> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://hedera-0c6e0218-docs--429.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quickstart

## Scripting with Hiero CLI

Hiero CLI scripts let you run repeatable, end-to-end workflows for Hedera: creating accounts, transferring HBAR, creating tokens, submitting topic messages, and more. These scripts are designed to be non-interactive (safe for CI).

Example scripts live in:

* [examples/scripts/\*.sh](https://github.com/hiero-ledger/hiero-cli/tree/main/examples/scripts)
* shared helpers: [examples/scripts/common/\*](https://github.com/hiero-ledger/hiero-cli/tree/main/examples/scripts/common)

## Prerequisites

* Node.js 18+
* Build the CLI or have a globally installed version of the CLI
* Provide your Hedera operator credentials. Export these environment variables:

```sh theme={null}
export HEDERA_OPERATOR_ACCOUNT_ID=0.0.xxxxxx
export HEDERA_OPERATOR_KEY=302e020100300506032b657004220420...
```

<Tip>
  These are required for scripts that submit transactions to Hedera (e.g., create account, transfer, token operations).
</Tip>

## Script structure (recommended pattern)

All example scripts follow the same layout:

### Step 1: Strict bash mode

```bash theme={null}
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
```

* `-e` exit immediately on error
* `-u` error on undefined variables
* `-o` pipefail fail if any command in a pipe fails

### Step 2: Load helpers & Setup

Scripts load shared utilities from examples/scripts/common/.

Typical helpers include:

* **structured log output** (print\_step, print\_info, print\_error)
* **random alias generator** (pick\_random\_name)
* **sleep utilities** (sleep\_loop) to wait for mirror-node consistency

### Step 3: `hcli()` wrapper (where automation begins)

From this point, scripts start executing real CLI commands.

```sh theme={null}
hcli() {
  cd "${PROJECT_DIR}" && node dist/hiero-cli.js --format json "$@"
}
```

Why this wrapper matters:

* ensures commands run from the project root
* uses the built CLI entrypoint
* forces `--format json` so scripts don’t depend on human formatting
* prevents interactive prompts (better for CI / automation)

## Quickstart script: create an account and view it

This is the smallest “real” end-to-end example:

* configure network + operator
* create one account with 1 HBAR
* view account details

First, create a file called `create-account-quickstart.sh` with the below script contents:

```sh theme={null}
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

# --- Paths ---
SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
PROJECT_DIR="$(cd "${SCRIPT_DIR}/../.." && pwd)"

# --- Helpers ---
HELPERS="$SCRIPT_DIR/common/helpers.sh"
SETUP="$SCRIPT_DIR/common/setup.sh"

source "$HELPERS"
source "$SETUP"

# --- hcli wrapper (JSON output for scripting) ---
hcli() {
  cd "${PROJECT_DIR}" && node dist/hiero-cli.js --format json "$@"
}

print_step "Selecting Hedera testnet as the active network"
hcli network use --global testnet

print_step "Configuring CLI operator for testnet"
hcli network set-operator \
  --operator "${HEDERA_OPERATOR_ACCOUNT_ID}:${HEDERA_OPERATOR_KEY}" \
  --network testnet

ACCOUNT_NAME="$(pick_random_name)"
print_step "Creating demo account: ${ACCOUNT_NAME} (1 HBAR)"
hcli account create --name "${ACCOUNT_NAME}" --balance 1.0

print_info "Waiting briefly for mirror node indexing..."
sleep_loop 5

print_step "Viewing account ${ACCOUNT_NAME}"
hcli account view --account "${ACCOUNT_NAME}"

print_step "Done."
```

Next, run it from the project root:

```sh theme={null}
./examples/scripts/create-account-quickstart.sh
```

Start building your own scripts or explore other examples in the [Hiero CLI repository](https://github.com/hiero-ledger/hiero-cli/tree/main/examples/scripts).