CLI Reference
Kong comes with a CLI (Command Line Interface) which provides you with an interface to manage your Kong nodes. Each command is run in the context of a single node, since Kong has no cluster awareness yet.
Almost every command requires access to your configuration file in order to be aware of where the NGINX working directory is located (known as the prefix path for those familiar with NGINX) referenced as nginx_working_dir in the Kong configuration file.
Note: If you haven't already, we recommend you read the configuration reference.
kong
$ kong [options] <command> [parameters]
Note For help information on a specific command use the --help parameter: kong <command> --help
Options
--help- Outputs help information--version- Outputs kong version
start
Starts a Kong instance.
$ kong start [parameters]
Parameters
-c <configuration file path>
Kong Configuration File
When no configuration file is provided as an argument, Kong by default will attempt to load the a configuration file at /etc/kong/kong.yml.
Should no configuration file exist at that location Kong will load the default configuration stored internally.
This file contains configuration for plugins, the datastore, and NGINX. You can read more about this file in the configuration guide.
stop
Terminates a Kong instance by firing the NGINX stop signal. This will execute a fast shutdown.
$ kong stop [parameters]
For more information regarding the NGINX signals, consult their documentation.
Parameters
-c <configuration file path>
Kong Configuration File
Passing the Kong configuration file path allows the termination of specific instance, should you not pass the configuration file location, the command will
default to the configuration at /etc/kong/kong.yml or its internal default configuration.
quit
Gracefully stops a Kong instance by firing the NGINX quit signal.
$ kong quit [parameters]
For more information regarding the NGINX signals, consult their documentation.
Parameters
-c <configuration file path>
Kong Configuration File
Passing the Kong configuration file path allows the termination of specific instance, should you not pass the configuration file location, the command will
default to the configuration at /etc/kong/kong.yml or its internal default configuration.
restart
This command sends NGINX a stop signal, followed by a start signal. If Kong was not running prior to the command, it will attempt to start it:
$ kong restart [parameters]
Parameters
-c <configuration file path>
Kong Configuration File
When no configuration file is provided as an argument, Kong by default will attempt to load the a configuration file at /etc/kong/kong.yml.
Should no configuration file exist at that location Kong will load the default configuration stored internally.
This file contains configuration for plugins, the datastore, and NGINX. You can read more about this file in the configuration guide.
reload
Reloads the NGINX configuration at runtime and avoids potential downtime by leveraging the NGINX reload signal.
$ kong reload [parameters]
Parameters
-c <configuration file path>
Kong Configuration File