Create a Key Pair
Prerequisites
- Install the currently supported version of
clio
| The clio tool is bundled with the Wire software. Installing Wire Core will also install the clio tool.
The install process has already set up the wallet for the root user. To interact with clio, ensure you are on the root user. Run sudo su - to switch to the root user.
Commands
Create a key pair and print to console
Legacy format (default):
clio create key --to-console
Example Output:
Private key: 5JfChKSga69mbeYhQviEBGyUbaTJ4hupULsDh3EMCrExMNnABB9
Public key: SYS6zsBXoPwDA5j674Hq1iSS19WP3fBm35BkXVU3iVrBQhanKGSKB
New format (recommended):
Use the --k1 flag to generate keys with the new PVT_K1_ and PUB_K1_ prefixes:
clio create key --k1 --to-console
Example Output:
Private key: PVT_K1_9NgM6WJUDNBMY6TePThYjozoRJTHzUsJ9jGrMyLcRPLGAekgg
Public key: PUB_K1_5MRLMBaYQuiYAXVFcc4W3uZ4N4FxzH6qkVg7wm1uvbZ3rFWfXK
You can also use --r1 to generate keys using the R1 curve (used by iPhone secure enclave) instead of the K1 curve (Bitcoin-compatible).
Create a key pair and save to file
clio create key --file FILE_TO_SAVEKEY
Example Output:
Saving keys to FILE_TO_SAVEKEY
You can also combine with --k1 to save the new format keys:
clio create key --k1 --file my_keys.txt
Create a key directly in wallet
Alternatively, you can create a key pair directly inside your wallet using clio wallet create_key:
clio wallet create_key
Example Output:
Created new private key with a public key of: "PUB_K1_7xDsNqjei5ikWPsm7qCvqKGDyDBZtRg7T2YT1tCojALuS33Tb7"
This automatically stores the private key in your wallet. Use K1 as a positional argument to explicitly specify the key type:
clio wallet create_key K1