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NetBird Agent command line interface (CLI)

The NetBird client installation adds a binary called netbird to your system. This binary runs as a daemon service to connect your computer or server to the NetBirt network as a peer. But it can also be used as a client to control the daemon service.

This section will explore the commands available in netbird.

Syntax

Use the following syntax to run netbird commands from your terminal window:

netbird [command] [subcommand] [flags]
  • command: Specifies the operation that you want to perform or a top-level command: up, login, down, status, ssh, version, and service
  • subcommand: Specifies the operation to be executed for a top-level command like service: install, uninstall, start, and stop
  • flags: Specifies optional flags. For example, you can use the --setup-key flag to specify the setup key to be used in the commands login and up

To see detailed command information, use the flag --help after each command

Global flags

netbird has a set of global flags that are available in every command. They specify settings that are core or shared between two or more commands, e.g. --setup-key is used by login and up to authenticate the client against a management service.

Below is the list of global flags:

      --admin-url string        Admin Panel URL [http|https]://[host]:[port] (default "https://app.netbird.io")
  -c, --config string           Netbird config file location (default "/etc/netbird/config.json")
      --daemon-addr string      Daemon service address to serve CLI requests [unix|tcp]://[path|host:port] (default "unix:///var/run/netbird.sock")
      --log-file string         sets NetBird log path. If console is specified the the log will be output to stdout (default "/var/log/netbird/client.log")
  -l, --log-level string        sets NetBird log level (default "info")
  -m, --management-url string   Management Service URL [http|https]://[host]:[port] (default "https://api.wiretrustee.com:443")
  -p, --preshared-key string    Sets Wireguard PreSharedKey property. If set, then only peers that have the same key can communicate.
  -k, --setup-key string        Setup key obtained from the Management Service Dashboard (used to register peer)

Environment Variables

Every flag of a netbird command can be passed as an environment variable. We are using the following rule for the environment variables composition:

  • PREFIX_FLAGNAME and for flags with multiple parts: PREFIX_FLAGNAMEPART1_FLAGNAMEPART2
  • The prefix is always NB
  • The flag parts are separated by a dash ("-") when passing as flags and with an underscore ("_") when passing as an environment variable

For example, let's check how we can pass --config and --management-url as environment variables:

export NB_CONFIG="/opt/netbird/config.json"
export NB_MANAGEMENT_URL="https://api.self-hosted.com:33073"
netbird up

The up command would process the variables, read the configuration file on /opt/netbird/config.json and attempt to connect to the management service running at https://api.self-hosted.com:33073.

Commands

up

Single command to log in and start the NetBird client. It can send a signal to the daemon service or run in the foreground with the flag --foreground-mode.

The command will check if the peer is logged in and connect to the management service. If the peer is not logged in, by default, it will attempt to initiate an SSO login flow.

Flags

      --dns-resolver-address string   Sets a custom address for NetBird's local DNS resolver. If set, the agent won't attempt to discover the best ip and port to listen on. An empty string "" clears the previous configuration. E.g. --dns-resolver-address 127.0.0.1:5053 or --dns-resolver-address ""
      --external-ip-map strings       Sets external IPs maps between local addresses and interfaces.You can specify a comma-separated list with a single IP and IP/IP or IP/Interface Name. An empty string "" clears the previous configuration. E.g. --external-ip-map 12.34.56.78/10.0.0.1 or --external-ip-map 12.34.56.200,12.34.56.78/10.0.0.1,12.34.56.80/eth1 or --external-ip-map ""
  -F, --foreground-mode               start service in foreground

Usage

The minimal form of running the command is:

netbird up

If you are running on a self-hosted environment, you can pass your management url by running the following:

netbird up --management-url https://api.self-hosted.com:33073

if you want to run in the foreground, you can use "console" as the value for --log-file and run the command with sudo:

sudo netbird up --log-file console

On Windows, you may need to run the command from an elevated terminal session.

In case you need to use a setup key, use the --setup-key flag :

netbird up --setup-key AAAA-BBB-CCC-DDDDDD

login

Command to authenticate the NetBird client to a management service. If the peer is not logged in, by default, it will attempt to initiate an SSO login flow.

Usage

The minimal form of running the command is:

netbird login

If you are running on a self-hosted environment, you can pass your management url by running the following:

netbird login --management-url https://api.self-hosted.com:33073

In case you need to use a setup key, use the --setup-key flag:

netbird login --setup-key AAAA-BBB-CCC-DDDDDD

Passing a management url and a setup key:

netbird login --setup-key AAAA-BBB-CCC-DDDDDD --management-url https://api.self-hosted.com:33073

down

Command to stop a connection with the management service and other peers in a NetBird network. After running this command, the daemon service will enter an Idle state.

Usage

The minimal form of running the command is:

netbird down

status

Retrieves the peer status from the daemon service.

Flags

  -d, --detail                    display detailed status information
      --filter-by-ips strings     filters the detailed output by a list of one or more IPs, e.g. --filter-by-ips 100.64.0.100,100.64.0.200
      --filter-by-status string   filters the detailed output by connection status(connected|disconnected), e.g. --filter-by-status connected

Usage

The minimal form of running the command is:

netbird status

This will output:

Daemon status: Connected
Management: Connected
Signal:  Connected
NetBird IP: 100.119.62.6/16
Interface type: Kernel
Peers count: 2/3 Connected

If you want to see more details about the peer connections, you can use the --detail or -d flag:

netbird status -d

This will output:

Peers detail:
 Peer:
  NetBird IP: 100.119.85.4
  Public key: 2lI3F+fDUWh58g5oRN+y7lPHpNcEVWhiDv/wr1/jiF8=
  Status: Disconnected
  -- detail --
  Connection type: -
  Direct: false
  ICE candidate (Local/Remote): -/-
  Last connection update: 2022-07-07 12:21:31

 Peer:
  NetBird IP: 100.119.201.225
  Public key: +jkH8cs/Fo83qdB6dWG16+kAQmGTKYoBYSAdLtSOV10=
  Status: Connected
  -- detail --
  Connection type: P2P
  Direct: true
  ICE candidate (Local/Remote): host/host
  Last connection update: 2022-07-07 12:21:32

 Peer:
  NetBird IP: 100.119.230.104
  Public key: R7olj0S8jiYMLfOWK+wDto+j3pE4vR54tLGrEQKgBSw=
  Status: Connected
  -- detail --
  Connection type: P2P
  Direct: true
  ICE candidate (Local/Remote): host/host
  Last connection update: 2022-07-07 12:21:33

Daemon status: Connected
Management: Connected to https://api.netbird.io:33073
Signal:  Connected to https://signal2.wiretrustee.com:10000
NetBird IP: 100.119.62.6/16
Interface type: Kernel
Peers count: 2/3 Connected

To filter the peers' output by connection status, you can use the --filter-by-status flag with either "connected" or "disconnected" as value:

netbird status -d --filter-by-status connected

This will output:

Peers detail:
 Peer:
  NetBird IP: 100.119.201.225
  Public key: +jkH8cs/Fo83qdB6dWG16+kAQmGTKYoBYSAdLtSOV10=
  Status: Connected
  -- detail --
  Connection type: P2P
  Direct: true
  ICE candidate (Local/Remote): host/host
  Last connection update: 2022-07-07 12:21:32

 Peer:
  NetBird IP: 100.119.230.104
  Public key: R7olj0S8jiYMLfOWK+wDto+j3pE4vR54tLGrEQKgBSw=
  Status: Connected
  -- detail --
  Connection type: P2P
  Direct: true
  ICE candidate (Local/Remote): host/host
  Last connection update: 2022-07-07 12:21:33

Daemon status: Connected
Management: Connected to https://api.netbird.io:33073
Signal:  Connected to https://signal2.wiretrustee.com:10000
NetBird IP: 100.119.62.6/16
Interface type: Kernel
Peers count: 2/3 Connected

To filter the peers' output by peer IP addresses, you can use the --filter-by-ips flag with one or more IPs separated by a comma as a value:

netbird status -d --filter-by-ips 100.119.201.225

This will output:

Peers detail:
 Peer:
  NetBird IP: 100.119.201.225
  Public key: +jkH8cs/Fo83qdB6dWG16+kAQmGTKYoBYSAdLtSOV10=
  Status: Connected
  -- detail --
  Connection type: P2P
  Direct: true
  ICE candidate (Local/Remote): host/host
  Last connection update: 2022-07-07 12:21:32

Daemon status: Connected
Management: Connected to https://api.netbird.io:33073
Signal:  Connected to https://signal2.wiretrustee.com:10000
NetBird IP: 100.119.62.6/16
Interface type: Kernel
Peers count: 2/3 Connected

You can combine both filters and get the peers that are both connected and with specific IPs:

netbird status -d --filter-by-status connected --filter-by-ips 100.119.85.4,100.119.230.104

This will output:

Peers detail:

 Peer:
  NetBird IP: 100.119.230.104
  Public key: R7olj0S8jiYMLfOWK+wDto+j3pE4vR54tLGrEQKgBSw=
  Status: Connected
  -- detail --
  Connection type: P2P
  Direct: true
  ICE candidate (Local/Remote): host/host
  Last connection update: 2022-07-07 12:21:33

Daemon status: Connected
Management: Connected to https://api.netbird.io:33073
Signal:  Connected to https://signal2.wiretrustee.com:10000
NetBird IP: 100.119.62.6/16
Interface type: Kernel
Peers count: 2/3 Connected

The peer with IP 100.119.85.4 wasn't returned because it was not connected

ssh

Command to connect using ssh to a remote peer in your NetBird network.

You should run the ssh command with elevated permissions.

Flags

  -p, --port int   Sets remote SSH port. Defaults to 44338 (default 44338)

Arguments

The ssh command accepts one argument, user@host; this argument indicates the remote host to connect:

  • user: indicates the remote user to login
  • host: indicates the remote peer host IP address

Usage

The minimal form of running the command is:

sudo netbird ssh user@100.119.230.104

If you the remote peer agent is running the ssh service on a different port, you can use the --port or -p flag:

sudo netbird ssh -p 3434 user@100.119.230.104

version

Outputs the netbird command version.

Usage

The minimal form of running the command is:

netbird version

This will output:

0.8.2

service

The service command is a top-level command with subcommands to perform operations related to the daemon service.

You should run the service command with elevated permissions.

service install

The install installs the daemon service on the system.

Usage

The minimal form of running the command is:

sudo netbird service install

You can use the global flags to configure the daemon service. For instance, you can set a debug log level with the flag --log-level

sudo netbird service install --log-level debug

You can set a custom configuration path with the flag --config

sudo netbird service install --config /opt/netbird/config.json

service uninstall

The uninstall uninstalls the daemon service from the system.

Usage

The minimal form of running the command is:

sudo netbird service uninstall

service start

Starts the daemon service

Usage

The minimal form of running the command is:

sudo netbird service start

service stop

Stops the daemon service

Usage

The minimal form of running the command is:

sudo netbird service stop