help

Help provides help for any command in the application. This is your primary tool for discovering and understanding Babylon CLI commands, their usage patterns, flags, and examples directly from the command line.

Overview

The help command provides detailed information about any babylond command, including usage syntax, available flags, examples, and subcommands. It's the built-in documentation system that helps you explore and understand the CLI without leaving your terminal.

babylond help [command] [flags]

Arguments

Argument	Description
command	The command or command path to get help for (optional)

Flags

Flag	Type	Description
-h, --help		Help for the help command

Global Flags

Flag	Type	Default	Description
--home	string	~/.babylond	Directory for config and data
--log_format	string	plain	The logging format (json|plain)
--log_level	string	info	The logging level
--log_no_color			Disable colored logs
--trace			Print full stack trace on errors

Examples

General Help

Get overall babylond help and list all available commands:

Show all available commands

babylond help

Command-Specific Help

Get detailed help for specific commands:

Help for individual commands

# Get help for the start command
babylond help start

# Get help for the keys command group
babylond help keys

# Get help for a specific keys subcommand
babylond help keys add

Subcommand Navigation

Navigate through command hierarchies:

Explore command groups

# Show all transaction commands
babylond help tx

# Show all query commands
babylond help query

# Show all genesis helpers
babylond help gen-helpers

# Show all debug utilities
babylond help debug

Complex Command Paths

Get help for deeply nested commands:

Complex command paths

# Get help for validator creation
babylond help tx checkpointing create-validator

# Get help for staking queries
babylond help query staking validator

# Get help for bank transactions
babylond help tx bank send

# Get help for governance proposals
babylond help tx gov submit-proposal

Alternative Help Syntax

Multiple ways to access help information:

Alternative help access methods

# Using --help flag (equivalent to help command)
babylond start --help
babylond keys --help
babylond tx bank send --help

# Using short form -h flag
babylond init -h
babylond config -h
babylond export -h

Command Discovery Workflow

Exploring Available Commands

Discover babylond capabilities

# 1. Start with general help
babylond help

# 2. Explore major command groups
babylond help tx        # All transaction commands
babylond help query     # All query commands
babylond help keys      # Key management commands
babylond help config    # Configuration commands

# 3. Dive into specific areas of interest
babylond help tx checkpointing    # Checkpointing transactions
babylond help query btcstaking    # BTC staking queries
babylond help comet               # CometBFT operations

Learning New Features

Learn about specific features

# Discover BTC staking functionality
babylond help tx btcstaking
babylond help query btcstaking

# Learn about checkpointing
babylond help tx checkpointing
babylond help query checkpointing

# Explore finality provider operations
babylond help tx finality
babylond help query finality

Quick Reference Generation

Generate quick references

# Create personal cheat sheets
babylond help keys > keys_reference.txt
babylond help tx > transactions_reference.txt
babylond help query > queries_reference.txt

# Get help for specific workflows
babylond help gentx > validator_setup_help.txt
babylond help export > state_export_help.txt

Help Output Structure

Typical Help Output Format

Standard help output structure

<Command Description>

Usage:
  babylond <command> [subcommand] [flags]

Available Commands:
  subcommand1    Description of subcommand1
  subcommand2    Description of subcommand2

Flags:
  --flag1 string    Description of flag1
  --flag2           Description of flag2

Global Flags:
  --home string     Home directory path
  --log_level       Logging level

Use "babylond <command> [subcommand] --help" for more information about a command.

Understanding Help Sections

Command Description: Brief overview of what the command does
Usage: Exact syntax showing required and optional parameters
Available Commands: List of subcommands with short descriptions
Flags: Command-specific options and their descriptions
Global Flags: Flags available to all commands
Additional Info: Navigation hints for deeper exploration

Interactive Help Navigation

Building Command Knowledge

Progressive command learning

# Start broad
babylond help

# Focus on an area
babylond help tx

# Get specific
babylond help tx checkpointing

# Deep dive
babylond help tx checkpointing create-validator

# Study the full syntax
babylond help tx checkpointing create-validator | less

Help-Driven Development

Use help to build commands

# 1. Start with help to understand syntax
babylond help tx bank send

# 2. Build command step by step
babylond tx bank send --help

# 3. Identify required parameters
babylond tx bank send [from_key_or_address] [to_address] [amount] --help

# 4. Add optional flags as needed
babylond tx bank send alice bob 1000ubbn --chain-id babylon-1 --help

Help for Common Tasks

Validator Setup Help

Validator-related help commands

# Node initialization
babylond help init

# Key management
babylond help keys add
babylond help create-bls-key

# Genesis setup
babylond help add-genesis-account
babylond help gentx
babylond help collect-gentxs

# Validator operations
babylond help tx checkpointing create-validator
babylond help query checkpointing validator

BTC Staking Help

BTC staking help commands

# BTC staking transactions
babylond help tx btcstaking

# BTC staking queries
babylond help query btcstaking

# Finality provider operations
babylond help tx finality
babylond help query finality

# Genesis helpers for BTC data
babylond help gen-helpers

Network Operations Help

Network operation help commands

# Node operations
babylond help start
babylond help status
babylond help comet

# State management
babylond help export
babylond help debug

# Configuration
babylond help config

Best Practices

Effective Help Usage

• Start broad, then narrow - Begin with general help, then drill down to specific commands
• Use help before searching documentation - Often faster than web searches
• Combine with --dry-run - Use help to understand, then test with dry-run
• Save useful help output - Create personal reference files for complex commands

Learning Strategy

• Explore systematically - Go through each major command group
• Focus on your use case - Prioritize commands relevant to your role
• Practice with examples - Try the examples shown in help output
• Build incrementally - Start with simple commands, add complexity gradually

Documentation Hierarchy

• Help command - Quick syntax and flag reference
• Official documentation - Comprehensive guides and explanations
• Community resources - Tutorials and real-world examples
• Source code - Ultimate truth for complex behaviors

Help Integration with Workflows

Development Workflow

Help-driven development

#!/bin/bash
# Use help to build scripts correctly

# 1. Research the command
babylond help tx bank send

# 2. Understand required parameters
# from_key_or_address, to_address, amount

# 3. Check available flags
# --chain-id, --gas, --fees, etc.

# 4. Build the command
babylond tx bank send \
  alice \
  babylon1recipient... \
  1000ubbn \
  --chain-id babylon-1 \
  --gas auto \
  --yes

echo "✅ Command built using help guidance"

Troubleshooting Workflow

Help for troubleshooting

# When a command fails, check help for correct syntax
if ! babylond tx checkpointing create-validator ...; then
    echo "❌ Command failed, checking help..."
    babylond help tx checkpointing create-validator
    echo "Review the syntax and try again"
fi

Learning New Features

Systematic feature exploration

# Explore new modules or features
NEW_MODULE="btcstaking"

echo "📚 Exploring $NEW_MODULE module..."
babylond help tx $NEW_MODULE
babylond help query $NEW_MODULE

# Try each subcommand help
for cmd in $(babylond help tx $NEW_MODULE | grep -E "^  [a-z]" | awk '{print $1}'); do
    echo "Learning: tx $NEW_MODULE $cmd"
    babylond help tx $NEW_MODULE $cmd
done

Common Help Patterns

Finding the Right Command

Command discovery patterns

# Looking for specific functionality
babylond help | grep -i "validator"    # Find validator-related commands
babylond help | grep -i "stake"        # Find staking commands
babylond help | grep -i "key"          # Find key management commands

# Exploring transaction types
babylond help tx | grep -i "bank"      # Banking transactions
babylond help tx | grep -i "gov"       # Governance transactions
babylond help tx | grep -i "btc"       # BTC-related transactions

Understanding Flag Usage

Flag exploration

# Common flags across commands
babylond help start | grep -A5 "Flags:"
babylond help tx | grep -A10 "Global Flags:"

# Understanding gas and fee flags
babylond help tx bank send | grep -E "(gas|fee)"

# Finding output format options
babylond help query | grep -E "(output|format)"