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CLI reference

The Nextflow CLI takes top-level options, a command, and the command's arguments:

$ nextflow [options] COMMAND [arg...]

Options apply to every command. Each command has its own reference page with usage, options, subcommands, and examples.

Options

OptionDescription
-CComma-separated list of configuration files to use as the configuration set. Nextflow ignores all default configuration files.
-DSet JVM properties, for example -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8. Equivalent to the NXF_JVM_ARGS environment variable.
-bgRun Nextflow in the background. You can close your terminal without terminating the pipeline run.
-c, -configComma-separated list of configuration files to add to the configuration set.
-d, -dockerize
Deprecated in version 23.10
Launch Nextflow via Docker (experimental).
-hPrint available commands and options.
-logSet Nextflow log file path (default: .nextflow.log). Must be a local path.
-q, -quietDo not print the Nextflow banner and execution progress to the console. Does not affect error messages.
-remote-debugEnable JVM interactive remote debugging (experimental).
-syslogSend logs to a Syslog server, for example localhost:514.
-traceEnable trace level logging for the specified packages. Separate multiple packages with a comma, for example -trace nextflow,io.seqera.
-v, -versionPrint the program version.

Commands

CommandDescription
authManage Seqera Platform authentication.
cleanClean up cache and work directories.
cloneClone a remote project into a folder.
configPrint the resolved pipeline configuration.
consoleLaunch the Nextflow interactive console.
dropDelete the local copy of a project.
fsPerform basic filesystem operations.
helpPrint the top-level help or specific help for a command.
infoPrint project or system runtime information.
inspectInspect process settings in a pipeline project.
kuberunLaunch a Nextflow pipeline on a Kubernetes cluster.
launchLaunch a workflow in Seqera Platform.
lineageInspect lineage metadata for Nextflow runs.
lintLint Nextflow scripts and config files.
listList all downloaded projects.
logPrint the execution history and log information.
logfilePrint the contents of a Nextflow log file.
moduleManage Nextflow modules.
pluginManage plugins and run plugin-specific commands.
pullDownload or update a project.
runExecute a pipeline.
secretsManage pipeline secrets.
self-updateUpdate the Nextflow runtime to the latest available version.
viewView a project's script file(s).
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