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Using the Linode CLI

Updated by Linode Written by Jared Kobos

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Linode CLI

The Linode CLI is a wrapper around the Linode API that allows you to manage your Linode account from the command line. Virtually any task that can be done through the Linode Manager can be done through the CLI, making it an excellent tool for scripting.

This guide describes the basics of installing and working with the CLI. It also offers examples illustrating how to complete common tasks using the CLI.

Install the CLI

The easiest way to install the CLI is through Pip:

  1. Install the CLI:

    pip install linode-cli --upgrade

  2. You need a Personal Access Token to use the CLI. Use the Linode Cloud Manager to obtain a token.

  3. The first time you run any command, you will be prompted with the CLI’s configuration script. Paste your access token (which will then be used by default for all requests made through the CLI) at the prompt. You will be prompted to choose defaults for Linodes created through the CLI (region, type, and image). These are optional, and can be overridden for individual commands. Update these defaults at any time by running linode-cli configure:

      
Welcome to the Linode CLI.  This will walk you through some
initial setup.

First, we need a Personal Access Token.  To get one, please visit
https://cloud.linode.com/profile/tokens and click
"Create a Personal Access Token".  The CLI needs access to everything
on your account to work correctly.

Personal Access Token:
Note
The CLI installs a bash completion file. On OSX, you may have to source this file before it can be used. To do this, add source /etc/bash_completion.d/linode-cli.sh to your ~/.bashrc file.

Options

Help

View information about any part of the CLI, including available actions and required parameters, with the --help flag:

linode-cli --help
linode-cli linodes --help
linode-cli linodes create --help

Customize Output Fields

By default, the CLI displays a set of pre-selected fields for each type of response. If you would like to see all available fields, use the --all flag:

linode-cli linodes list --all

Specify exactly which fields you would like to receive with the -format option:

linode-cli linodes list --format 'id,region,memory'

JSON Output

The CLI will return output in tabulated format for easy readability. If you prefer to work with JSON, use the --json flag. Adding the --pretty flag will format the JSON output to make it more readable:

linode-cli regions list --json --pretty

[
  {
    "country": "us",
    "id": "us-central"
  },
  {
    "country": "us",
    "id": "us-west"
  },
  {
    "country": "us",
    "id": "us-southeast"
  },
  {
    "country": "us",
    "id": "us-east"
  },
  ...
]

Machine Readable Output

You can also display the output as plain text. By default, tabs are used as a delimiter, but you can specify another character with the --delimiter option:

linode-cli regions list --text

id	country
us-central	us
us-west	us
us-southeast	us
us-east	us
eu-west	uk
ap-south	sg
eu-central	de
ap-northeast	jp
ap-northeast-1a	jp
ca-east         ca
linode-cli regions list --text --delimiter ";"

id;country
us-central;us
us-west;us
us-southeast;us
us-east;us
eu-west;uk
ap-south;sg
eu-central;de
ap-northeast;jp
ap-northeast-1a;jp
ca-east;ca

Examples

This section reviews some common examples related to Linodes, Domains, Block Storage Volumes, NodeBalancers, and account details.

Linodes

Tasks related to Linode instances are performed with linode-cli linodes [ACTION].

  1. List all of the Linodes on your account:

    linode-cli linodes list

    Filter results to a particular region:

    linode-cli linodes list --region us-east

    Filtering works on many fields throughout the CLI. Use --help for each action to see which properties are filterable.

  2. Create a new Linode:

    linode-cli linodes create --root_pass mypassword

    The defaults you specified when configuring the CLI will be used for the new Linode’s type, region, and image. Override these options by specifying the values:

    linode-cli linodes create --root_pass mypassword --region us-east --image linode/debian9 --group webservers

    If you are not writing a script, it is more secure to use --root_pass without specifying a password. You will then be prompted to enter a password:

    linode-cli linodes create --root_pass

  3. For commands targeting a specific Linode, you will need that Linode’s ID. The ID is returned when creating the Linode, and can be viewed by listing the Linodes on your account as described above. Store the ID of the new Linode (or an existing Linode) for later use:

    export linode_id=<id-string>

  4. View details about a particular Linode:

    linode-cli linodes view $linode_id

  5. Boot, shut down, or reboot a Linode:

    linode-cli linodes boot $linode_id
linode-cli linodes reboot $linode_id
linode-cli linodes shutdown $linode_id

  6. View a list of available IP addresses for a specific Linode:

    linode-cli linodes ips-list $linode_id

  7. Add a private IP address to a Linode:

    linode-cli linodes ip-add $linode_id --type ipv4 --public false

  8. List all disks provisioned for a Linode:

    linode-cli linodes disks-list $linode_id

  9. Upgrade your Linode. If an upgrade is available for the specified Linode, it will be placed in the Migration Queue. It will then be automatically shut down, migrated, and returned to its last state:

    linode-cli linodes upgrade $linode_id

  10. Rebuild a Linode:

    linode-cli linodes rebuild $linode_id --image linode/debian9 --root_pass

  11. Rebuild a Linode, adding a populated authorized_keys file:

    linode-cli linodes rebuild $linode_id --image linode/debian9 --root_pass --authorized_keys "ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIEC+DOVfw+8Jsw1IPrYCcU9/HCuKayCsV8bXjsHqX/Zq email@example.com"

    If your key exists on your filesystem, you can also substitute its value in the CLI command with cat. For example:

    linode-cli linodes rebuild $linode_id --image linode/debian9 --root_pass --authorized_keys "$(cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub)"

Many other actions are available. Use linode-cli linodes --help for a complete list.

Domains

  1. List the Domains on your account:

    linode-cli domains list

  2. View all domain records in a specific Domain:

    linode-cli domains records-list $domain_id

  3. Delete a Domain:

    linode-cli domains delete $domain_id

  4. Create a Domain:

    linode-cli domains create --type master --domain www.example.com --soa_email email@example.com

  5. Create a new A record in a Domain:

    linode-cli domains records-create $domain_id --type A --name subdomain --target 192.0.2.0

NodeBalancers

  1. Create a new NodeBalancer:

    linode-cli nodebalancers create --region us-east --label new-balancer

  2. Create a configuration for a NodeBalancer:

    linode-cli nodebalancers config-create $nodebalancer_id

  3. Attach a Node to a NodeBalancer:

    linode-cli nodebalancers node-create --address 192.200.12.34:80 --label node-1

  4. To delete a node, you will need the ID of the NodeBalancer, configuration, and node:

    linode-cli nodebalancers node-delete $nodebalancer_id $config_id $node_id

Block Storage Volumes

  1. List your current Volumes:

    linode-cli volumes list

  2. Create a new Volume, with the size specified in GiB:

    linode-cli volumes create --label my-volume --size 100 --region us-east

    Specify a linode_id to create the Volume and automatically attach it to a specific Linode:

    linode-cli volumes create --label my-volume --size 100  --linode_id $linode_id

  3. Attach or detach the Volume from a Linode:

    linode-cli volumes attach $volume_id --linode_id $linode_id
linode-cli volumes detach $volume_id

  4. Resize a Volume (size can only be increased):

    linode-cli volumes resize $volume_id --size 200

  5. Delete a Volume:

    linode-cli volumes delete $volume_id

Account

View or update your account information, add payment methods, view notifications, make payments, create OAuth clients, and do other related tasks through the account action:

  1. View your account:

    linode-cli account view

  2. View your account settings:

    linode-cli account settings

  3. Make a payment:

    linode-cli account payment-create --cvv 123 --usd 20.00

  4. View notifications:

    linode-cli account notifications-list

Support Tickets

  1. List your Support Tickets:

    linode-cli tickets list

  2. Open a new Ticket:

    linode-cli tickets create --description "Detailed description of the issue" --summary "Summary or quick title for the Ticket"

    If your issue concerns a particular Linode, Volume, Domain, or NodeBalancer, pass the ID with --domain_id, --linode-id, --volume_id, etc.

  3. List replies for a Ticket:

    linode-cli tickets replies $ticket_id

  4. Reply to a Ticket:

    linode-cli tickets reply $ticket_id --description "The content of your reply"

Events

  1. View a list of events on your account:

    linode-cli events list

  2. View details about a specific event:

    linode-cli events view $event_id

  3. Mark an event as read:

    linode-cli events mark-read $event_id

More Information

You may wish to consult the following resources for additional information on this topic. While these are provided in the hope that they will be useful, please note that we cannot vouch for the accuracy or timeliness of externally hosted materials.

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