CLI Reference

Complete command-line interface reference for the dxflow engine with detailed usage examples and options

dxflow provides a comprehensive command-line interface that adapts to your environment, supporting local execution, remote server management, and automatic instant engine spawning for seamless operations.

Two Execution Types: Commands run either locally on your machine or remotely on configured servers. Some commands also support automatic instant engine spawning for zero-setup operations.

Command Execution Types

Local Commands

Always Local

Configuration management
Engine lifecycle control
License operations
System information

Remote Commands

Server Infrastructure

Engine monitoring
Bridge management
Shell operations
Proxy control

Local Commands

Commands that always execute on your local machine for configuration and system management.

Local Execution: These commands run locally regardless of any remote configuration, managing your local dxflow installation and settings.

Available Commands

config get - Get configuration value
config set - Set configuration value
config unset - Remove configuration value

engine info - Display local engine information
engine token - Generate authentication token
engine update - Update engine to the latest version
key generate - Generate RSA key pair for authentication
boot up - Start the engine with configured servers
boot down - Gracefully shut down the running engine instance

license activate - Activate license
license create - Create license
license info - Display license information

Common Operations

# Configuration management
dxflow config set connection-address "https://server.com"
dxflow config get connection-address

# Engine lifecycle
dxflow boot up --daemon
dxflow boot down

# License management
dxflow license info

Remote Commands

Commands that execute on configured remote dxflow servers for distributed infrastructure management.

Remote Execution: These commands require server configuration and always target the remote server when a connection is configured.

Available Commands

engine ping - Test connection to remote engine
engine stat - Display comprehensive engine statistics and resource usage
engine healthcheck - Check remote engine health status

bridge list - List all remote bridge instances
bridge create - Create new remote bridge instance
bridge connect - Connect to remote bridge instance
bridge disconnect - Disconnect from remote bridge instance
bridge remove - Remove remote bridge instance
bridge prune - Remove all remote bridge instances to free up resources

shell list - List all remote shell instances
shell create - Create new remote shell instance
shell connect - Connect to remote shell instance
shell remove - Remove remote shell instance

proxy list - List all remote proxy instances
proxy remove - Remove remote proxy instance
proxy prune - Remove all remote proxy instances to free up resources

engine key register - Register a new authentication key
engine key unregister - Remove an authentication key
engine key list - List all registered keys

object fs list - List files and directories
object fs create - Create files or directories
object fs delete - Delete files or directories
object fs rename - Rename/move files or directories
object fs upload - Upload files to remote storage
object fs download - Download files from remote storage
object fs share - Share files or directories
object fs zip - Compress files or directories into ZIP archives
object fs unzip - Extract ZIP archives

workflow compose list - List all workflow compositions
workflow compose create - Create a new workflow composition
workflow compose remove - Remove a workflow composition
workflow compose start - Start all services defined in the workflow
workflow compose stop - Gracefully stop all running containers
workflow compose kill - Immediately terminate workflow containers
workflow compose pause - Suspend all processes in workflow containers
workflow compose unpause - Resume execution of paused containers
workflow compose containers - List containers in the workflow
workflow compose logs - View logs from workflow containers
workflow compose events - Monitor workflow events
workflow compose execute - Execute commands in workflow containers

Remote Setup

# Configure connection
dxflow config set connection-address "https://prod.server.com"
dxflow config set connection-key "/secure/prod-key.pem"

# Test connection
dxflow engine ping

# Manage remote resources
dxflow shell create production
dxflow bridge list

Advanced Configuration: See Remoting for detailed remote setup, authentication, profiles, and multi-environment management.

Instant Engine Support

Some commands support automatic instant engine spawning for local execution when no persistent engine is running.

Smart Execution: These commands adapt to your environment - remote when configured, local engine when available, or automatic instant engine spawning for local execution only.

How It Works

Instant engine commands follow this execution priority:

Remote Configured? → Execute on remote server (using server's engine)
Local Engine Running? → Use local persistent engine
Otherwise → Spawn temporary instant engine locally

Important: Instant engines only work for local execution. Remote commands always use the server's running engine, never instant engines.

Commands with Instant Support

key list - List all registered authentication keys
key register - Register new authentication key
key unregister - Remove authentication key

object fs list - List files and directories
object fs create - Create files or directories
object fs delete - Delete files or directories
object fs rename - Rename/move files or directories
object fs upload - Upload files to remote storage
object fs download - Download files from remote storage
object fs share - Share files or directories
object fs zip - Compress files or directories into ZIP archives
object fs unzip - Extract ZIP archives

workflow compose list - List all workflow compositions
workflow compose create - Create new workflow composition
workflow compose remove - Remove workflow composition
workflow compose start - Start all services defined in the workflow
workflow compose stop - Gracefully stop all running containers
workflow compose kill - Immediately terminate workflow containers
workflow compose pause - Suspend all processes in workflow containers
workflow compose unpause - Resume execution of paused containers
workflow compose containers - List containers in the workflow
workflow compose logs - View logs from workflow containers
workflow compose events - Monitor workflow events
workflow compose execute - Execute commands in workflow containers

Commands

Command	Description	Help
config	Config control	`dxflow config --help`
license	License management	`dxflow license --help`
engine	Engine management	`dxflow engine --help`
shell	Shell management	`dxflow shell --help`
workflow	Workflow management	`dxflow workflow --help`
object	Object management	`dxflow object --help`
proxy	Proxy management	`dxflow proxy --help`
bridge	Bridge management	`dxflow bridge --help`

Global Options

Flag	Shorthand	Description	Type	Default
`--config-profile`	`-C`	Specify the config profile	`string`	`default`
`--log-level`	`-L`	Specify the log level	`string`	`disabled`
`--no-color`	`-N`	Disable color output	`bool`	`false`

Command Capabilities Matrix

Complete command capabilities overview - Local execution, Remote server support, and Instant engine spawning.

Category	Command	Local	Remote	Instant
Config	`config get`	✓	-	-
Config	`config set`	✓	-	-
Config	`config unset`	✓	-	-
License	`license activate`	✓	-	-
License	`license create`	✓	-	-
License	`license info`	✓	-	-
Engine	`engine info`	✓	-	-
Engine	`engine token`	✓	-	-
Engine	`engine update`	✓	-	-
Engine	`boot up`	✓	-	-
Engine	`boot down`	✓	-	-
Engine	`key generate`	✓	-	-
Engine	`ping`	✓	✓	-
Engine	`stat`	✓	✓	-
Engine	`healthcheck`	✓	✓	-
Bridge	`bridge list`	✓	✓	-
Bridge	`bridge create`	✓	✓	-
Bridge	`bridge connect`	✓	✓	-
Bridge	`bridge disconnect`	✓	✓	-
Bridge	`bridge remove`	✓	✓	-
Bridge	`bridge prune`	✓	✓	-
Shell	`shell list`	✓	✓	-
Shell	`shell create`	✓	✓	-
Shell	`shell connect`	✓	✓	-
Shell	`shell remove`	✓	✓	-
Proxy	`proxy list`	✓	✓	-
Proxy	`proxy remove`	✓	✓	-
Proxy	`proxy prune`	✓	✓	-
Engine	`key register`	✓	✓	✓
Engine	`key unregister`	✓	✓	✓
Engine	`key list`	✓	✓	✓
Object	`fs list`	✓	✓	✓
Object	`fs create`	✓	✓	✓
Object	`fs delete`	✓	✓	✓
Object	`fs rename`	✓	✓	✓
Object	`fs upload`	✓	✓	✓
Object	`fs download`	✓	✓	✓
Object	`fs share`	✓	✓	✓
Object	`fs zip`	✓	✓	✓
Object	`fs unzip`	✓	✓	✓
Workflow	`compose list`	✓	✓	✓
Workflow	`compose create`	✓	✓	✓
Workflow	`compose remove`	✓	✓	✓
Workflow	`compose start`	✓	✓	✓
Workflow	`compose stop`	✓	✓	✓
Workflow	`compose kill`	✓	✓	✓
Workflow	`compose pause`	✓	✓	✓
Workflow	`compose unpause`	✓	✓	✓
Workflow	`compose containers`	✓	✓	✓
Workflow	`compose logs`	✓	✓	✓
Workflow	`compose events`	✓	✓	✓
Workflow	`compose execute`	✓	✓	✓

Terminal Access

The dxflow terminal provides a command-line interface to interact with the dxflow engine, allowing you to execute commands, manage workflows, and access system functionalities directly from your terminal.

Config

Configuration profile management with support for multiple environments, dynamic value updates, hierarchical settings inheritance, secure credential storage, and automatic validation of configuration parameters