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These options are available on most CLI commands and help you control context, output, connectivity, and behavior.

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Context and profiles

Control which profile, organization, and GVC the command uses.

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--profile

Override the default profile for a single command. 
cpln <command> --profile <profile-name>
Set a default profile with cpln profile set-default <name> or use the CPLN_PROFILE environment variable.

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--org

Override the default organization. 
cpln <command> --org <org-name>
Set a default org in your profile with cpln profile update <name> --org <org-name>.

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--gvc

Override the default Global Virtual Cloud. 
cpln <command> --gvc <gvc-name>
Set a default GVC in your profile with cpln profile update <name> --gvc <gvc-name>.

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Output and formatting

Control how command results are displayed.

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--output or -o

Set the output format. 
cpln <command> --output <format>
Available formats:
  • text (default) - Human-readable table
  • json - Full JSON output
  • yaml - Full YAML output
  • json-slim - JSON without IDs, versions, timestamps
  • yaml-slim - YAML without IDs, versions, timestamps
  • tf - Terraform HCL format
  • crd - Kubernetes Custom Resource Definition
  • names - Resource names only
Use json-slim or yaml-slim to get clean output suitable for cpln apply.
See Output Formats for details.

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--color

Enable or disable colored output. 
cpln <command> --color=false
  • Type: boolean
  • Default: true
  • Automatically disabled when stdout is not a terminal

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--ts

Format timestamps in text output. 
cpln <command> --ts <format>
Available formats:
  • iso - ISO 8601 format
  • local - Local timezone
  • age - Relative time (e.g., “2 hours ago”)
Only applies when --output=text.

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--max

Limit the number of records displayed. 
cpln <command> --max <number>
  • Type: number
  • Default: 50
  • Values less than 1 return all records

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Request and connectivity

Control API connectivity and authentication.

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--token

Override the authentication token for a single command. 
cpln <command> --token <token>
View your profile’s token with cpln profile token <profile-name>.

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--endpoint

Override the API URL. 
cpln <command> --endpoint <url>
  • Default: https://api.cpln.io/
Only change this for testing or if directed by Control Plane support.

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--insecure or -k

Ignore TLS certificate errors. 
cpln <command> --insecure
Use only for debugging TLS issues. Prefer fixing certificate trust configuration.

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Resource creation and updates

Common flags for create, update, and patch commands.

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--name

Specify the resource name. 
cpln <command> create --name <resource-name>

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--description or --desc

Add a description to the resource. 
cpln <command> create --name <name> --description "Resource description"
If not provided, defaults to the resource name.

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--tag

Add tags to a resource. Tags are key-value pairs used for organization and policy targeting. 
cpln <command> create --tag <key>=<value>

cpln <command> create --tag environment=production
The = syntax auto-detects JSON types (true becomes boolean). Use : to force string values.

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--file or -f

Provide input from a file. 
cpln apply --file <path>
Use --file - to read from stdin: 
cat resource.yaml | cpln apply --file -

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Query filters

Filter results in query subcommands.

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--match

Query match type. 
cpln <command> query --match <type>
Available types:
  • all (default) - Match all conditions
  • any - Match any condition
  • none - Match none of the conditions

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--property or --prop

Filter by resource property. 
cpln <command> query --property <property>=<value>

cpln agent query --property name=my-agent

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--tag

Filter by tag. 
cpln <command> query --tag <key>=<value>
Example: 
cpln gvc query --tag environment=production

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--rel

Filter by resource relation. 
cpln workload query --rel gvc=my-gvc

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Diagnostics

Debug CLI and API interactions.

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--verbose or -v

Enable verbose output to stderr. 
cpln <command> --verbose
Shows additional operational details.

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--debug or -d

Display all HTTP communications with the API. 
cpln <command> --debug
Debug output may include sensitive information. Use with caution.

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Environment variable alternatives

Many flags can be set via environment variables:
FlagEnvironment Variable
--profileCPLN_PROFILE
--tokenCPLN_TOKEN
--orgCPLN_ORG
--gvcCPLN_GVC
export CPLN_ORG=my-org
export CPLN_GVC=my-gvc
cpln workload get

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Next steps

Output Formats

Learn about output format options

Profiles

Configure default contexts