title |
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CLI reference |
import AsciinemaPlayer from "../../src/components/AsciinemaPlayer";
:::note This page reflects the options available in the most recent version of Batect.
If you are not running the most recent version, run ./batect --help
to see what options are available in your version.
:::
Run a task by running ./batect <task-name>
. For example, to run the-task
, run ./batect the-task
.
You can also pass arguments to the task command by passing those arguments by running ./batect <task-name> -- <args...>
.
For example, to run the task the-task
with the arguments arg1 arg2
, run ./batect the-task -- arg1 arg2
.
See the shell tab completion section for information on supported shells and installation instructions.
--cache-type
: Set cache type to use--clean
: Clean up all caches for this project--config-file
or-f
: Use a non-standard configuration file name--config-vars-file
: Set config variables from a file--config-var
: Set a config variable--disable-ports
: Disable port binding on the host machine--docker-cert-path
,--docker-tls-ca-cert
,--docker-tls-cert
and--docker-tls-key
: Customise certificates used to provide authentication to daemon and to verify daemon's identity--docker-config
: Path to directory containing Docker client configuration files.--docker-context
: Docker CLI context to retrieve Docker daemon connection settings from--docker-host
: Use a non-standard Docker host--docker-tls
and--docker-tls-verify
: Connect to Docker over TLS--enable-buildkit
: Use BuildKit to build images--help
or-h
: Get help for Batect's CLI--list-tasks
or-T
: See a list of available tasks--log-file
: Create a debugging log--max-parallelism
: Set maximum setup and cleanup operations to run in parallel--no-color
: Disable coloured output--no-cleanup
,--no-cleanup-after-failure
and--no-cleanup-after-success
: Disable cleaning up--no-proxy-vars
: Disable propagation of proxy-related environment variables--no-update-notification
: Disable update notification--no-wrapper-cache-cleanup
: Disable wrapper cache cleanup--override-image
: Override the image used by a container--output
or-o
: Force a particular output style--skip-prerequisites
: Skip prerequisites--use-network
: Use an existing network for tasks--upgrade
: Upgrade Batect--version
: Get Batect, Docker and OS version information
By default, Batect will use a Docker volume for each cache for Linux containers. Use this option to instruct Batect to use a different storage mechanism.
Supported values are:
volume
: use Docker volumesdirectory
: use directories mounted from the project's.batect/caches
directory
The BATECT_CACHE_TYPE
environment variable can also be used to set the default cache type. If both the environment
variable and the --cache-type
option are set, the value given with --cache-type
takes precedence.
:::info This option has no effect on Windows containers. Windows containers always use directory mounts for caches. :::
Example:
./batect --cache-type=directory the-task
Running ./batect --clean
will remove all caches created for this project.
This command respects the value of the --cache-type
option and the BATECT_CACHE_TYPE
environment variable.
Use --clean-cache
to remove specific caches rather than all caches.
Running ./batect --clean-cache=<cache name>
will remove the named cache for this project.
This option can be provided multiple times, for example: ./batect --clean-cache=cache-1 --clean-cache=cache-2
or ./batect --clean-cache=cache-1,cache-2
will both remove the cache-1
and cache-2
caches.
This command respects the value of the --cache-type
option and the BATECT_CACHE_TYPE
environment variable.
Use --clean
to remove all caches.
By default, Batect will use a configuration file called batect.yml
in the current directory.
Use this option to instruct Batect to use a different file.
Example:
./batect --config-file my-other-config-file.yml the-task
By default, Batect will automatically apply values for config variables from the YAML file batect.local.yml
if it exists.
Use --config-vars-file
to specify a different file to use instead of batect.local.yml
.
Values provided with --config-var
take precedence over values provided in any file.
Example:
./batect --config-vars-file batect.ci.yml the-task
Example batect.ci.yml
contents:
log_level: debug
user_name: alex
Use --config-vars
to specify values for an individual config variable.
Values must be in the format <variable name>=<variable value>
.
Values provided with --config-var
take precedence over values provided in a file (either explicitly with
--config-vars-file
or from the default batect.local.yml
file)
and default values defined in the configuration file.
Example:
./batect --config-var log_level=debug the-task
By default, Batect binds ports from containers to the host machine running Batect. These are defined with ports
on the container or ports
on the task.
However, in some situations, it can be useful to disable these bindings. In particular, when running multiple tasks in parallel, such as on CI systems, host port bindings can result in conflicts.
Passing --disable-ports
disables all port bindings for all containers. This includes port bindings defined at the task level.
Example:
./batect --disable-ports the-task
If your Docker daemon requires TLS, Batect needs three files in order to connect to it:
- the CA certificate that can be used to verify certificates presented by the Docker daemon (
--docker-tls-ca-cert
) - the certificate that can be used to prove your identity to the Docker daemon (
--docker-tls-cert
) and corresponding private key (--docker-tls-key
)
By default, these files are stored in the Docker client configuration directory and are named ca.pem
, cert.pem
and key.pem
respectively.
You can instruct Batect use a non-default location for any of these files with the options mentioned above, or override the default directory for these
files with --docker-cert-path
. If the DOCKER_CERT_PATH
environment variable is set, Batect will use that as the default directory, or otherwise
use the value specified with --docker-config
/ DOCKER_CONFIG
.
If both --docker-cert-path
(or DOCKER_CERT_PATH
) and a path for an individual file is provided, the path for the individual file takes precedence.
These options mirror the behaviour of the docker
CLI's --tlscacert
, --tlscert
and --tlskey
options.
:::info
These options only apply if the default
Docker CLI context is in use. See Docker daemon connection settings
for further explanation.
:::
By default, Batect will look for Docker client configuration files in the directory provided by the DOCKER_CONFIG
environment variable,
or ~/.docker
if DOCKER_CONFIG
is not set. Use this option to instruct Batect to use a different directory.
Example:
./batect --docker-config ~/.my-other-docker-config the-task
The Docker CLI context to retrieve Docker daemon connection settings from.
By default, Batect will use the active context set with docker context use
, or the context from the DOCKER_CONTEXT
environment variable.
Example:
./batect --docker-context colima the-task
This option mirrors the behaviour of the docker
CLI's --context
option.
:::info
Other Docker daemon connection options such as --docker-host
and --docker-tls
only apply if the default
Docker CLI context is in use.
See Docker daemon connection settings for further explanation.
:::
By default, Batect will connect to the Docker daemon using the path provided in the DOCKER_HOST
environment variable, or
the default path for your operating system if DOCKER_HOST
is not set. Use this option to instruct Batect to use a different path.
Example:
./batect --docker-host unix:///var/run/other-docker.sock the-task
:::info
This option only applies if the default
Docker CLI context is in use. See Docker daemon connection settings
for further explanation.
:::
By default, the Docker daemon only accepts plaintext connections from the local machine. If your daemon requires TLS, use the --docker-tls-verify
option
to instruct Batect to use TLS. Batect will also automatically enable this option if the DOCKER_TLS_VERIFY
environment variable is set to 1
.
If your daemon presents a certificate that does not match its hostname, use the --docker-tls
option (without --docker-tls-verify
) to instruct
Batect to not verify the hostname.
:::warning
Using --docker-tls
without --docker-tls-verify
is insecure and should only be used if you understand the implications of this.
:::
These options mirror the behaviour of the docker
CLI's --tls
and --tlsverify
options.
:::info
These options only apply if the default
Docker CLI context is in use. See Docker daemon connection settings
for further explanation.
:::
:::caution Support for BuildKit in Batect is considered experimental. Please file an issue if you encounter any problems. :::
By default, Batect will use the legacy builder to build Docker images. Docker recently introduced a new image builder, BuildKit, that offers improved performance and some new features.
Use this option to instruct Batect to use BuildKit to build images, rather than the legacy image builder.
Example:
./batect --enable-buildkit the-task
Batect will automatically enable this flag if the DOCKER_BUILDKIT
environment variable is set to 1
or true
.
Note that BuildKit is only supported on Docker 18.09 or later, or on earlier versions when Docker is running with experimental features enabled.
Running ./batect --help
will show a summary of the options available on the command line.
Batect can produce a short summary of all tasks in the current configuration file along with their
description
, and grouped by their group
.
For example, ./batect --list-tasks
produces output like this:
Build tasks:
- build: Build the application.
Test tasks:
- continuousUnitTest: Run the unit tests in watch mode.
- unitTest: Run the unit tests once.
Utility tasks:
- outdated: Check for outdated dependencies.
- shell: Start a shell in the development environment.
When combined with --output=quiet
, Batect produces output suitable for parsing by other applications.
Tasks are listed in alphabetical order, with one task per line. Each task is followed by a tab character, then
its description.
For example, ./batect --list-tasks --output=quiet
produces output like this:
build Build the application.
continuousUnitTest Run the unit tests in watch mode.
unitTest Run the unit tests once.
outdated Check for outdated dependencies.
shell Start a shell in the development environment.
Use this option to instruct Batect to generate a debugging log at the specified path as it runs. This may be requested if you submit an issue.
If the log file already exists, Batect will append further log messages to the end of the file.
Example:
./batect --log-file /tmp/debugging-log.json the-task
By default, Batect will try to run all setup and cleanup steps in parallel, as described in the task lifecycle. On some machines, this can overwhelm the Docker daemon, leading to timeouts and other issues. Use this option to limit the number of setup or cleanup steps to run in parallel.
Note that this does not limit the number of containers that can run in parallel.
Example:
./batect --max-parallelism=4 the-task
By default, Batect will produce coloured output if it detects that your console supports it. However, sometimes Batect may incorrectly believe your console supports coloured output, or your console may incorrectly report that it supports coloured output when it does not. (This is a common issue with some CI systems.) This can lead to garbled or difficult to read output.
Passing this flag will disable all coloured output, even if Batect believes your console supports it.
Example:
./batect --no-color the-task
By default, Batect will automatically cleanup all containers and other resources it creates while running a task. However, sometimes it can be useful to leave all the created containers running to diagnose issues running a task.
- Use
--no-cleanup-after-failure
to not clean up if any task fails to start for any reason. - Use
--no-cleanup-after-success
to not clean up the containers and other resources created for the main task (the one specified on the command line) if it succeeds. - Use
--no-cleanup
to enable both of the above.
Example:
./batect --no-cleanup-after-failure the-task
By default, Batect will automatically propagate proxy-related environment variables as described here. Use this option to disable this behaviour.
Example:
./batect --no-proxy-vars the-task
Batect automatically checks for updates at most once every 24 hours and displays a notification if a newer version is available.
Passing this flag will disable both the update check and notification.
This flag is automatically enabled if --output
is set to quiet
.
Batect automatically removes old versions of itself that have been downloaded and cached locally if they haven't been used in 30 days.
Passing this flag will disable this cleanup process. You can manually remove these files from ~/.batect/cache
yourself at any time.
By default, Batect will use the image defined in the configuration file (either with image
or build_directory
).
Use this option to override the value in the configuration file and use a different image for a specific container.
Values must be in the format <container name>=<image>
.
Example:
./batect --override-image build-env=ruby:2.7.0 the-task
Batect offers four styles of output:
-
fancy
is best for interactive use, providing very clean output about the current state of execution and showing output from only the task container<AsciinemaPlayer src={require("../assets/outputstyles/fancy.cast").default} width={204} height={20} preload={true} poster="npt:2.5" />
-
simple
is best for non-interactive use (eg. on CI), providing a log of what happened and showing output from only the task container<AsciinemaPlayer src={require("../assets/outputstyles/simple.cast").default} width={204} height={20} preload={true} poster="npt:2.5" />
-
all
displays output from all containers<AsciinemaPlayer src={require("../assets/outputstyles/interleaved.cast").default} width={204} height={20} preload={true} poster="npt:4" />
-
quiet
displays only the output from the task and error messages from Batect<AsciinemaPlayer src={require("../assets/outputstyles/quiet.cast").default} width={204} height={20} preload={true} poster="npt:7" />
There are some differences between these output styles to be aware of:
Output style | fancy |
simple |
quiet |
all |
---|---|---|---|---|
Progress information | Detailed (eg. download % completed, health check status) | Basic (eg. image pull started, container ready) | Errors only | Basic (eg. image pull started, container ready) |
Displays output from | Task container only | Task container only | Task container only | All containers |
stdin connected (if present) | Yes, to task container only | Yes, to task container only | Yes, to task container only | No |
TTY connected (if present) | Yes, to task container only | Yes, to task container only | Yes, to task container only | No |
Image build output shown | Only on build failure | Only on build failure | Only on build failure | Always |
By default, Batect will automatically pick an output style that it believes is appropriate for the environment it is running in -
fancy
if it believes your environment supports it, or simple
otherwise.
Passing this flag allows you to override what Batect believes is appropriate.
Example:
./batect --output simple the-task
Passing --output=quiet
implies --no-update-notification
.
Passing --output=quiet
also modifies the output of --list-tasks
to make it easier to parse with other applications.
Normally, Batect will run all tasks defined as prerequisites for the task given on the command line, before then running the requested task.
Use this option to run only the requested task.
Example:
./batect --skip-prerequisites the-task
Batect automatically tags images built for containers with a name based on the project name and container name.
Use --tag-image
to add additional tags to the built image. This tag can then be used to then push the image to a remote registry with docker push
, or to ensure that subsequent task invocations
use exactly the same image with --override-image
.
Values must be in the format <container name>=<image>
, for example:
./batect --tag-image build-env=my-build-env:v1.2.3 the-task
Tags can include remote registries, for example:
./batect --tag-image build-env=docker-images.mycompany.com/my-build-env:v1.2.3 the-task
Multiple tags can be applied to the same built image by giving --tag-image
multiple times, for example:
./batect --tag-image build-env=my-build-env:v1 --tag-image build-env=my-build-env:v1.2.3 the-task
:::caution
--tag-image
can't be used with containers that pull images directly with image
.
:::
By default, Batect will create a new Docker network for each task, as described in the task lifecycle. Use this option to provide an existing network to use for all tasks.
Example:
./batect --use-network=my-existing-network the-task
Running ./batect --upgrade
will automatically upgrade Batect in the current project to the latest
available version.
Running ./batect --version
will show a summary of the versions of Batect, Docker and your operating
system, which can be useful when diagnosing issues with Batect.
In order for Batect to communicate with a Docker daemon, it needs two key pieces of information: the host and any TLS-related connection settings.
These settings can come either from the default
Docker CLI context, or another context. A context contains all of the information
Batect needs to communicate with a Docker daemon.
Batect follows the same logic as the docker
CLI tool when determining which context to use, with scenarios at the top of
the following list having higher precedence:
- If the
--docker-context
option is provided, that context is used - If the
--docker-host
option is provided, thedefault
context is used - If the
DOCKER_HOST
environment variable is set, thedefault
context is used - If the
DOCKER_CONTEXT
environment variable is set, that context is used - If there is an active context previously selected with
docker context use
, that context is used - Otherwise, the
default
context is used
The default
context is unlike other contexts in that it is dynamic: it respects options set on the command line
or through environment variables, and falls back to Docker's default settings if neither of these sources have been
set.
For example, if the --docker-host
option is provided, the default
context will use the host from
that option. If the option is not provided, it will use the value of the DOCKER_HOST
environment variable if set.
Otherwise, if option is not provided and the environment variable is not set, the default
context will fall back to
the default value appropriate for the current operating system (eg. unix:///var/run/docker.sock
on macOS and Linux).
Other contexts ignore command line options and environment variables and use only the settings stored in the context.
These settings can be viewed with docker context inspect <name>
(eg. docker context inspect colima
), and modified
with docker context update
.
A list of available contexts can be viewed with docker context ls
, and a new context can be created with docker context create
.