---
title: influx - InfluxDB command line interface
seotitle: influx - InfluxDB command line interface
description: >
  The `influx` CLI includes commands to manage many aspects of InfluxDB,
  including buckets, organizations, users, tasks, etc.
menu:
  influxdb_2_1_ref:
    name: influx
    parent: Command line tools
weight: 101
influxdb/v2.1/tags: [cli]
related:
  - /influxdb/v2.1/tools/influx-cli/
---

The `influx` command line interface (CLI) includes commands to manage many aspects of InfluxDB,
including buckets, organizations, users, tasks, etc.

{{% oss-only %}}

{{% note %}}
#### InfluxDB OSS and influx CLI versions
Beginning with **InfluxDB 2.1**, the `influx` CLI is packaged and versioned separately
from InfluxDB.
InfluxDB and `influx` CLI versions may differ, but compatibility is noted for each command.
{{% /note %}}

{{% /oss-only %}}

## Download and install the influx CLI
<a class="btn" href="/influxdb/v2.1/tools/influx-cli/">Download and install the influx CLI</a>

### Provide required authentication credentials
To avoid having to pass your InfluxDB **host**, **API token**, and **organization**
with each command, store them in an `influx` CLI configuration (config).
`influx` commands that require these credentials automatically retrieve these
credentials from the active config.

Use the [`influx config create` command](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/config/create/)
to create an `influx` CLI config and set it as active:

```sh
influx config create --config-name <config-name> \
  --host-url http://localhost:8086 \
  --org <your-org> \
  --token <your-auth-token> \
  --active
```

For more information about managing CLI configurations, see the
[`influx config` documentation](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/config/).

## Usage

```
influx [flags]
influx [command]
```

## Commands

| Command                                                             | Description                                                                |
|:--------------------------------------------------------------------|:---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| [apply](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/apply/)                 | Apply an InfluxDB template                                                 |
| [auth](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/auth/)                   | API token management commands                                              |
| [backup](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/backup/)               | Back up data _(InfluxDB OSS only)_                                         |
| [bucket](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/bucket/)               | Bucket management commands                                                 |
| [bucket-schema](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/bucket-schema/) | Manage InfluxDB bucket schemas _(InfluxDB Cloud only)_                     |
| [completion](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/completion/)       | Generate completion scripts                                                |
| [config](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/config/)               | Configuration management commands                                          |
| [dashboards](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/dashboards/)       | List dashboards                                                            |
| [delete](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/delete/)               | Delete points from InfluxDB                                                |
| [export](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/export/)               | Export resources as a template                                             |
| [help](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/help/)                   | Help about any command                                                     |
| [org](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/org/)                     | Organization management commands                                           |
| [ping](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/ping/)                   | Check the InfluxDB `/health` endpoint                                      |
| [query](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/query/)                 | Execute a Flux query                                                       |
| [remote](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/remote/)               | Manage remote InfluxDB connections                                         |
| [replicate](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/resplicate/)        | Manage InfluxDB replication streams                                        |
| [restore](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/restore/)             | Restore backup data _(InfluxDB OSS only)_                                  |
| [secret](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/secret/)               | Manage secrets                                                             |
| [setup](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/setup/)                 | Create default username, password, org, bucket, etc. _(InfluxDB OSS only)_ |
| [stacks](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/stacks/)               | Manage InfluxDB stacks                                                     |
| [task](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/task/)                   | Task management commands                                                   |
| [telegrafs](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/telegrafs/)         | Telegraf configuration management commands                                 |
| [template](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/template/)           | Summarize and validate an InfluxDB template                                |
| [user](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/user/)                   | User management commands                                                   |
| [v1](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/v1/)                       | Work with the v1 compatibility API                                         |
| [version](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/version/)             | Print the influx CLI version                                               |
| [write](/influxdb/v2.1/reference/cli/influx/write/)                 | Write points to InfluxDB                                                   |

## Flags

| Flag |          | Description                   |
|:---- |:---      |:-----------                   |
| `-h` | `--help` | Help for the `influx` command |

### Flag patterns and conventions
The `influx` CLI uses the following patterns and conventions:

- [Mapped environment variables](#mapped-environment-variables)
- [Shorthand and longhand flags](#shorthand-and-longhand-flags)
- [Flag input types](#flag-input-types)

#### Mapped environment variables
`influx` CLI flags mapped to environment variables are listed in the **Mapped to** column.
Mapped flags inherit the value of the environment variable.
To override environment variables, set the flag explicitly in your command.

#### Shorthand and longhand flags
Many `influx` CLI flags support both shorthand and longhand forms.

- **shorthand:** a shorthand flag begins with a single hyphen followed by a single letter (for example: `-c`).
- **longhand:** a longhand flag starts with two hyphens followed by a multi-letter,
  hyphen-spaced flag name (for example: `--active-config`).

Commands can use both shorthand and longhand flags in a single execution.

#### Flag input types
`influx` CLI flag input types are listed in each the table of flags for each command.
Flags support the following input types:

##### string
Text string, but the flag can be used **only once** per command execution.

##### stringArray
Single text string, but the flag can be used **multiple times** per command execution.

##### integer
Sequence of digits representing an integer value.

##### duration
Length of time represented by an integer and a duration unit
(`1ns`, `1us`, `1µs`, `1ms`, `1s`, `1m`, `1h`, `1d`, `1w`).