# Signing A Message with CLI

#### 🔐 Verifying Your Identity Off-Chain

To verify your identity without signing an on-chain transaction using your vote key, you need to sign an off-chain message and provide the necessary details. This process allows you to prove ownership of your vote key securely.

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#### 👛 Choosing a Claim Wallet

Choose a claim wallet that you will use to connect to The Vault's website. Preferably, use a burner wallet. You can see your personal validator dashboard and claim points when the campaign is finished using this wallet.

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#### 🧭 Steps to Follow

1. Open a terminal on your system.
2. Ensure you have the Solana CLI installed and configured correctly.

Run the command to sign the off-chain message:\
\
`solana sign-offchain-message "TheVault:yourClaimPublicKey" -k /pathToYourVoteKey`

3. 1. `TheVault:yourClaimPublicKey` → Replace `yourClaimPublicKey` with your actual claim public key.
   2. `-k /pathToYourVoteKey` → Replace `/pathToYourVoteKey` with the path to your Solana vote key file (e.g., `~/.config/solana/id.json`).

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#### 🧪 Example Command and Breakdown

For example, if the user's claim public key is `AbcD5Vu2RhsH3KEKy74fPqs38RCiMdm473zJDq6hzhQ`, and their vote key is stored at `~/.config/solana/id.json`, they would run:

`solana sign-offchain-message "TheVault:AbcD5Vu2RhsH3KEKy74fPqs38RCiMdm473zJDq6hzhQ" -k ~/.config/solana/id.json`

When run, the output should look like this:

`9XYT6HdQmUkDkhVgr87yGeCh2pAx92tFyzXTUE5u3GTD1Q1WR1AokEpaw7RVtd1wXuMRCiw2QJr72bZcsLK5q3xD`

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#### 🔍 What Each Part Means

* Generated Signature:
  * `9XYT6HdQmUkDkhVgr87yGeCh2pAx92tFyzXTUE5u3GTD1Q1WR1AokEpaw7RVtd1wXuMRCiw2QJr72bZcsLK5q3xD`
  * This is the signature generated for your message. It proves ownership of your vote key without needing to sign a blockchain transaction.

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#### 📤 What to Do Next

Once you have the signature, submit the following details:

* Your vote public key (e.g., `AbcD5Vu2RhsH3KEKy74fPqs38RCiMdm473zJDq6hzhQ`)
* The message used (e.g., `TheVault:AbcD5Vu2RhsH3KEKy74fPqs38RCiMdm473zJDq6hzhQ`)
* The signature you received (e.g., `9XYT6HdQmUkDkhVgr87yGeCh2pAx92tFyzXTUE5u3GTD1Q1WR1AokEpaw7RVtd1wXuMRCiw2QJr72bZcsLK5q3xD`)

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#### ✅ Verifying the Signature

To verify that the signature is valid, another person can run the following command:

`solana verify-offchain-signature "TheVault:yourClaimPublicKey" yourSignature --signer yourVotePublicKey`

Example with values from above:

`solana verify-offchain-signature "TheVault:AbcD5Vu2RhsH3KEKy74fPqs38RCiMdm473zJDq6hzhQ" 9XYT6HdQmUkDkhVgr87yGeCh2pAx92tFyzXTUE5u3GTD1Q1WR1AokEpaw7RVtd1wXuMRCiw2QJr72bZcsLK5q3xD --signer 3Gh8mJQfYvJ3uMjdXhPfF31PwbxC5zXofsHHdgyvG5Gr`

If the signature is valid, the output will confirm:

`Signature is valid`

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#### 📌 Key Points to Remember

* No transactions are made on-chain, ensuring security.
* The signature process verifies ownership of the vote key securely.
* The `-k flag` points to your private key file, so keep it secure and do not share it.
* Always verify the correctness of your details before submitting them.

By following these steps, users can easily sign messages off-chain and validate their identities securely without needing to broadcast transactions.


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