LaunchDarkly CLI commands

This topic describes common commands and configuration options in the LaunchDarkly CLI. The commands included here require you to authenticate yourself, either by logging in to LaunchDarkly or by setting or passing in an access token. To learn how, read Authentication. The CLI supports all LaunchDarkly resources, including feature flags, experiments, metrics, and environments.

View available commands

The majority of the LaunchDarkly CLI commands are resource commands. These commands provide direct access to LaunchDarkly APIs. To view available commands:

ldcli

ldcli resources

Set input and output formats

For each LaunchDarkly CLI resource command, you can use command line arguments, or use your shell to provide an input file. For example, here’s how to create a flag using data from the command line:

ldcli flags create --project default -d '{"name": "Example flag", "key": "example-flag"}'

Here’s how to create the same flag using data from a file:

ldcli flags create --project default -d "$(cat data.json)"

{
  "name": "Example flag",
  "key": "example-flag"
}

By default, resource commands return a simplified plaintext output. For example, the default output message for creating the new flag in the example above is Successfully created Example flag (example-flag). To view the full JSON response from any resource command, use the --output json flag. Optionally, pipe the result through jq for improved formatting. Here’s how:

ldcli flags create --project default -d '{"name": "Example flag", "key": "example-flag"}' --output json | jq

If you prefer a particular output format, you can use the config command to set that preference:

ldcli config --set output json  # or plaintext

You can also use the CLI to manage other resources, such as experiments.

Example: create and manage experiments

You can use the CLI to create and manage experiments. For example, here’s how to create an experiment using data from the command line:

ldcli experiments create --project default --environment production -d '{
  "name": "Checkout flow test",
  "key": "checkout-flow-test",
  "description": "Experiment comparing new and old checkout flow"
}'

Here’s how to create the same experiment using data from a file:

ldcli experiments create --project default --environment production -d "$(cat experiment.json)"

{
  "name": "Checkout flow test",
  "key": "checkout-flow-test",
  "description": "Experiment comparing new and old checkout flow"
}

To view existing experiments, use:

ldcli experiments list --project default --environment production

Access SDK credentials

You can access the default SDK credentials for a specific project and environment using the environments resource. You need different SDK credentials depending on which SDK you’re working with. To learn more about SDK credentials, read Keys and credentials. Here’s how:

# use the SDK key for authorization in server-side SDKs

ldcli environments get --project <your project> --environment <your environment> | jq '.apiKey'

# use the mobile key for authorization in mobile SDKs

ldcli environments get --project <your project> --environment <your environment> | jq '.mobileKey'

# use the client-side ID for authorization in some client-side SDKs,
# and to associate LaunchDarkly environments with CDN integrations in edge SDKs

ldcli environments get --project <your project> --environment <your environment> | jq '._id'

Use `ldcli` for local development

The LaunchDarkly CLI includes a dev-server command that you can use to start a local server, retrieve flag values from a LaunchDarkly source environment, and update those flag values locally. This means you can test your code locally, without having to coordinate with other developers in your organization who are using the same LaunchDarkly source environment. To learn more, use ldcli dev-server --help or read our guides, Using the LaunchDarkly CLI for local testing and LaunchDarkly CLI dev-server reference.

Use `ldcli` for uploading sourcemaps

The LaunchDarkly CLI includes a sourcemaps command that you can use to upload JavaScript sourcemaps to LaunchDarkly. This means your sourcemaps are available when you access error monitoring in the LaunchDarkly UI. You must be using the Observability plugin with the JavaScript SDK to use the error monitoring feature. Here’s how to upload your JavaScript sourcemap:

ldcli sourcemaps upload \
--app-version <the current version of your deploy> \
--path <directory where sourcemaps are located locally> \
--base-path <directory where application code runs> \
--project <project key>

The sourcemaps upload command uploads a local version of your sourcemap to LaunchDarkly. To use the command, you must have generated sourcemaps for your project. Exactly how to do this depends on your target environment and JavaScript configuration. Bundlers such as babel, webpack, esbuild, and rollup all provide different ways to enable sourcemap generation. Refer to the documentation for your specific bundler to generate production-ready sourcemaps. The app-version option takes a string that should match the version you include in the observability plugin options. The path option defaults to ./build. The command uploads any .map files in the directory specified here. The base-path option ensures that LaunchDarkly stores the sourcemaps at an appropriate location corresponding to your application’s deployment. For example, suppose your sourcemap file is in ./build/myApp and that when you deploy your app, your code runs from ./dist/myApp. You should provide --path ./build/myApp --basePath ./dist/myApp. The project option is the LaunchDarkly project key. If your sourcemap is inline, meaning it’s already shipped as part of your application, then you do not need to upload anything to LaunchDarkly. To learn more, use ldcli sourcemaps --help.

Use `ldcli` for uploading symbols

The LaunchDarkly CLI includes a symbols command that you can use to upload mobile application symbol files to LaunchDarkly. When symbol files are available, LaunchDarkly can display readable stack traces on the Errors page for obfuscated, minified, or compiled builds. This feature requires that you use an observability plugin for a supported mobile SDK.

Comparing symbols to sourcemapsThe symbols upload command is distinct from sourcemaps upload, although both commands provide similar functionality. symbols upload uses a dedicated upload path built for large, multi-segment symbol files. It also keys each upload by a deterministic symbols ID rather than an application version. Always use symbols upload for mobile applications and sourcemaps upload for JavaScript web applications.

Each platform requires a build configuration before you can upload symbols. To learn how to set up your build and generate symbol files, read Symbolication for stack traces. Here’s how to upload symbols:

ldcli symbols upload \
--type <platform> \
--path <directory where symbol files are stored locally> \
--project <project key>

The type option identifies the mobile platform for which you are uploading symbols. LaunchDarkly supports react-native, android, ios, and flutter. The path option points to the directory that contains your symbol files. For Android build environments, you can omit the path option if you run the symbols upload command from your project root. ldcli automatically reads the symbols ID from your build environment, either from a *.symbolsid sidecar file (React Native) or from other files in the build directory. If the CLI cannot determine the symbols ID, use the --symbols-id option to provide it. The project option is the LaunchDarkly project key. To learn more, use ldcli symbols --help.

Find additional documentation

LaunchDarkly provides the following additional documentation:

For information on how to get started with the LaunchDarkly CLI, read LaunchDarkly CLI.
For details on how to use the LaunchDarkly CLI to perform local testing and development, read Using the LaunchDarkly CLI for local testing and LaunchDarkly CLI dev-server reference.

You can also use the ldcli [command] --help command to view usage information for all commands for the LaunchDarkly CLI. To view and contribute to the LaunchDarkly CLI source code, or to file issues for our team, visit the LaunchDarkly CLI GitHub repository.

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Your account

LaunchDarkly CLI commands

View available commands

Set input and output formats

Example: create and manage experiments

Access SDK credentials

Use `ldcli` for local development

Use `ldcli` for uploading sourcemaps

Use `ldcli` for uploading symbols

Find additional documentation

​View available commands

​Set input and output formats

​Example: create and manage experiments

​Access SDK credentials

​Use ldcli for local development

​Use ldcli for uploading sourcemaps

​Use ldcli for uploading symbols

​Find additional documentation

View available commands

Set input and output formats

Example: create and manage experiments

Access SDK credentials

Use `ldcli` for local development

Use `ldcli` for uploading sourcemaps

Use `ldcli` for uploading symbols

Find additional documentation