Command Reference
Every git, docker, kubectl, npm, and CI command - what it does and the errors it throws.
A reference for the commands developers run in CI/CD: git, Docker, kubectl, Helm, npm, yarn, pnpm, pip, cargo, go, Maven, Gradle, Terraform, and the GitHub CLI - usage, flags, and the common failures of each.
git
Branching, history, remotes, recovery.
gh run referenceEvery gh run subcommand for inspecting GitHub Actions from the terminal, including how to get only the failed
git branch --set-upstream-togit branch --set-upstream-to links a local branch to a remote-tracking ref.
git fetch --deepengit fetch --deepen adds more commits to a shallow clone and --unshallow makes it complete.
git grepgit grep searches tracked file contents fast, respecting the index and revisions.
git ls-filesgit ls-files lists files Git knows about in the index. Reference for --others, --modified,
git mergegit merge joins two branch histories into one. Reference for --no-ff, --squash, --abort, and how to detect
git rev-parseHow to use git rev-parse in CI: why --abbrev-ref HEAD returns HEAD instead of your branch name after
git rev-parsegit rev-parse resolves refs to SHAs and reports repo paths - core CI plumbing.
git rmgit rm removes files from the working tree and the index. Reference for --cached, -r, -f, and the "has staged
git switch --detachgit switch --detach checks out a commit without attaching to a branch.
git update-refgit update-ref creates, updates, or deletes a ref with old-value checks.
Docker
build, run, compose, registry.
kubectl & Helm
Deploy, inspect, debug, release.
helm linthelm lint checks a chart for problems before packaging or install.
helm statushelm status shows a release's current state, resources, and notes.
helm templatehelm template renders a chart to manifests locally without a cluster.
kubectl apply --server-sidekubectl apply --server-side moves the merge to the API server with field managers.
kubectl config use-contextkubectl config use-context switches the active kubeconfig context.
kubectl wait --for=conditionkubectl wait --for=condition blocks until a resource reaches a condition.
Kustomize replacementsThe replacements field copies a value from a source field into target fields across resources.
npm / yarn / pnpm
Install, scripts, publish.
npm audit fixnpm audit fix updates vulnerable dependencies to safe versions.
npm cinpm ci does a clean, reproducible install from package-lock.json - the right command for CI.
npm unlinknpm unlink removes a symlinked package created by npm link and restores the real dependency.
pnpm runpnpm run executes package.json scripts, with --filter and -r to run across workspaces.
pnpm updatepnpm update (pnpm up) upgrades dependencies within or across ranges with --latest, and -r across workspaces.
yarn installyarn install resolves and installs dependencies from yarn.lock.
yarn workspacesyarn workspaces runs commands across a monorepo and yarn workspace targets one package.
cargo / go / Maven / Gradle
Build and test toolchains.
actionlintactionlint statically checks .github/workflows YAML for syntax, expression, and shell errors.
bazel runReference for bazel run in CI/CD: build then execute a runnable target, pass program arguments after a
datadog-ci sourcemapsdatadog-ci sourcemaps upload sends JS source maps to Datadog so RUM error stack traces deminify.
dotnet ef migrationsdotnet ef migrations and database update apply EF Core schema changes.
go mod downloadgo mod download fetches module dependencies into the module cache.
mvn dependency:treeWhat dependency:tree does - prints the full transitive dependency graph so you can find version conflicts and
mvn help:effective-pomWhat help:effective-pom does - prints the fully resolved POM after inheritance, profiles, and defaults merge
mvn release:prepareWhat release:prepare does - sets the release version, tags the SCM, and bumps to the next SNAPSHOT via the
pip & Python
Install and manage packages.
Terraform / gh / cloud
IaC, GitHub CLI, cloud CLIs.
argocd app syncWhat argocd app sync does, how to sync an Argo CD app non-interactively in CI with login and wait, and the
aws eks update-kubeconfigWhat aws eks update-kubeconfig does, how to wire kubectl to an EKS cluster in CI, and the auth and
az keyvault secret showWhat az keyvault secret show does, how to read a Key Vault secret value in CI, RBAC vs access policies, and
cdk deployReference for cdk deploy in CI/CD: synthesize and deploy AWS CDK stacks non-interactively with
cdk synthWhat cdk synth does, how to produce CloudFormation templates as a CI artifact, and the context and synthesis
gcloud auth configure-dockerConfigure Docker to authenticate to Artifact Registry and GCR via gcloud: flags, a CI example, and the auth
gcloud print-access-tokengcloud auth print-access-token prints a short-lived OAuth token for API calls and Docker logins.
gcloud config setWhat gcloud config set does, how to set the active project and region/zone for CI, configurations, and the
gh apiReference for gh api in CI/CD: call any REST or GraphQL endpoint with authentication handled, pass fields,
gh auth loginReference for gh auth login in CI/CD: authenticate the GitHub CLI non-interactively with a token via stdin or
gh auth loginWhat gh auth login does, how to authenticate the GitHub CLI interactively or with a token in CI, and the auth
gh pr commentReference for gh pr comment in CI/CD: post or update a comment on a pull request from a pipeline, ideal for
gh pr listWhat gh pr list does, how to filter pull requests by state, author, and label, format them as JSON in CI, and
gh pr mergeWhat gh pr merge does, how to merge, squash, or rebase a PR non-interactively in CI with auto-merge, and the
gh pr viewWhat gh pr view does, how to read a pull request’s details, review status, and checks as JSON for CI gating,
gh workflow listWhat gh workflow list does, how to enumerate GitHub Actions workflows with their states and IDs in CI, and
gh workflow runWhat gh workflow run does, how to trigger a workflow_dispatch with inputs and a ref in CI, and the errors you
helm lintLint a Helm chart in CI before deploying: values and strict flags, an example, and the lint errors that
terraform destroyWhat terraform destroy does, how to tear down infrastructure safely in CI, target a subset, and the
terraform force-unlockReference for terraform force-unlock in CI/CD: clear a stale state lock left by a crashed run, with the
vault kv metadatavault kv metadata manages KV v2 version history, max_versions, and full deletion.
vault kv putWhat vault kv put does, how to write secrets to the KV engine safely in CI from stdin, and the permission and
Shell & Unix tools
curl, jq, ssh, tar, make, sed, and friends.
apk add --no-cacheapk add --no-cache installs Alpine packages without leaving an index cache, keeping images small.
apt-keyReference for apt-key: add, adv, the modern signed-by keyring replacement, and a CI example that installs a
awk nextawk next stops processing the current line and moves to the next record, used to skip headers, comments, or
brew bundlebrew bundle installs everything listed in a Brewfile. Reference for --file, --no-lock, brew bundle check, and
grpcurlgrpcurl is curl for gRPC services. Reference for -plaintext, -d, -import-path, list/describe, and the
iperf3iperf3 measures network bandwidth between two hosts. Reference for -s, -c, -u, -t, -P, and the "Connection
jaegerjaeger-all-in-one runs a full tracing backend for tests. Reference for collector/OTLP ports,
jq --argjq --arg binds a string and --argjson binds parsed JSON into a variable.
kafka-console-consumerkafka-console-consumer.sh reads messages from a Kafka topic to stdout.
ldconfigldconfig rebuilds the shared library cache so newly installed .so files are found at runtime.
ldconfigldconfig rebuilds the shared-library cache so the loader finds new .so files.
microdnf installmicrodnf is the tiny dnf for Red Hat UBI minimal images. Reference for install, clean all, --nodocs, and the
npxnpx runs a package binary without a global install. Reference for --yes, --no-install, and the install prompt
promtool checkpromtool check validates Prometheus configs and rules. Reference for check config, check rules,
rbenv installrbenv install builds a Ruby version via ruby-build. Reference for build deps, .ruby-version, and the "BUILD
rsync protocol version mismatchrsync "protocol version mismatch -- is your shell clean?" means the remote shell prints output before rsync
tailtail prints the last lines of input or follows a growing file in CI.
yq front matteryq --front-matter processes the YAML front matter block in Markdown files while preserving the body.
yq Go vs PythonTwo unrelated tools are both called yq. Reference for telling mikefarah/yq (Go) from kislyuk/yq (Python jq
zizmorzizmor is a static security auditor for GitHub Actions workflows, flagging injection, unpinned actions, and
Explore other topics
GitHub ActionsWorkflow, runner, and YAML errors - diagnosed and fixed.
Node.js & npmnpm, yarn, and pnpm failures in CI - solved.
DockerBuild, run, compose, and registry errors - explained.
Pythonpip, poetry, venv, and pytest failures - fixed.
Java & JVMMaven, Gradle, and JVM failures in CI - resolved.
GoGo build, module, and test failures - diagnosed.