wallet-cli import keystore¶

Import an account from a Web3 keystore file. Interactive-only.

Note: there are no stdin flags here. Both the master password and the keystore file's own password are entered only via hidden TTY prompts — the file password is secret material like any other.

Synopsis¶

wallet-cli import keystore <path> [--label <name>]

Description¶

Imports a single account from a standard Web3 keystore JSON — the format TronLink exports, and what backup --keystore writes — and stores it encrypted under your master password. The imported wallet becomes active.

A keystore holds one private key, so the resulting account has no seed and nothing can be derived from it, exactly like import private-key. Its type is recorded as privateKey.

Two passwords are involved and they are unrelated: your master password encrypts the account into local storage, the keystore's own password decrypts the file. They are prompted in that order, and only after the file has been read and structurally checked — so a mistyped path costs no password typing.

Without a TTY the command fails with tty_required at exit 2, and that check runs first, ahead of the file. In a non-interactive environment every call fails the same way whether the path is good or not; the file-before-password ordering above only applies once you have a terminal.

Import never overwrites an existing account. Importing the same key twice is idempotent (status: "existing", and that account is selected); importing a key whose address is already held by a different kind of account — an HD seed's derived address, a watch-only or Ledger address — adds a second, independent privateKey account at that address rather than replacing what is there. See import private-key, which this command matches exactly once the key is decrypted.

Options¶

Option	Description
`<path>`	Required. Path to the keystore JSON file
`--label <string>`	Human-friendly unique account label, 1–64 chars; omit to auto-generate

Plus the global options.

Examples¶

wallet-cli import keystore ./tronlink-export.json --label imported

? Master password (hidden):
? Keystore file password (hidden):
✅ Imported wallet "imported"
  Account ID    wlt_7h2k9m1a
  Type          private key
  TRON address  TPBivseBCFmG8AEL38DJ4hxrFMQteENxDz
  EVM address   0x90F79bf6EB2c4f870365E785982E1f101E93b906
  Active        yes

⚠️ The keystore password was read from hidden input and was not printed.

wallet-cli import keystore ./tronlink-export.json --label imported -o json

? Master password (hidden):
? Keystore file password (hidden):
{"schema":"wallet-cli.result.v1","success":true,"command":"import.keystore","data":{"status":"created","accountId":"wlt_7h2k9m1a","label":"imported","type":"privateKey","index":null,"active":true,"addresses":{"tron":"TPBivseBCFmG8AEL38DJ4hxrFMQteENxDz","evm":"0x90F79bf6EB2c4f870365E785982E1f101E93b906"},"derivationPath":null},"meta":{"durationMs":44,"warnings":[]}}

Output¶

data carries the imported account — addresses only, never any secret. Local command — no chain block.

Field	Type	Meaning
`status`	string	`"created"`, or `"existing"` when the same key was already present (that account is selected)
`accountId`	string	Stable account id
`label`	string	Account label
`type`	string	`"privateKey"` (standalone, no seed)
`index`	number \| null	Non-HD account, always `null`
`active`	boolean	Became the active account
`addresses`	object	Both encodings of the imported key: `tron` (base58) and `evm` (EIP-55)
`derivationPath`	null	A Web3 keystore holds one raw key and has no derivation path

Exit status¶

0 imported · 1 execution failure (wrong_keystore_password; auth_failed; io_error) · 2 usage error (tty_required — no TTY for interactive input, checked before anything else; keystore_not_found — no such file; invalid_keystore — not a valid keystore JSON; invalid_value — a duplicate or invalid label).