CLI Reference

Complete command-line interface reference for Salt Bundle.

Global Options

Available for all commands:

salt-bundle [GLOBAL_OPTIONS] COMMAND [SUBCOMMAND] [OPTIONS]

Option	Description
`--debug`	Enable debug output
`--quiet`	Suppress output
`--project-dir PATH`, `-C PATH`	Project directory (default: current directory)
`--help`	Show help message
`--version`	Show version

Command Structure

Salt Bundle now uses a hierarchical command structure with three main groups:

formula - Commands for managing Salt formulas
project - Commands for managing Salt projects and dependencies
repo` - Commands for managing formula repositories

Formula Commands

Commands for creating, packaging, and managing Salt formulas.

formula init

Initialize a new Salt formula configuration.

salt-bundle package init [OPTIONS]

Options:

Option	Description
`--force`	Overwrite existing configuration

Examples:

# Initialize formula interactively
cd my-formula
salt-bundle package init

# Force overwrite existing config
salt-bundle package init --force

# Initialize in specific directory
salt-bundle package init -C /path/to/package

Creates:

FORMULA with formula metadata

Interactive prompts:

Formula name
Version
Description
Salt min version (optional)
Salt max version (optional)

formula pack

Package a Salt formula into a distributable tar.gz archive.

salt-bundle package pack [OPTIONS]

Options:

Option	Description
`--output-dir PATH`, `-o PATH`	Output directory for archive (default: current directory)

Examples:

# Pack formula in current directory
cd my-formula
salt-bundle package pack

# Pack to specific directory
salt-bundle package pack --output-dir /path/to/output

# Pack from different directory
salt-bundle package pack -C /path/to/package

Output:

{name}-{version}.tar.gz archive

Requirements:

FORMULA must exist
Valid semver version
Valid package name

formula verify

Verify integrity of installed formula dependencies.

salt-bundle package verify

Examples:

# Verify all dependencies
salt-bundle package verify

# Verify in specific project directory
salt-bundle package verify -C /path/to/project

Checks:

All packages from lock file are installed
FORMULA exists in each package
Package versions match lock file

Exit codes:

0 - All dependencies verified
1 - Errors found

formula sync

Sync vendor formula modules to Salt's extension modules cache.

salt-bundle package sync [OPTIONS]

Options:

Option	Description
`--cache-dir PATH`	Salt cache directory (auto-detected if not specified)

Examples:

# Auto-detect cache directory and sync
salt-bundle package sync

# Specify custom cache directory
salt-bundle package sync --cache-dir /var/cache/salt/minion/extmods

# Sync from different project directory
salt-bundle package sync -C /path/to/project

Module types synchronized:

modules, states, grains, pillar, returners, runners
output, utils, renderers, engines, proxy, beacons

Behavior:

Copies custom modules from vendor formulas
Runs salt-call --local saltutil.sync_all automatically

Project Commands

Commands for managing Salt projects with formula dependencies.

project init

Initialize a new Salt project with dependency management.

salt-bundle project init [OPTIONS]

Options:

Option	Description
`--force`	Overwrite existing configuration

Examples:

# Initialize project interactively
mkdir my-project
cd my-project
salt-bundle project init

# Force overwrite existing configuration
salt-bundle project init --force

# Initialize in specific directory
salt-bundle project init -C /path/to/project

Creates:

Saltfile with project configuration

Next steps displayed:

Add dependency objects to Saltfile
Add a source that contains index.yaml, or register a global source with salt-bundle repo add
Resolve and install: salt-bundle project update

project install

Install project dependencies from lock file.

salt-bundle project install

Examples:

# Install from lock file
salt-bundle project install

# Install in different directory
salt-bundle project install -C /path/to/project

Behavior:

Reads Saltfile.lock for exact versions
Downloads packages from configured repositories
Installs to vendor directory
Syncs Salt extensions automatically

Requirements:

Saltfile must exist
Saltfile.lock must exist
At least one repository configured

Exit codes:

0 - Installation successful
1 - Error occurred

Use cases:

Production deployments
CI/CD pipelines
Reproducible installations

project update

Resolve dependencies and update lock file.

salt-bundle project update

Examples:

# Resolve and install all dependencies
salt-bundle project update

# Update in specific project directory
salt-bundle project update -C /path/to/project

Behavior:

Reads direct dependencies from Saltfile
Queries configured repositories for available versions
Recursively resolves transitive dependencies (dependencies of dependencies)
Resolves version constraints to the best matching versions
Creates or updates Saltfile.lock with the full tree of resolved packages
Downloads and installs all resolved packages to the vendor directory
Syncs Salt extensions

Dependency resolution:

Uses a dependency's source repository, or global user repositories when source is omitted
Each source must provide index.yaml
Resolves version constraints (e.g., >=1.0.0, ~1.2.0, ^1.0.0)
Automatically discovers and pulls in transitive dependencies defined in formula FORMULA files
Fails if any dependency in the tree cannot be resolved or if there are unresolvable version conflicts

Use cases:

Adding new dependencies
Updating to newer versions
Initial project setup

Exit codes:

0 - Dependencies resolved and installed
1 - Resolution or installation failed

project vendor

Install dependencies from lock file (reproducible deploy).

salt-bundle project vendor

Examples:

# Install from lock file
salt-bundle project vendor

# Install in specific project directory
salt-bundle project vendor -C /path/to/project

Behavior:

Alias for salt-bundle project install
Only uses Saltfile.lock
No dependency resolution

Use cases:

Production deployments
CI/CD pipelines
Team collaboration
Ensuring consistent environments

Repository Commands

Commands for managing formula repositories.

repo add

Add a formula repository to project or global configuration.

salt-bundle repo add --name NAME --url URL

Options:

Option	Description
`--name NAME`	Repository name (unique identifier)
`--url URL`	Repository URL (must contain index.yaml)

Examples:

# Add remote repository to project
salt-bundle repo add --name official --url https://formulas.example.com/

# Add local repository
salt-bundle repo add --name local --url file:///opt/formulas/

# Add to global configuration (no project found)
cd /tmp
salt-bundle repo add --name global --url https://repo.example.com/

Repository types:

HTTP/HTTPS: Remote repositories
File: Local directories (file:///path/to/repo/)
GitHub Pages: Static hosting

Behavior:

If Saltfile exists: adds to project
Otherwise: adds to global user config (~/.salt-bundle/config.yaml)

repo index

Generate or update repository index from formula packages.

salt-bundle repo index [DIRECTORY] [OPTIONS]

Arguments:

Argument	Description
`DIRECTORY`	Directory containing `.tar.gz` files (default: current directory)

Options:

Option	Description
`--output-dir PATH`, `-o PATH`	Output directory for `index.yaml` (default: same as input directory)
`--base-url URL`, `-u URL`	Base URL for package links in index

Examples:

# Generate index in current directory
cd /srv/salt-repo
salt-bundle repo index

# Generate for specific directory
salt-bundle repo index /path/to/repo

# With base URL (absolute URLs)
salt-bundle repo index --base-url https://formulas.example.com/

# Output to different directory
salt-bundle repo index /srv/packages --output-dir /srv/repo

Output:

index.yaml with all package versions

Behavior:

Scans directory for .tar.gz files
Reads metadata from each archive
Calculates SHA256 digests
Merges with existing index.yaml (if present)
Sorts versions (newest first)

repo release

Release formulas to repository (automated packaging and publishing).

salt-bundle repo release --formulas-dir PATH --provider PROVIDER [OPTIONS]

Required Options:

Option	Description
`--formulas-dir PATH`, `-f PATH`	Directory containing formulas (required)
`--provider PROVIDER`, `-p PROVIDER`	Release provider: `local` or `github` (required)

Provider: local

Option	Description
`--pkg-storage-dir PATH`	Directory for packages and index.yaml (required for local)

Provider: github

Requires environment variables:

GITHUB_TOKEN - Personal access token with repo permissions
GITHUB_REPOSITORY - Repository in format owner/repo

Option	Description
`--index-branch BRANCH`	Git branch for index.yaml (default: `gh-pages`)

Common Options:

Option	Description
`--single`	Treat formulas-dir as single formula (not subdirectories)
`--skip-packaging`	Skip packaging step (use existing .tgz files)
`--dry-run`	Show what would be done without doing it

Examples:

# Local provider - multiple formulas
cd formulas/
salt-bundle repo release \
  --formulas-dir . \
  --provider local \
  --pkg-storage-dir /srv/salt-repo

# Local provider - single formula
cd my-formula
salt-bundle repo release \
  --formulas-dir . \
  --single \
  --provider local \
  --pkg-storage-dir /srv/salt-repo

# GitHub provider - multiple formulas
export GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_xxxx
export GITHUB_REPOSITORY=owner/repo
cd formulas/
salt-bundle repo release \
  --formulas-dir . \
  --provider github

# GitHub provider - single formula
cd my-formula
export GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_xxxx
export GITHUB_REPOSITORY=owner/repo
salt-bundle repo release \
  --formulas-dir . \
  --single \
  --provider github

# Custom index branch
salt-bundle repo release \
  --formulas-dir . \
  --provider github \
  --index-branch main

# Dry run mode
salt-bundle repo release \
  --formulas-dir . \
  --provider local \
  --pkg-storage-dir /tmp/test \
  --dry-run

# Skip packaging (use existing .tgz)
salt-bundle repo release \
  --formulas-dir . \
  --provider local \
  --pkg-storage-dir /srv/repo \
  --skip-packaging

Workflow:

Discovery - Scans for formulas
Version Check - Checks which versions are new
Packaging - Packs new versions (unless --skip-packaging)
Publishing - Uploads to provider
Index Update - Updates index.yaml

Configuration Files

Project: Saltfile

Location: Project root

vendor_dir: vendor

dependencies:
  - name: nginx
    version: "^2.0.0"
    source: https://salt-formulas.example.com/
  - name: mysql
    version: "~5.7.0"

See Project Configuration.

Formula: FORMULA

Location: Formula root

name: my-formula
version: 1.0.0
description: My Salt formula
formula_path: formula  # Optional: package files from this relative subdirectory

maintainers:
  - name: Developer Name
    email: dev@example.com

salt:
  min_version: "3006"
  max_version: "3009"

dependencies:
  - name: common
    version: "^1.0"

See Formula Configuration.

Lock File: Saltfile.lock

Location: Project root (generated)

dependencies:
  package-name:
    version: 1.2.3
    repository: https://formulas.example.com/
    url: https://example.com/package-1.2.3.tgz
    digest: sha256:abc123...
    type: formula

User Config: ~/.salt-bundle/config.yaml

Global user configuration.

repositories:
  - name: main
    url: https://formulas.example.com/
  - name: local
    url: file:///srv/salt-repo/

Common Workflows

Publishing Workflow

# 1. Create/edit formula
cd my-formula
vim FORMULA  # Update version

# 2. Pack
salt-bundle package pack

# 3. Copy to repository
cp my-formula-1.0.0.tar.gz /srv/salt-repo/

# 4. Update index
cd /srv/salt-repo
salt-bundle repo index

Or use release command:

cd my-formula
salt-bundle repo release \
  --formulas-dir . \
  --single \
  --provider local \
  --pkg-storage-dir /srv/salt-repo

Installation Workflow

# 1. Create project
mkdir my-project
cd my-project
salt-bundle project init

# 2. Add repository
salt-bundle repo add --name main --url https://formulas.example.com/

# 3. Edit dependencies
vim Saltfile

# 4. Update (resolve and install)
salt-bundle project update

# 5. Verify
salt-bundle package verify

Update Workflow

# 1. Update to latest versions
salt-bundle project update

# 2. Test
./test.sh

# 3. Commit if successful
git add Saltfile.lock
git commit -m "Update dependencies"

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
`0`	Success
`1`	Error occurred

Environment Variables

GITHUB_TOKEN

GitHub personal access token for github provider.

Required permissions:

repo (full repository access)

Create token:

GitHub → Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens
Generate new token (classic)
Select repo scope
Copy token

Usage:

export GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_xxxxxxxxxxxx
salt-bundle repo release --provider github ...

GITHUB_REPOSITORY

GitHub repository in format owner/repo.

Usage:

export GITHUB_REPOSITORY=myorg/salt-formulas
salt-bundle repo release --provider github ...

Debugging

Enable Debug Mode

salt-bundle --debug project install

Output includes:

HTTP requests/responses
File operations
Dependency resolution details
Stack traces on errors

Quiet Mode

salt-bundle --quiet project install

Suppresses all output except errors.

Check Version

salt-bundle --version

Quick Reference

Formula Developer

salt-bundle package init          # Initialize package
salt-bundle package pack           # Package package
salt-bundle repo release ...       # Publish to repository

Project Developer

salt-bundle project init           # Initialize project
salt-bundle repo add ...           # Add repository
salt-bundle project update         # Resolve and install
salt-bundle project install        # Install from lock
salt-bundle package verify         # Verify installation
salt-bundle package sync           # Sync to Salt cache

Repository Manager

salt-bundle repo index             # Generate index
salt-bundle repo release ...       # Automated release

Next Steps

Installation Guide - Using CLI for installation
Publishing Guide - Using CLI for publishing
Project Configuration - Configuration reference
Formula Configuration - Formula metadata

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cli-reference.md

File metadata and controls

CLI Reference

Global Options

Command Structure

Formula Commands

formula init

formula pack

formula verify

formula sync

Project Commands

project init

project install

project update

project vendor

Repository Commands

repo add

repo index

repo release

Configuration Files

Project: Saltfile

Formula: FORMULA

Lock File: Saltfile.lock

User Config: ~/.salt-bundle/config.yaml

Common Workflows

Publishing Workflow

Installation Workflow

Update Workflow

Exit Codes

Environment Variables

GITHUB_TOKEN

GITHUB_REPOSITORY

Debugging

Enable Debug Mode

Quiet Mode

Check Version

Quick Reference

Formula Developer

Project Developer

Repository Manager

Next Steps