CLI Reference

Complete reference for all Fabrik CLI commands.

Overview

Fabrik uses an activation-based approach for managing build caches. Instead of wrapping your build commands, Fabrik runs as a background daemon that your build tools connect to automatically.

Two main workflows:

Shell Integration (fabrik activate) - Automatic daemon management for development
Explicit Execution (fabrik exec) - Manual daemon management for CI/CD

See the Getting Started Guide for detailed usage examples.

`fabrik activate`

Set up shell integration to automatically manage the cache daemon.

Usage

bash

# Initial setup - outputs shell hook code
fabrik activate <SHELL>

# Check status and start daemon if needed
fabrik activate --status

Shells

bash - Bash shell
zsh - Zsh shell
fish - Fish shell

Examples

bash

# One-time shell setup (add to .bashrc or .zshrc)
echo 'eval "$(fabrik activate bash)"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

# For zsh
echo 'eval "$(fabrik activate zsh)"' >> ~/.zshrc

# For fish
echo 'fabrik activate fish | source' >> ~/.config/fish/config.fish

# Manual activation (check/start daemon)
fabrik activate --status

What It Does

When you cd into a directory:

Searches for .fabrik.toml up the directory tree
Computes configuration hash to identify unique daemon
Checks if daemon with that config is running
Starts daemon if not running

Exports environment variables for build tools:

bash

FABRIK_HTTP_URL=http://127.0.0.1:58234
FABRIK_GRPC_URL=grpc://127.0.0.1:58235
GRADLE_BUILD_CACHE_URL=http://127.0.0.1:58234
NX_SELF_HOSTED_REMOTE_CACHE_SERVER=http://127.0.0.1:58234
XCODE_CACHE_SERVER=http://127.0.0.1:58234

Configuration

Searches for configuration in this order:

$PWD/.fabrik.toml
$PWD/../.fabrik.toml (continues up to root)
~/.config/fabrik/config.toml (global fallback)

Different configurations = different daemon instances.

See the Getting Started Guide for complete setup.

`fabrik exec`

Execute a command with guaranteed daemon lifecycle.

Usage

bash

fabrik exec [OPTIONS] <COMMAND> [ARGS...]

Options

Option	Description
`--keep-alive`	Don't stop daemon after command exits (default)
`--kill-after`	Stop daemon when command completes
`--config <PATH>`	Path to configuration file

Examples

bash

# Basic usage - daemon keeps running after
fabrik exec bazel build //...
fabrik exec nx build my-app
fabrik exec gradle build

# Keep daemon alive for subsequent commands
fabrik exec --keep-alive nx build my-app
nx test my-app  # Reuses the same daemon
fabrik deactivate  # Clean up when done

# Stop daemon after command
fabrik exec --kill-after bazel test //...

# With custom configuration
fabrik exec --config .fabrik.toml bazel build //...

What It Does

Finds .fabrik.toml in current directory tree
Starts daemon if not running (or reuses existing)
Exports environment variables (FABRIK_HTTP_URL, etc.)
Executes your command with those variables set
Optionally stops daemon after completion (if --kill-after)

When to Use

CI/CD pipelines - Ensures consistent cache behavior
One-off builds - Don't want permanent shell integration
Scripts - Programmatic daemon management

See the Getting Started Guide for complete examples.

`fabrik daemon`

Manually manage cache daemons.

Commands

bash

# Start daemon for current directory's config
fabrik daemon start [OPTIONS]

# Stop daemon for current config  
fabrik daemon stop

# List all running daemons
fabrik daemon list

# Stop all daemons
fabrik daemon stop --all

# Clean up orphaned daemons
fabrik daemon clean

Options (for `start`)

Option	Description
`--config <PATH>`	Path to configuration file

Examples

bash

# Start daemon explicitly
fabrik daemon start

# Start with custom config
fabrik daemon start --config .fabrik.toml

# Use in multiple terminals
bazel build //...    # Terminal 1
nx build demo        # Terminal 2
gradle build         # Terminal 3

# List running daemons
fabrik daemon list

# Stop specific daemon (for current directory)
fabrik daemon stop

# Stop all daemons
fabrik daemon stop --all

# Clean up orphaned daemons
fabrik daemon clean

Daemon State

Daemons are tracked in ~/.fabrik/daemons/<config-hash>/:

~/.fabrik/daemons/<config-hash>/
├── pid              # Process ID
├── ports.json       # HTTP/gRPC/metrics ports
├── config_path.txt  # Path to config file

Each unique configuration gets its own daemon instance.

`fabrik deactivate`

Remove Fabrik environment variables and optionally stop daemons.

Usage

bash

fabrik deactivate [OPTIONS]

Options

Option	Description
`--stop-daemon`	Also stop the daemon for current directory

Examples

bash

# Unset environment variables only
fabrik deactivate

# Also stop the daemon
fabrik deactivate --stop-daemon

What It Does

Removes Fabrik environment variables from your shell:

FABRIK_HTTP_URL
FABRIK_GRPC_URL
FABRIK_CONFIG_HASH
FABRIK_DAEMON_PID
GRADLE_BUILD_CACHE_URL
NX_SELF_HOSTED_REMOTE_CACHE_SERVER
XCODE_CACHE_SERVER

`fabrik server`

Run a regional/cloud cache server (Layer 2 cache).

Note: This is for running Fabrik as a remote cache server that multiple developers/CI runners connect to. Most users should use fabrik activate or fabrik exec instead.

Usage

bash

fabrik server --config <CONFIG_FILE>

Options

Option	Description
`--config <PATH>`	Path to server configuration file (required)

Examples

bash

# Start Layer 2 server
fabrik server --config /etc/fabrik/server.toml

# Generate example server config
fabrik config generate --template server > server.toml
fabrik server --config server.toml

Server Configuration

Server configuration requires more settings than local daemon:

toml

[cache]
dir = "/data/fabrik/cache"
max_size = "500GB"

[[upstream]]
url = "s3://my-bucket/cache/"
region = "us-east-1"
permanent = true

[auth]
public_key_file = "/etc/fabrik/jwt-public-key.pem"

[fabrik]
enabled = true
bind = "0.0.0.0:7070"  # gRPC server for Fabrik protocol

[observability]
metrics_bind = "0.0.0.0:9091"
health_bind = "0.0.0.0:8888"

See Architecture for complete server setup.

`fabrik config`

Configuration utilities.

Commands

bash

# Validate configuration file
fabrik config validate <PATH>

# Generate example configuration
fabrik config generate --template <TEMPLATE>

# Show effective configuration
fabrik config show

Examples

bash

# Validate project config
fabrik config validate .fabrik.toml

# Generate project config template
fabrik config generate --template project > .fabrik.toml

# Generate server config template
fabrik config generate --template server > server.toml

# Show current effective configuration
fabrik config show

Templates

project - Local daemon configuration (for .fabrik.toml)
server - Remote server configuration (for Layer 2)

Project Config Example

toml

[cache]
dir = ".fabrik/cache"
max_size = "10GB"

# Optional: Connect to remote cache
[[upstream]]
url = "grpc://cache.example.com:7070"
timeout = "30s"

# Optional: Authentication
[auth]
token = "${FABRIK_TOKEN}"

`fabrik health`

Health check and diagnostics.

Usage

bash

fabrik health [OPTIONS]

Options

Option	Description
`--url <URL>`	Health endpoint URL (default: `http://localhost:8888/health`)
`--timeout <DURATION>`	Request timeout (default: "5s")

Examples

bash

# Check local daemon
fabrik health

# Check remote server
fabrik health --url https://cache.example.com:8888/health

# With custom timeout
fabrik health --timeout 10s

`fabrik run`

Execute scripts with automatic caching based on KDL annotations.

Usage

bash

# Execute script with caching
fabrik run <SCRIPT> [-- SCRIPT_ARGS...]

# Script management operations
fabrik run --status <SCRIPT>    # Check cache status
fabrik run --list               # List all cached scripts
fabrik run --stats              # Show cache statistics

Options

Option	Description
`--status`	Check cache status for a script
`--list`	List all cached scripts
`--stats`	Show script cache statistics
`--no-cache`	Force execution without checking cache
`--clean`	Remove cached outputs before running
`--dry-run`	Show what would happen without executing
`--cache-only`	Fail if cache miss (for CI validation)
`--verbose`, `-v`	Verbose output

Examples

bash

# Execute script with caching
fabrik run build.sh

# Check cache status
fabrik run --status build.sh

# List all cached scripts
fabrik run --list

# Show cache statistics
fabrik run --stats

# Force re-execution
fabrik run --no-cache build.sh

# Clean cache and re-run
fabrik run --clean build.sh

See Standard Recipes Documentation for details on FABRIK annotations and script caching.

`fabrik cas`

Content-Addressed Storage operations for blob storage.

CAS operations work with content hashes (SHA256) to store and retrieve arbitrary binary data.

Commands

bash

# Get a blob by hash
fabrik cas get <HASH> [--output <FILE>]

# Store a file (returns hash)
fabrik cas put <FILE> [--hash <EXPECTED_HASH>]

# Check if blob exists
fabrik cas exists <HASH>

# Delete a blob
fabrik cas delete <HASH> [--force]

# Show blob information
fabrik cas info <HASH>

# List all blobs
fabrik cas list [--verbose]

# Show storage statistics
fabrik cas stats

Examples

bash

# Store a file in CAS
fabrik cas put myfile.bin
# Output: abc123def456... (hash)

# Retrieve blob by hash
fabrik cas get abc123def456... --output restored.bin

# Check if blob exists
fabrik cas exists abc123def456...

# Get blob information
fabrik cas info abc123def456...

# List all blobs
fabrik cas list --verbose

# Show CAS statistics
fabrik cas stats

# Delete a blob
fabrik cas delete abc123def456... --force

JSON Output

Most commands support --json flag for machine-readable output:

bash

fabrik cas put file.bin --json
# {"hash":"abc123...","size_bytes":1024,"success":true}

fabrik cas get abc123... --output file.bin --json
# {"hash":"abc123...","output_path":"file.bin","size_bytes":1024,"success":true}

`fabrik kv`

Key-Value storage operations for action cache and metadata.

KV operations use arbitrary string keys (not content hashes) to store and retrieve data.

Commands

bash

# Get value by key
fabrik kv get <KEY> [--output <FILE>]

# Store key-value pair
fabrik kv put <KEY> <VALUE>
fabrik kv put <KEY> --file <FILE>

# Check if key exists
fabrik kv exists <KEY>

# Delete key-value pair
fabrik kv delete <KEY> [--force]

# List all keys
fabrik kv list [--prefix <PREFIX>]

# Show storage statistics
fabrik kv stats

Examples

bash

# Store a value
fabrik kv put build-result "success"

# Store from file
fabrik kv put build-metadata --file metadata.json

# Retrieve value
fabrik kv get build-result

# Retrieve to file
fabrik kv get build-metadata --output metadata.json

# Check if key exists
fabrik kv exists build-result

# List all keys
fabrik kv list

# List keys with prefix
fabrik kv list --prefix build-

# Show KV statistics
fabrik kv stats

# Delete a key
fabrik kv delete build-result --force

JSON Output

All commands support --json flag:

bash

fabrik kv put mykey "myvalue" --json
# {"key":"mykey","value_bytes":7,"success":true}

fabrik kv list --json
# [{"key":"build-result"},{"key":"build-metadata"}]

fabrik kv stats --json
# {"total_keys":10,"total_bytes":5242880}

Use Cases

Action Cache: Store build results keyed by input hash

bash

# Bazel/Gradle-style action cache
INPUT_HASH=$(sha256sum inputs.txt | cut -d' ' -f1)
fabrik kv put "action:$INPUT_HASH" --file result.json

Build Metadata: Store timestamps, versions, etc.

bash

fabrik kv put "last-build-time" "$(date -Iseconds)"
fabrik kv put "app-version" "1.2.3"

`fabrik p2p`

Manage peer-to-peer cache sharing on local networks.

P2P cache sharing (Layer 0.5) allows automatic discovery and sharing of build caches between machines on the same network, with 1-5ms latency.

Commands

bash

# Generate a secure random secret
fabrik p2p secret [--length <BYTES>]

# List discovered peers
fabrik p2p list [--verbose] [--json]

# Show P2P status
fabrik p2p status [--json]

# Approve a peer (grant cache access)
fabrik p2p approve <PEER> [--permanent]

# Deny a peer (revoke cache access)
fabrik p2p deny <PEER>

# Clear all consent records
fabrik p2p clear [--force]

Examples

bash

# Generate a secure random secret (default: 32 bytes = 64 hex chars)
fabrik p2p secret
# Output: 2295b4779c0fee78a732f249a32e25a03b7b3329db51719058b56aabae426d43

# Generate shorter secret (minimum 16 bytes for security)
fabrik p2p secret --length 16
# Output: fc5d669b4220c90e3ac0e48c3c8fcaac

# Generate and save secret to environment
export P2P_SECRET=$(fabrik p2p secret)

# Create config that uses the environment variable
cat >> .fabrik.toml <<EOF
[p2p]
enabled = true
secret = "\${P2P_SECRET}"  # Uses environment variable
consent_mode = "notify-once"
EOF

# Start daemon with P2P enabled
fabrik daemon start

# List discovered peers
fabrik p2p list
# Output:
# [fabrik] Discovered 2 peer(s):
#
#   • alice-macbook (192.168.1.100:7071)
#   • bob-desktop (192.168.1.101:7071)

# List peers with details
fabrik p2p list --verbose
# Output:
# [fabrik] Discovered 2 peer(s):
#
#   • alice-macbook (192.168.1.100:7071)
#     Machine ID: a3f5d9c2b1e8f7a4
#     Port: 7071
#     Accepting requests: true
#
#   • bob-desktop (192.168.1.101:7071)
#     Machine ID: b7e4a1f9c8d2e3f6
#     Port: 7071
#     Accepting requests: true

# Show P2P status
fabrik p2p status
# Output:
# [fabrik] P2P Cache Sharing Status
#
#   Enabled: true
#   Advertise: true
#   Discovery: true
#   Port: 7071
#   Consent mode: notify-once
#   Max peers: 10
#
#   Peers discovered: 2

# Approve peer permanently
fabrik p2p approve alice-macbook --permanent
# Output: [fabrik] Permanently approved peer: alice-macbook

# Approve peer for current session only
fabrik p2p approve bob-desktop
# Output: [fabrik] Approved peer for this session: bob-desktop

# Deny a peer
fabrik p2p deny charlie-laptop
# Output: [fabrik] Denied peer: charlie-laptop

# Clear all consent records
fabrik p2p clear
# Output:
# [fabrik] This will clear all stored P2P consents.
# [fabrik] You will need to re-approve peers next time they request access.
# [fabrik] Continue? [y/N] y
# [fabrik] Cleared all P2P consents

# Force clear without confirmation
fabrik p2p clear --force

JSON Output

All P2P commands support --json for machine-readable output:

bash

fabrik p2p list --json
# [
#   {
#     "machine_id": "a3f5d9c2b1e8f7a4",
#     "hostname": "alice-macbook",
#     "address": "192.168.1.100",
#     "port": 7071,
#     "accepting_requests": true
#   },
#   {
#     "machine_id": "b7e4a1f9c8d2e3f6",
#     "hostname": "bob-desktop",
#     "address": "192.168.1.101",
#     "port": 7071,
#     "accepting_requests": true
#   }
# ]

fabrik p2p status --json
# {
#   "enabled": true,
#   "advertise": true,
#   "discovery": true,
#   "bind_port": 7071,
#   "consent_mode": "notify-once",
#   "peers_discovered": 2,
#   "max_peers": 10
# }

Configuration

P2P must be enabled in your .fabrik.toml:

toml

[p2p]
enabled = true
secret = "${P2P_SECRET}"        # Use env var (min 16 chars, shared across team)
consent_mode = "notify-once"    # notify-once | notify-always | always-allow
bind_port = 7071                # Port for P2P server (default: 7071)
advertise = true                # Advertise this machine to peers
discovery = true                # Discover other peers
max_peers = 10                  # Maximum number of peers to connect to

Generate and set the secret:

bash

# Generate a secure secret
fabrik p2p secret

# Add to your shell profile (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, etc.)
export P2P_SECRET=<generated-secret>

notify-once - System notification on first access, remembered
notify-always - System notification every time
always-allow - No notifications, always allow (use with caution)

Security

All P2P communication authenticated via HMAC-SHA256 with shared secret
Replay protection with 5-minute time window
User consent required before cache access
Consent records stored in ~/.local/share/fabrik/p2p/consents.json

Use Cases

Team collaboration:

bash

# Same office network
# Developer A builds feature → Developer B instantly gets cached artifacts
# 1-5ms latency vs 20-50ms from cloud cache

Multi-machine development:

bash

# MacBook + Linux desktop on same home network
# Build on one machine → cache available on other

CI/CD optimization:

bash

# Multiple CI runners on same LAN
# First runner builds → subsequent runners use P2P cache
# Reduces cloud cache bandwidth costs

Global Options

Available for all commands:

Option	Description
`--help`, `-h`	Show help information
`--version`, `-V`	Show version information
`--verbose`, `-v`	Enable verbose logging
`--quiet`, `-q`	Suppress non-error output

Environment Variables

Authentication

TUIST_TOKEN - Shorthand for authentication token
TUIST_CONFIG_AUTH_TOKEN - Full form for authentication token

AWS Credentials (for S3 upstream)

AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID - AWS access key
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY - AWS secret key
AWS_REGION - AWS region

Configuration Prefix

Any configuration option can be set via TUIST_CONFIG_* environment variables:

bash

export TUIST_CONFIG_CACHE_DIR=/tmp/cache
export TUIST_CONFIG_CACHE_MAX_SIZE=10GB
export TUIST_CONFIG_UPSTREAM_0_URL=grpc://cache.example.com:7070

Exit Codes

Code	Description
0	Success
1	General error
2	Configuration error
3	Authentication error
130	Interrupted by user (Ctrl+C)

CLI Reference ​

Overview ​

fabrik activate ​

Usage ​

Shells ​

Examples ​

What It Does ​

Configuration ​

fabrik exec ​

Usage ​

Options ​

Examples ​

What It Does ​

When to Use ​

fabrik daemon ​

Commands ​

Options (for start) ​

Examples ​

Daemon State ​

fabrik deactivate ​

Usage ​

Options ​

Examples ​

What It Does ​

fabrik server ​

Usage ​

Options ​

Examples ​

Server Configuration ​

fabrik config ​

Commands ​

Examples ​

Templates ​

Project Config Example ​

fabrik health ​

Usage ​

Options ​

Examples ​

fabrik run ​

Usage ​

Options ​

Examples ​

fabrik cas ​

Commands ​

Examples ​

JSON Output ​

fabrik kv ​

Commands ​

Examples ​

JSON Output ​

Use Cases ​

fabrik p2p ​

Commands ​

Examples ​

JSON Output ​

Configuration ​

Consent Modes ​

Security ​

Use Cases ​

Global Options ​

Environment Variables ​

Authentication ​

AWS Credentials (for S3 upstream) ​

Configuration Prefix ​

Exit Codes ​

CLI Reference

Overview

`fabrik activate`

Usage

Shells

Examples

What It Does

Configuration

`fabrik exec`

Usage

Options

Examples

What It Does

When to Use

`fabrik daemon`

Commands

Options (for `start`)

Examples

Daemon State

`fabrik deactivate`

Usage

Options

Examples

What It Does

`fabrik server`

Usage

Options

Examples

Server Configuration

`fabrik config`

Commands

Examples

Templates

Project Config Example

`fabrik health`

Usage

Options

Examples

`fabrik run`

Usage

Options

Examples

`fabrik cas`

Commands

Examples

JSON Output

`fabrik kv`

Commands

Examples

JSON Output

Use Cases

`fabrik p2p`

Commands

Examples

JSON Output

Configuration

Consent Modes

Security

Use Cases

Global Options

Environment Variables

Authentication

AWS Credentials (for S3 upstream)

Configuration Prefix

Exit Codes