Command Reference
Complete reference for all Kaiten CLI commands, flags, and input formats.
Global flags
These flags are available on every command:
| Flag | Env Var | Description |
|---|---|---|
--base-url | KAITEN_BASE_URL | Kaiten API base URL |
--auth-token | KAITEN_AUTH_TOKEN | API bearer token |
--output | KAITEN_OUTPUT | Output format: table, json, yaml |
Input formats
Mutation commands (create, update) accept input from exactly one source:
| Source | Flag | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Inline flags | --name, --version, etc. | kaiten components create --name "API" --version "1.0" |
| File | --file / -f | kaiten components create -f component.json |
| Stdin | --file - | cat component.json | kaiten components create -f - |
| Inline payload | --payload | kaiten components create --payload '{"name": "API", "version": "1.0"}' |
Write files and payloads as JSON, with the field names of the API — the request body the API reference shows for the operation.
Use exactly one input source. Combining --file, --payload, and inline flags produces an error.
Inline flags build the whole request body, and the API replaces the resource with it: update needs every required flag again, not only the one that changes. Two commands read the resource first and keep what their flags do not name — entitlements update and licenses entitlements update. To change one field of anything else, read the resource as JSON, edit it, and write it back, as the deployment zones example does.
Utility commands
version
kaiten versionPrints the CLI version, with the commit and build date when the binary carries them — a go install build prints HEAD and unknown in their place.
config
| Subcommand | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
view | kaiten config view | Show persisted config and resolved runtime values |
set | kaiten config set <key> <value> | Persist a config value (base-url, auth-token, output) |
unset | kaiten config unset <key> | Remove a persisted config value |
doctor
kaiten doctorValidates configuration and tests API connectivity. Returns status, base URL, instance count, and masked auth token.
Resource commands
Every resource follows a consistent CRUD pattern: list, get, create, update, delete. Exceptions are noted per resource.
delete, remove-entitlement, and config unset name their target and ask for confirmation. Where stdin is not a terminal — a script, a pipeline — they refuse to run unless you pass --yes (-y).
A slug is chosen at creation and does not change, so update takes no --slug. Instances and components are the exception: --slug on their update renames them.
customers
instances
licenses
licenses entitlements
Manage entitlements associated with a license:
entitlements
entitlement-groups
components
releases
deployment-zones
feature-flags
service-accounts
service-accounts tokens
Manage API tokens for a service account: