<p>Pool operators do use the CLI directly, or have some shell scripts to streamline the transaction building steps. There are also several different suites of pool management scripts that automatically build the transactions required, in addition to many other features built on top of calls to <code>cardano-cli</code>.</p>
<p>As a pool operator, administration transactions often require special flags to <code>cardano-cli</code> which wallet software doesn't support. Specifically, pool operators must do these 3 functions:</p>
<ul>
<li>Register the pool, which involves 2-3 transactions</li>
<li>Every 65 days, renew KES (Key Evolving Signature)</li>
<li>Other pool updates, like changes to fees, relays, and metadata</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://docs.cardano.org/projects/cardano-wallet/en/latest/About-UTxO.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">&quot;A transaction is a binding between inputs and outputs&quot;</a>. This is true of all Cardano transactions, but the pool management actions above also include metadata. Some of the metadata fields are special/reserved and passed as flags to the CLI, and some metadata is supplied as user-defined JSON.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://docs.cardano.org/projects/cardano-node/en/latest/stake-pool-operations/getConfigFiles_AND_Connect.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">stake pool setup documentation</a> walks through the setup &amp; KES management in much more detail.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-26T20:58:39.347Z
Thank you, Ben, for taking the time to answer. Would you mind elaborating on what a transaction from a pool operator perspective is?
Thomas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-26T21:40:56.783Z
Added to my answer. I'll keep the body of the answer as operator-specific, but I will add that most regular users of Cardano don't need the CLI, it's suited for more complicated transactions (like asset minting) and developers.
Ben NOBLE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-27T02:55:24.747Z
I appreciate the updated answer, Ben!
Thomas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-25T22:42:29.057Z
2021-05-26T21:37:23.540Z
2021-05-26T21:37:23.540Z
Ben NOBLE
<p>I'm learning about Cardano. In reading how to set up a node for staking, I came across <a href="https://developers.cardano.org/en/testnets/cardano/transactions/creating-transactions/" rel="noreferrer">Building and Signing Transactions</a>. Would someone kindly provide more context when building and signing should take place and by whom? The document showed manual CLI commands for those two procedures. Does that mean if you are administering a staking pool, someone has to build and sign the transactions manually? I don't believe that to be the case as it would take too long.</p>

<staking>
Building and Signing Transactions
# Building and Signing Transactions

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-05-25)

I'm learning about Cardano. In reading how to set up a node for staking, I came across [Building and Signing Transactions](https://developers.cardano.org/en/testnets/cardano/transactions/creating-transactions/). Would someone kindly provide more context when building and signing should take place and by whom? The document showed manual CLI commands for those two procedures. Does that mean if you are administering a staking pool, someone has to build and sign the transactions manually? I don't believe that to be the case as it would take too long.

**Tags:** staking

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-05-25. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

Pool operators do use the CLI directly, or have some shell scripts to streamline the transaction building steps. There are also several different suites of pool management scripts that automatically build the transactions required, in addition to many other features built on top of calls to `cardano-cli`.

As a pool operator, administration transactions often require special flags to `cardano-cli` which wallet software doesn't support. Specifically, pool operators must do these 3 functions:

* Register the pool, which involves 2-3 transactions
* Every 65 days, renew KES (Key Evolving Signature)
* Other pool updates, like changes to fees, relays, and metadata

["A transaction is a binding between inputs and outputs"](https://docs.cardano.org/projects/cardano-wallet/en/latest/About-UTxO.html). This is true of all Cardano transactions, but the pool management actions above also include metadata. Some of the metadata fields are special/reserved and passed as flags to the CLI, and some metadata is supplied as user-defined JSON.

The [stake pool setup documentation](https://docs.cardano.org/projects/cardano-node/en/latest/stake-pool-operations/getConfigFiles_AND_Connect.html) walks through the setup & KES management in much more detail.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you, Ben, for taking the time to answer. Would you mind elaborating on what a transaction from a pool operator perspective is?  
> **username_1**: Added to my answer. I'll keep the body of the answer as operator-specific, but I will add that most regular users of Cardano don't need the CLI, it's suited for more complicated transactions (like asset minting) and developers.  
> **username_0**: I appreciate the updated answer, Ben!  

---

