Prepare a Wallet for Uploads
Configure wallet access for antd, understand what the direct CLI can inspect, and avoid payment settings that mainnet storage nodes reject.
This guide covers wallet inputs shared across SDK, CLI, and Direct Rust work. Treat a wallet as upload-ready only after a paid write/read test succeeds in an approved environment. A direct-wallet upload can grant an unlimited allowance automatically when the existing allowance is too low.
If you want to understand public addresses and DataMap handling rather than upload wallets, see Keys, Addresses, and DataMaps.
Start with your environment
The practical difference between environments is:
Local devnet
ant-dev 0.1.0 provisions a wallet and local balances; test the workflow in an isolated environment
Arbitrum Sepolia
Use a test wallet funded with test ANT and test gas
Arbitrum One
Use a production wallet funded with real ANT and gas
If you are only building read-only features, you do not need any of this wallet setup.
Prerequisites
The
antd v0.14.0binary or ant installed through npm or an operating-system installerA hex-encoded private key you control when you are not using a local devnet
A low-value wallet suitable for the environment you selected
curlfor theantdwallet checksAn understanding that approval and uploads make on-chain transactions and spend gas
For the local daemon commands, set its executable path from the directory where you installed it:
Expect antd 0.14.0 (build dbf6a7d3d951). Keep that variable in the shell or process environment used for the startup scripts below.
Steps
1. Choose the wallet interface
The tools accept these wallet inputs:
antd->AUTONOMI_WALLET_KEYant->SECRET_KEYDirect Rust with
ant-core-> an attachedWallet
The interfaces do not provide the same checks:
antdreports the wallet address, ANT balance, and gas balance, and exposes an unlimited token-approval operation.The direct CLI reports the wallet address and ANT balance only. It does not report gas balance or expose token approval.
Direct Rust exposes wallet and approval primitives. Validate its complete paid write/read flow against the production Autonomi Network before production use.
Use the external-signer flow when antd should not hold the private key.
2. Start antd with a built-in EVM preset
Set AUTONOMI_WALLET_KEY outside your shell history, then select the built-in preset. arbitrum-one is also the antd v0.14.0 default, but setting it explicitly makes the intended payment environment visible.
Expected startup output identifies REST port 8082, gRPC port 50051, and network mode default.
For testnet, replace arbitrum-one with arbitrum-sepolia and use a testnet-funded key.
Do not set EVM_RPC_URL, EVM_PAYMENT_TOKEN_ADDRESS, EVM_PAYMENT_VAULT_ADDRESS, or EVM_DATA_PAYMENTS_ADDRESS for a public-network write with antd v0.14.0. Any one of those variables switches antd to custom payment encoding. Mainnet storage nodes can reject that encoding after ANT has been spent. antd v0.14.0 therefore has no safe documented interface for combining a custom RPC URL with public writes.
3. Inspect the antd wallet
Run these commands in another terminal after antd starts:
Expected response shapes:
The values are decimal strings. balance is measured in atto tokens and gas_balance is measured in wei.
These checks establish which wallet antd holds and what balances its RPC provider reports. They do not prove that the wallet has approved the correct vault or that a storage write will succeed.
4. Pre-approve the payment vault when you intend to upload
antd offers an optional pre-approval operation. Direct-wallet payments also check the allowance and automatically grant an unlimited allowance when it is too low. Use this endpoint only when you want approval to be a separate transaction:
The success response is:
This transaction spends gas and grants the built-in payment vault an unlimited ANT allowance. Confirm the wallet address, EVM_NETWORK preset, and low-value balance before running it. The command is not a readiness check: a successful approval does not prove that payment, storage, or retrieval will succeed.
5. Inspect a direct CLI wallet
The direct CLI uses SECRET_KEY and a built-in EVM preset.
Expected output is an EVM address followed by the ANT balance as an integer. The CLI does not print gas balance.
The CLI has no separate wallet-approval command. Its direct-wallet payment path can approve an unlimited allowance automatically when the existing allowance is too low, which means the first upload may spend gas on both approval and payment. Address and ANT balance checks do not show whether you have enough gas or an existing allowance; the CLI does not expose either as a separate preflight check.
6. Keep signing outside antd when needed
Run antd without AUTONOMI_WALLET_KEY and select a built-in EVM preset:
Expected startup output identifies REST port 8082, gRPC port 50051, and network mode default.
antd returns the preset RPC URL and contract addresses during prepare operations. Your external wallet or signer submits the transaction. Wallet address and balance endpoints return 503 in this mode because no wallet is attached to antd.
Use the external-signer flow only in an approved test environment until prepare, payment, finalize, and read-back all succeed against the production Autonomi Network. Do not treat antd startup as proof that the complete flow works.
Verify it worked
For antd, verify that the wallet address and both balances match the wallet you intended to use. If you approve token spend, record the approval transaction and confirm it targets the vault from the selected built-in preset.
For the direct CLI, an address and ANT balance check is not enough to establish upload readiness because gas balance and allowance are not exposed.
A complete upload-readiness test requires an approved paid write followed by retrieval and byte comparison. Treat the wallet as not upload-ready until that test succeeds.
Common errors
503 Service Unavailable: A wallet endpoint or direct-wallet write was called without AUTONOMI_WALLET_KEY. External-signer mode intentionally leaves antd without a wallet.
Custom EVM configuration on a public network: Remove every individual EVM_* override and use EVM_NETWORK=arbitrum-one or EVM_NETWORK=arbitrum-sepolia. Do not retry a paid operation after a custom-payment verification failure without checking whether funds were already spent.
Unsupported local CLI wallet command: ant wallet with --evm-network local requires a devnet manifest containing EVM settings.
Invalid key format: Check for whitespace or truncated hex. The direct CLI accepts the 0x prefix; ant-dev strips that prefix before passing its generated local key to antd.
Next steps
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