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Introduction

pyinfra provides a powerful command-line interface for managing the state of one or more servers. It can be used for app/service deployment, configuration management, and ad-hoc command execution.

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Basic Usage

The pyinfra CLI follows this general pattern: 
pyinfra INVENTORY OPERATIONS [OPTIONS]
Where:
  • INVENTORY: Defines the target hosts (file, hostname, or comma-separated list)
  • OPERATIONS: Specifies what to execute (deploy files, operations, commands, or facts)
  • OPTIONS: Additional flags to control behavior

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Command Modes

pyinfra supports several different operation modes:

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Deploy Files

Execute one or more Python deploy files: 
pyinfra INVENTORY deploy_web.py [deploy_db.py]...

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Operations

Run a single operation directly: 
pyinfra INVENTORY server.user pyinfra home=/home/pyinfra

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Exec Commands

Execute arbitrary shell commands: 
pyinfra INVENTORY exec -- echo "hello world"

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Facts

Gather facts from target hosts: 
pyinfra INVENTORY fact server.LinuxName [server.Users]...
pyinfra INVENTORY fact files.File path=/path/to/file

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Debug Inventory

Inspect inventory hosts and data: 
pyinfra INVENTORY debug-inventory

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Inventory Formats

pyinfra accepts inventory in multiple formats:

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Inventory File

pyinfra inventory.py deploy.py

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Single Host

pyinfra host.example.com deploy.py

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Multiple Hosts

pyinfra host-1.net,host-2.net,@local deploy.py

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Common Workflows

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Dry Run

Preview changes without executing: 
pyinfra inventory.py deploy.py --dry

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Verbose Output

Increase verbosity to see more details: 
pyinfra inventory.py deploy.py -v    # Show meta info
pyinfra inventory.py deploy.py -vv   # Show input
pyinfra inventory.py deploy.py -vvv  # Show output

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Limit Hosts

Restrict execution to specific hosts or groups: 
pyinfra inventory.py deploy.py --limit webservers
pyinfra inventory.py deploy.py --limit "web-*"

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Auto-Execute

Skip confirmation prompts: 
pyinfra inventory.py deploy.py -y

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Environment Variables

Some options can be set via environment variables:
  • PYINFRA_YES: Equivalent to -y/--yes flag for auto-execution

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Getting Help

Display help information: 
pyinfra --help
pyinfra -h
Check version: 
pyinfra --version
Get support information: 
pyinfra --support

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Next Steps

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