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CLI Guide

The Cyphernetes CLI provides multiple ways to interact with your Kubernetes clusters using the Cypher-inspired query language.

Command Overview​

Cyphernetes provides several main commands:

cyphernetes [command] [flags]

Available commands:

  • web - Start the web interface
  • shell - Start an interactive shell
  • query - Execute a single query
  • version - Show version information

Web Interface​

The web interface provides a graphical environment for writing and executing queries:

cyphernetes web [flags]

Options:

  • --port - Port to listen on (default: 8080)

After starting the web interface, visit http://localhost:8080 in your browser.

Interactive Shell​

The interactive shell provides a REPL (Read-Eval-Print Loop) environment for executing queries:

cyphernetes shell [flags]

Features:

  • Command history (use arrow keys to navigate)
  • Tab completion for Cypher keywords
  • Multi-line query support
  • Query result formatting

Example session:

$ cyphernetes shell
cyphernetes> MATCH (p:Pod) RETURN p.metadata.name;
NAME
nginx-deployment-6b474476c4-2p8l7
nginx-deployment-6b474476c4-9x8k2
...

cyphernetes> MATCH (d:Deployment)
cyphernetes> WHERE d.metadata.name = "nginx"
cyphernetes> RETURN d;
...

Single Query Execution​

Execute a single query directly from the command line:

cyphernetes query "MATCH (p:Pod) RETURN p.metadata.name"

# Delete failed pods
cyphernetes query "MATCH (p:Pod) WHERE p.status.phase = 'Failed' DELETE p"

Options:

  • --format - Output format (json, yaml, table)
  • --namespace, -n - Kubernetes namespace

Output Formatting​

Control the output format of your queries:

# Output as JSON
cyphernetes query "MATCH (p:Pod) RETURN p"

# Output as YAML
cyphernetes query --format yaml "MATCH (p:Pod) RETURN p"

Shell Scripting​

Cyphernetes can be used effectively in shell scripts:

#!/bin/bash

# Get all non-running pods
FAILED_PODS=$(cyphernetes query \
  "MATCH (p:Pod) WHERE p.status.phase != 'Running' RETURN p.metadata.name")

# Process the results
echo $FAILED_PODS | jq -r '.[]' | while read pod; do
  echo "Found non-running pod: $pod"
done

Environment Variables​

Cyphernetes respects the following environment variables:

  • KUBECONFIG - Path to kubeconfig file

Best Practices​

  1. Use the Web Interface for exploring and developing queries
  2. Use the Shell for interactive debugging and quick queries
  3. Use Query Command for automation and scripting
  4. Set Default Context when working with multiple clusters
  5. Use Output Formatting appropriate for your use case