Command Selection and CLI

Command selection guide

Need	Recommended command	Notes
Execute one command immediately	`rauto exec`	Best for fast checks and troubleshooting
Render and execute a stored template	`rauto template`	Best for reusable command logic
Drive interactive prompt/response flows	`rauto flow`	Best for wizard-like CLI operations
Upload a local file over SFTP	`rauto upload`	Requires the target to expose an `sftp` subsystem
Run a rollback-aware transaction block	`rauto tx`	Best for a single target and one compact transaction unit
Execute a transaction workflow JSON	`rauto tx-workflow`	Best for multi-block change workflows
Execute a multi-device plan	`rauto orchestrate`	Best for staged serial or parallel delivery
Open the local console	`rauto web`	Best for self-managed visual operations
Start a managed execution node	`rauto agent`	Best when connecting to `rauto-manager`

Shared connection parameters

Most execution commands share the same global connection parameters:

Parameter	Description
`--host`	Device hostname or IP
`--username`	SSH username
`--password`	SSH password
`--enable-password`	Privileged mode password
`--ssh-port`	SSH port
`--ssh-security`	Compatibility profile: `secure`, `balanced`, or `legacy-compatible`
`--linux-shell-flavor`	Linux shell exit-code parsing mode: `posix` or `fish`
`--device-profile`	Target device profile, default is `linux`
`--connection`	Reference a saved connection by name
`--save-connection`	Save the effective connection after success
`--save-password`	Save password fields together with `--save-connection`

Common examples

`exec`

rauto exec "show ip int br" \
  --host 192.168.1.1 \
  --username admin \
  --password secret \
  --device-profile cisco

If you need a specific execution mode:

rauto exec "show bgp neighbor" --connection core-sw-01 --mode Enable

`template`

rauto template configure_vlan.j2 \
  --vars ./vars.json \
  --connection core-sw-01

To render without executing:

rauto template configure_vlan.j2 --vars ./vars.json --dry-run

`flow`

rauto flow \
  --template cisco_like_copy \
  --vars-json '{"command":"copy scp: flash:/new.bin","server_addr":"192.168.1.50","remote_path":"/images/new.bin","transfer_username":"backup","transfer_password":"secret"}' \
  --connection core-01

`upload`

rauto upload \
  --local-path ./daemon.conf \
  --remote-path /tmp/daemon.conf \
  --connection linux-jump-01

Recording and replay

Execution commands generally support recording:

rauto exec "show version" \
  --connection core-sw-01 \
  --record-file ./recording.jsonl \
  --record-level key-events-only

To inspect a recording, you can first list entries:

rauto replay ./recording.jsonl --list

You can also replay a specific command:

rauto replay ./recording.jsonl --command "show version" --mode Enable

Recommended connection workflow

Ad-hoc phase

Start by passing --host, --username, and --password directly.

Repetitive execution phase

Move to saved connections:

rauto connection add edge-01 \
  --host 192.168.1.11 \
  --username admin \
  --device-profile huawei

Then reuse it consistently:

rauto exec "display version" --connection edge-01

Multi-device phase

Using saved connections together with inventory group, tx-workflow, and orchestrate is more stable than hand-writing connection flags everywhere.

Full management command families

The current CLI source defines a broader management surface than the quick selection table alone suggests.

`rauto device`

Current subcommands from source:

list
show <name>
delete-custom <name>
copy-builtin <source> <name> [--overwrite]
diagnose <name> [--json]

`rauto connection`

Current subcommands from source:

test
list
show <name>
delete <name>
add <name>
import <file> [--json]

`rauto inventory`

Current inventory operations:

group list [--json]
group show <name> [--json]
group upsert <name> [--file <path> | --content <json>]
group delete <name>
resolve-vars [--host <saved-connection>] [--group <name>] [--vars-file <path>] [--vars-json <json>] [--json]

`rauto history`

Current subcommands:

list <connection-name> [--limit <n>] [--json]
show <connection-name> <id> [--json]
delete <connection-name> <id>

`rauto blacklist`

Current subcommands:

list
add <pattern>
delete <pattern>
check <command>

`rauto templates`

Current subcommands:

list
show <name>
create <name> [--file <path> | --content <template>]
update <name> [--file <path> | --content <template>]
delete <name>

`rauto flow-template`

Current subcommands:

list
show <name>
create <name> [--file <path> | --content <toml>]
update <name> [--file <path> | --content <toml>]
delete <name>

`rauto backup`

Current subcommands:

create [--output <archive>]
restore <archive> [--replace]
list

Other useful management commands

rauto device list
rauto device show <name>
rauto templates list
rauto flow-template list
rauto connection list
rauto history list <connection-name>
rauto blacklist list
rauto backup list

Recording and replay details

The source code and README together make it clear that recording is a first-class capability rather than a secondary debugging feature.

Recording-related options currently include:

exec/template/flow/upload/tx/tx-workflow --record-file <path>
exec/template/flow/upload/tx/tx-workflow --record-level <key-events-only|full>
replay <record_file> --list
replay <record_file> --command <cmd> [--mode <mode>]

Operational notes from the current README:

replayed SessionEvent::CommandOutput entries may include exit_code for Linux shell flows
key-events-only is the minimum audit-friendly level
full captures richer prompt and state-transition detail

Operational guidance

Use command families, not isolated commands

In enterprise usage, rauto is best treated as a command family rather than a single execution command.

A typical operator path often looks like:

connection add to normalize targets
device show or device diagnose to validate profile behavior
template or flow for repeatable task execution
tx / tx-workflow / orchestrate for governed change delivery
history, replay, and backups for audit and recovery

If you already know you need reusable execution logic, continue with Templates and Command Flows.