Using keystore instead of private key

[usereri]

Hi all,

Thought it might be helpful for someone doing FundMe project or probably any other requiring deploying on chain.

⚠️ Security Warning: Never share your private keys or keystore passwords. Never commit them to version control.

Current method

During course we created a make file with deploy function:

-include .env

deploy-sepolia:
    forge script script/DeployFundMe.s.sol:DeployFundMe --rpc-url $(SEPOLIA_RPC_URL) --private-key $(PRIVATE_KEY) --broadcast --verify --etherscan-api-key $(ETHERSCAN_API_KEY) -vvvv

Proposed method using keystore

1. If you have an existing wallet (e.g., from MetaMask) import it using:
   cast wallet import docs

cast wallet import  <choose_wallet_name>

You will be asked to:

• enter your private key (hidden input)
• set a password for the keystore (hidden input as well)

2. Once completed you can check if everything went correctly by:

cast wallet list

It should list all wallets you got (probably just one recently created)

3. Update your Makefile

-include .env

deploy-sepolia:
    forge script script/DeployFundMe.s.sol:DeployFundMe --rpc-url $(SEPOLIA_RPC_URL) --keystore $(KEYSTORE_PATH) --broadcast --verify --etherscan-api-key $(ETHERSCAN_API_KEY) -vvvv

Now when using make deploy-sepolia you will be asked to provide password to keystore and thus you can get rid of private key in .env file.

Important notes

• Default keystore location: ~/.foundry/keystores/
• Add KEYSTORE_PATH to your .env file

Benefits

• Private key is encrypted and password-protected
• no plain-text private key in environment variables

[EngrPips]

Thanks for this heads-up, it is greatly appreciated.