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Pulsar command-line tools

Pulsar offers several command-line tools that you can use for managing Pulsar installations, performance testing, using command-line producers and consumers, and more.

All Pulsar command-line tools can be run from the bin directory of your installed Pulsar package. The following tools are currently documented:

Getting help​

You can get help for any CLI tool, command, or subcommand using the --help flag, or -h for short. Here's an example:


$ bin/pulsar broker --help


pulsar​

The pulsar tool is used to start Pulsar components, such as bookies and ZooKeeper, in the foreground.

These processes can also be started in the background, using nohup, using the pulsar-daemon tool, which has the same command interface as pulsar.

Usage:


$ pulsar command

Commands:

  • bookie
  • broker
  • compact-topic
  • discovery
  • configuration-store
  • initialize-cluster-metadata
  • proxy
  • standalone
  • websocket
  • zookeeper
  • zookeeper-shell

Example:


$ PULSAR_BROKER_CONF=/path/to/broker.conf pulsar broker

The table below lists the environment variables that you can use to configure the pulsar tool.

VariableDescriptionDefault
PULSAR_LOG_CONFLog4j configuration fileconf/log4j2.yaml
PULSAR_BROKER_CONFConfiguration file for brokerconf/broker.conf
PULSAR_BOOKKEEPER_CONFdescription: Configuration file for bookieconf/bookkeeper.conf
PULSAR_ZK_CONFConfiguration file for zookeeperconf/zookeeper.conf
PULSAR_CONFIGURATION_STORE_CONFConfiguration file for the configuration storeconf/global_zookeeper.conf
PULSAR_DISCOVERY_CONFConfiguration file for discovery serviceconf/discovery.conf
PULSAR_WEBSOCKET_CONFConfiguration file for websocket proxyconf/websocket.conf
PULSAR_STANDALONE_CONFConfiguration file for standaloneconf/standalone.conf
PULSAR_EXTRA_OPTSExtra options to be passed to the jvm
PULSAR_EXTRA_CLASSPATHExtra paths for Pulsar's classpath
PULSAR_PID_DIRFolder where the pulsar server PID file should be stored
PULSAR_STOP_TIMEOUTWait time before forcefully killing the Bookie server instance if attempts to stop it are not successful

bookie​

Starts up a bookie server

Usage:


$ pulsar bookie options

Options

OptionDescriptionDefault
-readOnlyForce start a read-only bookie serverfalse
-withAutoRecoveryStart auto-recover service bookie serverfalse

Example


$ PULSAR_BOOKKEEPER_CONF=/path/to/bookkeeper.conf pulsar bookie \
-readOnly \
-withAutoRecovery

broker​

Starts up a Pulsar broker

Usage


$ pulsar broker options

Options

OptionDescriptionDefault
-bc , --bookie-confConfiguration file for BookKeeper
-rb , --run-bookieRun a BookKeeper bookie on the same host as the Pulsar brokerfalse
-ra , --run-bookie-autorecoveryRun a BookKeeper autorecovery daemon on the same host as the Pulsar brokerfalse

Example


$ PULSAR_BROKER_CONF=/path/to/broker.conf pulsar broker

compact-topic​

Run compaction against a Pulsar topic (in a new process)

Usage


$ pulsar compact-topic options

Options

FlagDescriptionDefault
-t , --topicThe Pulsar topic that you would like to compact

Example


$ pulsar compact-topic --topic topic-to-compact

discovery​

Run a discovery server

Usage


$ pulsar discovery

Example


$ PULSAR_DISCOVERY_CONF=/path/to/discovery.conf pulsar discovery

configuration-store​

Starts up the Pulsar configuration store

Usage


$ pulsar configuration-store

Example


$ PULSAR_CONFIGURATION_STORE_CONF=/path/to/configuration_store.conf pulsar configuration-store

initialize-cluster-metadata​

One-time cluster metadata initialization

Usage


$ pulsar initialize-cluster-metadata options

Options

FlagDescriptionDefault
-ub , --broker-service-urlThe broker service URL for the new cluster
-tb , --broker-service-url-tlsThe broker service URL for the new cluster with TLS encryption
-c , --clusterCluster name
--configuration-storeThe configuration store quorum connection string
-uw , --web-service-urlThe web service URL for the new cluster
-tw , --web-service-url-tlsThe web service URL for the new cluster with TLS encryption
-zk , --zookeeperThe local ZooKeeper quorum connection string

proxy​

Manages the Pulsar proxy

Usage


$ pulsar proxy options

Options

FlagDescriptionDefault
--configuration-storeConfiguration store connection string
-zk , --zookeeper-serversLocal ZooKeeper connection string

Example


$ PULSAR_PROXY_CONF=/path/to/proxy.conf pulsar proxy \
--zookeeper-servers zk-0,zk-1,zk2 \
--configuration-store zk-0,zk-1,zk-2

standalone​

Run a broker service with local bookies and local ZooKeeper

Usage


$ pulsar standalone options

Options

FlagDescriptionDefault
-a , --advertised-addressThe standalone broker advertised address
--bookkeeper-dirLocal bookies’ base data directorydata/standalone/bookkeeper
--bookkeeper-portLocal bookies’ base port3181
--no-brokerOnly start ZooKeeper and BookKeeper services, not the brokerfalse
--num-bookiesThe number of local bookies1
--only-brokerOnly start the Pulsar broker service (not ZooKeeper or BookKeeper)
--wipe-dataClean up previous ZooKeeper/BookKeeper data
--zookeeper-dirLocal ZooKeeper’s data directorydata/standalone/zookeeper
--zookeeper-portLocal ZooKeeper’s port2181

Example


$ PULSAR_STANDALONE_CONF=/path/to/standalone.conf pulsar standalone

websocket​

Usage


$ pulsar websocket

Example


$ PULSAR_WEBSOCKET_CONF=/path/to/websocket.conf pulsar websocket

zookeeper​

Starts up a ZooKeeper cluster

Usage


$ pulsar zookeeper

Example


$ PULSAR_ZK_CONF=/path/to/zookeeper.conf pulsar zookeeper

zookeeper-shell​

Connects to a running ZooKeeper cluster using the ZooKeeper shell

Usage


$ pulsar zookeeper-shell options

Options

FlagDescriptionDefault
-c, --confConfiguration file for ZooKeeper

pulsar-client​

The pulsar-client tool

Usage


$ pulsar-client command

Commands

  • produce
  • consume

Options

FlagDescriptionDefault
--auth-paramsAuthentication parameters, for example key1:val1,key2:val2
--auth-pluginAuthentication plugin class name
--urlBroker URL to which to connectpulsar://localhost:6650/
-h, --helpShow this help

produce​

Send a message or messages to a specific broker and topic

Usage


$ pulsar-client produce topic options

Options

FlagDescriptionDefault
-f, --filesComma-separated file paths to send; either -m or -f must be specified[]
-m, --messagesComma-separated string of messages to send; either -m or -f must be specified[]
-n, --num-produceThe number of times to send the message(s); the count of messages/files * num-produce should be below 10001
-r, --rateRate (in messages per second) at which to produce; a value 0 means to produce messages as fast as possible0.0

consume​

Consume messages from a specific broker and topic

Usage


$ pulsar-client consume topic options

Options

FlagDescriptionDefault
--hexDisplay binary messages in hexadecimal format.false
-n, --num-messagesNumber of messages to consume, 0 means to consume forever.0
-r, --rateRate (in messages per second) at which to consume; a value 0 means to consume messages as fast as possible0.0
-s, --subscription-nameSubscription name
-t, --subscription-typeThe type of the subscription. Possible values: Exclusive, Shared, Failover.Exclusive

pulsar-daemon​

A wrapper around the pulsar tool that’s used to start and stop processes, such as ZooKeeper, bookies, and Pulsar brokers, in the background using nohup.

pulsar-daemon has a similar interface to the pulsar command but adds start and stop commands for various services. For a listing of those services, run pulsar-daemon to see the help output or see the documentation for the pulsar command.

Usage


$ pulsar-daemon command

Commands

  • start
  • stop

start​

Start a service in the background using nohup.

Usage


$ pulsar-daemon start service

stop​

Stop a service that’s already been started using start.

Usage


$ pulsar-daemon stop service options

Options

FlagDescriptionDefault
-forceStop the service forcefully if not stopped by normal shutdown.false

pulsar-perf​

A tool for performance testing a Pulsar broker.

Usage


$ pulsar-perf command

Commands

  • consume
  • produce
  • monitor-brokers
  • simulation-client
  • simulation-controller

Environment variables

The table below lists the environment variables that you can use to configure the pulsar-perf tool.

VariableDescriptionDefault
PULSAR_LOG_CONFLog4j configuration fileconf/log4j2.yaml
PULSAR_CLIENT_CONFConfiguration file for the clientconf/client.conf
PULSAR_EXTRA_OPTSExtra options to be passed to the JVM
PULSAR_EXTRA_CLASSPATHExtra paths for Pulsar's classpath

consume​

Run a consumer

Usage


$ pulsar-perf consume options

Options

FlagDescriptionDefault
--auth_paramsAuthentication parameters in the form of key1:val1,key2:val2
--auth_pluginAuthentication plugin class name
-b, --batch-time-windowBatch messages in a window of the specified number of milliseconds1
--acks-delay-millisAcknowlegments grouping delay in millis100
-k, --encryption-key-nameThe private key name to decrypt payload
-v, --encryption-key-value-fileThe file which contains the private key to decrypt payload
--conf-fileConfiguration file
-c, --max-connectionsMax number of TCP connections to a single broker100
-n, --num-consumersNumber of consumers (per topic)1
-t, --num-topicThe number of topics1
-r, --rateSimulate a slow message consumer (rate in msg/s)0
-q, --receiver-queue-sizeSize of the receiver queue1000
-u, --service-urlPulsar service URL
-i, --stats-interval-secondsStatistics interval seconds. If 0, statistics will be disabled0
-s, --subscriber-nameSubscriber name prefixsub
-st, --subscription-typeSubscriber name prefix. Possible values are Exclusive, Shared, Failover.Exclusive
--trust-cert-filePath for the trusted TLS certificate file
--use-tlsUse TLS encryption on the connectionfalse

produce​

Run a producer

Usage


$ pulsar-perf produce options

Options

FlagDescriptionDefault
--auth_paramsAuthentication parameters in the form of key1:val1,key2:val2
--auth_pluginAuthentication plugin class name
-b, --batch-time-windowBatch messages in a window of the specified number of milliseconds1
-z, --compressionCompress messages’ payload. Possible values are NONE, LZ4, ZLIB or ZSTD.
--conf-fileConfiguration file
-c, --max-connectionsMax number of TCP connections to a single broker100
-o, --max-outstandingMax number of outstanding messages1000
-m, --num-messagesNumber of messages to publish in total. If set to 0, it will keep publishing.0
-n, --num-producersThe number of producers (per topic)1
-t, --num-topicThe number of topics1
-f, --payload-fileUse payload from a file instead of an empty buffer
-r, --ratePublish rate msg/s across topics100
-u, --service-urlPulsar service URL
-s, --sizeMessage size (in bytes)1024
-i, --stats-interval-secondsStatistics interval seconds. If 0, statistics will be disabled.0
-time, --test-durationTest duration in secs. If set to 0, it will keep publishing.0
--trust-cert-filePath for the trusted TLS certificate file
--use-tlsUse TLS encryption on the connectionfalse
--warmup-timeWarm-up time in seconds1

monitor-brokers​

Continuously receive broker data and/or load reports

Usage


$ pulsar-perf monitor-brokers options

Options

FlagDescriptionDefault
--connect-stringA connection string for one or more ZooKeeper servers

simulation-client​

Run a simulation server acting as a Pulsar client. Uses the client configuration specified in conf/client.conf.

Usage


$ pulsar-perf simulation-client

simulation-controller​

Run a simulation controller to give commands to servers

Usage


$ pulsar-perf simulation-controller options

Options

FlagDescriptionDefault
--client-portThe port that the clients are listening on0
--clientsComma-separated list of client hostnames
--clusterThe cluster to test on

bookkeeper​

A tool for managing BookKeeper.

Usage


$ bookkeeper command

Commands

  • autorecovery
  • bookie
  • localbookie
  • upgrade
  • shell

Environment variables

The table below lists the environment variables that you can use to configure the bookkeeper tool.

VariableDescriptionDefault
BOOKIE_LOG_CONFLog4j configuration fileconf/log4j2.yaml
BOOKIE_CONFBookKeeper configuration fileconf/bk_server.conf
BOOKIE_EXTRA_OPTSExtra options to be passed to the JVM
BOOKIE_EXTRA_CLASSPATHExtra paths for BookKeeper's classpath
ENTRY_FORMATTER_CLASSThe Java class used to format entries
BOOKIE_PID_DIRFolder where the BookKeeper server PID file should be stored
BOOKIE_STOP_TIMEOUTWait time before forcefully killing the Bookie server instance if attempts to stop it are not successful

auto-recovery​

Runs an auto-recovery service

Usage


$ bookkeeper autorecovery options

Options

FlagDescriptionDefault
-c, --confConfiguration for the auto-recovery

bookie​

Starts up a BookKeeper server (aka bookie)

Usage


$ bookkeeper bookie options

Options

FlagDescriptionDefault
-c, --confConfiguration for the auto-recovery
-readOnlyForce start a read-only bookie serverfalse
-withAutoRecoveryStart auto-recovery service bookie serverfalse

localbookie​

Runs a test ensemble of N bookies locally

Usage


$ bookkeeper localbookie N

upgrade​

Upgrade the bookie’s filesystem

Usage


$ bookkeeper upgrade options

Options

FlagDescriptionDefault
-c, --confConfiguration for the auto-recovery
-u, --upgradeUpgrade the bookie’s directories

shell​

Run shell for admin commands. To see a full listing of those commands, run bookkeeper shell without an argument.

Usage


$ bookkeeper shell

Example


$ bookkeeper shell bookiesanity