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
    get       Retrieves or lists data from the KV store
    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)
- [get](/docs/commands/kv/get.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.