The “cf” command-line tool is a powerful utility designed to manage applications and services on the Cloud Foundry platform. Cloud Foundry is an open-source cloud application platform that enables developers to deploy, run, and scale applications easily across various cloud environments.
Here are the key features and functionalities provided by the “cf” command-line tool:
- Application Management: With the “cf” CLI, developers can manage their applications deployed on the Cloud Foundry platform. They can use commands to push new applications, start and stop existing applications, and manage application instances. Developers can also scale applications horizontally by adjusting the number of instances running.
- Service Provisioning: Cloud Foundry offers a range of managed services that can be provisioned for applications, such as databases, message queues, and caching services. The “cf” CLI allows developers to create and manage these services for their applications. They can create service instances, bind services to applications, and manage service configurations.
- Environment Variables and Configuration: The “cf” CLI enables developers to manage environment variables and configuration settings for their applications. They can set environment variables, view existing variables, and update configurations as needed. This allows developers to provide application-specific settings without modifying the application’s code.
- Logs and Monitoring: Developers can use the “cf” CLI to access and view logs generated by their applications. They can stream real-time logs, filter logs based on various criteria, and troubleshoot application issues. Additionally, developers can access monitoring data and metrics for their applications to gain insights into performance and behavior.
- Deployment and Versioning: The “cf” CLI provides commands for deploying application updates and managing application versions. Developers can push new versions of their applications, perform blue-green deployments for zero-downtime updates, and manage rollbacks if necessary. This allows for seamless updates and release management.
- Space and Organization Management: Cloud Foundry organizes resources into spaces and organizations. The “cf” CLI allows users to manage spaces and organizations, create new spaces, assign permissions, and manage user roles and access controls. This helps in organizing and securing resources within a Cloud Foundry environment.
- Integration with Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) Pipelines: The “cf” CLI can be integrated into CI/CD pipelines to automate application deployments and management tasks. Developers can use the CLI commands in their build scripts or deployment workflows to deploy applications to Cloud Foundry seamlessly.
The “cf” command-line tool simplifies the management of applications and services on the Cloud Foundry platform. It provides a comprehensive set of commands for application deployment, scaling, service provisioning, configuration management, log access, and versioning. By leveraging the “cf” CLI, developers can streamline their development and deployment processes, manage resources efficiently, and focus on building and running scalable cloud applications.
cf Command Examples
1. Log in to the Cloud Foundry API:
# cf login -a api_url
2. Push an app using the default settings:
# cf push app_name
3. View the services available from your organization:
# cf marketplace
4. Create a service instance:
# cf create-service service plan service_name
5. Connect an application to a service:
# cf bind-service app_name service_name
6. Run a script whose code is included in the app, but runs independently:
# cf run-task app_name "script_command" --name task_name
7. Start an interactive SSH session with a VM hosting an app:
# cf ssh app_name
8. View a dump of recent app logs:
# cf logs app_name --recent