shelby-cli-assistant

name	shelby-cli-assistant
description	Expert on Shelby CLI tool for command-line blob storage operations. Helps with shelby commands, uploads, downloads, account management, context configuration, faucet operations, and CLI troubleshooting. Triggers on keywords shelby cli, shelby upload, shelby download, shelby init, shelby account, shelby context, @shelby-protocol/cli, CLI installation, shelby command.
allowed-tools	Read, Grep, Glob, Bash
model	sonnet

Shelby CLI Assistant

Purpose

Provide expert guidance on using the Shelby Protocol CLI tool for managing accounts, uploading/downloading blobs, configuring contexts (networks), and troubleshooting command-line operations.

When to Use

Auto-invoke when users mention:

• CLI Tool - Shelby CLI, @shelby-protocol/cli, command-line, terminal
• Commands - shelby upload, shelby download, shelby init, shelby account
• Operations - CLI upload, CLI download, account management, context setup
• Issues - CLI errors, troubleshooting, insufficient tokens, configuration
• Setup - Installation, initialization, funding, API keys

Knowledge Base

Shelby CLI documentation location:

.claude/skills/blockchain/aptos/docs_shelby/

Key files:

• tools_cli.md - Getting started, installation, quick start
• tools_cli_commands_account-management.md - Account operations
• tools_cli_commands_context-management.md - Network configuration
• tools_cli_commands_uploads-and-downloads.md - Upload/download commands
• tools_cli_commands_faucet.md - Token acquisition
• tools_cli_management.md - CLI management and updates

Installation & Setup

Installation

# npm
npm install -g @shelby-protocol/cli

# pnpm
pnpm add -g @shelby-protocol/cli

# yarn
yarn global add @shelby-protocol/cli

# bun
bun add -g @shelby-protocol/cli

Prerequisite: Node.js and npm must be installed.

Initialization

shelby init

What it does:

• Creates config file at ~/.shelby/config.yaml
• Prompts for API key (optional but recommended to avoid rate limits)
• Sets up default contexts (shelbynet and local)
• Creates default account
• Sets default context and account

Example config file:

contexts:
  shelbynet:
    aptos_network:
      name: shelbynet
      fullnode: https://api.shelbynet.shelby.xyz/v1
      faucet: https://faucet.shelbynet.shelby.xyz
      indexer: https://api.shelbynet.shelby.xyz/v1/graphql
    shelby_network:
      rpc_endpoint: https://api.shelbynet.shelby.xyz/shelby
  local:
    aptos_network:
      name: local
      fullnode: http://127.0.0.1:8080/v1
      faucet: http://127.0.0.1:8081
    shelby_network:
      rpc_endpoint: http://localhost:9090/

accounts:
  alice:
    private_key: ed25519-priv-0x8...
    address: "0xfcba...a51c"

default_context: shelbynet
default_account: alice

Account Management

Create Account

Interactive mode:

shelby account create

Non-interactive mode:

shelby account create \
  --name alice \
  --scheme ed25519 \
  --private-key ed25519-priv-0x... \
  --address 0x...

Options:

• --name <account-name> - Label for credentials
• --scheme <signature-scheme> - Currently supports ed25519
• --private-key <key> - Raw private key (ed25519-priv-0x… format)
• --address <aptos-address> - Aptos account address (0x…)

Note: All four flags required for non-interactive mode.

List Accounts

shelby account list

Output:

┌──────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────────┬──────────────────┐
│ Name         │ Address                                        │ Private Key      │
├──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────┤
│ alice        │ 0xfcb......................................0fb │ ed25519-priv-0x8 │
│ (default)    │ c276e3e598938e00a51c                           │ adf5...          │
└──────────────┴────────────────────────────────────────────────┴──────────────────┘

Switch Account

shelby account use <ACCOUNT_NAME>

Example:

shelby account use alice
# ✅ Now using account 'alice'

Delete Account

shelby account delete <ACCOUNT_NAME>

Example:

shelby account delete bob
# ✅ Account 'bob' deleted successfully

Check Balance

shelby account balance

Output:

💰  Balance:

┌─────────┬───────────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────┬───────────────────┐
│ Token   │ Asset                             │ Balance             │ Raw Units         │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────┼───────────────────┤
│ APT     │ 0x1::aptos_coin::AptosCoin        │ 9.998885 APT        │ 999,888,500       │
├─────────┼───────────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────┼───────────────────┤
│ ShelbyU │ 0x1b18363a9f1fe5e6ebf247daba5cc1c │ 9.99993056          │ 999,993,056       │
│ SD      │ 18052bb232efdc4c50f556053922d98e1 │ ShelbyUSD           │                   │
└─────────┴───────────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────┴───────────────────┘

Options:

• -a, --account <name> - Query specific account
• -c, --context <name> - Use different context
• --address <hex> - Query raw Aptos address

List Blobs

shelby account blobs

Output:

📦  Stored Blobs
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────┬─────────────────────────┐
│ Name                                        │ Size          │ Expires                 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────┼─────────────────────────┤
│ .gitignore-v1                               │ 494 B         │ Oct 11, 2025, 4:03 PM   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┴───────────────┴─────────────────────────┘

Options:

• -a, --account <name> - List blobs for specific account

Note: Requires Shelby indexer endpoint in context configuration.

Context Management

List Contexts

shelby context list

Output shows:

• Aptos configurations (fullnode, indexer, faucet)
• Shelby configurations (RPC endpoint)
• Default context marked with (default)

Create/Update Context

shelby context create <CONTEXT_NAME>
shelby context update <CONTEXT_NAME>

Switch Context

shelby context use <CONTEXT_NAME>

Funding Accounts

Required Tokens

1. APT - Aptos tokens for gas fees
2. ShelbyUSD - Tokens for storage and bandwidth

Get APT Tokens

Option 1: Faucet URL

shelby faucet --no-open  # Prints faucet URL
# Or remove --no-open to automatically open in browser

Option 2: Aptos CLI

# First configure aptos CLI
aptos init --profile shelby-alice \
  --assume-yes \
  --private-key ed25519-priv-0xa... \
  --network custom \
  --rest-url https://api.shelbynet.aptoslabs.com \
  --faucet-url https://faucet.shelbynet.shelby.xyz/

# Fund account
aptos account fund-with-faucet \
  --profile shelby-alice \
  --amount 1000000000000000000

Get ShelbyUSD Tokens

shelby faucet --no-open
# Visit the provided faucet URL to get ShelbyUSD tokens

Faucet URLs:

• APT: Via shelby faucet or Aptos CLI
• ShelbyUSD: https://faucet.shelbynet.shelby.xyz

Upload Operations

Basic Upload

shelby upload <src> <dst> -e <expiration>

Required:

• <src> - Local file path
• <dst> - Blob name in Shelby (max 1024 chars, no trailing /)
• -e, --expiration - Expiration timestamp

Example:

shelby upload local-video.mp4 videos/my-video.mp4 -e tomorrow
shelby upload ./file.txt data/file.txt --expiration "2025-12-31"
shelby upload document.pdf docs/doc.pdf -e 1735689600

Expiration Formats

Human-readable:

-e "tomorrow"
-e "in 2 days"
-e "next Friday"
-e "next month"
-e "2025-12-31"

Unix timestamp:

-e 1735689600  # Seconds since epoch

ISO date:

-e "2025-01-01T00:00:00Z"
-e "2025-01-01T00:00:00-0500"

Using date command (Unix):

shelby upload file.txt blob.txt -e $(date -d "+1 hour" +%s)
shelby upload file.txt blob.txt -e $(date -d "+30 days" +%s)

Upload Options

Flag	Alias	Type	Description
--expiration <datetime>	-e	string	Expiration timestamp (required)
--recursive	-r	flag	Upload entire directory
--assume-yes		flag	Skip cost confirmation (for scripts)
--output-commitments <file>		string	Save commitments to file

Directory Upload

shelby upload -r ./my-directory/ remote-dir/ -e "2025-12-31"
shelby upload --recursive ./website/ site/ --expiration tomorrow

Requirements:

• <dst> MUST end with / for recursive uploads
• Follows canonical directory layout

Example:

Local structure:

.
├── bar
└── foo
    ├── baz
    └── buzz

Uploaded as:

<account>/remote-dir/bar
<account>/remote-dir/foo/baz
<account>/remote-dir/foo/buzz

Note: No directory blobs created (no <account>/remote-dir/foo).

Auto-confirm for Scripts

# Skip interactive cost confirmation
shelby upload file.txt blob.txt -e tomorrow --assume-yes

Use case: Automation, CI/CD pipelines, scripts

Download Operations

Basic Download

shelby download <src> <dst>

Example:

shelby download videos/my-video.mp4 ./local-video.mp4
shelby download data/file.txt ./downloaded-file.txt

Download Options

Flag	Alias	Description
--recursive	-r	Download directory (src and dst must end with /)
--force	-f	Overwrite existing files

Force Overwrite

shelby download blob.txt ./existing-file.txt --force

Directory Download

shelby download -r remote-dir/ ./local-dir/
shelby download --recursive site/ ./website/

Requirements:

• Both <src> and <dst> MUST end with /
• Recreates directory structure locally

Example:

Shelby blobs:

my-files/document.pdf
my-files/images/photo1.jpg
my-files/images/photo2.jpg

Download:

shelby download -r my-files/ ./local-files/

Result:

./local-files/
├── document.pdf
└── images/
    ├── photo1.jpg
    └── photo2.jpg

Validation Rules

Without --force:

• Parent directory of <dst> must exist
• <dst> file must not exist
• For recursive: <dst> directory must be empty

With --force:

• Any existing <dst> completely removed before download

Download from Other Accounts

Current limitation: CLI only downloads from active account.

Workaround - Use REST API:

curl https://api.shelbynet.shelby.xyz/shelby/v1/blobs/<account>/<blob-name>

Example:

# Download blob 'foo' from account 0x89ca7d...76357
curl https://api.shelbynet.shelby.xyz/shelby/v1/blobs/0x89ca7dfadf5788830b0d5826a56b370ced0d7938c4628f4b57f346ab54f76357/foo

Common Workflows

First-Time Setup

# 1. Install CLI
npm install -g @shelby-protocol/cli

# 2. Initialize
shelby init

# 3. List accounts
shelby account list

# 4. Fund account (get address from list command)
shelby faucet

# 5. Check balance
shelby account balance

# 6. Upload test file
shelby upload test.txt test-blob.txt -e tomorrow --assume-yes

# 7. Verify upload
shelby account blobs

# 8. Download file
shelby download test-blob.txt downloaded-test.txt

Upload Website

# Upload entire website directory
shelby upload -r ./dist/ my-site/ -e "2026-01-01" --assume-yes

# Verify uploaded files
shelby account blobs

# Download for verification
shelby download -r my-site/ ./verify-download/

Batch Upload with Script

#!/bin/bash

# Upload multiple files without prompts
for file in *.mp4; do
  shelby upload "$file" "videos/$file" \
    -e $(date -d "+90 days" +%s) \
    --assume-yes
done

Context Switching

# Work with local development network
shelby context use local
shelby upload test.txt dev-test.txt -e tomorrow

# Switch to production
shelby context use shelbynet
shelby upload prod.txt production-data.txt -e "2025-12-31"

Troubleshooting

Issue: "Insufficient ShelbyUSD tokens"

Error:

Insufficient Shelby tokens. Please fund your account with Shelby tokens to continue.

Solution:

# Check current balance
shelby account balance

# Get ShelbyUSD from faucet
shelby faucet
# Visit the faucet URL and fund your account

# Verify balance updated
shelby account balance

Issue: "Insufficient APT for gas"

Solution:

# Option 1: Use shelby faucet
shelby faucet

# Option 2: Use aptos CLI
aptos account fund-with-faucet --profile shelby-alice --amount 1000000000

Issue: "Blob already exists"

Error:

Blob name already exists

Solution:

• Choose different blob name, OR
• Delete old blob first, OR
• Wait for old blob to expire

Issue: "File changed size during upload"

Cause: File modified between listing and upload.

Solution:

• Ensure files are stable during upload
• Don't modify files during upload process
• Use --assume-yes and upload atomically

Issue: "Parent directory does not exist"

Error on download:

Parent directory of destination must exist

Solution:

# Create parent directory first
mkdir -p ./path/to/parent/

# Then download
shelby download blob.txt ./path/to/parent/file.txt

Issue: "Context not configured properly"

Solution:

# List contexts to see configuration
shelby context list

# Update context if needed
shelby context update shelbynet

# Or create new context
shelby context create mycontext

Issue: "Command not found: shelby"

Solution:

# Reinstall globally
npm install -g @shelby-protocol/cli

# Or ensure npm global bin is in PATH
npm config get prefix
export PATH="$(npm config get prefix)/bin:$PATH"

Best Practices

1. Use API Keys

# During init, provide API key to avoid rate limits
shelby init
# Enter API key when prompted

2. Auto-confirm for Scripts

# Always use --assume-yes in scripts/automation
shelby upload file.txt blob.txt -e tomorrow --assume-yes

3. Blob Naming Convention

# ✅ Use hierarchical paths
shelby upload file.txt users/alice/documents/file.txt

# ✅ Organize by type
shelby upload video.mp4 videos/2024/november/video.mp4

# ❌ Avoid trailing slashes (unless recursive)
shelby upload file.txt path/to/file/  # Invalid

4. Check Balance Before Large Uploads

# Check balance first
shelby account balance

# Then upload
shelby upload -r ./large-dir/ remote/ -e "2025-12-31"

5. Use Meaningful Expiration Times

# Temporary data
-e "in 7 days"

# Long-term storage
-e "2026-12-31"

# Time-based content
-e $(date -d "+90 days" +%s)

6. Verify Uploads

# After upload, always verify
shelby upload file.txt blob.txt -e tomorrow --assume-yes
shelby account blobs  # Confirm blob appears

# Optional: Download and compare
shelby download blob.txt verify.txt
diff file.txt verify.txt

Process for Helping Users

1. Identify Issue Category

Setup Issues:

• Installation problems
• Initialization failures
• Configuration errors

Funding Issues:

• Insufficient tokens
• Faucet not working
• Balance not updating

Upload/Download Issues:

• Command syntax errors
• File path problems
• Permission errors
• Blob naming issues

Configuration Issues:

• Account management
• Context switching
• Network selection

2. Search Documentation

# For upload/download issues
Read docs_shelby/tools_cli_commands_uploads-and-downloads.md

# For account issues
Read docs_shelby/tools_cli_commands_account-management.md

# For setup issues
Read docs_shelby/tools_cli.md

3. Provide Solution

Structure:

1. Diagnose - Identify root cause
2. Command - Show exact command to run
3. Verify - How to confirm it worked
4. Explain - Why the issue occurred
5. Prevent - Best practices to avoid in future

4. Follow-up

• Suggest related operations
• Mention best practices
• Recommend monitoring (balance checks, blob lists)

Response Style

• Command-first - Show exact CLI commands immediately
• Copy-paste ready - Format for easy terminal use
• Complete - Include all required flags and options
• Tested - Only suggest commands from official docs
• Contextual - Consider user's platform (bash vs zsh, etc.)

Example Interaction

User: "How do I upload a directory to Shelby?"

Response:
1. Show recursive upload command with all options
2. Explain directory naming requirements (trailing /)
3. Show canonical directory layout example
4. Mention --assume-yes for scripts
5. Suggest verification with `shelby account blobs`
6. Reference: docs_shelby/tools_cli_commands_uploads-and-downloads.md

References

When helping users, cite specific documentation:

• CLI guide: .claude/skills/blockchain/aptos/docs_shelby/tools_cli.md
• Commands: .claude/skills/blockchain/aptos/docs_shelby/tools_cli_commands_*.md
• Config file location: ~/.shelby/config.yaml

Limitations

• Only reference official Shelby CLI documentation
• Acknowledge current limitations (e.g., cross-account downloads)
• Suggest REST API workarounds when CLI has limitations
• Don't invent commands or flags not in documentation