CLI Overview

Introduction to the Cadence command-line interface for workflow management and operations

The Cadence CLI is a command-line tool that provides comprehensive access to Cadence workflow operations, domain management, and administrative functions.

What is the Cadence CLI?

The Cadence CLI (cadence) is a powerful tool for interacting with Cadence workflow systems. It supports:

• Workflow execution management (start, stop, signal, query)
• Domain configuration and management
• Task list operations and monitoring
• Administrative operations for cluster management
• Batch operations for bulk workflow processing

Architecture

The CLI is built using the urfave/cli/v2 framework and communicates with Cadence through:

• Frontend Service: Primary API for workflow and domain operations
• Admin Service: Administrative operations requiring elevated privileges
• Transport Protocols: Supports both TChannel (default) and gRPC

CLI Components

The CLI is organized into several top-level command groups:

cadence [command] [subcommand] [flags]

Main Command Groups:

• domain - Domain registration, updates, and management
• workflow - Workflow execution operations
• tasklist - Task list monitoring and operations
• admin - Administrative operations (requires elevated access)
• cluster - Cluster information and operations

Common Usage Patterns

Connecting to Cadence

All CLI commands require connecting to a Cadence frontend service:

cadence --address localhost:7933 [command]

You can also set the address via environment variable:

export CADENCE_CLI_ADDRESS=localhost:7933
cadence [command]

Working with Domains

Most workflow operations require specifying a domain:

cadence --domain my-domain workflow list

Or using environment variable:

export CADENCE_CLI_DOMAIN=my-domain
cadence workflow list

Using Aliases

The CLI provides short aliases for common commands:

cadence wf list           # Short for: workflow list
cadence d describe        # Short for: domain describe
cadence tl describe       # Short for: tasklist describe

Global Flags

These flags are available for all commands:

--address · string · default: ""

Frontend service address in host:port format. Can also be set via CADENCE_CLI_ADDRESS environment variable.

--domain · string

Cadence workflow domain for operations. Can also be set via CADENCE_CLI_DOMAIN environment variable.

--context-timeout · int · default: "90"

Optional timeout for RPC calls in seconds. Can also be set via CADENCE_CONTEXT_TIMEOUT environment variable.

--jwt · string

Optional JWT token for authorization. Can also be set via CADENCE_CLI_JWT environment variable.

--jwt-private-key · string

Optional path to private key for creating JWT. Can also be set via CADENCE_CLI_JWT_PRIVATE_KEY environment variable.

--transport · string

Transport protocol: grpc or tchannel (default). Can also be set via CADENCE_CLI_TRANSPORT_PROTOCOL environment variable.

--tls-cert-path · string

Path to TLS certificate for secure connections. Can also be set via CADENCE_CLI_TLS_CERT_PATH environment variable.

Configuration

Environment Variables

The CLI supports configuration through environment variables:

export CADENCE_CLI_ADDRESS=localhost:7933
export CADENCE_CLI_DOMAIN=my-domain
export CADENCE_CONTEXT_TIMEOUT=120
export CADENCE_CLI_TRANSPORT_PROTOCOL=grpc

Authentication

For JWT authentication:

# Using JWT token directly
cadence --jwt "eyJhbGc..." workflow list

# Using private key to generate JWT
cadence --jwt-private-key /path/to/key.pem workflow list

Output Formats

Many commands support multiple output formats:

• Table (default): Human-readable table format
• JSON: Machine-readable JSON output using --format json

# Table format (default)
cadence workflow list

# JSON format
cadence workflow list --format json

Getting Help

Use the --help flag with any command to see available options:

cadence --help
cadence workflow --help
cadence workflow start --help

Version Information

Check CLI and server compatibility:

cadence --version

The output includes:

• CLI feature version (for compatibility checking)
• Release version
• Build commit hash

Next Steps

Installation

Install the Cadence CLI on your system

Workflow Commands

Manage workflow executions

Domain Commands

Configure and manage domains

Admin Commands

Administrative operations