CLI basic usage

Authenticate, configure projects and clusters, and deploy applications using essential Porter CLI commands including apply, config, and app

This guide covers the essential commands and configuration options for the Porter CLI.

Quick Start

1. Login to Porter

   Authenticate with your Porter account:

   porter auth login
   

   This opens your browser to complete authentication and automatically configures your default project and cluster.

2. Verify Configuration

   Check your current CLI configuration:

   porter config
   

   If necessary, switch your project and/or cluster

3. Deploy Your App

   Deploy using a porter.yaml file:

   porter apply -f porter.yaml
   

   porter.yaml reference

   porter apply reference

Project and Cluster Configuration

After logging in, you may need to switch between projects or clusters.

List Available Projects

porter projects list

Set Active Project

porter config set-project [PROJECT_ID]

List Available Clusters

porter clusters list

Set Active Cluster

porter config set-cluster [CLUSTER_ID]

Create a Cluster

Provision a new cluster in the current project. Porter picks the cloud provider from the cloud account you select and chooses a Kubernetes version and node groups for you.

porter clusters create [flags]

Flag	Description
--name	Name for the new cluster. Prompted if omitted, with a generated suggestion.
--region	Cloud region to provision into. Prompted if omitted.
--cloud-account-id	Cloud account to provision into. Determines the cloud provider (AWS, GCP, or Azure). Prompted if omitted.
--yes	Skip the cost confirmation prompt. Required in non-interactive terminals.

Run without flags for an interactive walkthrough, or pass every flag for non-interactive use:

# Interactive: prompts for name, cloud account, and region
porter clusters create

# Non-interactive
porter clusters create \
  --name my-cluster \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --cloud-account-id <account-id> \
  --yes

Provisioning is asynchronous and can take up to an hour. The command prints the cluster’s dashboard URL as soon as the request is accepted so you can track progress. Cluster creation incurs a base monthly cost that varies by provider; the confirmation prompt shows the estimate before you commit.

View Current Configuration

porter config

Global Flags

These flags can be used with any Porter command:

Flag	Description
--project <id>	Override the project ID for this command
--cluster <id>	Override the cluster ID for this command
--token <string>	Use a specific authentication token
-h, --help	Display help for the command

Override Project

porter app logs my-app --project 12345

porter app run my-app --cluster 67890 -- bash

Environment Variables

Environment variables provide an alternative way to configure the CLI, which is especially useful in CI/CD pipelines.

Variable	Description	Equivalent Flag
PORTER_PROJECT	Project ID to use	--project
PORTER_CLUSTER	Cluster ID to use	--cluster
PORTER_TOKEN	Authentication token	--token
PORTER_HOST	Custom Porter API host	--host
PORTER_APP_NAME	Default app name for commands	--app

Environment variables take precedence over values in your config file, but flags take precedence over environment variables.

Example: CI/CD Configuration

export PORTER_TOKEN="your-deploy-token"
export PORTER_PROJECT="12345"
export PORTER_CLUSTER="67890"

porter apply -f porter.yaml

Common Workflows

Local Development

# Login and configure
porter auth login

# View your app's logs
porter app logs my-app

# Run a command in an ephemeral copy of your app
porter app run my-app -- bash

# View current app configuration
porter app yaml my-app

CI/CD Deployment

# Deploy with explicit configuration
PORTER_TOKEN=$DEPLOY_TOKEN \
PORTER_PROJECT=$PROJECT_ID \
PORTER_CLUSTER=$CLUSTER_ID \
porter apply -f porter.yaml

Managing Environment Variables

# Pull environment variables from an app
porter env pull -a my-app

# Pull environment variables from an environment group
porter env pull -g my-env-group

# Set environment variables on an app
porter env set -a my-app -v KEY=value

# Set secrets on an environment group
porter env set -g my-env-group -s API_KEY=secret123

Debugging

# Stream live logs
porter app logs my-app

# View historical logs
porter app logs my-app --since 1h

Viewing Help

You can view help instructions for any command using the -h or --help flag:

# General help
porter -h

# Help for a specific command
porter app -h

# Help for a subcommand
porter app run -h

Next Steps

• Learn about configuration-as-code with porter.yaml
• Explore the full command reference for detailed options
• Set up CI/CD deployment for automated deployments