Configure Nodes with seictl

seictl is a purpose-built CLI that helps Sei node patch configuration TOML files (app.toml, client.toml, config.toml) and JSON genesis files.

You can find the seictl GitHub repository here

Features

Configuration Management: Patch Sei daemon configuration files (app.toml, client.toml, config.toml)
Genesis Management: Apply merge patches to genesis JSON files
Universal Patching: Apply merge patches to any TOML or JSON file
Smart Target Detection: Automatically detects which configuration file to modify based on patch content
Flexible Output: Write to stdout, a specific file, or modify files in-place
Atomic Writes: Safe file modifications using atomic write operations
Merge Patch Algorithm: Intelligently merges patches with existing configurations

Installation

Pre-built Binaries (Recommended)

Pre-built binaries are available for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Download the latest release from the releases page.

Quick Install

Linux (x86_64)

curl -LO https://github.com/sei-protocol/seictl/releases/latest/download/seictl_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz
tar -xzf seictl_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz
sudo mv seictl /usr/local/bin/

Linux (ARM64)

curl -LO https://github.com/sei-protocol/seictl/releases/latest/download/seictl_Linux_arm64.tar.gz
tar -xzf seictl_Linux_arm64.tar.gz
sudo mv seictl /usr/local/bin/

Linux (ARMv7)

curl -LO https://github.com/sei-protocol/seictl/releases/latest/download/seictl_Linux_armv7.tar.gz
tar -xzf seictl_Linux_armv7.tar.gz
sudo mv seictl /usr/local/bin/

macOS (Apple Silicon)

curl -LO https://github.com/sei-protocol/seictl/releases/latest/download/seictl_Darwin_arm64.tar.gz
tar -xzf seictl_Darwin_arm64.tar.gz
sudo mv seictl /usr/local/bin/

macOS (Intel)

curl -LO https://github.com/sei-protocol/seictl/releases/latest/download/seictl_Darwin_x86_64.tar.gz

tar -xzf seictl_Darwin_x86_64.tar.gz
sudo mv seictl /usr/local/bin/

Windows (x86_64)

# Download from: https://github.com/sei-protocol/seictl/releases/latest/download/seictl_Windows_x86_64.zip
# Extract and add to PATH

Verify Installation

seictl --version

Verify Download (Optional)

All releases include a checksums.txt file for verification, e.g.:

# Download checksums
curl -LO https://github.com/sei-protocol/seictl/releases/latest/download/checksums.txt

# Verify (Linux/macOS)
sha256sum -c checksums.txt 2>&1 | grep seictl_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz

Build from Source

If you prefer to build from source or need a specific configuration:

Prerequisites

Go 1.24.5 or higher

Build

git clone https://github.com/sei-protocol/seictl.git
cd seictl
go build -o seictl

Install via Go

go install github.com/sei-protocol/seictl@latest

Usage

seictl [global options] command [command options] [arguments...]

Global Options

--home <path>: Sei home directory (default: ~/.sei, can be set via SEI_HOME environment variable)

Commands

Patch Command

`patch`

Apply a merge-patch to any TOML or JSON file. This is a universal patching command that works with any file format, not just Sei-specific configurations.

seictl patch --target <file-path> [patch-file]

Options:

--target <path>: Path to the TOML or JSON file to patch (required)
-o, --output <path>: Write output to specified file
-i, --in-place-rewrite: Modify the target file in-place

Examples:

# Patch any TOML file
seictl patch --target /path/to/config.toml patch.toml

# Patch any JSON file from stdin
echo '{"new_key": "value"}' | seictl patch --target /path/to/data.json

# Patch and save to a new file
seictl patch --target myconfig.toml patch.toml -o modified.toml

# Patch and modify in-place
seictl patch --target settings.json patch.json -i

Note: The file extension (.toml or .json) is used to determine the format automatically.

Genesis Commands

`genesis patch`

Apply a merge-patch to the Sei genesis JSON file.

seictl genesis patch [patch-file]

Options:

-o, --output <path>: Write output to specified file
-i, --in-place-rewrite: Modify the genesis file in-place

Examples:

# Patch from file and output to stdout
seictl genesis patch patch.json

# Patch from stdin
echo '{"chain_id": "atlantic-2"}' | seictl genesis patch

# Patch and save to a new file
seictl genesis patch patch.json -o genesis-modified.json

# Patch and modify the original file in-place
seictl genesis patch patch.json -i

Config Commands

`config patch`

Apply a merge-patch to a Sei configuration TOML file.

seictl config [--target <app|client|config>] patch [patch-file]

Options:

--target <type>: Specify which configuration file to patch (app, client, or config)
- If not specified, the target is automatically detected based on the patch content
-o, --output <path>: Write output to specified file
-i, --in-place-rewrite: Modify the configuration file in-place

Examples:

# Patch with auto-detection
seictl config patch patch.toml

# Explicitly specify the target config
seictl config --target app patch patch.toml

# Patch from stdin and output to stdout
echo 'minimum-gas-prices = "0.02usei"' | seictl config patch

# Patch and modify in-place
seictl config --target app patch patch.toml -i

# Patch and save to specific location
seictl config patch patch.toml -o /path/to/output.toml

Configuration Targets

The config command can work with three different configuration files:

`app.toml`

Application-level configuration including:

Gas prices and block settings
State management (state-sync, state-commit, state-store)
EVM configuration
Telemetry and monitoring
API, gRPC, and Rosetta endpoints
IAVL and WASM settings

`client.toml`

Client-level configuration including:

Chain ID
Keyring backend
Output format
Node endpoint
Broadcast mode

`config.toml`

Node-level configuration including:

Proxy app and database settings
Logging configuration
RPC and P2P settings
Mempool and consensus parameters
State sync and block sync
Transaction indexing

Merge Patch Behavior

The merge patch algorithm works as follows:

Nested merging: Patches are merged recursively into nested structures
Null deletion: Setting a value to null removes that key from the configuration
Addition: New keys in the patch are added to the configuration
Replacement: Existing scalar values are replaced with patch values

Example: Original:

[api]
enable = true
address = "tcp://0.0.0.0:1317"

Patch:

[api]
address = "tcp://0.0.0.0:1318"
swagger = true

Result:

[api]
enable = true
address = "tcp://0.0.0.0:1318"
swagger = true

Examples

Update Minimum Gas Prices

echo 'minimum-gas-prices = "0.02usei"' | seictl config patch -i

Enable API Endpoint

cat > patch.toml << EOF
[api]
enable = true
address = "tcp://0.0.0.0:1317"
EOF

seictl config --target app patch patch.toml -i

Modify Genesis Chain ID

echo '{"chain_id": "pacific-1"}' | seictl genesis patch -i

Update Multiple Configuration Sections

cat > patch.toml << EOF
minimum-gas-prices = "0.02usei"

[telemetry]
enabled = true
prometheus-retention-time = 60

[api]
enable = true
swagger = true
EOF

seictl config patch patch.toml -i

Patch a Custom TOML Configuration

# Patch any TOML file outside the Sei directory structure
cat > custom-patch.toml << EOF
[database]
host = "localhost"
port = 5432
EOF

seictl patch --target /etc/myapp/config.toml custom-patch.toml -i

Patch a Custom JSON Data File

# Modify any JSON file
echo '{"version": "2.0", "debug": true}' | seictl patch --target /path/to/settings.json -i

Using Custom Sei Home Directory

# Via environment variable
export SEI_HOME=/custom/path/.sei
seictl config patch patch.toml

# Via flag
seictl --home /custom/path/.sei config patch patch.toml

Command Comparison

When to Use Each Command

patch: Use for patching any arbitrary TOML or JSON file on your system. Requires explicit --target path.
genesis patch: Use specifically for Sei genesis files. Automatically uses $HOME/.sei/config/genesis.json.
config patch: Use specifically for Sei configuration files with automatic target detection. Automatically uses files in $HOME/.sei/config/.

File Locations

By default, seictl looks for configuration files in the following locations:

Genesis: $HOME/.sei/config/genesis.json
App config: $HOME/.sei/config/app.toml
Client config: $HOME/.sei/config/client.toml
Node config: $HOME/.sei/config/config.toml

Where $HOME is the value of the --home flag or the SEI_HOME environment variable.

Safety Features

Atomic Writes: All file modifications use atomic write operations (write to temp file, then rename)
Permission Preservation: In-place modifications preserve original file permissions
Format Validation: Validates file extensions before processing (must be .toml or .json)
Target Validation: Prevents accidental modification of wrong configuration files
Auto-detection Safety: Refuses to proceed if patch could apply to multiple targets
Early Validation: Checks file format and existence before reading patch data

Overview

Node Operations

Advanced Operations

Configure Nodes with seictl

Features

Installation

Pre-built Binaries (Recommended)

Quick Install

Verify Installation

Verify Download (Optional)

Build from Source

Prerequisites

Build

Install via Go

Usage

Global Options

Commands

Patch Command

`patch`

Genesis Commands

`genesis patch`

Config Commands

`config patch`

Configuration Targets

`app.toml`

`client.toml`

`config.toml`

Merge Patch Behavior

Examples

Command Comparison

When to Use Each Command

File Locations

Safety Features

​Features

​Installation

​Pre-built Binaries (Recommended)

​Quick Install

​Verify Installation

​Verify Download (Optional)

​Build from Source

​Prerequisites

​Build

​Install via Go

​Usage

​Global Options

​Commands

​Patch Command

​patch

​Genesis Commands

​genesis patch

​Config Commands

​config patch

​Configuration Targets

​app.toml

​client.toml

​config.toml

​Merge Patch Behavior

​Examples

​Command Comparison

​When to Use Each Command

​File Locations

​Safety Features

Features

Installation

Pre-built Binaries (Recommended)

Quick Install

Verify Installation

Verify Download (Optional)

Build from Source

Prerequisites

Build

Install via Go

Usage

Global Options

Commands

Patch Command

`patch`

Genesis Commands

`genesis patch`

Config Commands

`config patch`

Configuration Targets

`app.toml`

`client.toml`

`config.toml`

Merge Patch Behavior

Examples

Command Comparison

When to Use Each Command

File Locations

Safety Features