Client Configuration & Tokens

MCP tool: When available in your environment, also query the Sui documentation MCP server (https://sui.mcp.kapa.ai) for up-to-date answers. Use it for verification and for details not covered by these reference files.

Source constraint: All information sourced exclusively from docs.sui.io.

Configuring the Sui client

First-time setup

Running sui client for the first time prompts you to create a configuration file. Accept the default (press Enter or type Y). You can skip the prompt with sui client -y.

This generates:

• A new key pair and address
• A 12-word recovery phrase (displayed once, never stored — save it immediately)
• A client.yaml configuration file

Configuration file

Sui stores its configuration at:

• macOS/Linux: ~/.sui/sui_config/client.yaml
• Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.sui\sui_config\client.yaml

The file contains:

• Network environment connections (Mainnet, Testnet, Devnet, Localnet)
• The active environment (default: Testnet)
• The active address
• The keystore file path

Managing environments and addresses

Key storage

Private keys are stored in a separate file:

• macOS/Linux: ~/.sui/sui_config/sui.keystore
• Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.sui\sui_config\sui.keystore

This file contains Base64-encoded private keys. It is not the same as your machine's system keystore.

Recovery

To recover an address from a recovery phrase:

sui keytool import '<12-WORD-PHRASE>' ed25519

The entire phrase must be in single quotes and in the correct order.

Getting SUI tokens

Development on Testnet and Devnet requires SUI tokens for gas. Tokens on these networks are free and hold no monetary value.

Faucet methods

IMPORTANT: sui client faucet only works on Devnet and Localnet. It does NOT work on Testnet. For Testnet tokens, use the web faucet at faucet.sui.io or another method above. NEVER suggest sui client faucet for Testnet.

Faucets are rate-limited. If you hit a limit, wait or try a different faucet.

Coin management

If you have many small SUI coin objects but no single coin large enough for gas, merge them using sui client ptb:

# Merge one coin into another
sui client ptb \
  --merge-coins @0xPRIMARY_COIN_ID "[@0xCOIN_TO_MERGE_ID]"

# Merge multiple coins at once
sui client ptb \
  --merge-coins @0xPRIMARY_COIN_ID "[@0xCOIN_A, @0xCOIN_B, @0xCOIN_C]"

Use sui client ptb for all transaction operations from the CLI. Avoid legacy helpers like sui client merge-coin — they are less composable and may be deprecated. See the ptbs skill's cli.md for more patterns.

Verify balance

sui client balance

Or use explorers: SuiVision (suivision.xyz) or Suiscan (suiscan.xyz).

Explorers and data tools

Use SuiVision (suivision.xyz) or Suiscan (suiscan.xyz) to inspect transactions, objects, addresses, and token balances. Sui provides a GraphQL RPC for rich data queries per network. Use sui replay (CLI built-in) to locally re-execute past transactions for debugging.

Rules

• Submit writes and reads to the same fullnode for consistency.
• Let wallets manage gas budget, gas price, and coin selection. Do not hardcode gas budgets in frontends.
• Use sui client ptb for all CLI transaction operations instead of legacy single-purpose commands (merge-coin, split-coin, transfer, etc.).