# Issue a Verifiable Credential
This tutorial offers step-by-step guidance on how to issue a verifiable credential
> ⚠️ **Before you begin...**
>
> Make sure you've correctly [configured the cheqd plugin's agent settings](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/sdk/veramo/setup) for Veramo CLI
## Background
The subject (holder) of this credential will be an off-ledger [`did:key`](https://github.com/w3c-ccg/did-method-key) DID. The rationale for using off-ledger DIDs when issuing a credential is because the fact that they *aren't* persisted on ledger means they cannot be correlated or tracked to specific users/individuals.
This allows a user to have *multiple* `did:key` identities, and the identifier/handle they reveal when sharing a [Verifiable Credential](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/sdk/veramo/credentials/issue-credential) is context-dependent and better for privacy.
The *issuer* of the credential, on the other hand, uses [an on-ledger `did:cheqd` DID](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/architecture/adr-list/adr-001-cheqd-did-method) since this needs to be publicly-accessible and cryptographically verifiable.
## Instructions
### 1. Create an off-ledger `did:key` subject DID
Normally, the credential holder will *provide* a `did:key` DID they have generated themselves (usually done in the background by apps they are using). So, this step *typically* isn't done by a credential issuer.
For the purpose of this tutorial though, we recommend you [create a `did:key` subject DID](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/sdk/veramo/dids/create-subject-did) for the later steps.
### 2. Begin credential creation
Start credential generation using:
```bash
veramo credential create --json
```
### 3. Select a credential proof format
You'll be presented with an multiple options select:
* `jwt` for [JSON credential](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model/#json), encoded as a [JSON Web Token (JWT)](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model/#json-web-token), a [W3C compliant proof format.](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model/#proof-formats)
* `lds` for [JSON-LD credential](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model/#json-ld), encoded as a [Data Integrity Proofs](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model/#data-integrity-proofs), a [W3C compliant proof format.](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model/#proof-formats)
> :books: **Learn about different types of Verifiable Credentials**
>
> If you want to learn more about different types of verifiable credentials [please go over to our learning site here.](https://learn.cheqd.io/overview/introduction-to-decentralised-identity/what-is-a-verifiable-credential-vc/what-are-the-different-types-of-verifiable-credentials)
### 4. Specify the Issuer DID for the credential
Select which Issuer DID stored in your local storage you'd like to issue the credential from, e.g., `did:cheqd:mainnet:zAXwwqZzhCZA1L77ZBa8fhVNjL9MQCHX`
The assumption here is that you've either [created the issuer DID](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/sdk/veramo/dids/create-did) or [stored the DIDDoc by querying it](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/sdk/veramo/dids/query-did).
### 5. Specify the subject DID (credential holder's DID)
Select which subject DID from your local agent storage the credential should be issued to, e.g., `did:key:z6Mkktr27VZ7TTFoTsD9p79JwtGnQDgJWKGrxJ79quE7M5Yx`.
This could the subject DID created in Step 1.
### 6. Set the Verifiable Credential type
This is currently free-text. However, you can hit *Enter* to use `VerifiableCredential` as the default credential context.
### 7. Specify claim type, i.e., a "field" in the credential
The claim type can be thought of as the *label* in a form field. It can denote the purpose/attribute being stored in the credential.
For example, the claim type `name` could refer to the name of an individual.
### 8. Enter value for claim type
Enter the *value* of the claim type. For example, you specified `name` as the claim type, the value could be `Alice`.
In this tutorial, we will create a credential with only a single name-value pair.
### 9. Verifiable Credential is generated
At this last step, Veramo CLI generates the credential based on the inputs above.
*Note*: The human-readable JSON body below is purely for easier parsing by developers/applications. The proof is encoded as JWT or JWS at the bottom of the credential, which can be decoded to reconstruct the entire credential.
Example JSON Verifiable Credential
```json
{
"@context": [
"https://www.w3.org/2018/credentials/v1",
"https://veramo.io/contexts/profile/v1"
],
"type": ["VerifiableCredential", "Profile"],
"issuer": {
"id": "did:cheqd:mainnet:zAXwwqZzhCZA1L77ZBa8fhVNjL9MQCHX"
},
"issuanceDate": "2022-07-28T15:25:10.000Z",
"credentialSubject": {
"name": "Alice",
"id": "did:key:z6Mkktr27VZ7TTFoTsD9p79JwtGnQDgJWKGrxJ79quE7M5Yx"
},
"proof": {
"type": "JwtProof2020",
"jwt": "eyJhbGciOiJFZERTQSIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJ2YyI6eyJAY29udGV4dCI6WyJodHRwczovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAxOC9jcmVkZW50aWFscy92MSIsImh0dHBzOi8vdmVyYW1vLmlvL2NvbnRleHRzL3Byb2ZpbGUvdjByb2ZpbGUvdjEiXSwidHlwZSI6WyJWZXJpZmlhYmxlQ3JlZGVudGlhbCIsIlByb2ZpbGUiXSwiY3JlZGVudGlhbFN1YmplY3QiOnsibmFtZSI6IkFsaWNlIn19LCJzdWIiOiJkaWQ6a2V5Ono2TWtrdHIyN1ZaN1RURm9Uc25RRGdKV0tHc0Q5cDc5Snd0R25RRGdKV0tHcnhKNzlxdUU3TTVZeCIsIm5iZiI6MTY1OTAyMTkxMCwiaXNzIjoiZGlkOmNoZXFkOm1haW5uZXQ6ekFYd3dxWnpoQ1pBMUw3N1pCYThmaFZOakw5TVFDSFgifQ.MRqlKuFQzpjLvsW3C2ZSBEf5jfvJCPQBwl-gP1P8bRfNSvjxj9H3eDgDmEf5jfvJCPQBwUDltBr-ZQ3Q7SKVSvCaJHV8TnUzBA"
}
}
```
Example JSON-LD Verifiable Credential
```json
{
"@context": [
"https://www.w3.org/2018/credentials/v1",
"https://veramo.io/contexts/profile/v1"
],
"type": [
"VerifiableCredential",
"Profile"
],
"issuer": {
"id": "did:cheqd:testnet:d3e515cf-81af-40cb-9ac1-154827986d29"
},
"issuanceDate": "2023-02-07T06:28:33.760Z",
"credentialSubject": {
"id": "did:key:z6MkfFb5bMTvm3kXMB5zZSrLGLdtW13wU9w6ByJ76LV7U75a",
"name": "Alice"
},
"proof": {
"type": "Ed25519Signature2018",
"created": "2023-02-07T06:28:34Z",
"verificationMethod": "did:cheqd:testnet:d3e515cf-81af-40cb-9ac1-154827986d29#key-1",
"proofPurpose": "assertionMethod",
"jws": "eyJhbGciOiJFZERTQSIsImI2NCI6ZmFsc2UsImNyaXQiOlsiYjY0Il19..LkXa1AxEtoY78-6NwAiIe0viO271RzCMbfJsFgm7muBCHGKGMgTRO0QnGDvA0fygKAVCjvR1xZpgJQEuxlbNAg"
}
}
```
> Note that the JSON is unordered so the output of the fields could be in a different order
## Next steps
You can save the generated Verifiable Credential, as you can later use it to [verify the credential cryptographically](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/sdk/veramo/credentials/verify-jwt-credential) or [generate *presentations* to show the credential](https://docs.cheqd.io/product/sdk/veramo/credentials/create-jwt-presentation) to others.