateKey1zkp... ❌

4. Use View Keys for Read-Only Access

# Share view key for auditing (not private key)
View Key: AViewKey1...

5. Backup Securely

# Write to encrypted backup
leo account new --discreet > backup.txt.gpg

6. Test with Small Amounts

# Test new accounts with minimal funds first
leo execute transfer_public test_address 1u64 --broadcast

Message Signing Use Cases

Authentication

Prove account ownership without revealing private key:

# Sign challenge
leo account sign --private-key APrivateKey1zkp... --message "auth-challenge-123"

# Service verifies signature
leo account verify --address aleo1... --signature sign1... --message "auth-challenge-123"

Data Integrity

Sign data to prove authenticity:

leo account sign --private-key APrivateKey1zkp... --message '{"action":"transfer","amount":100}' --raw

Timestamping

Create unforgeable timestamps:

leo account sign --private-key APrivateKey1zkp... --message "document-hash:abc123 timestamp:$(date +%s)" --raw

Record Decryption

Records are encrypted on-chain. Decrypt them with your key:

# Get record ciphertext from transaction
leo query transaction at1abc... --network testnet | jq .execution.transitions[0].outputs[0]

# Decrypt the record
leo account decrypt \
  --key APrivateKey1zkp... \
  --ciphertext record1zy9q3y...

Common record types:

Credits records (from credits.aleo)
Custom program records
Fee records

Environment Variables

Store account info in .env:

PRIVATE_KEY=APrivateKey1zkp...
NETWORK=testnet
ENDPOINT=https://api.explorer.provable.com/v1

Leo commands automatically use these values:

leo deploy --broadcast  # Uses PRIVATE_KEY from .env

Add .env to .gitignore to prevent committing private keys to version control.

Troubleshooting

Invalid Private Key Format

Failed to parse private key.

Ensure:

Private key starts with APrivateKey1
Full key is provided (not truncated)
No extra whitespace

Signature Verification Failed

Signature is invalid.

Check:

Address matches the signing private key
Message exactly matches signed message
Signature is complete and correct

Decryption Failed

Failed to decrypt record.

Verify:

Ciphertext starts with record1
Key corresponds to the record owner
Record ciphertext is complete

​Syntax

​Subcommands

​new

​import

​sign

​verify

​decrypt

​New Options

​Import Options

​Sign Options

​Verify Options

​Decrypt Options

​Examples

​Generate New Account

​Generate and Write to .env

​Generate with Seed (Testing)

​Generate Discreetly

​Import Account

​Import Interactively

​Import and Write to .env

​Sign a Message

​Sign Aleo Literal

​Sign from File

​Sign Raw Bytes

​Verify a Signature

​Verify Raw Message

​Decrypt Record with Private Key

​Decrypt Record with View Key

​Decrypt from File

​Key Formats

​Private Key

​View Key

​Address

​Key Derivation

​Security Best Practices

​1. Generate Securely

​2. Store Safely

​3. Never Share Private Keys

​4. Use View Keys for Read-Only Access

​5. Backup Securely

​6. Test with Small Amounts

​Message Signing Use Cases

​Authentication

​Data Integrity

​Timestamping

​Record Decryption

​Environment Variables

​Troubleshooting

​Invalid Private Key Format

​Signature Verification Failed

​Decryption Failed

​Next Steps

Syntax

Subcommands

new

import

sign

verify

decrypt

New Options

Import Options

Sign Options

Verify Options

Decrypt Options

Examples

Generate New Account

Generate and Write to .env

Generate with Seed (Testing)

Generate Discreetly

Import Account

Import Interactively

Import and Write to .env

Sign a Message

Sign Aleo Literal

Sign from File

Sign Raw Bytes

Verify a Signature

Verify Raw Message

Decrypt Record with Private Key

Decrypt Record with View Key

Decrypt from File

Key Formats

Private Key

View Key

Address

Key Derivation

Security Best Practices

1. Generate Securely

2. Store Safely

3. Never Share Private Keys

4. Use View Keys for Read-Only Access

5. Backup Securely

6. Test with Small Amounts

Message Signing Use Cases

Authentication

Data Integrity

Timestamping

Record Decryption

Environment Variables

Troubleshooting

Invalid Private Key Format

Signature Verification Failed

Decryption Failed

Next Steps