> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.thistle.tech/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Identity File

> Understanding device identity files in Thistle OTA

The identity file is an optional file that takes priority over the configuration
file if a field is present in both files. In order to use an identity file, the
`identity_path` field in the configuration file must be populated, and its value
shall be the absolute path to the identity file on the device. It's recommended
to use the identity file, as opposed to the configuration file, to persist
device-unique credentials.

A number of fields in TUC's configuration file can be overridden with the
identity file. This can allow you to use a single configuration file across
multiple projects. See the [configuration file](/update/configuration_file) for
more information.

Example identity file configuration:

```json theme={"dark"}
{
    "device_enrollment_token": "[REDACTED]",
    "name": "identity_override",
    "device_id": "[REDACTED]",
    "device_token": "[REDACTED]",
    "device_certificate_pem": "[REDACTED]",
    "device_private_key_pem": "[REDACTED]",
    "okek": "[REDACTED]"
}
```

## Provisioning

The Thistle Release Helper can be used to provision identity files for your fleet of devices:

```bash theme={"dark"}
$ ./trh identity --device-name "tutorial" --pre-enroll
Identity file generated at path "./identity.json"

$ cat identity.json
{
    "name": "tutorial",
    "device_id": "[REDACTED]",
    "device_token": "[REDACTED]",
    "device_certificate_pem": "[REDACTED]",
    "device_private_key_pem": "[REDACTED]",
    "okek": "[REDACTED]"
}
```