--- layout: "docs" page_title: "Commands" sidebar_current: "docs-commands" description: |- Consul is controlled via a very easy to use command-line interface (CLI). Consul is only a single command-line application: `consul`. This application then takes a subcommand such as agent or members. The complete list of subcommands is in the navigation to the left. --- # Consul Commands (CLI) Consul is controlled via a very easy to use command-line interface (CLI). Consul is only a single command-line application: `consul`. This application then takes a subcommand such as "agent" or "members". The complete list of subcommands is in the navigation to the left. The `Consul` CLI is a well-behaved command line application. In erroneous cases, a non-zero exit status will be returned. It also responds to `-h` and `--help` as you'd most likely expect. And some commands that expect input accept "-" as a parameter to tell Consul to read the input from stdin. To view a list of the available commands at any time, just run `consul` with no arguments: ```text $ consul usage: consul [--version] [--help] [] Available commands are: agent Runs a Consul agent configtest Validate config file event Fire a new event exec Executes a command on Consul nodes force-leave Forces a member of the cluster to enter the "left" state info Provides debugging information for operators join Tell Consul agent to join cluster keygen Generates a new encryption key keyring Manages gossip layer encryption keys kv Interact with the KV store leave Gracefully leaves the Consul cluster and shuts down lock Execute a command holding a lock maint Controls node or service maintenance mode members Lists the members of a Consul cluster monitor Stream logs from a Consul agent operator Provides cluster-level tools for Consul operators reload Triggers the agent to reload configuration files rtt Estimates network round trip time between nodes version Prints the Consul version watch Watch for changes in Consul ``` To get help for any specific command, pass the `-h` flag to the relevant subcommand. For example, to see help about the `join` subcommand: ```text $ consul join -h Usage: consul join [options] address ... Tells a running Consul agent (with "consul agent") to join the cluster by specifying at least one existing member. HTTP API Options -http-addr=
The `address` and port of the Consul HTTP agent. The value can be an IP address or DNS address, but it must also include the port. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_ADDR environment variable. The default value is http://127.0.0.1:8500. The scheme can also be set to HTTPS by setting the environment variable CONSUL_HTTP_SSL=true. -token= ACL token to use in the request. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN environment variable. If unspecified, the query will default to the token of the Consul agent at the HTTP address. Command Options -wan Joins a server to another server in the WAN pool. ``` ## Autocompletion The `consul` command features opt-in subcommand autocompletion that you can enable for your shell with `consul -autocomplete-install`. After doing so, you can invoke a new shell and use the feature. For example, assume a tab is typed at the end of each prompt line: ``` $ consul e event exec $ consul r raft reload rtt ``` ## Environment Variables In addition to CLI flags, Consul reads environment variables for behavior defaults. CLI flags always take precedence over environment variables, but it is often helpful to use environment variables to configure the Consul agent, particularly with configuration management and init systems. These environment variables and their purpose are described below: ## `CONSUL_HTTP_ADDR` This is the HTTP API address to the *local* Consul agent (not the remote server) specified as a URI: ``` CONSUL_HTTP_ADDR=127.0.0.1:8500 ``` or as a Unix socket path: ``` CONSUL_HTTP_ADDR=unix://var/run/consul_http.sock ``` ### `CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN` This is the API access token required when access control lists (ACLs) are enabled, for example: ``` CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN=aba7cbe5-879b-999a-07cc-2efd9ac0ffe ``` ### `CONSUL_HTTP_AUTH` This specifies HTTP Basic access credentials as a username:password pair: ``` CONSUL_HTTP_AUTH=operations:JPIMCmhDHzTukgO6 ``` ### `CONSUL_HTTP_SSL` This is a boolean value (default is false) that enables the HTTPS URI scheme and SSL connections to the HTTP API: ``` CONSUL_HTTP_SSL=true ``` ### `CONSUL_HTTP_SSL_VERIFY` This is a boolean value (default true) to specify SSL certificate verification; setting this value to `false` is not recommended for production use. Example for development purposes: ``` CONSUL_HTTP_SSL_VERIFY=false ``` ### `CONSUL_CACERT` Path to a CA file to use for TLS when communicating with Consul. ``` CONSUL_CACERT=ca.crt ``` ### `CONSUL_CAPATH` Path to a directory of CA certificates to use for TLS when communicating with Consul. ``` CONSUL_CAPATH=ca_certs/ ``` ### `CONSUL_CLIENT_CERT` Path to a client cert file to use for TLS when `verify_incoming` is enabled. ``` CONSUL_CLIENT_CERT=client.crt ``` ### `CONSUL_CLIENT_KEY` Path to a client key file to use for TLS when `verify_incoming` is enabled. ``` CONSUL_CLIENT_KEY=client.key ``` ### `CONSUL_TLS_SERVER_NAME` The server name to use as the SNI host when connecting via TLS. ``` CONSUL_TLS_SERVER_NAME=consulserver.domain ```