add page on ns_personal deprecation

2 years ago · d71f885aec
parent d37b803f62
commit d71f885aec
2 changed files with 223 additions and 3 deletions
--- a/docs/interacting-with-geth/rpc/ns-personal.md
+++ b/docs/interacting-with-geth/rpc/ns-personal.md
@ -3,10 +3,9 @@ title: personal Namespace
 description: Documentation for the JSON-RPC API "personal" namespace
 ---

-{% include note.html content="The personal namespace will be deprecated in the very near future. All the methods in the personal namespace have equivalents in Clef or Geth" %}
+{% include note.html content="The personal namespace will be deprecated in the very near future." %}

-
-The personal API manages private keys in the key store.
+The personal API managed private keys in the key store. It is deprecated in favour of using [Clef](/docs/tools/clef/Introduction.md) for interacting with accounts Please refer to the [ns_personal deprecation page](/docs/interacting-with-geth/rpc/ns_personal_deprecation.md) to see the equivalent methods. The following documentation should be treated as archive information and users should migrate tousing Clef for account interactions.

 ## personal_deriveAccount {#personal-deriveaccount}

--- a/docs/interacting-with-geth/rpc/ns_personal_deprecation.md
+++ b/docs/interacting-with-geth/rpc/ns_personal_deprecation.md
@ -0,0 +1,221 @@
+---
+title: Personal namespace deprecation notes
+description: Alternatives to the methods in the deprecated personal namespace
+---
+
+The JSON-RPC API's `personal` namespace has historically been used to manage accounts and sign transactions and data over RPC. However, it is being deprecated in favour of using [Clef](/docs/tools/clef/Introduction.md) as an external signer and account manager. One of the major changes is moving away from indiscriminate locking and unlocking of accounts and instead using Clef to explicitly approve or deny specific actions. This page shows the suggested replacement for each method in `personal`.
+
+## Methods without replacements
+
+### personal_unlockAccount
+
+There is no need for a direct replacement for `personal_unlockAccount`. Using Clef to manually approve actions or to attest custom rulesets is a much more secure way to interact with accounts without needing to indiscriminately unlock accounts. 
+
+### personal_lockAccount
+
+There is no need for a direct replacement for `personal_lockAccount` because account locking/unlocking is replaced by Clef's approve/deny logic. This is a more secure way to interact with accounts.
+
+### personal.unpair
+
+Unpair deletes a pairing between some specific types of smartcard wallet and Geth. There is not yet an equivalent method in Clef.
+
+### personal_initializeWallet
+
+InitializeWallet is for initializing some specific types of smartcard wallet at a provided URL. There is not yet a corresponding method in Clef.
+
+## Methods with replacements:
+
+### personal_listAccounts
+
+`personal_listAccounts` displays the addresses of all accounts in the keystore. It is identical to `eth.accounts`. Calling `eth.accounts` requires manual approval in Clef (unless a rule for it has been attested). There is also Clef's `list-accounts` command that can be called from the terminal.
+
+Examples:
+
+```sh
+# eth_accounts using curl
+curl -X POST --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_accounts","params":[],"id":1}'
+```
+
+```js
+// eth_accounts in Geth's JS console
+eth.accounts
+```
+
+```sh
+# clef list-accounts in the terminal
+clef list-accounts
+```
+
+### personal_deriveAccount
+
+`personal_deriveAccount` requests a hardware wallet to derive a new account, optionally pinning it for later use. This method is identical to `clef_deriveAccount`. The Clef method is not externally exposed so it must be called via a UI.
+
+### personal.ecRecover
+
+`personal_ecRecover` returns the address for the account that was used to create a signature. An equivalent method, `account_ecRecover` is available on the Clef external API.
+
+Example call:
+
+```sh
+curl --data '{"id": 4, "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "account_ecRecover","params": ["0xaabbccdd",     "0x5b6693f153b48ec1c706ba4169960386dbaa6903e249cc79a8e6ddc434451d417e1e57327872c7f538beeb323c300afa9999a3d4a5de6caf3be0d5ef832b67ef1c"]}' -X POST localhost:8550
+```
+
+### personal_importRawKey
+
+`personal.importRawKey` was used to create a new account in the keystore from a raw private key. Clef has an equivalent method that can be invoked in the terminal using:
+
+```sh
+clef importraw <private-key-as-hex-string>
+```
+
+
+### personal_listWallets
+As opposed to `listAccounts`, this method lists full details, including usb path or keystore-file paths. The equivalent method is `clef_listWallets`. This method can be called from the terminal using:
+
+```sh
+clef list-wallets
+```
+
+### personal_newAccount
+
+`personal_newAccount` was used to create a new accoutn and save it in the keystore. Clef has an equivalent method, `account_new`. It can be accessed on the terminal using an http request or using a Clef command:
+
+Example call (curl):
+
+```sh
+curl --data '{"id": 1, "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "account_new", "params": []}' -X POST localhost:8550
+```
+
+Example call (Clef command):
+
+```sh1
+clef newaccount
+```
+
+Both require manual approval in Clef unless a custom ruleset is in place.
+
+### personal_openWallet
+
+`personal_OpenWallet` initiates a hardware wallet opening procedure by establishing a USB connection and then attempting to authenticate via the provided passphrase. Note, the method may return an extra challenge requiring a second open (e.g. the Trezor PIN matrix challenge). `personal_openWallet` is identical to `clef_openWallet`. The Clef method is not externally eposed, meaning it must be called via a UI.
+
+### personal_sendTransaction
+
+`personal_sendTransaction` ws used to sign and submit a transaction. This can be done using `eth_sendTransaction`, requiring manual approval in Clef. 
+
+Example call (Javascript console):
+
+```js
+// this command requires 2x approval in Clef because it loads account data via eth.accounts[0]
+// and eth.accounts[1]
+var tx = {from: eth.accounts[0], to: eth.accounts[1], value: web3.toWei(0.1, "ether")}
+
+// then send the transaction
+eth.sendTransaction(tx)
+```
+Example call (terminal)
+
+```sh
+curl --data '{"id":1,"jsonrpc":"2.0", "method":"eth_sendTransaction","params":[{"from": "0xE70CAD05D0D54Ae3C9Fe5442f901E0433f9bd14B", "to":"0x4FDc03d09Ffca5Bba3138149E29D85C8A9E2Ac42", "gas":"21000","gasPrice":"20000000000", "nonce":"94"}]}' -H "Content-Type: application/json" -X POST localhost:8545
+```
+
+### personal_sign
+
+The sign method calculates an Ethereum specific signature with `sign(keccak256("\x19Ethereum Signed Message:\n" + len(message) + message))`. Adding a prefix to the message makes the calculated signature recognisable as an Ethereum specific signature. This prevents misuse where a malicious DApp can sign arbitrary data (e.g. transaction) and use the signature to impersonate the victim.
+
+`personal.sign` is equivalent to Clef's `account_signData`. It returns the calculated signature.
+
+Example call:
+
+```sh
+curl --data {"id": 3, "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "account_signData", "params": ["data/plain", "0x1923f626bb8dc025849e00f99c25fe2b2f7fb0db","0xaabbccdd"]} -X POST localhost:8550
+```
+
+Clef also has `account_signTypedData` that signs data structured according to [EIP-712](https://github.com/ethereum/EIPs/blob/master/EIPS/eip-712.md) and returns the signature.
+
+Example call (use the following as a template for `<data>` in `curl --data <data> -X POST localhost:8550 -H "Content-Type: application/json"`)
+
+```sh
+{
+  "id": 68,
+  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
+  "method": "account_signTypedData",
+  "params": [
+    "0xcd2a3d9f938e13cd947ec05abc7fe734df8dd826",
+    {
+      "types": {
+        "EIP712Domain": [
+          {
+            "name": "name",
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          {
+            "name": "version",
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          {
+            "name": "chainId",
+            "type": "uint256"
+          },
+          {
+            "name": "verifyingContract",
+            "type": "address"
+          }
+        ],
+        "Person": [
+          {
+            "name": "name",
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          {
+            "name": "wallet",
+            "type": "address"
+          }
+        ],
+        "Mail": [
+          {
+            "name": "from",
+            "type": "Person"
+          },
+          {
+            "name": "to",
+            "type": "Person"
+          },
+          {
+            "name": "contents",
+            "type": "string"
+          }
+        ]
+      },
+      "primaryType": "Mail",
+      "domain": {
+        "name": "Ether Mail",
+        "version": "1",
+        "chainId": 1,
+        "verifyingContract": "0xCcCCccccCCCCcCCCCCCcCcCccCcCCCcCcccccccC"
+      },
+      "message": {
+        "from": {
+          "name": "Cow",
+          "wallet": "0xCD2a3d9F938E13CD947Ec05AbC7FE734Df8DD826"
+        },
+        "to": {
+          "name": "Bob",
+          "wallet": "0xbBbBBBBbbBBBbbbBbbBbbbbBBbBbbbbBbBbbBBbB"
+        },
+        "contents": "Hello, Bob!"
+      }
+    }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+### personal_signTransaction
+
+`personal_signTransaction` was used to create and sign a transaction from the given arguments. The transaction was returned in RLP-form, not broadcast to other nodes. The equivalent method is Clef's `account_signTransaction` from the external API. The arguments are a transaction object (`{"from": , "to": , "gas": , "maxPriorityFeePerGas": , "MaxFeePerGas": , "value": , "data": , "nonce": }`)) and a method signature
+
+Example call (terminal):
+
+```sh
+curl --data '{"id": 2, "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "account_signTransaction", "params": [{"from": "0x1923f626bb8dc025849e00f99c25fe2b2f7fb0db", "gas": "0x55555","gasPrice": "0x1234", "input": "0xabcd", "nonce": "0x0", "to": "0x07a565b7ed7d7a678680a4c162885bedbb695fe0", "value": "0x1234"}]}' -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" localhost:8550
+```
+