github.com/adityamillind98/nomad@v0.11.8/website/pages/docs/commands/alloc/exec.mdx (about) 1 --- 2 layout: docs 3 page_title: 'Commands: alloc exec' 4 sidebar_title: exec 5 description: | 6 Runs a command in a container. 7 --- 8 9 # Command: alloc exec 10 11 **Alias: `nomad exec`** 12 13 The `alloc exec` command runs a command in a running allocation. 14 15 ## Usage 16 17 ```plaintext 18 nomad alloc exec [options] <allocation> <command> [<args>...] 19 ``` 20 21 The nomad exec command can be use to run commands inside a running task/allocation. 22 23 Use cases are for inspecting container state, debugging a failed application 24 without needing ssh access into the node that's running the allocation. 25 26 This command executes the command in the given task in the allocation. If the 27 allocation is only running a single task, the task name can be omitted. 28 Optionally, the `-job` option may be used in which case a random allocation from 29 the given job will be chosen. 30 31 ## General Options 32 33 @include 'general_options.mdx' 34 35 ## Exec Options 36 37 - `-task`: Sets the task to exec command in. 38 39 - `-job`: Use a random allocation from the specified job ID. 40 41 - `-i`: Pass stdin to the container, defaults to true. Pass `-i=false` to 42 disable explicitly. 43 44 - `-t`: Allocate a pseudo-tty, defaults to true if stdin is detected to be a tty 45 session. Pass `-t=false` to disable explicitly. 46 47 - `-e` <escape_char>: Sets the escape character for sessions with a pty 48 (default: '~'). The escape character is only recognized at the beginning of a 49 line. The escape character followed by a dot ('.') closes the connection. 50 Setting the character to 'none' disables any escapes and makes the session 51 fully transparent. 52 53 ## Examples 54 55 To start an interactive debugging session in a particular alloc, invoke exec 56 command with your desired shell available inside the task: 57 58 ```shell-session 59 $ nomad alloc exec eb17e557 /bin/bash 60 root@eb17e557:/data# # now run any debugging commands inside container 61 root@eb17e557:/data# # ps -ef 62 ``` 63 64 To run a command and stream results without starting an interactive shell, you 65 can pass the command and its arguments to exec directly: 66 67 ```shell-session# run commands without starting an interactive session 68 $ nomad alloc exec eb17e557 cat /etc/resolv.conf 69 ... 70 ``` 71 72 When passing command arguments to be evaluated in task, you may need to ensure 73 that your host shell doesn't interpolate values before invoking `exec` command. 74 For example, the following command would return the environment variable on 75 operator shell rather than task containers: 76 77 ```shell-session 78 $ nomad alloc exec eb17e557 echo $NOMAD_ALLOC_ID # wrong 79 ... 80 ``` 81 82 Here, we must start a shell in task to interpolate `$NOMAD_ALLOC_ID`, and quote 83 command or use the [heredoc syntax][heredoc] 84 85 ```shell-session# by quoting argument 86 $ nomad alloc exec eb17e557 /bin/sh -c 'echo $NOMAD_ALLOC_ID' 87 eb17e557-443e-4c51-c049-5bba7a9850bc 88 89 $ # by using heredoc and passing command in stdin 90 $ nomad alloc exec eb17e557 /bin/sh <<'EOF' 91 > echo $NOMAD_ALLOC_ID 92 > EOF 93 eb17e557-443e-4c51-c049-5bba7a9850bc 94 ``` 95 96 This technique applies when aiming to run a shell pipeline without streaming 97 intermediate command output across the network: 98 99 ```shell-session# e.g. find top appearing lines in some output 100 $ nomad alloc exec eb17e557 /bin/sh -c 'cat /output | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -n 5' 101 ... 102 ``` 103 104 ## Using Job ID instead of Allocation ID 105 106 Setting the `-job` flag causes a random allocation of the specified job to be 107 selected. 108 109 ```plaintext 110 nomad alloc exec -job <job-id> <command> [<args>...] 111 ``` 112 113 Choosing a specific allocation is useful for debugging issues with a specific 114 instance of a service. For other operations using the `-job` flag may be more 115 convenient than looking up an allocation ID to use. 116 117 ## Disabling remote execution 118 119 `alloc exec` is enabled by default to aid with debugging. Operators can disable 120 the feature by setting [`disable_remote_exec` client config 121 option][disable_remote_exec_flag] on all clients, or a subset of clients that 122 run sensitive workloads. 123 124 ## Exec targeting a specific task 125 126 When trying to `alloc exec` for a job that has more than one task associated 127 with it, you may want to target a specific task. 128 129 ```shell-session 130 # open a shell session in one of your allocation's tasks 131 $ nomad alloc exec -i -t -task mytask a1827f93 /bin/bash 132 a1827f93$ 133 ``` 134 135 [heredoc]: http://tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/here-docs.html 136 [disable_remote_exec_flag]: /docs/configuration/client#disable_remote_exec