Let's begin with creating a new IoTeX wallet account: similarly to any blockchain wallet app where you can "create a new wallet", this operation consists of generating a random private key and storing it in an encrypted file, protected by a password of your choice. It also allows you to set an alias for the newly created account (we will use the alias "dev-acc" alias in the following sections). Once the alias is set, it can be used instead of the account address in any ioctl command:
Create and store an IoTeX account and assign the "dev-acc" alias to it with command below:
ioctl account createadd dev-acc
ioctl will ask you to provide a password that will be used to encrypt your newly created account. From now on when using ioctl commands you can refer to this account by using the alias dev-acc and the password of your choice.
{% hint style="danger" %} It's highly recommended that you get used to immediately backup your account passwords in a safe place when you create a new account. Losing your password means losing access to the private key: when you interact with the IoTeX mainnet, losing access to your private key means you will lose all the funds that you have sent to that account. Forever! {% endhint %}
{% hint style="info" %}
All accounts created in ioctl, as well as all the aliases, and other settings are stored locally on your computer, in the following path:
~/.config/ioctl
You can make a copy of this folder to port your ioctl settings and accounts to multiple computers. {% endhint %}
Check out this introductory video to ioctl accounts management:
{% embed url="https://youtu.be/Q-je019KGUA" %}