diff --git a/cmd/common.go b/cmd/common.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 098bb6c7d..000000000
--- a/cmd/common.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,120 +0,0 @@
-package cmd
-
-import (
-	"fmt"
-	"os"
-	"strings"
-
-	"github.com/pkg/errors"
-	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
-	"github.com/spf13/viper"
-	data "github.com/tendermint/go-wire/data"
-	"github.com/tendermint/go-wire/data/base58"
-)
-
-/*******
-
-TODO
-
-This file should move into go-common or the like as a basis for all cli tools.
-It is here for experimentation of re-use between go-keys and light-client.
-
-*********/
-
-const (
-	RootFlag     = "root"
-	OutputFlag   = "output"
-	EncodingFlag = "encoding"
-)
-
-func PrepareMainCmd(cmd *cobra.Command, envPrefix, defautRoot string) func() {
-	cobra.OnInitialize(func() { initEnv(envPrefix) })
-	cmd.PersistentFlags().StringP(RootFlag, "r", defautRoot, "root directory for config and data")
-	cmd.PersistentFlags().StringP(EncodingFlag, "e", "hex", "Binary encoding (hex|b64|btc)")
-	cmd.PersistentFlags().StringP(OutputFlag, "o", "text", "Output format (text|json)")
-	cmd.PersistentPreRunE = multiE(bindFlags, setEncoding, validateOutput, cmd.PersistentPreRunE)
-	return func() { execute(cmd) }
-}
-
-// initEnv sets to use ENV variables if set.
-func initEnv(prefix string) {
-	// env variables with TM prefix (eg. TM_ROOT)
-	viper.SetEnvPrefix(prefix)
-	viper.SetEnvKeyReplacer(strings.NewReplacer(".", "_"))
-	viper.AutomaticEnv()
-}
-
-// execute adds all child commands to the root command sets flags appropriately.
-// This is called by main.main(). It only needs to happen once to the rootCmd.
-func execute(cmd *cobra.Command) {
-	if err := cmd.Execute(); err != nil {
-		fmt.Println(err)
-		os.Exit(-1)
-	}
-}
-
-type wrapE func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error
-
-func multiE(fs ...wrapE) wrapE {
-	return func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-		for _, f := range fs {
-			if f != nil {
-				if err := f(cmd, args); err != nil {
-					return err
-				}
-			}
-		}
-		return nil
-	}
-}
-
-func bindFlags(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-	// cmd.Flags() includes flags from this command and all persistent flags from the parent
-	if err := viper.BindPFlags(cmd.Flags()); err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-
-	// rootDir is command line flag, env variable, or default $HOME/.tlc
-	rootDir := viper.GetString("root")
-	viper.SetConfigName("config") // name of config file (without extension)
-	viper.AddConfigPath(rootDir)  // search root directory
-
-	// If a config file is found, read it in.
-	if err := viper.ReadInConfig(); err == nil {
-		// stderr, so if we redirect output to json file, this doesn't appear
-		// fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "Using config file:", viper.ConfigFileUsed())
-	} else if _, ok := err.(viper.ConfigFileNotFoundError); !ok {
-		// we ignore not found error, only parse error
-		// stderr, so if we redirect output to json file, this doesn't appear
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%#v", err)
-	}
-	return nil
-}
-
-// setEncoding reads the encoding flag
-func setEncoding(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-	// validate and set encoding
-	enc := viper.GetString("encoding")
-	switch enc {
-	case "hex":
-		data.Encoder = data.HexEncoder
-	case "b64":
-		data.Encoder = data.B64Encoder
-	case "btc":
-		data.Encoder = base58.BTCEncoder
-	default:
-		return errors.Errorf("Unsupported encoding: %s", enc)
-	}
-	return nil
-}
-
-func validateOutput(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-	// validate output format
-	output := viper.GetString(OutputFlag)
-	switch output {
-	case "text", "json":
-	default:
-		return errors.Errorf("Unsupported output format: %s", output)
-	}
-	return nil
-}
diff --git a/cmd/get.go b/cmd/get.go
index 9b8718996..6e8c620d0 100644
--- a/cmd/get.go
+++ b/cmd/get.go
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 package cmd
 
 import (
-	"fmt"
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
@@ -25,20 +25,17 @@ var getCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "get <name>",
 	Short: "Get details of one key",
 	Long:  `Return public details of one local key.`,
-	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+	RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		if len(args) != 1 || len(args[0]) == 0 {
-			fmt.Println("You must provide a name for the key")
-			return
+			return errors.New("You must provide a name for the key")
 		}
 		name := args[0]
 
 		info, err := GetKeyManager().Get(name)
-		if err != nil {
-			fmt.Println(err.Error())
-			return
+		if err == nil {
+			printInfo(info)
 		}
-
-		printInfo(info)
+		return err
 	},
 }
 
diff --git a/cmd/keys/main.go b/cmd/keys/main.go
index 0b0d93dec..82b355346 100644
--- a/cmd/keys/main.go
+++ b/cmd/keys/main.go
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ import (
 )
 
 func main() {
-	cli.PrepareMainCmd(cmd.RootCmd, "TM", os.ExpandEnv("$HOME/.tlc"))
-	cmd.RootCmd.Execute()
-	// exec()
+	root := cli.PrepareMainCmd(cmd.RootCmd, "TM", os.ExpandEnv("$HOME/.tlc"))
+	root.Execute()
 }
diff --git a/cmd/list.go b/cmd/list.go
index 875520159..b0419a1e4 100644
--- a/cmd/list.go
+++ b/cmd/list.go
@@ -14,11 +14,7 @@
 
 package cmd
 
-import (
-	"fmt"
-
-	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
-)
+import "github.com/spf13/cobra"
 
 // listCmd represents the list command
 var listCmd = &cobra.Command{
@@ -26,14 +22,12 @@ var listCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Short: "List all keys",
 	Long: `Return a list of all public keys stored by this key manager
 along with their associated name and address.`,
-	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+	RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		infos, err := GetKeyManager().List()
-		if err != nil {
-			fmt.Println(err.Error())
-			return
+		if err == nil {
+			printInfos(infos)
 		}
-
-		printInfos(infos)
+		return err
 	},
 }
 
diff --git a/cmd/new.go b/cmd/new.go
index b59874bb0..033410e6a 100644
--- a/cmd/new.go
+++ b/cmd/new.go
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 package cmd
 
 import (
-	"fmt"
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"github.com/spf13/viper"
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ var newCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Long: `Add a public/private key pair to the key store.
 The password muts be entered in the terminal and not
 passed as a command line argument for security.`,
-	Run: newPassword,
+	RunE: newPassword,
 }
 
 func init() {
@@ -36,25 +36,21 @@ func init() {
 	newCmd.Flags().StringP("type", "t", "ed25519", "Type of key (ed25519|secp256k1)")
 }
 
-func newPassword(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+func newPassword(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	if len(args) != 1 || len(args[0]) == 0 {
-		fmt.Println("You must provide a name for the key")
-		return
+		return errors.New("You must provide a name for the key")
 	}
 	name := args[0]
 	algo := viper.GetString("type")
 
 	pass, err := getCheckPassword("Enter a passphrase:", "Repeat the passphrase:")
 	if err != nil {
-		fmt.Println(err.Error())
-		return
+		return err
 	}
 
 	info, err := GetKeyManager().Create(name, pass, algo)
-	if err != nil {
-		fmt.Println(err.Error())
-		return
+	if err == nil {
+		printInfo(info)
 	}
-
-	printInfo(info)
+	return err
 }
diff --git a/cmd/root.go b/cmd/root.go
index 401e7ec38..33153d850 100644
--- a/cmd/root.go
+++ b/cmd/root.go
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import (
 	keys "github.com/tendermint/go-crypto/keys"
 	"github.com/tendermint/go-crypto/keys/cryptostore"
 	"github.com/tendermint/go-crypto/keys/storage/filestorage"
+	"github.com/tendermint/tmlibs/cli"
 )
 
 const KeySubdir = "keys"
@@ -45,7 +46,7 @@ needs to sign with a private key.`,
 func GetKeyManager() keys.Manager {
 	if manager == nil {
 		// store the keys directory
-		rootDir := viper.GetString("root")
+		rootDir := viper.GetString(cli.HomeFlag)
 		keyDir := filepath.Join(rootDir, KeySubdir)
 		// and construct the key manager
 		manager = cryptostore.New(
diff --git a/cmd/update.go b/cmd/update.go
index 3835242c5..c046af126 100644
--- a/cmd/update.go
+++ b/cmd/update.go
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ package cmd
 import (
 	"fmt"
 
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
+
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
@@ -25,35 +27,32 @@ var updateCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "update <name>",
 	Short: "Change the password for a private key",
 	Long:  `Change the password for a private key.`,
-	Run:   updatePassword,
+	RunE:  updatePassword,
 }
 
 func init() {
 	RootCmd.AddCommand(updateCmd)
 }
 
-func updatePassword(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+func updatePassword(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	if len(args) != 1 || len(args[0]) == 0 {
-		fmt.Println("You must provide a name for the key")
-		return
+		return errors.New("You must provide a name for the key")
 	}
 	name := args[0]
 
 	oldpass, err := getPassword("Enter the current passphrase:")
 	if err != nil {
-		fmt.Println(err.Error())
-		return
+		return err
 	}
 	newpass, err := getCheckPassword("Enter the new passphrase:", "Repeat the new passphrase:")
 	if err != nil {
-		fmt.Println(err.Error())
-		return
+		return err
 	}
 
 	err = GetKeyManager().Update(name, oldpass, newpass)
 	if err != nil {
-		fmt.Println(err.Error())
-	} else {
-		fmt.Println("Password successfully updated!")
+		return err
 	}
+	fmt.Println("Password successfully updated!")
+	return nil
 }
diff --git a/cmd/utils.go b/cmd/utils.go
index a75262676..f2faa892b 100644
--- a/cmd/utils.go
+++ b/cmd/utils.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/spf13/viper"
 	keys "github.com/tendermint/go-crypto/keys"
 	data "github.com/tendermint/go-wire/data"
+	"github.com/tendermint/tmlibs/cli"
 )
 
 const PassLength = 10
@@ -40,7 +41,7 @@ func getCheckPassword(prompt, prompt2 string) (string, error) {
 }
 
 func printInfo(info keys.Info) {
-	switch viper.Get(OutputFlag) {
+	switch viper.Get(cli.OutputFlag) {
 	case "text":
 		addr, err := data.ToText(info.Address)
 		if err != nil {
@@ -61,7 +62,7 @@ func printInfo(info keys.Info) {
 }
 
 func printInfos(infos keys.Infos) {
-	switch viper.Get(OutputFlag) {
+	switch viper.Get(cli.OutputFlag) {
 	case "text":
 		fmt.Println("All keys:")
 		for _, i := range infos {
diff --git a/glide.lock b/glide.lock
index 485e75c76..7b3087993 100644
--- a/glide.lock
+++ b/glide.lock
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 hash: 3bcee9fbccf29d21217b24b6a83ec51e1514f37b2ae5d8718cf6c5df80f4fb2c
-updated: 2017-04-21T16:09:28.762932633-04:00
+updated: 2017-05-05T19:07:08.418096598+02:00
 imports:
 - name: github.com/bgentry/speakeasy
   version: 675b82c74c0ed12283ee81ba8a534c8982c07b85
 - name: github.com/btcsuite/btcd
-  version: 583684b21bfbde9b5fc4403916fd7c807feb0289
+  version: 4b348c1d33373d672edd83fc576892d0e46686d2
   subpackages:
   - btcec
   - chaincfg
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ imports:
 - name: github.com/go-playground/universal-translator
   version: b32fa301c9fe55953584134cb6853a13c87ec0a1
 - name: github.com/go-stack/stack
-  version: 100eb0c0a9c5b306ca2fb4f165df21d80ada4b82
+  version: 7a2f19628aabfe68f0766b59e74d6315f8347d22
 - name: github.com/gorilla/context
   version: 08b5f424b9271eedf6f9f0ce86cb9396ed337a42
 - name: github.com/gorilla/handlers
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ imports:
 - name: github.com/gorilla/mux
   version: 392c28fe23e1c45ddba891b0320b3b5df220beea
 - name: github.com/hashicorp/hcl
-  version: 630949a3c5fa3c613328e1b8256052cbc2327c9b
+  version: a4b07c25de5ff55ad3b8936cea69a79a3d95a855
   subpackages:
   - hcl/ast
   - hcl/parser
@@ -51,17 +51,17 @@ imports:
 - name: github.com/magiconair/properties
   version: 51463bfca2576e06c62a8504b5c0f06d61312647
 - name: github.com/mattn/go-colorable
-  version: d228849504861217f796da67fae4f6e347643f15
+  version: ded68f7a9561c023e790de24279db7ebf473ea80
 - name: github.com/mattn/go-isatty
-  version: 30a891c33c7cde7b02a981314b4228ec99380cca
+  version: fc9e8d8ef48496124e79ae0df75490096eccf6fe
 - name: github.com/mitchellh/mapstructure
-  version: 53818660ed4955e899c0bcafa97299a388bd7c8e
+  version: cc8532a8e9a55ea36402aa21efdf403a60d34096
 - name: github.com/pelletier/go-buffruneio
   version: c37440a7cf42ac63b919c752ca73a85067e05992
 - name: github.com/pelletier/go-toml
-  version: 13d49d4606eb801b8f01ae542b4afc4c6ee3d84a
+  version: 97253b98df84f9eef872866d079e74b8265150f1
 - name: github.com/pkg/errors
-  version: bfd5150e4e41705ded2129ec33379de1cb90b513
+  version: c605e284fe17294bda444b34710735b29d1a9d90
 - name: github.com/spf13/afero
   version: 9be650865eab0c12963d8753212f4f9c66cdcf12
   subpackages:
@@ -69,35 +69,34 @@ imports:
 - name: github.com/spf13/cast
   version: acbeb36b902d72a7a4c18e8f3241075e7ab763e4
 - name: github.com/spf13/cobra
-  version: fcd0c5a1df88f5d6784cb4feead962c3f3d0b66c
+  version: 8f0203be891287870100e4af46262cdf4a4261d1
 - name: github.com/spf13/jwalterweatherman
   version: fa7ca7e836cf3a8bb4ebf799f472c12d7e903d66
 - name: github.com/spf13/pflag
-  version: 9ff6c6923cfffbcd502984b8e0c80539a94968b7
+  version: c990990ab4981d84da820b7b00c85139ca150b5f
 - name: github.com/spf13/viper
-  version: 5d46e70da8c0b6f812e0b170b7a985753b5c63cb
+  version: 0967fc9aceab2ce9da34061253ac10fb99bba5b2
 - name: github.com/tendermint/ed25519
   version: 1f52c6f8b8a5c7908aff4497c186af344b428925
   subpackages:
   - edwards25519
   - extra25519
 - name: github.com/tendermint/go-wire
-  version: 334005c236d19c632fb5f073f9de3b0fab6a522b
+  version: b53add0b622662731985485f3a19be7f684660b8
   subpackages:
   - data
   - data/base58
 - name: github.com/tendermint/log15
-  version: ae0f3d6450da9eac7074b439c8e1c3cabf0d5ce6
+  version: f91285dece9f4875421b481da3e613d83d44f29b
   subpackages:
   - term
 - name: github.com/tendermint/tmlibs
-  version: d4ab9679d71c8fc174284696d15930cb799fa24f
+  version: 706b9fbd671d5d49ecf1b2ea3bb34e51d61ff091
   subpackages:
-  - common
-  - logger
   - cli
+  - common
 - name: golang.org/x/crypto
-  version: 7c6cc321c680f03b9ef0764448e780704f486b51
+  version: 5a033cc77e57eca05bdb50522851d29e03569cbe
   subpackages:
   - bcrypt
   - blowfish
@@ -109,11 +108,11 @@ imports:
   - ripemd160
   - salsa20/salsa
 - name: golang.org/x/sys
-  version: d75a52659825e75fff6158388dddc6a5b04f9ba5
+  version: 9ccfe848b9db8435a24c424abbc07a921adf1df5
   subpackages:
   - unix
 - name: golang.org/x/text
-  version: f4b4367115ec2de254587813edaa901bc1c723a8
+  version: 470f45bf29f4147d6fbd7dfd0a02a848e49f5bf4
   subpackages:
   - transform
   - unicode/norm