path: root/docs/cli.md

(cli)=

# Command Line Interface

The VyOS {abbr}`CLI (Command-Line Interface)` comprises an operational and a configuration mode.

## Operational Mode

Operational mode allows for commands to perform operational system tasks and view system and service status, while configuration mode allows for the modification of system configuration.

The CLI provides a built-in help system. In the CLI the `?` key may be used to display available commands. The `TAB` key can be used to auto-complete commands and will present the help system upon a conflict or unknown value.

For example typing `sh` followed by the `TAB` key will complete to `show`. Pressing `TAB` a second time will display the possible sub-commands of the `show` command.

``` none
vyos@vyos:~$ s[tab]
set   show
```

Example showing possible show commands:

``` none
vyos@vyos:~$ show [tab]
Possible completions:
  arp           Show Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) information
  bridge        Show bridging information
  cluster       Show clustering information
  configuration Show running configuration
  conntrack     Show conntrack entries in the conntrack table
  conntrack-sync
                Show connection syncing information
  date          Show system date and time
  dhcp          Show Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) information
  dhcpv6        Show status related to DHCPv6
  disk          Show status of disk device
  dns           Show Domain Name Server (DNS) information
  file          Show files for a particular image
  firewall      Show firewall information
  flow-accounting
                Show flow accounting statistics
  hardware      Show system hardware details
  history       show command history
  host          Show host information
  incoming      Show ethernet input-policy information
: q
```

You can scroll up with the keys `[Shift]+[PageUp]` and scroll down with `[Shift]+[PageDown]`.

When the output of a command results in more lines than can be displayed on the terminal screen the output is paginated as indicated by a `:` prompt.

When viewing in page mode the following commands are available:
: - `q` key can be used to cancel output
  - `space` will scroll down one page
  - `b` will scroll back one page
  - `return` will scroll down one line
  - `up-arrow` and `down-arrow` will scroll up or down one line at a time
    respectively
  - `left-arrow` and `right-arrow` can be used to scroll left or right in
    the event that the output has lines which exceed the terminal size.

### Operational mode command families

Many operational mode commands in VyOS are placed in families such as `show`, `clear`, or `reset`. Every such family has a specific meaning to allow the user to guess how the command is going to behave --- in particular, whether it will be disruptive to the system or not.

Note that this convention was not always followed with perfect consistency and some commands may still be in wrong families, so you should always check the command help and documentation if you are not sure what exactly it does.

#### clear

\"Clear\" commands are completely non-disruptive to any system operations. Generally, they can be used freely without hesitation.

Most often their purpose is to remove or reset various debug and diagnostic information such as system logs and packet counters.

Examples:
- `clear console` --- clears the screen.
- `clear interfaces ethernet eth0 counters` --- zeroes packet counters on `eth0`.
- `clear log` --- deletes all system log entries.

#### reset

\"Reset\" commands can be locally-disruptive. They may, for example, terminate a single user session or a session with a dynamic routing protocol peer.

They should be used with caution since they may have a significant impact on a particular users in the network.
- `reset pppoe-server username jsmith` --- terminate all PPPoE sessions from user `jsmith`.
- `reset bgp 192.0.2.54` --- terminates the BGP session with neighbor 192.0.2.54.
- `reset vpn ipsec site-to-site peer vpn.example.com` --- terminates IPsec tunnels to `vpn.example.com`.
- `reset session tty1` --- terminates the TTY user session `tty1`

#### restart

\"Restart\" operations may disrupt an entire subsystem. Most often they initiate a restart of a server process, which causes it to be unavailable for a brief period and resets all the process state.

They should be used with extreme caution.
- `restart dhcp server` --- restarts the IPv4 DHCP server process (DHCP requests are not served while it is restarting).
- `restart ipsec` --- restarts the IPsec process (which forces all sessions and all IPsec process state to reset).

#### force

\"Force\" commands force the system to perform an action that it might perform by itself at a later point.

Examples:
- `force arp request interface eth1 address 10.3.0.2` --- send a gratuitous ARP request.
- `force root-partition-auto-resize` --- grow the root filesystem to the size of the system partition (this is also done on startup, but this command can do it without a reboot).

#### execute

\"Execute\" commands are for executing various diagnostic and auxiliary actions that the system would never perform by itself.

Examples:
- `execute wake-on-lan interface <intf> host <MAC>` --- send a Wake-On-LAN packet to a host.

#### show

\"Show\" commands display various system information. They may occasionally use a pager for long outputs, that you can quit by pressing the Q button. Their output is always finite, however.

Examples:
- `show system login` --- displays current system users.
- `show ip route` --- displays the IPv4 routing table.

#### monitor

\"Monitor\" commands initiate various monitoring operations that may output information continuously, until terminated with `Ctrl-C` or disabled.

Examples:
- `monitor log` --- continuously outputs latest system logs.

## Configuration Mode

To enter configuration mode use the `configure` command:

``` none
vyos@vyos:~$ configure
[edit]
vyos@vyos:~#
```

::::{note}
Prompt changes from `$` to `#`. To exit configuration mode, type `exit`.
::::

``` none
vyos@vyos:~# exit
exit
vyos@vyos:~$
```

See the configuration section of this document for more information on configuration mode.

(configuration-overview)=

# Configuration Overview

VyOS makes use of a unified configuration file for the entire system\'s configuration: `/config/config.boot`. This allows easy template creation, backup, and replication of system configuration. A system can thus also be easily cloned by simply copying the required configuration files.

## Terminology

A VyOS system has three major types of configurations:
- **Active** or **running configuration** is the system configuration that is loaded and currently active (used by VyOS). Any change in the configuration will have to be committed to belong to the active/running configuration.
- **Working configuration** is the one that is currently being modified in configuration mode. Changes made to the working configuration do not go into effect until the changes are committed with the {cfgcmd}`commit` command. At which time the working configuration will become the active or running configuration.
- **Saved configuration** is the one saved to a file using the {cfgcmd}`save` command. It allows you to keep safe a configuration for future uses. There can be multiple configuration files. The default or \"boot\" configuration is saved and loaded from the file `/config/config.boot`.

## Seeing and navigating the configuration

```{opcmd} show configuration

View the current active configuration, also known as the running configuration, from the operational mode.

:::{code-block} none
vyos@vyos:~$ show configuration
interfaces {
  ethernet eth0 {
        address dhcp
        hw-id 00:53:00:00:aa:01
  }
  loopback lo {
  }
}
service {
  ssh {
        port 22
  }
}
system {
  config-management {
        commit-revisions 20
  }
  console {
        device ttyS0 {
            speed 9600
        }
  }
  login {
        user vyos {
            authentication {
                encrypted-password ****************
            }
            level admin
        }
  }
  ntp {
        server 0.pool.ntp.org {
        }
        server 1.pool.ntp.org {
        }
        server 2.pool.ntp.org {
        }
  }
  syslog {
        global {
            facility all {
                level notice
            }
            facility protocols {
                level debug
            }
        }
  }
}
:::
```

By default, the configuration is displayed in a hierarchy like the above example, this is only one of the possible ways to display the configuration. When the configuration is generated and the device is configured, changes are added through a collection of {cfgcmd}`set` and {cfgcmd}`delete` commands.

```{opcmd} show configuration commands

Get a collection of all the set commands required which led to the running configuration.

:::{code-block} none
vyos@vyos:~$ show configuration commands
set interfaces ethernet eth0 address 'dhcp'
set interfaces ethernet eth0 hw-id '00:53:dd:44:3b:0f'
set interfaces loopback 'lo'
set service ssh port '22'
set system config-management commit-revisions '20'
set system console device ttyS0 speed '9600'
set system login user vyos authentication encrypted-password '$6$Vt68...QzF0'
set system login user vyos level 'admin'
set system ntp server '0.pool.ntp.org'
set system ntp server '1.pool.ntp.org'
set system ntp server '2.pool.ntp.org'
set system syslog global facility all level 'notice'
set system syslog global facility protocols level 'debug'
:::
```

Both these `show` commands should be executed when in operational mode, they do not work directly in configuration mode. There is a special way on how to {ref}`run_opmode_from_config_mode`.

::::{hint}

Use the `show configuration commands | strip-private` command when you want to hide private data. You may want to do so if you want to share your configuration on the [forum](https://forum.vyos.io).
::::

```{opcmd} show configuration json

View the current active configuration in JSON format.

:::{code-block} none
{"interfaces": {"ethernet": {"eth0": {"address": ["192.0.2.11/24", "192.0.2.35/24"], "hw-id": "52:54:00:48:a0:c6"}, "eth1": {"address": ["203.0.113.1/24"], "hw-id": "52:54:00:fc:50:0b"}}, "loopback": {"lo": {}}}, "protocols": {"static": {"route": {"0.0.0.0/0": {"next-hop": {"192.0.2.254": {}}}}}}, "service": {"ssh": {"disable-host-validation": {}}}, "system": {"config-management": {"commit-revisions": "100"}, "console": {"device": {"ttyS0": {"speed": "115200"}}}, "host-name": "r11-vyos", "login": {"user": {"vyos": {"authentication": {"encrypted-password": "$6$Vt68...F0", "plaintext-password": "", "public-keys": {"vyos@vyos": {"key": "AAAAxxx=", "type": "ssh-rsa"}}}}}}, "name-server": ["203.0.113.254"], "ntp": {"server": {"time1.vyos.net": {}, "time2.vyos.net": {}, "time3.vyos.net": {}}}, "syslog": {"global": {"facility": {"all": {"level": "info"}, "protocols": {"level": "debug"}}}}, "time-zone": "America/New_York"}}
:::
```

```{opcmd} show configuration json pretty

View the current active configuration in readable JSON format.

:::{code-block} none
{
  "interfaces": {
        "ethernet": {
            "eth0": {
                "address": [
                    "192.0.2.11/24",
                    "192.0.2.35/24"
                ],
                "hw-id": "52:54:00:48:a0:c6"
            },
            "eth1": {
                "address": [
                    "203.0.113.1/24"
                ],
                "hw-id": "52:54:00:fc:50:0b"
            }
        },
        "loopback": {
            "lo": {}
        }
  },
  "protocols": {
        "static": {
            "route": {
                "0.0.0.0/0": {
                    "next-hop": {
                        "192.0.2.254": {}
                    }
                }
            }
        }
  },
  "service": {
        "ssh": {
            "disable-host-validation": {}
        }
  },
  "system": {
        "config-management": {
            "commit-revisions": "100"
        },
        "console": {
            "device": {
                "ttyS0": {
                    "speed": "115200"
                }
            }
        },
        "host-name": "r11-vyos",
        "login": {
            "user": {
                "vyos": {
                    "authentication": {
                        "encrypted-password": "$6$Vt68...F0",
                        "plaintext-password": "",
                        "public-keys": {
                            "vyos@vyos": {
                                "key": "AAAAxxx=",
                                "type": "ssh-rsa"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "name-server": [
            "203.0.113.254"
        ],
        "ntp": {
            "server": {
                "time1.vyos.net": {},
                "time2.vyos.net": {},
                "time3.vyos.net": {}
           }
        },
        "syslog": {
            "global": {
                "facility": {
                    "all": {
                        "level": "info"
                    },
                    "protocols": {
                        "level": "debug"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "time-zone": "America/New_York"
  }
}
:::
```


### The config mode

When entering the configuration mode you are navigating inside a tree structure, to enter configuration mode enter the command {opcmd}`configure` when in operational mode.

``` none
vyos@vyos$ configure
[edit]
vyos@vyos#
```

::::{note}
When going into configuration mode, prompt changes from `$` to `#`.
::::

All commands executed here are relative to the configuration level you have entered. You can do everything from the top level, but commands will be quite lengthy when manually typing them.

The current hierarchy level can be changed by the {cfgcmd}`edit` command.

``` none
[edit]
vyos@vyos# edit interfaces ethernet eth0

[edit interfaces ethernet eth0]
vyos@vyos#
```

You are now in a sublevel relative to `interfaces ethernet eth0`, all commands executed from this point on are relative to this sublevel. Use either the {cfgcmd}`top` or {cfgcmd}`exit` command to go back to the top of the hierarchy. You can also use the {cfgcmd}`up` command to move only one level up at a time.

```{cfgcmd} show
```

The {cfgcmd}`show` command within configuration mode will show the working configuration indicating line changes with `+` for additions, `>` for replacements and `-` for deletions.
**Example:**

``` none
vyos@vyos:~$ configure
[edit]
vyos@vyos# show interfaces
 ethernet eth0 {
     description MY_OLD_DESCRIPTION
     disable
     hw-id 00:53:dd:44:3b:03
 }
 loopback lo {
 }
[edit]
vyos@vyos# set interfaces ethernet eth0 address dhcp
[edit]
vyos@vyos# set interfaces ethernet eth0 description MY_NEW_DESCRIPTION
[edit]
vyos@vyos# delete interfaces ethernet eth0 disable
[edit]
vyos@vyos# show interfaces
 ethernet eth0 {
+    address dhcp
>    description MY_NEW_DESCRIPTION
-    disable
     hw-id 00:53:dd:44:3b:03
 }
 loopback lo {
 }
```

It is also possible to display all {cfgcmd}`set` commands within configuration mode using {cfgcmd}`show | commands`

``` none
vyos@vyos# show interfaces ethernet eth0 | commands
set address dhcp
set hw-id 00:53:ad:44:3b:03
```

These commands are also relative to the level you are inside and only relevant configuration blocks will be displayed when entering a sub-level.

``` none
[edit interfaces ethernet eth0]
vyos@vyos# show
 address dhcp
 hw-id 00:53:ad:44:3b:03
```

Exiting from the configuration mode is done via the {cfgcmd}`exit` command from the top level, executing {cfgcmd}`exit` from within a sub-level takes you back to the top level.

``` none
[edit interfaces ethernet eth0]
vyos@vyos# exit
[edit]
vyos@vyos# exit
Warning: configuration changes have not been saved.
```

## Editing the configuration

The configuration can be edited by the use of {cfgcmd}`set` and {cfgcmd}`delete` commands from within configuration mode.

```{cfgcmd} set

Use this command to set the value of a parameter or to create a new element.
```

Configuration commands are flattened from the tree into \'one-liner\' commands shown in {opcmd}`show configuration commands` from operation mode. Commands are relative to the level where they are executed and all redundant information from the current level is removed from the command entered.

``` none
[edit]
vyos@vyos# set interfaces ethernet eth0 address 192.0.2.100/24
```

``` none
[edit interfaces ethernet eth0]
vyos@vyos# set address 203.0.113.6/24
```

These two commands above are essentially the same, just executed from different levels in the hierarchy.

```{cfgcmd} delete

To delete a configuration entry use the {cfgcmd}`delete` command, this also deletes all sub-levels under the current level you\'ve specified in the {cfgcmd}`delete` command. Deleting an entry will also result in the element reverting back to its default value if one exists.

:::{code-block} none
[edit interfaces ethernet eth0]
vyos@vyos# delete address 192.0.2.100/24
:::
```

```{cfgcmd} commit

Any change you do on the configuration, will not take effect until committed using the {cfgcmd}`commit` command in configuration mode.

:::{code-block} none
vyos@vyos# commit
[edit]
vyos@vyos# exit
Warning: configuration changes have not been saved.
vyos@vyos:~$
:::
```
::::{hint}

You can specify a commit message with {cfgcmd}`commit comment <message>`.
::::

(save)=

```{cfgcmd} save

Use this command to preserve configuration changes upon reboot. By default it is stored at */config/config.boot*. In the case you want to store the configuration file somewhere else, you can add a local path, a SCP address, a FTP address or a TFTP address.
```

``` none
vyos@vyos# save
Saving configuration to '/config/config.boot'...
Done
```

``` none
vyos@vyos# save [tab]
Possible completions:
  <Enter>       Save to system config file
  <file>        Save to file on local machine
  scp://<user>:<passwd>@<host>:/<file> Save to file on remote machine
  ftp://<user>:<passwd>@<host>/<file> Save to file on remote machine
  tftp://<host>/<file>      Save to file on remote machine
vyos@vyos# save tftp://192.168.0.100/vyos-test.config.boot
Saving configuration to 'tftp://192.168.0.100/vyos-test.config.boot'...

Done
```

```{cfgcmd} exit \[discard\]

Configuration mode can not be exited while uncommitted changes exist. To exit configuration mode without applying changes, the {cfgcmd}`exit discard` command must be used.

All changes in the working config will thus be lost.

:::{code-block} none
vyos@vyos# exit
Cannot exit: configuration modified.

Use 'exit discard' to discard the changes and exit.
[edit]
vyos@vyos# exit discard
:::
```

```{cfgcmd} commit-confirm \<minutes\>

Use this command to temporarily commit your changes and set the number of minutes available for confirmation. `confirm` must be entered within those minutes, otherwise the system will revert into a previous configuration. The default value is 10 minutes.

The definition of \'revert\' and \'a previous configuration\' depends on the setting:

:::{code-block} none
vyos@vyos# set system config-management commit-confirm action
Possible completions:
reload               Reload previous configuration if not confirmed
reboot               Reboot to saved configuration if not confirmed (default)
:::

Note that \'reload\' loads the most recent completed configuration and does not require a reboot.

What if you are doing something dangerous? Suppose you want to setup a firewall, and you are not sure there are no mistakes that will lock you out of your system. You can use confirmed commit. If you issue the `commit-confirm` command, your changes will be committed, and if you don\'t issue the `confirm` command in 10 minutes, your system will reboot into previous config revision.

:::{code-block} none
vyos@router# set firewall interface eth0 local name FromWorld
vyos@router# commit-confirm
commit confirm will be automatically reboot in 10 minutes unless confirmed
Proceed? [confirm]y
[edit]
vyos@router# confirm
[edit]
:::
```

```{cfgcmd} copy

Copy a configuration element.

You can copy and remove configuration subtrees. Suppose you set up a firewall ruleset `FromWorld` with one rule that allows traffic from specific subnet. Now you want to setup a similar rule, but for different subnet. Change your edit level to `firewall name FromWorld` and use `copy rule 10 to rule 20`, then modify rule 20.

:::{code-block} none
vyos@router# show firewall name FromWorld
 default-action drop
 rule 10 {
     action accept
     source {
         address 203.0.113.0/24
     }
 }
[edit]
vyos@router# edit firewall name FromWorld
[edit firewall name FromWorld]
vyos@router# copy rule 10 to rule 20
[edit firewall name FromWorld]
vyos@router# set rule 20 source address 198.51.100.0/24
[edit firewall name FromWorld]
vyos@router# commit
[edit firewall name FromWorld]
:::
```

```{cfgcmd} rename

Rename a configuration element.

You can also rename config subtrees:

:::{code-block} none
vyos@router# rename rule 10 to rule 5
[edit firewall name FromWorld]
vyos@router# commit
[edit firewall name FromWorld]
:::
Note that `show` command respects your edit level and from this level you can view the modified firewall ruleset with just `show` with no parameters.

:::{code-block} none
vyos@router# show
 default-action drop
 rule 5 {
     action accept
     source {
         address 203.0.113.0/24
     }
 }
 rule 20 {
     action accept
     source {
         address 198.51.100.0/24
     }
 }
:::
```

```{cfgcmd} comment \<config node\> "comment text"

Add comment as an annotation to a configuration node.

The `comment` command allows you to insert a comment above the `<config node>` configuration section. When shown, comments are enclosed with `/*` and `*/` as open/close delimiters. Comments need to be committed, just like other config changes.

To remove an existing comment from your current configuration, specify an empty string enclosed in double quote marks (`""`) as the comment text.

Example:

:::{code-block} none
vyos@vyos# comment firewall all-ping "Yes I know this VyOS is cool"
vyos@vyos# commit
vyos@vyos# show
 firewall {
     /* Yes I know this VyOS is cool */
     all-ping enable
     broadcast-ping disable
     ...
 }
:::
:::{note}
An important thing to note is that since the comment is added on top of the section, it will not appear if the `show <section>` command is used. With the above example, the ``show firewall`` command would return starting after the `firewall {` line, hiding the comment.
:::
```

(run_opmode_from_config_mode)=

## Access opmode from config mode

When inside configuration mode you are not directly able to execute operational commands.

```{cfgcmd} run

Access to these commands are possible through the use of the `run [command]` command. From this command you will have access to everything accessible from operational mode.

Command completion and syntax help with `?` and `[tab]` will also work.

:::{code-block} none
[edit]
vyos@vyos# run show interfaces
Codes: S - State, L - Link, u - Up, D - Down, A - Admin Down
Interface        IP Address                        S/L  Description
---------        ----------                        ---  -----------
eth0             0.0.0.0/0                         u/u
:::
```

## Managing configurations

VyOS comes with an integrated versioning system for the system configuration. It automatically maintains a backup of every previous configuration which has been committed to the system. The configurations are versioned locally for rollback but they can also be stored on a remote host for archiving/backup reasons.

### Local Archive

Revisions are stored on disk. You can view, compare and rollback them to any previous revisions if something goes wrong.

```{opcmd} show system commit

View all existing revisions on the local system.

:::{code-block} none
vyos@vyos:~$ show system commit
0   2015-03-30 08:53:03 by vyos via cli
1   2015-03-30 08:52:20 by vyos via cli
2   2015-03-26 21:26:01 by root via boot-config-loader
3   2015-03-26 20:43:18 by root via boot-config-loader
4   2015-03-25 11:06:14 by root via boot-config-loader
5   2015-03-25 01:04:28 by root via boot-config-loader
6   2015-03-25 00:16:47 by vyos via cli
7   2015-03-24 23:43:45 by root via boot-config-loader
:::
```

```{cfgcmd} set system config-management commit-revisions \<N\>

You can specify the number of revisions stored on disk. N can be in the range of 0 - 65535. When the number of revisions exceeds the configured value, the oldest revision is removed. The default setting for this value is to store 100 revisions locally.
```

### Compare configurations

VyOS lets you compare different configurations.

```{cfgcmd} compare \<saved \| N\> \<M\>

Use this command to spot what the differences are between different configurations.

:::{code-block} none
vyos@vyos# compare [tab]
Possible completions:
<Enter>  Compare working & active configurations
saved        Compare working & saved configurations
<N>      Compare working with revision N
<N> <M>  Compare revision N with M
Revisions:
  0     2013-12-17 20:01:37 root by boot-config-loader
  1     2013-12-13 15:59:31 root by boot-config-loader
  2     2013-12-12 21:56:22 vyos by cli
  3     2013-12-12 21:55:11 vyos by cli
  4     2013-12-12 21:27:54 vyos by cli
  5     2013-12-12 21:23:29 vyos by cli
  6     2013-12-12 21:13:59 root by boot-config-loader
  7     2013-12-12 16:25:19 vyos by cli
  8     2013-12-12 15:44:36 vyos by cli
  9     2013-12-12 15:42:07 root by boot-config-loader
  10   2013-12-12 15:42:06 root by init
:::
The command {cfgcmd}`compare` allows you to compare different type of configurations. It also lets you compare different revisions through the {cfgcmd}`compare N M` command, where N and M are revision numbers. The output will describe how the configuration N is when compared to M indicating with a plus sign (`+`) the additional parts N has when compared to M, and indicating with a minus sign (`-`) the lacking parts N misses when compared to M.

:::{code-block} none
vyos@vyos# compare 0 6
[edit interfaces]
+dummy dum1 {
+    address 10.189.0.1/31
+}
[edit interfaces ethernet eth0]
+vif 99 {
+    address 10.199.0.1/31
+}
-vif 900 {
-    address 192.0.2.4/24
-}
:::
```

```{opcmd} show system commit diff \<number\>

Show commit revision difference.
```

The command above also lets you see the difference between two commits. By default the difference with the running config is shown.

``` none
vyos@router# run show system commit diff 4
[edit system]
+ipv6 {
+    disable-forwarding
+}
```

This means four commits ago we did `set system ipv6 disable-forwarding`.

### Rollback Changes

You can rollback configuration changes using the rollback command. This will apply the selected revision and trigger a system reboot.

```{cfgcmd} rollback \<N\>

Rollback to revision N (currently requires reboot)

:::{code-block} none
vyos@vyos# compare 1
[edit system]
>host-name vyos-1
[edit]
vyos@vyos# rollback 1
Proceed with reboot? [confirm][y]
Broadcast message from root@vyos-1 (pts/0) (Tue Dec 17 21:07:45 2013):

The system is going down for reboot NOW!
:::
```

### Remote Archive

VyOS can upload the configuration to a remote location after each call to {cfgcmd}`commit`. You will have to set the commit-archive location. TFTP, FTP, SCP and SFTP servers are supported. Every time a {cfgcmd}`commit` is successful the `config.boot` file will be copied to the defined destination(s). The filename used on the remote host will be `config.boot-hostname.YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS`.

```{cfgcmd} set system config-management commit-archive location \<URI\>

Specify remote location of commit archive as any of the below {abbr}`URI (Uniform Resource Identifier)`
- `http://<user>:<passwd>@<host>:/<dir>`
- `https://<user>:<passwd>@<host>:/<dir>`
- `ftp://<user>:<passwd>@<host>/<dir>`
- `sftp://<user>:<passwd>@<host>/<dir>`
- `scp://<user>:<passwd>@<host>:/<dir>`
- `tftp://<host>/<dir>`
- `git+https://<user>:<passwd>@<host>/<path>`

Since username and password are part of the URI, they need to be properly url encoded if containing special characters.

:::{note}
The number of revisions don\'t affect the commit-archive.

When using Git as destination for the commit archive the `source-address` CLI option has no effect.

You may find VyOS not allowing the secure connection because it cannot verify the legitimacy of the remote server. You can use the workaround below to quickly add the remote host\'s SSH fingerprint to your `~/.ssh/known_hosts` file:
:::
:::{code-block} none
vyos@vyos# ssh-keyscan <host> >> ~/.ssh/known_hosts
:::
```

```{cfgcmd} set system config-management commit-archive vrf \<name\>

Specify name of the {abbr}`VRF (Virtual Routing and Forwarding)` instance used to upload the configuration to the remote system.
```

### Saving and loading manually

You can use the `save` and `load` commands if you want to manually manage specific configuration files.

When using the [save](#save) command, you can add a specific location where to store your configuration file. And, when needed it, you will be able to load it with the `load` command:

```{cfgcmd} load \<URI\>

Use this command to load a configuration which will replace the running configuration. Define the location of the configuration file to be loaded. You can use a path to a local file, an SCP address, an SFTP address, an FTP address, an HTTP address, an HTTPS address or a TFTP address.

:::{code-block} none
vyos@vyos# load
Possible completions:
<Enter>                      Load from system config file
<file>                       Load from file on local machine
scp://<user>:<passwd>@<host>:/<file> Load from file on remote machine
sftp://<user>:<passwd>@<host>/<file> Load from file on remote machine
ftp://<user>:<passwd>@<host>/<file>  Load from file on remote machine
http://<host>/<file>         Load from file on remote machine
https://<host>/<file>            Load from file on remote machine
tftp://<host>/<file>         Load from file on remote machine
:::

If you are remotely connected, you will lose your connection. You may want to copy first the config, edit it to ensure connectivity, and load the edited config.
```

### Restore Default

In the case you want to completely delete your configuration and restore the default one, you can enter the following command in configuration mode:

``` none
load /opt/vyatta/etc/config.boot.default
```

You will be asked if you want to continue. If you accept, you will have to use {cfgcmd}`commit` if you want to make the changes active.

Then you may want to {cfgcmd}`save` in order to delete the saved configuration too.

::::{note}
Prompt changes from `$` to `#`. To exit configuration mode, type `exit`.
::::