🔧 1. Generate Delegation Certificate

cardano-cli stake-address delegation-certificate \
  --stake-verification-key-file stake.vkey \
  --cold-verification-key-file pool.vkey \
  --out-file delegation.cert

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🧩 2. Python Script to Build This CBOR Structure Manually

Here is a simple Python script using the cbor2 library to generate this structure and save it as delegation.cert (just like cardano-cli would):

import cbor2

# Sample 28-byte Stake Key Hash (in bytes)
stake_key_hash = bytes.fromhex('d85a3b0f31ac99a96f515fdf2c86f2f4b1fa9ebdc5a74a4fa51a8f18d2b992e4')

# Sample 28-byte Pool ID (cold key hash in bytes)
pool_id = bytes.fromhex('e9b0a3707ce7c7804786b3d0c947f9aeb5480a21956d13c2fd35e3c2b1fbc567')

# CBOR structure for a stake delegation certificate
delegation_cert = [
    2,                              # Certificate type: stake delegation
    [0, stake_key_hash],            # Credential type: KeyHash, Stake Key Hash
    pool_id                         # Pool ID (Cold Key Hash)
]

# Serialize to CBOR
cbor_data = cbor2.dumps(delegation_cert)

# Save to file (simulating delegation.cert)
with open('delegation.cert', 'wb') as f:
    f.write(cbor_data)

print("delegation.cert CBOR file generated successfully.")

CBOR Structure in Plain Text Output:

In CBOR Diagnostic Notation Output:

Breakdown:

Position	Meaning	Value
[0]	Certificate type (2)	Delegation certificate
[1]	Stake Credential Array	[0, <28-byte keyhash>]
[2]	Pool Key Hash (cold key)	28-byte keyhash (Pool ID)

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Explanation

• Type 2 means this is a delegation certificate.
• The stake key hash is extracted from the stake.vkey file and is used to identify the delegator.
• The pool key hash (Pool ID) points to the target pool’s cold verification key.

🔍 3. Decode the generated file to verify its structure

You can view the hex content of the .cert file like this ( Hex dump ):

xxd -p delegation.cert

Or use Python:

import cbor2

with open('delegation.cert', 'rb') as f:
    decoded = cbor2.load(f)
    print(decoded)

Sample output (hex dump of CBOR structure):

8201825820d85a3b0f31ac99a96f515fdf2c86f2f4b1fa9ebdc5a74a4fa51a8f18d2b992e45820
e9b0a3707ce7c7804786b3d0c947f9aeb5480a21956d13c2fd35e3c2b1fbc567

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🛠️ 4. Tools You Can Use:

Purpose	Tool
CBOR decoding	https://cbor.me
Python decoding	cbor2 module
Hex dump	xxd -p file.cert
Pretty print CBOR (Haskell)	cardano-cli text-view (planned but limited)

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🚨 5. Notes:

• All these certificates are mandatory parts of staking operations.
• They are immutable once included in a block.
• You can inspect certificates before submitting a transaction to verify correctness.