Configure Nodes with seictl

Install and use the seictl CLI to patch Sei node configuration and genesis files safely with merge-patch workflows.

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

See the seictl GitHub repository.

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
• Automatic target detection: Detects which configuration file to modify from the patch content
• Output options: Write to stdout or to a specific file, or modify files in place
• Atomic writes: Modifies files safely with atomic write operations
• Merge patch algorithm: Merges patches into 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. For example:

# 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

Build from source if you prefer this method or need a specific configuration.

Prerequisites

• Go 1.26.0 or later. The commands below build main. Its Go requirement is set in go.mod.

This is newer than the Go version needed to build seid (1.25.6). The toolchain from the node setup guide is therefore a minor version behind. With the default GOTOOLCHAIN=auto, the build still works: the go command downloads the toolchain that go.mod asks for. If you have set GOTOOLCHAIN=local or build without network access, install Go 1.26.0 or later, or use a prebuilt binary above.

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>: The Sei home directory (default: ~/.sei). You can also set it with the SEI_HOME environment variable.

Commands

Patch command

patch

Apply a merge patch to any TOML or JSON file. This universal patching command works with any file format. It is not limited to 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 the output to the 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 format is detected automatically from the file extension (.toml or .json).

Genesis commands

genesis patch

Apply a merge patch to the Sei genesis JSON file.

seictl genesis patch [patch-file]

Options:

• -o, --output <path>: Write the output to the 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 file in TOML format.

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

Options:

• --target <type>: Specify which configuration file to patch (app, client, or config)
  • If you do not specify a target, it is detected automatically from the patch content
• -o, --output <path>: Write the output to the 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 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:

• 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 uses these rules:

1. Nested merging: Patches are merged recursively into nested structures
2. Null deletion: Setting a value to null removes that key from the configuration
3. Addition: New keys in the patch are added to the configuration
4. 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 it to patch any TOML or JSON file on your system. It requires an explicit --target path.
• genesis patch: Use it specifically for Sei genesis files. It automatically uses $HOME/.sei/config/genesis.json.
• config patch: Use it specifically for Sei configuration files, with automatic target detection. It automatically uses files in $HOME/.sei/config/.

File locations

By default, seictl looks for configuration files in these 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

Here, $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 a temporary file, then rename it)
• Permission preservation: In-place modifications keep the original file permissions
• Format validation: Validates file extensions before processing (must be .toml or .json)
• Target validation: Prevents accidental changes to the wrong configuration files
• Auto-detection safety: Stops if the patch could apply to more than one target
• Early validation: Checks the file format and that the file exists before it reads the patch data