hermes query channels --chain chain_id to output the counterparty chain_id

[AlianBenabdallah]

Summary

hermes query channels --chain chain_id currently retrieves all the channel_ids and associated ports.

To this information, I think adding the counterparty chain's id would be helpful.

Problem Definition

In order to transfer packets from A to B, if the user does not know which channel should be used, he need to retrieve all the channels on A then for every channel use hermes query channel --chain --channel --port to retrieve information about the counterparty.
In a situation with many chains, it can be exhausting.
I propose to add information about the counterparty in hermes query channels

Proposal

hermes query channels --chain chain_id would produce an output of this format :

Success: [
    PortChannelId {
        channel_id: ChannelId(
            "channel-0",
        ),
        port_id: PortId(
            "transfer",
        ),
        counterparty_id: ChainId(
            "ibc-0",
        ),
    },
    PortChannelId {
        channel_id: ChannelId(
            "channel-1",
        ),
        port_id: PortId(
            "transfer",
        ),
        counterparty_id: ChainId(
            "ibc-1",
        ),
    },
]

Instead of :

Success: [
    PortChannelId {
        channel_id: ChannelId(
            "channel-0",
        ),
        port_id: PortId(
            "transfer",
        ),
    },
    PortChannelId {
        channel_id: ChannelId(
            "channel-1",
        ),
        port_id: PortId(
            "transfer",
        ),
    },
]

Acceptance Criteria

hermes query channels --chain ibc-0 gives all the channels and the counterparty chain's id.

---

For Admin Use

• Not duplicate issue
• Appropriate labels applied
• Appropriate milestone (priority) applied
• Appropriate contributors tagged
• Contributor assigned/self-assigned

[ljoss17]

Hi @AlianBenabdallah I am wondering if this change is necessary as there are two optional flags which allow to retrieve the information required.

• The --counterparty-chain would allow to filter all the channels going from A to B
• The --verbose would allow to have a more detailed output

What do you think ?

[AlianBenabdallah]

Hi @ljoss17,

I think --verbose produces a very large output which is not always convenient.

I did not know about --counterparty-chain. Could you please share an example of how to use it ? hermes query channels --counterparty-chain ibc-1 --chain ibc-0 outputs an error and I don't find any mention of this flag with hermes query channels --help

[ljoss17]

Indeed the verbose is not ideal for this scenario.

In order to test the --counterparty-chain you need to pull the latest master, this flag will be introduced in the next release. Once you have the version with --counterparty-chain, can run the following commands:

With this gm.toml:

[global]
  add_to_hermes = true
  auto_maintain_config = true
  extra_wallets = 1
  gaiad_binary = "???"
  hdpath = ""
  home_dir = "???"
  ports_start_at = 27040
  validator_mnemonic = ""
  wallet_mnemonic = ""

  [global.hermes]
    binary = "???"
    config = "???"
    log_level = "debug"
    telemetry_enabled = true
    telemetry_host = "127.0.0.1"
    telemetry_port = 3001

[ibc-0]
  ports_start_at = 27000

[ibc-1]
  ports_start_at = 27010

[ibc-2]
  ports_start_at = 27020

Don't forget to setup the correct global gaiad_binary and home_dir, Hermes binary and config.

1. gm start
2. gm hermes config
3. gm hermes keys
4. Create the channels between the three chains (e.g. gm hermes cc --exec or hermes create channel)

Then if you run hermes query channels --chain ibc-0 you should get:

Success: [
    PortChannelId {
        channel_id: ChannelId(
            "channel-0",
        ),
        port_id: PortId(
            "transfer",
        ),
    },
    PortChannelId {
        channel_id: ChannelId(
            "channel-1",
        ),
        port_id: PortId(
            "transfer",
        ),
    },
]

And if you run hermes query channels --chain ibc-0 --counterparty-chain ibc-1 you will only get:

Success: [
    PortChannelId {
        channel_id: ChannelId(
            "channel-0",
        ),
        port_id: PortId(
            "transfer",
        ),
    },
]

[AlianBenabdallah]

Indeed that's convenient. However, this flag applies filtering and I think that usually, filtering should be done on a visible attribute. Also, in some sense, using the command without any flag is not very useful.

@adizere, you have any opinion regarding the output of hermes query channels --chain chain_id ?

[adizere]

I think the current default behavior of hermes query channels --chain chain_id is fine. Agree that the filtering we do via --counterparty-chain ibc-1 on a non-visible attribute is not ideal, but this is likely not the best place to fix that and not a priority.

For the issue raised here specifically -- about introducing the counterparty chain identifier in each output element -- maybe we can do it by introducing an additional option to this CLI, say --show-counterparty-chain or similar. Please consult ADR 010 to make sure we're consistent with the principles laid in there.

So we would end-up with 3 possible invocations of this CLIm, first two described by Luca above:

• The --counterparty-chain would allow to filter all the channels going from A to B
• The --verbose would allow to have a more detailed output

The third:

• The --show-counterparty-chain option complements the PortChannelId output element by adding another field (called counterparty_chain_id). Similar to your suggestion Ali, we would go from

PortChannelId {
        channel_id: ChannelId(
            "channel-2",
        ),
        port_id: PortId(
            "transfer",
        ),
    },

to

PortChannelCounterpartyId {
        channel_id: ChannelId(
            "channel-2",
        ),
        port_id: PortId(
            "transfer",
        ),
        counterparty_chain_id: ChainId(
            "ibc-1",
        ),
    },

[AlianBenabdallah]

This new flag would be a great idea.
In IBC-go, they have a command that shows every channel in a clear and concise way. (rly path list)
I had to use multiple chains to recreate a bug and I wish I had a single command that gives the whole topology of the network.

[romac]

@AlianBenabdallah Do you want to take a stab at it?