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Manage Configuration

Instead of manually editing flow.json, use the Flow CLI's config commands to add, remove, and manage your project configuration. These commands provide validation and ensure your configuration is properly formatted.

Basic Commands​


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# Add configuration items
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flow config add <account|contract|network|deployment>
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# Remove configuration items
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flow config remove <account|contract|network|deployment>

Adding Configuration​

Add an Account​


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flow config add account

You can use flags to specify account details:


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flow config add account \
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--name my-testnet-account \
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--address f8d6e0586b0a20c7 \
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--private-key ae1b44c0f5e8f6992ef2348898a35e50a8b0b9684000da8b1dade1b3bcd6ebee \
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--sig-algo ECDSA_P256 \
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--hash-algo SHA3_256 \
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--key-index 0

Available flags:

  • --name: Account name
  • --address: Account address
  • --private-key: Private key
  • --sig-algo: Signature algorithm (default: ECDSA_P256)
  • --hash-algo: Hash algorithm (default: SHA3_256)
  • --key-index: Key index (default: 0)

What gets added to flow.json:


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"accounts": {
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"my-testnet-account": {
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"address": "f8d6e0586b0a20c7",
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"key": "ae1b44c0f5e8f6992ef2348898a35e50a8b0b9684000da8b1dade1b3bcd6ebee"
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}
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}

Add a Contract​


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flow config add contract

You can use flags to specify contract details:


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flow config add contract \
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--name MyToken \
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--filename ./cadence/contracts/MyToken.cdc \
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--testnet-alias 9a0766d93b6608b7 \
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--mainnet-alias f233dcee88fe0abe

Available flags:

  • --name: Contract name
  • --filename: Path to contract source file
  • --testnet-alias: Address for testnet alias
  • --mainnet-alias: Address for mainnet alias
  • --emulator-alias: Address for emulator alias

What gets added to flow.json:


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"contracts": {
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"MyToken": {
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"source": "./cadence/contracts/MyToken.cdc",
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"aliases": {
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"testnet": "9a0766d93b6608b7",
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"mainnet": "f233dcee88fe0abe"
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}
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}
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}

Add a Network​


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flow config add network

You can use flags to specify network details:


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flow config add network \
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--name custom-testnet \
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--host access-001.devnet30.nodes.onflow.org:9001 \
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--network-key ba69f7d2e82b9edf25b103c195cd371cf0cc047ef8884a9bbe331e62982d46daeebf836f7445a2ac16741013b192959d8ad26998aff12f2adc67a99e1eb2988d

Available flags:

  • --name: Network name
  • --host: Flow Access API host address
  • --network-key: Network key for secure connections

What gets added to flow.json:


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"networks": {
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"custom-testnet": {
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"host": "access-001.devnet30.nodes.onflow.org:9001",
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"key": "ba69f7d2e82b9edf25b103c195cd371cf0cc047ef8884a9bbe331e62982d46daeebf836f7445a2ac16741013b192959d8ad26998aff12f2adc67a99e1eb2988d"
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}
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}

Add a Deployment​


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flow config add deployment

You can use flags to specify deployment details:


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flow config add deployment \
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--network testnet \
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--account my-testnet-account \
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--contract MyToken

Available flags:

  • --network: Network name for deployment
  • --account: Account name for deployment
  • --contract: Contract name(s) to deploy (can specify multiple)

What gets added to flow.json:


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"deployments": {
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"testnet": {
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"my-testnet-account": ["MyToken"]
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}
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}

Removing Configuration​

Remove an Account​


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flow config remove account my-testnet-account

Remove a Contract​


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flow config remove contract MyToken

Remove a Network​


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flow config remove network custom-testnet

Remove a Deployment​


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flow config remove deployment testnet my-testnet-account MyToken

Configuration File Management​

Using Custom Configuration Files​


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# Use a specific configuration file
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flow config add account --config-path ./config/flow.json
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# Use multiple configuration files (merged in order)
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flow config add account -f flow.json -f private.json

Configuration File Priority​

When using multiple configuration files with -f flag:

  1. Files are merged from left to right
  2. Later files override earlier ones for overlapping properties
  3. Non-overlapping properties are combined

Example:


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flow config add account -f flow.json -f private.json

If both files have an admin-account, the one from private.json will be used.

Security Best Practices​

For better security, consider using separate configuration files for sensitive data:

Main configuration file (flow.json):


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{
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"accounts": {
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"my-testnet-account": {
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"address": "3ae53cb6e3f42a79",
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"key": {
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"type": "file",
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"location": "./my-testnet-account.key"
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}
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}
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}
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}

Private key file (my-testnet-account.key):


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334232967f52bd75234ae9037dd4694c1f00baad63a10c35172bf65fbb8ad1111

Private configuration file (private.json):


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{
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"accounts": {
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"my-testnet-account": {
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"address": "3ae53cb6e3f42a79",
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"key": "334232967f52bd75234ae9037dd4694c1f00baad63a10c35172bf65fbb8ad1111"
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}
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}
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}

⚠️ Important: Always add private files to .gitignore to prevent committing sensitive data to source control.

Validation​

The config add command validates all inputs:

  • Account addresses must be valid Flow addresses (16-character hex)
  • Private keys must be valid hex-encoded keys
  • Contract sources must point to existing .cdc files
  • Network hosts must be valid host:port combinations
  • Deployments must reference existing accounts and contracts

Best Practices​

  1. Use CLI commands instead of manual editing when possible
  2. Validate your configuration by running flow config add commands
  3. Use descriptive names for accounts and contracts
  4. Keep sensitive data separate using multiple config files
  5. Test deployments on emulator before adding to testnet/mainnet

Common Use Cases​

Setting Up a New Project​


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# Initialize project
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flow init
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# Add your contracts
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flow config add contract --name MyToken --filename ./cadence/contracts/MyToken.cdc
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flow config add contract --name MyNFT --filename ./cadence/contracts/MyNFT.cdc
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# Create accounts for different networks
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flow config add account --name emulator-account --address f8d6e0586b0a20c7 --private-key ae1b44c0f5e8f6992ef2348898a35e50a8b0b9684000da8b1dade1b3bcd6ebee
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flow config add account --name testnet-account --address 3ae53cb6e3f42a79 --private-key 12332967fd2bd75234ae9037dd4694c1f00baad63a10c35172bf65fbb8ad1111
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# Configure deployments
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flow config add deployment --network emulator --account emulator-account --contract MyToken --contract MyNFT
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flow config add deployment --network testnet --account testnet-account --contract MyToken --contract MyNFT

Adding to Existing Project​


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# Add new contract
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flow config add contract --name NewContract --filename ./cadence/contracts/NewContract.cdc
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# Add deployment for new contract
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flow config add deployment --network testnet --account testnet-account --contract NewContract

Managing Multiple Environments​


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# Use separate config files for different environments
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flow config add account --name admin-account --address f8d6e0586b0a20c7 --private-key ae1b44c0f5e8f6992ef2348898a35e50a8b0b9684000da8b1dade1b3bcd6ebee -f flow.json
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flow config add account --name admin-account --address f1d6e0586b0a20c7 --private-key 3335dfdeb0ff03a7a73ef39788563b62c89adea67bbb21ab95e5f710bd1d40b7 -f private.json

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