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.

If an account with the same address already exists locally, the import is refused rather than overwriting it: replacing an address silently could destroy the seed backup an existing account depends on. Delete the existing account first if replacement is what you want.

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  TZx9kP2m...7bWq
  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":"TZx9kP2m...7bWq"}},"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"
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.tron	string	Base58 TRON address

Exit status

0 imported · 1 execution failure (keystore_not_found — no such file; invalid_keystore — not a valid keystore JSON; wrong_keystore_password; account_exists — this address is already in the wallet; auth_failed; io_error) · 2 usage error (tty_required — no TTY for interactive input, checked before anything else; duplicate label).

See also

backup · import private-key · delete · machine-interface → Secret handling