diff --git a/waku/node/v1/config.nim b/waku/node/v1/config.nim
index 3ce11d157..23b7a7cb7 100644
--- a/waku/node/v1/config.nim
+++ b/waku/node/v1/config.nim
@@ -8,135 +8,145 @@ type
     staging
     test
 
+  WakuNodeCmd* = enum
+    noCommand
+    genNodekey
+
   WakuNodeConf* = object
     logLevel* {.
       desc: "Sets the log level."
       defaultValue: LogLevel.INFO
-      name: "log-level" }: LogLevel
+      name: "log-level" .}: LogLevel
 
-    tcpPort* {.
-      desc: "TCP listening port."
-      defaultValue: 30303
-      name: "tcp-port" }: uint16
+    case cmd* {.
+      command
+      defaultValue: noCommand .}: WakuNodeCmd
 
-    udpPort* {.
-      desc: "UDP listening port."
-      defaultValue: 30303
-      name: "udp-port" }: uint16
+    of noCommand:
+      tcpPort* {.
+        desc: "TCP listening port."
+        defaultValue: 30303
+        name: "tcp-port" .}: uint16
 
-    portsShift* {.
-      desc: "Add a shift to all port numbers."
-      defaultValue: 0
-      name: "ports-shift" }: uint16
+      udpPort* {.
+        desc: "UDP listening port."
+        defaultValue: 30303
+        name: "udp-port" .}: uint16
 
-    nat* {.
-      desc: "Specify method to use for determining public address. " &
-            "Must be one of: any, none, upnp, pmp, extip:<IP>."
-      defaultValue: "any" }: string
+      portsShift* {.
+        desc: "Add a shift to all port numbers."
+        defaultValue: 0
+        name: "ports-shift" .}: uint16
 
-    discovery* {.
-      desc: "Enable/disable discovery v4."
-      defaultValue: true
-      name: "discovery" }: bool
+      nat* {.
+        desc: "Specify method to use for determining public address. " &
+              "Must be one of: any, none, upnp, pmp, extip:<IP>."
+        defaultValue: "any" .}: string
 
-    noListen* {.
-      desc: "Disable listening for incoming peers."
-      defaultValue: false
-      name: "no-listen" }: bool
+      discovery* {.
+        desc: "Enable/disable discovery v4."
+        defaultValue: true
+        name: "discovery" .}: bool
 
-    fleet* {.
-      desc: "Select the fleet to connect to."
-      defaultValue: Fleet.none
-      name: "fleet" }: Fleet
+      noListen* {.
+        desc: "Disable listening for incoming peers."
+        defaultValue: false
+        name: "no-listen" .}: bool
 
-    bootnodes* {.
-      desc: "Enode URL to bootstrap P2P discovery with. Argument may be repeated."
-      name: "bootnode" }: seq[string]
+      fleet* {.
+        desc: "Select the fleet to connect to."
+        defaultValue: Fleet.none
+        name: "fleet" .}: Fleet
 
-    staticnodes* {.
-      desc: "Enode URL to directly connect with. Argument may be repeated."
-      name: "staticnode" }: seq[string]
+      bootnodes* {.
+        desc: "Enode URL to bootstrap P2P discovery with. Argument may be repeated."
+        name: "bootnode" .}: seq[string]
 
-    whisper* {.
-      desc: "Enable the Whisper protocol."
-      defaultValue: false
-      name: "whisper" }: bool
+      staticnodes* {.
+        desc: "Enode URL to directly connect with. Argument may be repeated."
+        name: "staticnode" .}: seq[string]
 
-    whisperBridge* {.
-      desc: "Enable the Whisper protocol and bridge with Waku protocol."
-      defaultValue: false
-      name: "whisper-bridge" }: bool
+      whisper* {.
+        desc: "Enable the Whisper protocol."
+        defaultValue: false
+        name: "whisper" .}: bool
 
-    lightNode* {.
-      desc: "Run as light node (no message relay).",
-      defaultValue: false
-      name: "light-node" }: bool
+      whisperBridge* {.
+        desc: "Enable the Whisper protocol and bridge with Waku protocol."
+        defaultValue: false
+        name: "whisper-bridge" .}: bool
 
-    wakuTopicInterest* {.
-      desc: "Run as node with a topic-interest",
-      defaultValue: false
-      name: "waku-topic-interest" }: bool
+      lightNode* {.
+        desc: "Run as light node (no message relay).",
+        defaultValue: false
+        name: "light-node" .}: bool
 
-    wakuPow* {.
-      desc: "PoW requirement of Waku node.",
-      defaultValue: 0.002
-      name: "waku-pow" }: float64
+      wakuTopicInterest* {.
+        desc: "Run as node with a topic-interest",
+        defaultValue: false
+        name: "waku-topic-interest" .}: bool
 
-    nodekey* {.
-      desc: "P2P node private key as hex.",
-      defaultValue: KeyPair.random().tryGet()
-      name: "nodekey" }: KeyPair
-    # TODO: Add nodekey file option
+      wakuPow* {.
+        desc: "PoW requirement of Waku node.",
+        defaultValue: 0.002
+        name: "waku-pow" .}: float64
 
-    bootnodeOnly* {.
-      desc: "Run only as discovery bootnode."
-      defaultValue: false
-      name: "bootnode-only" }: bool
+      nodekey* {.
+        desc: "P2P node private key as hex.",
+        defaultValue: KeyPair.random().tryGet()
+        name: "nodekey" .}: KeyPair
+      # TODO: Add nodekey file option
 
-    rpc* {.
-      desc: "Enable Waku RPC server.",
-      defaultValue: false
-      name: "rpc" }: bool
+      bootnodeOnly* {.
+        desc: "Run only as discovery bootnode."
+        defaultValue: false
+        name: "bootnode-only" .}: bool
 
-    rpcAddress* {.
-      desc: "Listening address of the RPC server.",
-      defaultValue: parseIpAddress("127.0.0.1")
-      name: "rpc-address" }: IpAddress
+      rpc* {.
+        desc: "Enable Waku RPC server.",
+        defaultValue: false
+        name: "rpc" .}: bool
 
-    rpcPort* {.
-      desc: "Listening port of the RPC server.",
-      defaultValue: 8545
-      name: "rpc-port" }: uint16
+      rpcAddress* {.
+        desc: "Listening address of the RPC server.",
+        defaultValue: parseIpAddress("127.0.0.1")
+        name: "rpc-address" .}: IpAddress
 
-    metricsServer* {.
-      desc: "Enable the metrics server."
-      defaultValue: false
-      name: "metrics-server" }: bool
+      rpcPort* {.
+        desc: "Listening port of the RPC server.",
+        defaultValue: 8545
+        name: "rpc-port" .}: uint16
 
-    metricsServerAddress* {.
-      desc: "Listening address of the metrics server."
-      defaultValue: parseIpAddress("127.0.0.1")
-      name: "metrics-server-address" }: IpAddress
+      metricsServer* {.
+        desc: "Enable the metrics server."
+        defaultValue: false
+        name: "metrics-server" .}: bool
 
-    metricsServerPort* {.
-      desc: "Listening HTTP port of the metrics server."
-      defaultValue: 8008
-      name: "metrics-server-port" }: uint16
+      metricsServerAddress* {.
+        desc: "Listening address of the metrics server."
+        defaultValue: parseIpAddress("127.0.0.1")
+        name: "metrics-server-address" .}: IpAddress
 
-    logMetrics* {.
-      desc: "Enable metrics logging."
-      defaultValue: false
-      name: "log-metrics" }: bool
+      metricsServerPort* {.
+        desc: "Listening HTTP port of the metrics server."
+        defaultValue: 8008
+        name: "metrics-server-port" .}: uint16
 
-    # TODO:
-    # - discv5 + topic register
-    # - mailserver functionality
+      logMetrics* {.
+        desc: "Enable metrics logging."
+        defaultValue: false
+        name: "log-metrics" .}: bool
+
+      # TODO:
+      # - discv5 + topic register
+      # - mailserver functionality
+    of genNodekey:
+      discard
 
 proc parseCmdArg*(T: type KeyPair, p: TaintedString): T =
   try:
-    # TODO: add isValidPrivateKey check from Nimbus?
-    result.seckey = PrivateKey.fromHex(string(p)).tryGet()
-    result.pubkey = result.seckey.toPublicKey()[]
+    let privkey = PrivateKey.fromHex(string(p)).tryGet()
+    result = privkey.toKeyPair.expect("a valid private key after check above")
   except CatchableError as e:
     raise newException(ConfigurationError, "Invalid private key")
 
diff --git a/waku/node/v1/wakunode.nim b/waku/node/v1/wakunode.nim
index 346318dac..2795a1e97 100644
--- a/waku/node/v1/wakunode.nim
+++ b/waku/node/v1/wakunode.nim
@@ -62,9 +62,6 @@ proc setupNat(conf: WakuNodeConf): tuple[ip: IpAddress,
         (result.tcpPort, result.udpPort) = extPorts.get()
 
 proc run(config: WakuNodeConf) =
-  if config.logLevel != LogLevel.NONE:
-    setLogLevel(config.logLevel)
-
   let
     (ip, tcpPort, udpPort) = setupNat(config)
     address = Address(ip: ip, tcpPort: tcpPort, udpPort: udpPort)
@@ -150,4 +147,12 @@ proc run(config: WakuNodeConf) =
 
 when isMainModule:
   let conf = WakuNodeConf.load()
-  run(conf)
+
+  if conf.logLevel != LogLevel.NONE:
+    setLogLevel(conf.logLevel)
+
+  case conf.cmd
+  of genNodekey:
+    echo PrivateKey.random().expect("Enough randomness to generate a key")
+  of noCommand:
+    run(conf)