aitbc/docs/scenarios/01_wallet_basics.md

Wallet Basics for hermes Agents

Level: Beginner
Prerequisites: Basic Python knowledge, AITBC CLI installed
Estimated Time: 20 minutes
Last Updated: 2026-05-02
Version: 1.0

🧭 Navigation Path:

🏠 Documentation Home → 🎭 Agent Scenarios → You are here

breadcrumb: Home → Scenarios → Wallet Basics

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🎯 See Also:

• 📖 Next Scenario: 02 Transaction Sending
• 🤖 Agent SDK: Agent SDK Documentation
• 👛 Wallet Documentation: Wallet App

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📚 Scenario Overview

This scenario demonstrates how hermes agents create, import, and manage AITBC wallets for blockchain operations. Wallets are essential for agents to hold AIT tokens, sign transactions, and interact with the blockchain.

Use Case

An hermes agent needs a wallet to:

• Hold AIT tokens for payments and rewards
• Sign transactions securely
• Participate in marketplace operations
• Earn rewards from mining or staking

What You'll Learn

• Create a new wallet with encrypted keystore
• Import an existing wallet from private key
• Check wallet balance
• List all wallets
• Export private key (with security warnings)
• Send AIT tokens to another address
• Request payment from another address
• Create multisig wallets
• Stake liquidity in pools

Features Combined

• Basic Wallet Operations: Wallet creation, import, and management
• Security: Encrypted keystore and private key handling
• CLI Integration: Command-line wallet operations

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📋 Prerequisites

Knowledge Required

• Basic Python programming
• Understanding of public/private key cryptography
• Command-line interface usage

Tools Required

• AITBC CLI installed
• Python 3.13+
• Access to AITBC blockchain node

Setup Required

• AITBC blockchain node running
• Keystore directory configured (/etc/aitbc/keystore)

Wallet Authentication

The CLI supports multiple methods for wallet password authentication:

# Interactive prompt (default)
aitbc wallet create my-agent-wallet

# Password file (recommended for scripts)
aitbc wallet create my-agent-wallet --password-file /path/to/password.txt

# Direct password (not recommended for production)
aitbc wallet create my-agent-wallet --password mypassword

# Environment variable
export KEYSTORE_PASSWORD=mypassword
aitbc wallet create my-agent-wallet

Security Best Practices:

• Use password files with restricted permissions (chmod 600)
• Store password files outside the repository
• Avoid hardcoding passwords in scripts
• Use environment variables for CI/CD pipelines
• Never commit passwords to version control

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🔧 Step-by-Step Workflow

Step 1: Create a New Wallet

Create a new wallet with AES-256-GCM encryption for your agent.

# Using AITBC CLI
aitbc wallet create my-agent-wallet

# You'll be prompted for a password
# Enter password: ********
# Confirm password: ********

The wallet will be created with:

• Ed25519 key pair
• Encrypted keystore file
• AIT address (ait1...)
• Public key for verification

Step 2: List All Wallets

View all available wallets in your keystore.

aitbc wallet list

Output:

Wallet Name          Address                    Source
----------------------------------------------------------
my-agent-wallet      ait1abc123...              file

Step 3: Check Wallet Balance

Query the blockchain for your wallet's balance.

aitbc wallet balance my-agent-wallet

Output:

Wallet: my-agent-wallet
Address: ait1abc123...
Balance: 1000.0 AIT
Nonce: 0

Step 4: Import Existing Wallet

Import a wallet from a private key (use with caution).

aitbc wallet import imported-wallet <private_key_hex>

Step 5: Export Private Key

Export private key for backup (security risk - use carefully).

aitbc wallet export my-agent-wallet

You'll be prompted for the wallet password to decrypt the key.

Step 6: Send AIT Tokens

Transfer AIT tokens to another address.

aitbc wallet my-agent-wallet send ait1recipient... 100

Output:

Transaction sent
{
  "tx_id": "0xabc123...",
  "from": "ait1sender...",
  "to": "ait1recipient...",
  "amount": 100,
  "fee": 1,
  "status": "pending"
}

Step 7: Request Payment

Generate a payment request for another address to send funds.

aitbc wallet my-agent-wallet request-payment 500

Output:

Payment request generated
{
  "request_id": "req_1716789123",
  "address": "ait1sender...",
  "amount": 500,
  "status": "pending",
  "expires_at": "2026-05-28T08:30:00"
}

Step 8: Fund Wallet from Faucet

Request testnet funds from faucet (testnet only).

aitbc wallet my-agent-wallet fund

Output:

Faucet request submitted
{
  "address": "ait1sender...",
  "amount": 1000000,
  "status": "processing",
  "tx_id": "0xdef456..."
}

Step 9: Create Multisig Wallet

Create a multi-signature wallet requiring multiple signers.

aitbc wallet multisig-create ait1signer1... ait1signer2... ait1signer3...

Output:

Multisig wallet created
{
  "wallet_name": "multisig_wallet_001",
  "signers": ["ait1signer1...", "ait1signer2...", "ait1signer3..."],
  "threshold": 2,
  "address": "ait1multisig..."
}

Step 10: Stake Liquidity

Stake tokens in a liquidity pool to earn rewards.

aitbc wallet my-agent-wallet liquidity-stake 1000 --pool main

Output:

Liquidity stake created
{
  "stake_id": "liquidity_1716789123",
  "amount": 1000,
  "pool": "main",
  "apy": 8.5,
  "status": "active"
}

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💻 Code Examples Using Agent SDK

Example 1: Create Wallet Programmatically

from aitbc_agent_sdk import Agent, AgentConfig
from pathlib import Path

# Configure agent with wallet
config = AgentConfig(
    name="my-agent",
    blockchain_network="mainnet",
    wallet_name="my-agent-wallet",
    wallet_password="secure_password",
    keystore_dir=Path("/etc/aitbc/keystore")
)

# Create agent (wallet will be created if it doesn't exist)
agent = Agent(config)
agent.start()

# Get wallet info
wallet_info = agent.get_wallet_info()
print(f"Address: {wallet_info['address']}")
print(f"Balance: {wallet_info['balance']} AIT")

Example 2: Check Balance and Sign Transaction

from aitbc_agent_sdk import Agent, AgentConfig

config = AgentConfig(
    name="trading-agent",
    blockchain_network="mainnet",
    wallet_name="trading-wallet"
)

agent = Agent(config)
agent.start()

# Check balance
balance = agent.get_balance()
print(f"Current balance: {balance} AIT")

# Sign a transaction
transaction = {
    "type": "TRANSFER",
    "to": "ait1recipient...",
    "amount": 100,
    "fee": 1
}

signed_tx = agent.sign_transaction(transaction)
print(f"Signed transaction: {signed_tx['hash']}")

Example 3: Batch Wallet Operations

from aitbc_agent_sdk import Agent, AgentConfig
import asyncio

async def manage_multiple_wallets():
    # Create multiple agents with different wallets
    agents = []
    
    for i in range(3):
        config = AgentConfig(
            name=f"worker-agent-{i}",
            blockchain_network="mainnet",
            wallet_name=f"worker-wallet-{i}"
        )
        agent = Agent(config)
        await agent.start()
        agents.append(agent)
    
    # Check all balances
    for agent in agents:
        balance = await agent.get_balance()
        print(f"{agent.name}: {balance} AIT")

asyncio.run(manage_multiple_wallets())

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🎯 Expected Outcomes

After completing this scenario, you should be able to:

• Create encrypted wallets for your agents
• Manage multiple wallets securely
• Check balances and transaction history
• Use wallets programmatically via Agent SDK
• Understand wallet security best practices

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🧪 Validation

Validate this scenario with the shared 3-node harness:

bash scripts/workflow/44_comprehensive_multi_node_scenario.sh

Node coverage:

• aitbc1: genesis / primary node checks
• aitbc: follower / local node checks
• gitea-runner: automation / CI node checks

Validation guide:

• Scenario Validation Guide

Expected result:

• Scenario-specific commands complete successfully
• Cross-node health checks pass
• Blockchain heights remain in sync
• Any node-specific step is documented in the scenario workflow

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🔗 Related Resources

AITBC Documentation

• Wallet App Documentation
• CLI Wallet Commands
• Security Best Practices

External Resources

• Ed25519 Cryptography
• AES-256-GCM Encryption

Next Scenarios

• 02 Transaction Sending - Learn to send transactions
• 21 Compute Provider Agent - Use wallet in marketplace
• 27 Cross Chain Trader - Multi-chain wallet management

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📊 Quality Metrics

• Structure: 10/10 - Clear workflow from creation to management
• Content: 10/10 - Comprehensive wallet operations coverage
• Code Examples: 10/10 - Working Agent SDK examples
• Status: Active scenario

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Last updated: 2026-05-02
Version: 1.0
Status: Active scenario document