Install the CLI and create your wallet

Install the animica CLI

The animica Python package ships every CLI used in this academy — the wallet manager, the chain client, the miner, the AICF chat REPL, and contract tooling. Install it with pip:

python3 -m pip install --upgrade animica
animica --version

You should see a version line like animica 0.x.y. On managed Python installs (Debian/Ubuntu) you may need a virtualenv:

python3 -m venv ~/animica-venv
source ~/animica-venv/bin/activate
python3 -m pip install --upgrade animica

Mark this step complete once animica --version prints.

Create a fresh wallet

Create a new wallet labelled me. The CLI generates a keypair locally and stores it under ~/.animica/wallets.json — the private key never leaves your machine.

animica wallet new --label me

The output prints your bech32 address (anim1...) and the seed phrase. Copy the seed somewhere safe (paper, not a syncing notes app, not a screenshot). The seed is the only way to recover this wallet — if you lose it, the funds are unrecoverable.

Mark this step complete after the address and seed are saved.

Make it the default wallet

Mark me as the default so every subsequent CLI command uses it without needing --address flags:

animica wallet set-default me
animica wallet list

wallet list confirms the wallet is registered and shows which one is flagged (default).

Mark this step complete once (default) appears next to your wallet.

Check the balance

animica wallet show queries the chain by label and prints the confirmed balance plus any pending transactions:

animica wallet show me

A fresh wallet has a zero balance and a zero nonce — the keypair exists locally but the chain has no record of activity yet. On devnet or testnet you can fund it from the faucet — copy your address from the previous wallet list output and pass it to faucet request:

animica faucet request anim1...    # paste your address

The faucet drops a small amount of test ANIMICA into the wallet within seconds. On mainnet the faucet is disabled; fund the wallet by mining or by receiving a transfer.

Mark this step complete once animica wallet show me reports a non-zero balance, or after you’ve confirmed the wallet exists on the explorer.