NocoBase CTL

NocoBase CTL is a command-line tool for managing and controlling NocoBase applications. Its relationship with multiple NocoBase App instances is shown below:

                        +----------------------+
                        |     NocoBase CTL     |
                        |      Controller     |
                        +----------------------+
                                   |
                  +----------------+----------------+
                  |                |                |
                  v                v                v
        +----------------+ +----------------+ +----------------+
        |  NocoBase App  | |  NocoBase App  | |  NocoBase App  |
        |      Dev       | |      Test      | |      Prod      |
        +----------------+ +----------------+ +----------------+

NocoBase CTL combines:

• built-in commands for environment management and generic resource access
• runtime-generated commands loaded from your NocoBase application's Swagger schema

This allows the CLI to stay aligned with the target application instead of relying on a fixed command list.

Quick Start

Install NocoBase CTL globally:

npm install -g @nocobase/ctl@latest

Add an environment:

nocobase-ctl env add --name local --base-url http://localhost:13000/api

Add an environment with an API key:

nocobase-ctl env add --name local --base-url http://localhost:13000/api --token <api-key>

Authenticate an environment with OAuth:

nocobase-ctl env auth -e local

Show the current environment:

nocobase-ctl env

List configured environments:

nocobase-ctl env list

Switch the current environment:

nocobase-ctl env use local

Update the runtime command cache from swagger:get:

nocobase-ctl env update
nocobase-ctl env update -e local

Use the generic resource commands:

nocobase-ctl resource list --resource users
nocobase-ctl resource get --resource users --filter-by-tk 1
nocobase-ctl resource create --resource users --values '{"nickname":"Ada"}'

Runtime Commands

When you execute a runtime command, the CLI will:

1. resolve the target environment
2. read the application's Swagger schema from swagger:get
3. generate or reuse a cached runtime command set for that application version
4. execute the requested command

If the API documentation plugin is disabled, the CLI will prompt to enable it.

Environment Selection

Use -e, --env to temporarily select an environment:

nocobase-ctl env update -e prod
nocobase-ctl resource list --resource users -e prod

This does not change the current environment unless you explicitly run:

nocobase-ctl env use <name>

Config Scope

The env command supports two config scopes:

• project: use ./.nocobase-ctl in the current working directory
• global: use the global .nocobase-ctl directory

Use -s, --scope to select one explicitly:

nocobase-ctl env list -s project
nocobase-ctl env add -s global --name prod --base-url http://example.com/api --token <api-key>
nocobase-ctl env auth -e prod -s global
nocobase-ctl env use local -s project

If you do not pass --scope, the CLI uses automatic resolution:

1. current working directory if ./.nocobase-ctl exists
2. NOCOBASE_HOME_CLI
3. your home directory

Built-in Commands

Current built-in topics:

• env
• resource

Check available commands at any time:

nocobase-ctl --help
nocobase-ctl env --help
nocobase-ctl resource --help

Common Flags

• -e, --env: temporary environment selection
• -s, --scope: config scope for env commands
• --role: role override, sent as X-Role
• -t, --token: API key override
• -j, --json-output: print raw JSON response

Example:

nocobase-ctl env update -e prod -s global
nocobase-ctl resource list --resource users -e prod -j
nocobase-ctl resource list --resource users -e prod --role admin

Local Data

The CLI stores its local state in .nocobase-ctl, including:

• config.json: environment definitions and current selection
• versions/<version>/commands.json: cached runtime commands for a generated version