open-consul/website/source/docs/commands/kv.html.markdown

---
layout: "docs"
page_title: "Commands: KV"
sidebar_current: "docs-commands-kv"
---

# Consul KV

Command: `consul kv`

The `kv` command is used to interact with Consul's key-value store via the
command line. It exposes top-level commands for inserting, updating, reading,
and deleting from the store. This command is available in Consul 0.7.1 and
later.

The key-value store is also accessible via the
[HTTP API](/docs/agent/http/kv.html).

## Usage

Usage: `consul kv <subcommand>`

For the exact documentation for your Consul version, run `consul kv -h` to view
the complete list of subcommands.

```text
Usage: consul kv <subcommand> [options] [args]

  # ...

Subcommands:

    delete    Removes data from the KV store
    export    Exports part of the KV tree in JSON format
    get       Retrieves or lists data from the KV store
    import    Imports part of the KV tree in JSON format
    put       Sets or updates data in the KV store
```

For more information, examples, and usage about a subcommand, click on the name
of the subcommand in the sidebar or one of the links below:

- [delete](/docs/commands/kv/delete.html)
- [export](/docs/commands/kv/export.html)
- [get](/docs/commands/kv/get.html)
- [import](/docs/commands/kv/import.html)
- [put](/docs/commands/kv/put.html)

## Basic Examples

To create or update the key named "redis/config/connections" to the value "5" in
Consul's key-value store:

```text
$ consul kv put redis/config/connections 5
Success! Data written to: redis/config/connections
```

To read a value back from Consul:

```text
$ consul kv get redis/config/connections
5
```

Or you can query for detailed information:

```text
$ consul kv get -detailed redis/config/connections
CreateIndex      336
Flags            0
Key              redis/config/connections
LockIndex        0
ModifyIndex      336
Session          -
Value            5
```

Finally, deleting a key is just as easy:

```text
$ consul kv delete redis/config/connections
Success! Data deleted at key: redis/config/connections
```

For more examples, ask for subcommand help or view the subcommand documentation
by clicking on one of the links in the sidebar.