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Generate Your Own Keys

Now that we know the fundamentals and the command line options, it's time to generate our own keys rather than using the well-known Alice and Bob keys. Each person who wants to participate in the blockchain should generate their own keys. This page explains several options for generating keys, and each participant only needs to choose one such option. Regardless of which option you choose, be sure to record all of the output from this section as you will need it later.

Option 1: Subkey

Subkey is a tool that generates keys specifically designed to be used with Substrate.

Begin by compiling and installing the utility. This may take up to 15 minutes or so.

cargo install --force subkey --git https://github.com/paritytech/substrate --version 2.0.0

We will need to generate at least 2 keys from each type. Every node will need to have its own keys.

Generate a mnemonic and see the sr25519 key and address associated with it. This key will be used by Aura for block production.

$ subkey generate --scheme sr25519

Secret phrase `infant salmon buzz patrol maple subject turtle cute legend song vital leisure` is account:
  Secret seed:      0xa2b0200f9666b743402289ca4f7e79c9a4a52ce129365578521b0b75396bd242
  Public key (hex): 0x0a11c9bcc81f8bd314e80bc51cbfacf30eaeb57e863196a79cccdc8bf4750d21
  Account ID:       0x0a11c9bcc81f8bd314e80bc51cbfacf30eaeb57e863196a79cccdc8bf4750d21
  SS58 Address:     5CHucvTwrPg8L2tjneVoemApqXcUaEdUDsCEPyE7aDwrtR8D

Now see the ed25519 key and address associated with the same mnemonic. This key will be used by GRANDPA for block finalization.

$ subkey inspect --scheme ed25519 "infant salmon buzz patrol maple subject turtle cute legend song vital leisure"

Secret phrase `infant salmon buzz patrol maple subject turtle cute legend song vital leisure` is account:
  Secret seed:      0xa2b0200f9666b743402289ca4f7e79c9a4a52ce129365578521b0b75396bd242
  Public key (hex): 0x1a0e2bf1e0195a1f5396c5fd209a620a48fe90f6f336d89c89405a0183a857a3
  Account ID:       0x1a0e2bf1e0195a1f5396c5fd209a620a48fe90f6f336d89c89405a0183a857a3
  SS58 Address:     5CesK3uTmn4NGfD3oyGBd1jrp4EfRyYdtqL3ERe9SXv8jUHb

Learn more about Subkey in the Integrate section.

Option 2: Polkadot-JS Apps

The same UI that we used to see blocks being produced can also be used to generate keys. This option is convenient if you do not want to install Subkey. It can be used for production keys, but the system should not be connected to the internet when generating such keys.

A system that generates production keys should not be connected to the internet regardless of what method you choose. It is mentioned here specifically because having an internet connection is generally desired when using a webapp like Polkadot JS Apps.

On the "Accounts" tab, click "Add account". You do not need to provide a name, although you may if you would like to save this account for submitting transaction in addition to validating.

Generate an sr25519 key which will be used by Aura for block production. Take careful note of the menmonic phrase, and the SS58 address which can be copied by clicking on the identicon in the top left.

Then generate an ed25519 key which will be used by GRANDPA for block finalization. Again, note the menmonic phrase and ss58 address.

Option 3: Use Pre-Generated Keys

If you just want to get on with the tutorial, you may use one of the pre-generated keypairs below. But realize that these keys should absolutely not be used in production, and are provided only for learning purposes.

Pair 1

Key	Value
Secret phrase	clip organ olive upper oak void inject side suit toilet stick narrow
Secret seed	0x4bd2b2c1dad3dbe3fa37dc6ad5a4e32ddd8ad84b938179ac905b0622880e86e7
SR25519
Public key	0x9effc1668ca381c242885516ec9fa2b19c67b6684c02a8a3237b6862e5c8cd7e
SS58 Address	5FfBQ3kwXrbdyoqLPvcXRp7ikWydXawpNs2Ceu3WwFdhZ8W4
ED25519
Public key	0xb48004c6e1625282313b07d1c9950935e86894a2e4f21fb1ffee9854d180c781
SS58 Address	5G9NWJ5P9uk7am24yCKeLZJqXWW6hjuMyRJDmw4ofqxG8Js2

Pair 2

Key	Value
Secret phrase	paper next author index wedding frost voice mention fetch waste march tilt
Secret seed	0x4846fedafeed0cf307da3e2b5dfa61415009b239119242006fc8c0972dde64b0
SR25519
Public key	0x74cca68a32156615a5923c67024db70da5e7ed36e70c8cd5bcf3556df152bb6d
SS58 Address	5EhrCtDaQRYjVbLi7BafbGpFqcMhjZJdu8eW8gy6VRXh6HDp
ED25519
Public key	0x0fe9065f6450c5501df3efa6b13958949cb4b81a2147d68c14ad25366be1ccb4
SS58 Address	5CRZoFgJs4zLzCCAGoCUUs2MRmuD5BKAh17pWtb62LMoCi9h