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Getting Started

Install lifi, wire your wallet and RPCs, and run the first Earn + Composer flow.

lifi-cli

lifi is a CLI wrapper around the LI.FI REST API — it turns vault discovery, cross-chain routing quotes, ERC-20 approvals, and on-chain deposits into single terminal commands with no custom SDK required.

bash

lifi vaults --chain base --asset USDC --sort apy --limit 5
lifi deposit --vault 0xVault --from-chain base --from-token USDC --amount 100 --dry-run

Install

bash

brew tap Kirillr-Sibirski/lifi-cli https://github.com/Kirillr-Sibirski/lifi-cli
brew install lifi

Or build from source:

bash

git clone https://github.com/Kirillr-Sibirski/lifi-cli.git
cd lifi-cli
go build -o bin/lifi ./cmd/lifi

Setup

bash

cp .env.example .env

Open .env and fill in what you need:

bash

# Required for deposit and approve
LIFI_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY=0xabc...

# Required for on-chain calls — add one per chain you use
# Key must match the chain's key from `lifi chains` (e.g. base, opt, arb, eth)
LIFI_RPC_BASE=https://mainnet.base.org
LIFI_RPC_OPT=https://mainnet.optimism.io

# Optional — defaults
LIFI_DEFAULT_FROM_CHAIN=base
LIFI_DEFAULT_SLIPPAGE_BPS=50

Verify everything is wired up:

bash

lifi doctor --write-checks --chain base

Earn

Find vaults

bash

lifi vaults --chain base --asset USDC --transactional-only --sort apy --limit 5

bash

 # │ vault    │ protocol    │ chain       │ asset │  apy   │ apy30d │     tvl   │ tx  │ address
───┼──────────┼─────────────┼─────────────┼───────┼────────┼────────┼───────────┼─────┼─────────────────
 1 │ USDC     │ yo-protocol │ Base (8453) │ USDC  │ 16.46% │ 14.13% │ $27699993 │ yes │ 0x000000…8a65
 2 │ RE7USDC  │ morpho-v1   │ Base (8453) │ USDC  │  5.46% │  3.85% │  $2050694 │ yes │ 0x12afde…406e
 3 │ CSUSDC   │ morpho-v1   │ Base (8453) │ USDC  │  5.28% │  7.57% │  $4460216 │ yes │ 0x1d3b1c…4657

Flags:

Flag	Default	Description
`--chain`	`$LIFI_DEFAULT_FROM_CHAIN`	Chain name, key, or numeric ID
`--asset`		Token symbol or address
`--protocol`		Protocol name (e.g. `morpho-v1`, `yo-protocol`)
`--sort`	`apy`	`apy`, `apy30d`, `tvl`, or `name`
`--order`	`desc`	`asc` or `desc`
`--min-apy`		Minimum APY% filter
`--min-tvl-usd`		Minimum TVL filter in USD
`--transactional-only`		Only show vaults you can deposit into
`--limit`	`25`	Max results

Inspect a vault

bash

lifi inspect 0x1d3b1cd0a0f242d598834b3f2d126dc6bd774657

Prints full APY breakdown (base / reward / 30-day), TVL, protocol, and deposit capability.

Recommendations

bash

lifi recommend --asset USDC --from-chain base --strategy highest-apy
lifi recommend --asset USDC --from-chain base --strategy safest --min-tvl-usd 5000000

Strategies: highest-apy, safest (weighted by TVL), balanced (default).

Portfolio

bash

lifi portfolio 0xYourWallet
lifi portfolio 0xYourWallet --chain base --protocol morpho-v1

Shows current Earn positions. No wallet key required — pass any address.

Deposit

bash

# 1. See the execution plan without broadcasting
lifi deposit \
  --vault 0xVaultAddress \
  --from-chain base \
  --from-token USDC \
  --amount 100 \
  --dry-run

# 2. Broadcast, wait for confirmation, verify position appeared
lifi deposit \
  --vault 0xVaultAddress \
  --from-chain base \
  --from-token USDC \
  --amount 100 \
  --wait \
  --verify-position

Required: LIFI_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY and LIFI_RPC_<CHAIN>

Flags:

Flag	Default	Description
`--vault`	required	Target vault address
`--from-chain`	`$LIFI_DEFAULT_FROM_CHAIN`	Source chain
`--from-token`	required	Token to deposit (e.g. `USDC`, `ETH`)
`--amount`	required	Human-readable amount (e.g. `100`)
`--to-chain`	vault's chain	For cross-chain deposits
`--dry-run`		Preflight only — never broadcasts
`--wait`		Wait for confirmation
`--verify-position`		Check portfolio after confirmation
`--approve`	`auto`	`auto`, `always`, or `never`
`--approval-amount`	`exact`	`exact` or `infinite`
`--gas-policy`	`auto`	`auto`, `quote`, or `rpc`
`--yes`		Skip confirmation prompt
`--skip-simulate`		Bypass RPC simulation

Withdraw

Redeem vault shares back to the underlying token:

bash

# Preview only
lifi withdraw \
  --vault 0xVaultAddress \
  --chain opt \
  --amount 0.049 \
  --dry-run

# Broadcast
lifi withdraw \
  --vault 0xVaultAddress \
  --chain opt \
  --amount 0.049 \
  --yes

The --amount is in vault shares (check your balance with lifi portfolio <address>). The command handles the ERC-20 approval of the share token automatically.

Required: LIFI_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY and LIFI_RPC_<CHAIN>

Flags:

Flag	Default	Description
`--vault`	required	Vault address to redeem from
`--chain`	vault's chain	Chain the vault lives on
`--amount`	required	Shares to redeem (human-readable)
`--amount-wei`		Shares in raw base units
`--to-token`	vault's underlying	Output token
`--slippage-bps`	`50`	Slippage tolerance
`--gas-policy`	`auto`	`auto`, `quote`, or `rpc`
`--dry-run`		Simulate only, never broadcasts
`--yes`		Skip confirmation prompt

Composer

Quote

Get a routing quote before any broadcast:

bash

lifi quote \
  --vault 0xVaultAddress \
  --from-chain base \
  --from-token USDC \
  --amount 100

Export an unsigned transaction for external signing:

bash

lifi quote \
  --vault 0xVaultAddress \
  --from-chain base \
  --from-token USDC \
  --amount 100 \
  --unsigned --json > quote.json

Required: LIFI_WALLET_ADDRESS or LIFI_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY (address is derived from it).

Flags:

Flag	Default	Description
`--vault`	required	Target vault address
`--from-chain`	required	Source chain
`--from-token`	required	Input token
`--amount`	required	Input amount
`--slippage-bps`	`50`	Slippage tolerance in basis points
`--unsigned`		Print the unsigned transaction payload
`--allow-bridges`		Comma-separated bridge allowlist
`--deny-bridges`		Comma-separated bridge denylist

Check allowance

bash

lifi allowance \
  --chain base \
  --token USDC \
  --owner 0xYourWallet \
  --spender 0xSpenderAddress \
  --amount 100

Or from a saved quote file:

bash

lifi allowance --quote-file quote.json --owner 0xYourWallet

Required: LIFI_RPC_<CHAIN>

Approve

bash

lifi approve \
  --chain base \
  --token USDC \
  --spender 0xSpenderAddress \
  --amount 100

Use --amount max for an unlimited approval. lifi deposit --approve auto handles this automatically.

Required: LIFI_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY and LIFI_RPC_<CHAIN>

Track a transaction

bash

lifi status --tx-hash 0xabc... --from-chain base
lifi status --tx-hash 0xabc... --watch   # polls until done

Utility commands

doctor

bash

lifi doctor                      # check API connectivity and config
lifi doctor --write-checks       # also check wallet and RPC readiness
lifi doctor --write-checks --chain base

chains

bash

lifi chains                      # list all supported chains
lifi chains --search optimism    # filter by name
lifi chains --evm-only           # only EVM chains

Chain keys (the key column) are the canonical identifiers used in --chain flags and LIFI_RPC_* env vars. Common keys: eth, bas, opt, arb, bsc, pol. Full names (base, ethereum, optimism) also work via fuzzy matching.

protocols

bash

lifi protocols                        # all Earn protocols and Composer bridges
lifi protocols --search morpho        # filter by name
lifi protocols --supports deposit     # only protocols with deposit support

tokens

bash

lifi tokens --chain base --token USDC   # find the canonical USDC on Base
lifi tokens --chain eth --token ETH     # native token info

config

bash

lifi config init          # write a starter config file to ~/.config/lifi/config.yaml
lifi config show          # show resolved config for the active profile
lifi --profile prod <cmd> # use a named profile for one command

Config file (~/.config/lifi/config.yaml) supports named profiles for multiple wallets or environments:

yaml

profile: default

profiles:
  default:
    defaults:
      from_chain: base
      slippage_bps: "50"
    wallet:
      private_key_env: LIFI_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY
    rpcs:
      base: https://mainnet.base.org
      opt: https://mainnet.optimism.io

  staging:
    defaults:
      from_chain: optimism
    wallet:
      private_key_env: STAGING_PRIVATE_KEY
    rpcs:
      opt: https://my-private-rpc.example.com

Global flags

These work with every command:

bash

lifi --json <command>         # machine-readable JSON output
lifi --verbose <command>      # extra detail
lifi --no-color <command>     # disable colors (for pipes/CI)
lifi --profile <name> <cmd>   # switch config profile
lifi --config <path> <cmd>    # use a custom config file path

Safety

deposit always runs a preflight check before broadcasting
deposit --dry-run never broadcasts — always safe to run
Simulation (--simulate) is on by default and catches most bad transactions before they hit the chain
Approvals default to exact amount — never approve more than needed
Write commands prompt for confirmation unless --yes is set

Troubleshooting

wallet private key is required
Set LIFI_WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY in .env or export it in your shell.

unknown chain "xyz"
Run lifi chains --search xyz to find the right key. Also try the numeric chain ID (e.g. --chain 8453 for Base).

--token is required / --vault is required
All flags use double-dash: --token USDC, not -token USDC.

no RPC URL configured for Base
Add LIFI_RPC_BASE=https://mainnet.base.org to .env. The key after LIFI_RPC_ must match the chain name or key (run lifi chains to check).

simulation failed
Run lifi deposit ... --dry-run --json to see the full preflight. If approval_needed: true, the simulation is intentionally skipped — grant approval first.

position detected: no
The portfolio index may take a moment to update. Retry with lifi portfolio 0xYourWallet --chain base.

Roadmap

lifi-cli is at v0.1 — the core read, deposit, and withdraw flows are solid. Here's what comes next.

Near-term

lifi watch — live-polling mode for portfolio and status, streaming updates to the terminal
lifi sweep — consolidate multiple small positions into one vault in a single command
Ledger / hardware wallet support — sign transactions via USB without exposing a raw private key

Medium-term

Recurring deposits — cron-style automation: lifi schedule --vault 0x... --amount 50 --every 1w
Multi-hop strategies — chain together a swap + bridge + deposit in one command using the Composer API
Position alerts — notify (webhook, email) when APY drops below a threshold or a position reaches a target value
--output csv|tsv — tabular export for spreadsheet workflows alongside existing --json

Longer-term

Plugin / hook system — let third-party scripts tap into the preflight and post-execution lifecycle
TUI dashboard — an interactive terminal UI (lifi tui) with a vault browser, live APY feed, and portfolio overview
EigenLayer / restaking integrations — extend Earn commands to cover restaking protocols as LI.FI adds support

Development

bash

go test ./...
LIFI_SMOKE=1 go test ./internal/cli -run TestLiveSmokeReadPath  # live network tests