Getting Started with the CLI

The xrmghost CLI (invoked as ghost-plugin-cli) is the primary way to run Dataverse plugins, manage environments, and interact with the XrmGhost ecosystem from a terminal.

This guide helps you orient yourself after obtaining the CLI binary — covering how to explore available commands, confirm your setup, and find your way into the main workflows.

:::info Before you begin This guide assumes you already have the CLI binary available in your PATH. Installation and platform-specific prerequisites are covered in your distribution’s release notes or onboarding instructions. :::

Confirm the CLI is available

Once the binary is in place, verify it responds:

ghost-plugin-cli --version

You should see a version header showing the CLI version and the bundled Core version. If the command is not found, ensure the binary is on your PATH.

Discover available commands

The fastest way to understand what the CLI can do is to ask it:

ghost-plugin-cli --help

This prints the top-level command tree. For any command or subcommand, you can append --help to drill deeper:

ghost-plugin-cli env --help
ghost-plugin-cli license --help
ghost-plugin-cli run --help

The --help surface is always up to date with the installed version, so it is the most reliable reference while you orient yourself.

Main command areas

The CLI organises its functionality into the following top-level areas:

Command	Purpose
`run`	Execute a Dataverse plugin using a scenario file
`generate-scenario`	Create a template JSON scenario file for a plugin
`env`	Add, list, switch between, and manage environment configurations
`license`	Activate a license, check status, and retrieve your machine ID
`doctor`	Run health checks to diagnose configuration or connectivity issues
`privacy`	Display information about data collected by the tool

These areas are stable entry points. Each has its own --help page.

A safe first exploration path

If you are new to the CLI, the following sequence lets you explore without making any changes:

Check your license status — understand what tier and features are available to you:
Terminal window
```
ghost-plugin-cli license status
```
List configured environments — see what Dataverse environments (if any) are already set up:
Terminal window
```
ghost-plugin-cli env list
```
Run diagnostics — confirm connectivity and configuration are healthy:
Terminal window
```
ghost-plugin-cli doctor
```
Use --verbose for detailed diagnostic output:
Terminal window
```
ghost-plugin-cli doctor --verbose
```

None of the commands above modify state. They are read-only discovery steps.

When you are ready to act

Once you are oriented, typical next actions are:

Add an environment — use ghost-plugin-cli env add to start the interactive wizard for connecting a Dataverse environment.
Generate a scenario file — use ghost-plugin-cli generate-scenario to create a JSON template for the plugin you want to test.
Run a plugin — once a scenario file is prepared and an environment is active, use ghost-plugin-cli run to execute the plugin out-of-process.

Getting detailed command reference

Full reference documentation for every command, flag, and option is being generated as part of the ADO-1158 documentation pipeline and will appear under the Reference section of the CLI docs.

Until that reference lands, ghost-plugin-cli <command> --help is the definitive source.

Next steps

CLI Overview — the role of the CLI in the XrmGhost ecosystem
CLI Reference (coming soon) — auto-generated documentation for all commands