Managing your accounts

Last updated: January 2026

If you lose the password used to encrypt an account, you permanently lose access to that account. There is no password recovery mechanism.

This guide explains how to manage Abey accounts using the gabey CLI, including creating, listing, importing, updating, unlocking accounts, and checking balances.

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Overview

Account management is handled via the account command:

gabey account <command> [options] [arguments]

Supported account operations include:

• Creating new accounts

• Listing existing accounts

• Importing private keys

• Updating account formats and passwords

• Unlocking accounts for transactions

Accounts are stored in the keystore directory, which must be backed up regularly.

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Keystore and Security

• Account keys are stored in:

  <DATADIR>/keystore

• Keystore files are encrypted

• Files are portable across:

  • Nodes

  • Operating systems

  • Abey client implementations

Backing up the keystore directory is sufficient to restore accounts only if the password is known.

For data directory details, see:

• https://github.com/abeyfoundation/go-abey/wiki/Backup-&-restore

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Account File Format

Modern keystore files use the format:

UTC--<ISO8601 timestamp>-<address>

• Accounts are listed lexicographically

• Due to timestamp-based filenames, this corresponds to creation order

• Copying keys between nodes may change account ordering

Do not rely on account index ordering in scripts.

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Account Commands

Command	Description
list	List existing accounts
new	Create a new account
import	Import a private key
update	Update account password or format

Use gabey account <command> --help for command-specific options.

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Creating Accounts

Interactive Account Creation

gabey account new

You will be prompted for a password:

Passphrase:
Repeat Passphrase:
Address: {168bc315a2ee09042d83d7c5811b533620531f67}

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Non-Interactive Account Creation (Advanced)

gabey account new --password /path/to/passwordfile

This is intended for testing only. Never store plaintext passwords insecurely.

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Create via Console

personal.newAccount("passphrase")

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Importing a Private Key

gabey account import <keyfile>

• <keyfile> must contain a raw, unencrypted EC private key (hex)

• The imported account is stored encrypted

• You will be prompted for a password

Non-interactive import:

gabey account import --password /path/to/passwordfile <keyfile>

Import is not required when moving encrypted keystore files between nodes.

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Updating an Existing Account

Update password or migrate account format:

gabey account update <address|index> [<address|index> ...]

Examples:

gabey account update 0 1
gabey account update a94f5374fce5edbc8e2a8697c15331677e6ebf0b

• Prompts for old and new passwords

• Old key formats are removed after update

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Listing Accounts

gabey account list

Example output:

Account #0: {5afdd78b...} keystore:///.../UTC--2017-04-28...
Account #1: {9acb9ff9...} keystore:///.../UTC--2017-04-28...

Using RPC

curl -X POST   --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"abey_accounts","params":[],"id":1}'   http://127.0.0.1:8545

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Unlocking Accounts

Command-Line Unlock (Session Only)

gabey --unlock "0xabc...,0,2" --password /path/to/passwordfile

• Accepts addresses or indexes

• Multiple accounts allowed

• Password file must contain one password per line

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Console Unlock (Temporary)

personal.unlockAccount(address, "password", 300)

Avoid passing passwords directly in console history.

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Checking Account Balances

Coinbase Balance

web3.fromWei(abey.getBalance(abey.coinbase), "abey")

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All Account Balances

function checkAllBalances() {
    var total = 0;
    for (var i in abey.accounts) {
        var bal = web3.fromWei(abey.getBalance(abey.accounts[i]), "abey");
        total += parseFloat(bal);
        console.log(i, abey.accounts[i], bal);
    }
    console.log("Total:", total);
}

Run with:

checkAllBalances();

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Best Practices

• Back up the keystore directory regularly

• Never share passwords or keystore files

• Avoid plaintext password files

• Prefer IPC for account operations

• Test scripts on non-production nodes