This page is linked from the Getting Started Section.
This page lists all commands that are supported by BaseX.
Commands can be run from the Command Line,
the Clients, REST, the input field in the GUI, or
some other ways. If the GUI is used, all commands that are triggered by the GUI itself
will show up in the Info View.
The Permission fields indicate which
rights are required by a user to perform a command in the client/server architecture.
A shortcut exists for some of the command keywords. For example, you may replace
the DATABASE keyword with DB.
Glob Syntax
For some commands, the glob syntax can be used to address more than one database or user. Question marks and asterisks can be used to match one or more characters, and commas can be used to separate multiple patterns. Some examples:
AB? addresses all names with the characters AB and one more character.*AB addresses all names ending with the characters AB.X*,Y*,Z* addresses all names starting with the characters X, Y, or Z.
Valid Names
Both database and user names must follow the same naming constraints. Valid names may contain letters, numbers, underscores and dashes. Names must have at least one character; they also should not be longer than 128 characters, although this is not enforced. A regular expression matching valid names is [-_a-zA-Z0-9]{1,128}.
Database Operations
CREATE DATABASE
| Signature
|
CREATE DATABASE [name] ([input])
|
| Permission
|
CREATE
|
| Summary
|
Creates the database [name] with an optional [input].
The input may either be a single XML document, a directory, a remote URL or a plain XML string. [name] must be a valid database name.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if a database with the specified name is currently used by another process, or if one of the documents to be added is not well-formed or could not be parsed for some other reason.
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| Examples
|
CREATE DATABASE input
creates an empty database input.CREATE DATABASE xmark http://files.basex.org/xml/xmark.xml
creates the database input with the remote file xmark.xml as initial content.CREATE DATABASE coll /path/to/input
creates the database coll with all documents from the input directory as initial content.SET INTPARSE false;CREATE DB input input.xml
creates a database input, using Java's default XML parser.
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OPEN
| Signature
|
OPEN [path]
|
| Permission
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READ
|
| Summary
|
Opens the documents in a database. [path] is the name of the database, optionally followed by a path to the requested documents.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if the specified database cannot be opened for some unknown reason.
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CHECK
| Signature
|
CHECK [input]
|
| Permission
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CREATE
|
| Summary
|
Opens an existing database for the specified [input] or creates a new instance.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if the database could beither be opened nor created.
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CLOSE
| Signature
|
CLOSE
|
| Permission
|
NONE
|
| Summary
|
Closes the currently opened database.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if the database files could not be closed for some unknown reason.
|
EXPORT
| Signature
|
EXPORT [path]
|
| Permission
|
CREATE
|
| Summary
|
Exports all documents in the database to the specified [path], using the serializer options specified by the EXPORTER option.
|
| Errors
|
The command fails if no database is opened, if the target path points to a file or is invalid, if the serialization parameters are invalid, or if the documents cannot be serialized for some other reason.
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CREATE INDEX
Template:Mark PATH removed as argument; path summary is now updated by OPTIMIZE command
| Signature
|
CREATE INDEX [TEXT|ATTRIBUTE|FULLTEXT]
|
| Permission
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WRITE
|
| Summary
|
Creates the specified database index.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if no database is opened, if the specified index is unknown, or if indexing fails for some other reason.
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DROP INDEX
Template:Mark PATH removed as argument; path summary is now always available
| Signature
|
DROP INDEX [TEXT|ATTRIBUTE|FULLTEXT]
|
| Permission
|
WRITE
|
| Summary
|
Drops the specified database index.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if no database is opened, if the specified index is unknown, or if it could not be deleted for some other reason.
|
Administration
ALTER DATABASE
| Signature
|
ALTER DATABASE [name] [newname]
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| Permission
|
CREATE
|
| Summary
|
Renames the database specified by [name] to [newname]. [newname] must be a valid database name.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if the target database already exists, if the source database does not exist or is currently locked, or if it could not be renamed for some other reason.
|
| Examples
|
ALTER DATABASE db tempdb
renames the database db into tempdb.
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DROP DATABASE
| Signature
|
DROP DATABASE [name]
|
| Permission
|
CREATE
|
| Summary
|
Drops the database with the specified [name]. The Glob syntax can be used to address more than one database.
|
| Errors
|
The command fails if the specified database does not exist or is currently locked, or if the database could not be deleted for some other reason.
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CREATE BACKUP
| Signature
|
CREATE BACKUP [name]
|
| Permission
|
CREATE
|
| Summary
|
Creates a zipped backup of the database specified by [name]. The backup file will be suffixed with the current timestamp and stored in the database directory. The Glob syntax can be used to address more than one database.
|
| Errors
|
The command fails if the specified database does not exist, or if it could not be zipped for some other reason.
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| Examples
|
BACKUP db
creates a zip archive of the database db (e.g. db-2011-04-01-12-27-28.zip) in your database directory.
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RESTORE
| Signature
|
RESTORE [name]
|
| Permission
|
CREATE
|
| Summary
|
Restores a database with the specified [name]. The name may include the timestamp of the backup file.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if the specified backup does not exist, if the database to be restored is currently locked, or if it could not be restored for some other reason.
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DROP BACKUP
| Signature
|
DROP BACKUP [name]
|
| Permission
|
CREATE
|
| Summary
|
Drops all backups of the database with the specified [name]. The Glob syntax can be used to address more than one database.
|
| Examples
|
DROP BACKUP abc*
deletes the backups of all databases starting with the characters abc.
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COPY
| Signature
|
COPY [name] [newname]
|
| Permission
|
CREATE
|
| Summary
|
Creates a copy of the database specified by [name]. [newname] must be a valid database name.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if the target database already exists, or if the source database does not exist.
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INFO DATABASE
| Signature
|
INFO DATABASE
|
| Permission
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READ
|
| Summary
|
Shows information on the currently opened database.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if no database is opened.
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INFO INDEX
| Signature
|
INFO INDEX ([TEXT|ATTRIBUTE|FULLTEXT|PATH])
|
| Permission
|
READ
|
| Summary
|
Shows information on the existing index structures. The output can be optionally limited to the specified index.
|
| Errors
|
The command fails if no database is opened, or if the specified index is unknown.
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INFO STORAGE
| Signature
|
INFO STORAGE [start end] | [query]
|
| Permission
|
READ
|
| Summary
|
Shows the internal main table of the currently opened database. An integer range or a query may be specified as argument.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if no database is opened, or if one of the specified arguments is invalid.
|
Querying
LIST
| Signature
|
LIST ([path])
|
| Permission
|
NONE
|
| Summary
|
Lists all available databases, or the documents in a database. [path] is the name of the database, optionally followed by a path to the requested documents.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if the optional database cannot be opened, or if the existing databases cannot be listed for some other reason.
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XQUERY
| Signature
|
XQUERY [query]
|
| Permission
|
depends on query
|
| Summary
|
Runs the specified [query] and prints the result.
|
| Errors
|
The command fails if the specified query is invalid.
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| Examples
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XQUERY 1 to 10
returns the sequence (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10).SET RUNS 10;XQUERY 1 to 10
runs the query 10 times, returns the result and prints the average execution time.SET XMLPLAN true;XQUERY 1 to 10
returns the result and prints the query plan as XML.
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RETRIEVE
| Signature
|
RETRIEVE [path] [input]
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| Permission
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READ
|
| Summary
|
Retrieves raw data from the specified database [path].
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| Errors
|
The command fails if no database is opened, if the source path is invalid or if the data cannot not be retrieved for some other reason.
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RUN
| Signature
|
RUN [file]
|
| Permission
|
depends on query
|
| Summary
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Runs the query contained in [file] and prints the result.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if the specified file does not exist, or if the retrieved query is invalid.
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FIND
| Signature
|
FIND [keywords]
|
| Permission
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READ
|
| Summary
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Builds and runs a query for the specified [keywords]. Keywords can be enclosed in quotes to look for phrases. The following modifiers can be used to further limit search:
= looks for exact text nodes
~ looks for approximate hits
@= looks for exact attribute values
@ looks for attributes
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| Errors
|
The command fails if no database is opened.
|
CS
| Signature
|
CS [query]
|
| Permission
|
depends on query
|
| Summary
|
Evaluates the specified [query] and sets the result as new context set.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if no database is opened, if the specified query is invalid or if it does not return nodes of the currently opened database.
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REPO INSTALL
| Signature
|
REPO INSTALL [path]
|
| Permission
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CREATE (Template:Mark: ADMIN)
|
| Summary
|
Installs the package with path [path].
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| Errors
|
The command fails in the following cases:
- The package to be installed is not a xar file.
- The package to be installed does not exist or is already installed.
- The package descriptor is with invalid syntax.
- The package to be installed depends on a package which is not installed.
- The package is not supported by the current version of BaseX.
- A component of the package is already installed as part of another package.
|
REPO LIST
| Signature
|
REPO LIST
|
| Permission
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READ (Template:Mark: ADMIN)
|
| Summary
|
Lists all installed packages.
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REPO DELETE
| Signature
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REPO DELETE [name|dir]
|
| Permission
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CREATE (Template:Mark: ADMIN)
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| Summary
|
Deletes the package with name [name] or with directory [dir].
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| Errors
|
The command fails if the package to be deleted participates in a dependency.
|
Updates
ADD
| Signature
|
ADD (TO [path]) [input]
|
| Permission
|
WRITE
|
| Summary
|
Adds the files, directory or XML string specified by [input] to the currently opened database at the specified [path].
[input] may either be a single XML document, a directory, a remote URL or a plain XML string. If the path denotes a directory, it needs to be suffixed with a slash (/).
|
| Errors
|
The command fails if no database is opened, if one of the documents to be added is not well-formed, or if it could not be parsed for some other reason.
|
| Examples
|
ADD input.xml
adds the file input.xml to the database.ADD TO temp/one.xml input.xml
adds input.xml to the database and moves it to temp/one.xml.ADD TO target/ xmldir
adds all files from the xmldir directory to the database in the target path.
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DELETE
| Signature
|
DELETE [path]
|
| Permission
|
WRITE
|
| Summary
|
Deletes all documents from the currently opened database that start with the specified [path].
|
| Errors
|
The command fails if no database is opened.
|
RENAME
| Signature
|
RENAME [path] [newpath]
|
| Permission
|
WRITE
|
| Summary
|
Renames all document paths in the currently opened database that start with the specified [path]. The command may be used to either rename single documents or directories.
|
| Errors
|
The command fails if no database is opened, or if the target path is empty.
|
| Examples
|
RENAME one.xml two.xml
renames the document one.xml to two.xml.RENAME / TOP
moves all documents to a TOP root directory.
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REPLACE
| Signature
|
REPLACE [path] [input]
|
| Permission
|
WRITE
|
| Summary
|
Replaces the documents in the currently opened database, addressed by [path], with the file or XML string specified by [input]. The original file name and path is preserved by the operation.
|
| Errors
|
The command fails if no database is opened, if the specified path points to a database directory, or if the input is not found.
|
| Examples
|
REPLACE one.xml input.xml
replaces the document one.xml with the contents of the file input.xml.REPLACE top.xml <xml/>
replaces the document top.xml with the document <xml/>.
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STORE
| Signature
|
STORE (TO [path]) [input]
|
| Permission
|
WRITE
|
| Summary
|
Stores raw data to the specified [path]. [input] may either be a file reference, a remote URL, or a plain string. If the path denotes a directory, it needs to be suffixed with a slash (/).
|
| Errors
|
The command fails if no database is opened, if the specified resource is not found, if the target path is invalid or if the data cannot not be written for some other reason.
|
OPTIMIZE
| Signature
|
OPTIMIZE (ALL)
|
| Permission
|
WRITE
|
| Summary
|
Optimizes the index structures, meta data and statistics of the currently opened database. If the ALL flag is specified, the internal database structures are completely rebuilt; this often leads to a reduction of the total database size.
|
| Errors
|
The command fails if no database is opened, or if the currently opened database is a main-memory instance.
|
FLUSH
| Signature
|
FLUSH
|
| Permission
|
WRITE
|
| Summary
|
Explicitly flushes the buffers of the currently opened database to disk. This command is applied if the AUTOFLUSH option has been set to false.
|
| Errors
|
The command fails if no database is opened.
|
Server Administration
SHOW BACKUPS
| Signature
|
SHOW BACKUPS
|
| Permission
|
CREATE
|
| Summary
|
Shows all database backups.
|
SHOW DATABASES
| Signature
|
SHOW DATABASES
|
| Permission
|
ADMIN
|
| Summary
|
Shows all databases that are opened in the current server instance.
|
SHOW SESSIONS
| Signature
|
SHOW SESSIONS
|
| Permission
|
ADMIN
|
| Summary
|
Shows all sessions that are connected to the current server instance.
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SHOW USERS
| Signature
|
SHOW USERS (ON [database])
|
| Permission
|
ADMIN
|
| Summary
|
Shows all users that are registered in the database. If a [database] is specified, local users are shown.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if the optional database could not be opened.
|
KILL
| Signature
|
KILL [target]
|
| Permission
|
ADMIN
|
| Summary
|
Kills sessions of a user or an IP:port combination, specified by [target]. The Glob syntax can be used to address more than one user.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if a user tried to kill his/her own session.
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CREATE EVENT
| Signature
|
CREATE EVENT [NAME]
|
| Permission
|
ADMIN
|
| Summary
|
Creates the specified event.
|
| Errors
|
The command fails if event already exists.
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SHOW EVENTS
| Signature
|
SHOW EVENTS
|
| Permission
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ADMIN
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| Summary
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Shows all events that have been registered in the database.
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DROP EVENT
| Signature
|
DROP EVENT [NAME]
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| Permission
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ADMIN
|
| Summary
|
Drops the specified event.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if the event doesn't exist.
|
User Management
CREATE USER
| Signature
|
CREATE USER [name] ([password])
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| Permission
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ADMIN
|
| Summary
|
Creates a user with the specified [name] and [password]. [name] must be a valid user name. The password must be a valid MD5 hash value. If no password is specified in the console mode, it is requested via standard input.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if the specified user already exists, or if the password is no valid MD5 hash value.
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ALTER USER
| Signature
|
ALTER USER [name] ([password])
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| Permission
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ADMIN
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| Summary
|
Alters the [password] of the user specified by [name]. The password must be a valid MD5 hash value. If no password is specified in the console mode, it is requested via standard input.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if the specified user does not exist, or if the password is no valid MD5 hash value.
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DROP USER
| Signature
|
DROP USER [name] (ON [database]):
|
| Permission
|
ADMIN
|
| Summary
|
Drops the user with the specified [name]. If a [database] is specified, the user is only dropped locally. The Glob syntax can be used to address more than one database or user.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if admin is specified as user name, if the specified user does not exist or is logged in, or if the optional database could not be opened for modification.
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GRANT
| Signature
|
GRANT [NONE|READ|WRITE|CREATE|ADMIN] (ON [database]) TO [user]
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| Permission
|
ADMIN
|
| Summary
|
Grants the specified permission to the specified [user]. If a [database] is specified, the permissions are only granted locally. The Glob syntax can be used to address more than one database or user.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if admin is specified as user name, if the specified user does not exist, or if the optional database could not be opened for modification.
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| Examples
|
GRANT READ TO JoeWinson
grants READ permission to the user JoeWinson.GRANT WRITE ON Wiki TO editor*
grants WRITE permissions on the Wiki database to all users starting with the characters editor*.
|
PASSWORD
| Signature
|
PASSWORD ([password])
|
| Permission
|
NONE
|
| Summary
|
Changes the [password] of the current user. The password must be a valid MD5 hash value. If no password is specified in the console mode, it is requested via standard input.
|
| Errors
|
The command fails if the password is no valid MD5 hash value.
|
General Commands
GET
| Signature
|
GET [option]
|
| Permission
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READ
|
| Summary
|
Returns the current value of the Option specified via [key].
|
| Errors
|
The command fails if the specified option is unknown.
|
SET
| Signature
|
SET [option] ([value])
|
| Permission
|
READ
|
| Summary
|
Sets the Option with the specified [key] to a new [value]. If no value is specified, and if the value is boolean, it will be inverted.
|
| Errors
|
The command fails if the specified option is unknown or if the specified value is invalid.
|
INFO
| Signature
|
INFO
|
| Permission
|
READ
|
| Summary
|
Shows global information.
|
HELP
| Signature
|
HELP ([command])
|
| Permission
|
NONE
|
| Summary
|
If [command] is specified, information on the specific command is printed; otherwise, all commands are listed.
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| Errors
|
The command fails if the specified command is unknown.
|
EXIT
| Signature
|
EXIT
|
| Permission
|
NONE
|
| Summary
|
Exits the console mode.
|
Changelog
Version 7.2
Version 7.1
- Updated:
KILL (killing sessions by specifying IP:port)
Version 7.0
