Getting started with Cloud 66 Toolbelt

What is Toolbelt?

Cloud 66 Toolbelt makes it possible to interact with Cloud 66 from the comfort of your command line, and is available for Linux, Mac and Windows.

Stack vs Application

Many Toolbelt commands use the word "stack" which is now referred to as "application" throughout these docs. They are functionally equivalent terms for the purposes of the Toolbelt.

Install Toolbelt

To get started, simply download the toolbelt executable, unzip and copy it to a directory accessible in your PATH. On Mac OS X, your PATH is likely /usr/local/bin, but you can run echo $PATH in your terminal to determine your specific path. Placing the executable in this folder allows it to be used globally.

Initialize Toolbelt

Before using Toolbelt, you need to link it to your Cloud 66 account. You can do this by issuing one of the available commands, for example:

cx stacks list

This will automatically open your default browser and take you to your Cloud 66 dashboard (you need to be logged in).

It will then ask for your authorization to allow Toolbelt to view, edit, redeploy and administrate your applications and servers. The Dashboard will confirm that it has completed authorization and you can then close the window and start using Toolbelt right away.

Installing cx without a browser

You can also install a "headless" Toolbelt on servers or machines without a browser. Our detailed reference guide has details on how to do this.

Advanced

The authorization information is stored on your computer in the ~/.cloud66/cx.json file. Removing this file will remove the authorization code from your client.

Revoking access

To deauthorize Toolbelt, login to your Cloud 66 account and click on the Revoke access button under your Account page.

View Toolbelt information

cx help lists available commands
cx info shows information about your toolbelt
cx --version outputs your toolbelt version
cx stacks list lists available applications
cx servers list -s lists available servers for a given application
cx open -s opens your web browser to visit the front-end of your application

Profiles (multiple account support)

When you join a Team on Cloud 66, your Toolbelt will automatically work with the applications you have access to under that team's account.

If you have more than one Cloud 66 account (i.e. you are the owner of more than one account and not just a team member), then you will need to set up profiles in Toolbelt to switch between your accounts.

--account function is deprecated

The --account function is now deprecated and has been replaced by cx profiles

Creating a cx profile

Before you start make sure you're logged into the account you'd like associate with this new profile on your default web browser (the importance of this is explained below).

Next create a new profile in Toolbelt using the following command:

cx config create A_NICE_NAME

...where A_NICE_NAME is the (arbitrary) name you'd like to use for that profile.

Then tell Toolbelt to use that new profile:

cx config use A_NICE_NAME

Finally, issue a command to force Toolbelt to authenticate the new profile. For example:

cx stacks list

...this will take you through the authorization process for the account you'd like to associate with the new profile. See the Initialize Toolbelt section above for more details on how this works.

Log into correct user account

Make sure you are logged into the correct (alternate) account on the Cloud 66 dashboard before you start this process or it may not work correctly.

Switching between profiles

To switch between profiles, use the following command:

cx config use NAME

So, following our example above, the command would be cx config use MY_NICE_NAME.

Default profile

You always have a default profile which cannot be deleted or renamed.

Update Toolbelt

Toolbelt updates are released periodically to improve the functionality available through the command line, and these are normally applied automatically in the background. Whenever a command is executed, the toolbelt will check whether or not a newer version is available and do a silent update. You can also update manually with cx update.

If you install the toolbelt in a shared folder, you may need to elevate your permissions in order to run an update. In this case, you can simply run sudo cx update. You can then check which version you are using by running cx -v.

Toolbelt shortcuts

Application links

To make life easier for you, the Cloud 66 toolbelt detects the Git URL and branch for each directory it is run in. As such, you won't have to specify which application you want to run the toolbelt on if you're in the git folder and branch of one of your applications.

Naming shortcuts

We apply naming shortcuts to both application and server names, as well as server roles in the toolbelt.

We just need you to type enough of a name for it to be unique. For example, if you only have one application that starts with m, you can simply type m. Similarly, if you only have one web server, you can type w instead of web.