> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.phala.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # CLI Overview > Deploy and manage CVMs from your terminal The Phala Cloud CLI (`phala`) is a command-line tool for deploying and managing Confidential Virtual Machines (CVMs) on Phala Cloud. It is also available as the `pha` alias. ## Install ```bash theme={"system"} npm install -g phala ``` Or run without installing: `npx phala` / `bunx phala` ## Get Started Follow the [Deploy Your First CVM](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/start-from-cloud-cli) tutorial to deploy a Jupyter notebook and test TEE functions in under 10 minutes. ## API Versioning The CLI communicates with the Phala Cloud API using header-based versioning. The current default API version is `2026-01-21`. The CLI sends an `X-Phala-Version` header with every request. This determines the response format returned by the server. See the [JS SDK API Versioning](/phala-cloud/references/cloud-js-sdk/api-versioning) page for details on version differences. | Version | Status | | ------------ | ----------------- | | `2026-01-21` | Default (current) | | `2025-10-28` | Legacy | You can override the API version with the `--api-version` global flag *(added in v1.1.12)*: ```bash theme={"system"} phala apps --api-version 2025-10-28 ``` ## Authentication | Command | Description | | --------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- | | [`login`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/login) | Authenticate with Phala Cloud | | [`logout`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/logout) | Remove stored API key | | [`status`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/status) | Check authentication status | | [`whoami`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/whoami) | Print the current user | | [`profiles`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/profiles) | List auth profiles | | [`switch`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/switch) | Switch auth profiles | ## Deployment | Command | Description | | --------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | | [`deploy`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/deploy) | Deploy new CVM or update existing one | | [`instance-types`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/instance-types) | List available instance types | ## App Management | Command | Description | | --------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | [`apps`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/apps) | List deployed CVMs | | [`cvms`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/cvms) | Manage CVMs (start, stop, restart, delete, resize, ...) | | [`link`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/link) | Link a local directory to a CVM | | [`nodes`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/nodes) | List TEE worker nodes | | [`ssh-keys`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/ssh-keys) | Manage SSH keys (list, add, remove, import from GitHub) | ## CVM Operations | Command | Description | | --------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- | | [`logs`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/logs) | Fetch logs from a CVM (container, serial, stdout/stderr) | | [`ps`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/ps) | List containers of a CVM | | [`ssh`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/ssh) | Connect to a CVM via SSH | | [`cp`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/cp) | Copy files to/from a CVM via SCP | | [`runtime-config`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/runtime-config) | Show CVM runtime configuration | ## Advanced | Command | Description | | ------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | | [`api`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/api) | Make authenticated API requests | | [`self`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/self) | CLI self-management (update) | | [`simulator`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/simulator) | Local TEE simulator for development | | [`completion`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/completion) | Generate shell completion scripts | ## Deprecated These commands are deprecated and will be removed in a future release. | Command | Use instead | | ----------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `auth` | [`login`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/login), [`logout`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/logout), [`status`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/status) | | [`config`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/config) | Profile-based credentials (`~/.phala-cloud/credentials.json`) | | [`docker`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/docker) | Standard `docker` CLI for build/push | | `cvms create` | [`deploy`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/deploy) | | `cvms upgrade` | [`deploy --cvm-id `](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/deploy) | | `cvms logs` | [`logs`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/logs) | | `cvms serial-logs` | [`logs --serial`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/logs) | Deprecated `deploy` options: | Option | Use instead | | -------------------- | ----------------- | | `--vcpu`, `--memory` | `--instance-type` | | `--env-file` | `-e` | | `--kms-id`, `--uuid` | `--custom-app-id` | ## Profiles & Credentials The CLI supports multiple authentication profiles stored in `~/.phala-cloud/credentials.json`. Each profile stores: | Field | Description | | ------------ | ------------------------------ | | `token` | API key | | `api_prefix` | API base URL | | `workspace` | Linked workspace (name + slug) | | `user` | Linked user (username + email) | | `updated_at` | Last update timestamp | Use [`profiles`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/profiles) to list profiles and [`switch`](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/switch) to change the active profile. ## Environment Variables | Variable | Description | | ------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------- | | `PHALA_CLOUD_API_KEY` | Override the stored API key | | `PHALA_CLOUD_API_PREFIX` | Override the API base URL | | `PHALA_CLOUD_DIR` | Override the credentials directory (default: `~/.phala-cloud`) | | `PHALA_UPDATE_CHANNEL` | Release channel for `self update` (e.g., `latest`, `beta`) | ## Configuration Credentials are stored in `~/.phala-cloud/credentials.json` (schema version 1, supports multiple profiles). Project-level configuration is in `phala.toml` in the working directory. Supported fields: | Field | Type | Description | | ------------------------------------------------- | --------- | ------------------------------------ | | `id` / `uuid` / `app_id` / `instance_id` / `name` | `string` | CVM identifier (any format) | | `profile` | `string` | Auth profile to use for this project | | `gateway_domain` | `string` | Custom gateway domain | | `gateway_port` | `number` | Custom gateway port | | `compose_file` | `string` | Path to Docker Compose file | | `env_file` | `string` | Path to `.env` file | | `public_logs` | `boolean` | Make container logs public | | `public_sysinfo` | `boolean` | Make system info public | | `listed` | `boolean` | List CVM in the public directory | Example `phala.toml`: ```toml theme={"system"} id = "cvm-abc123" profile = "production" compose_file = "docker-compose.yml" env_file = ".env" public_logs = true ``` ## Global Flags | Flag | Description | | ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `--json` | Output in JSON format for programmatic use | | `--api-token ` | Override the stored API key for this command | | `--api-version ` | Override the API version (e.g., `2025-10-28`, `2026-01-21`). *Added in v1.1.12* | ## Related * [Cloud JS SDK](/phala-cloud/references/cloud-js-sdk/overview) — programmatic access via JavaScript/TypeScript * [Cloud API Reference](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-api/overview) — full REST API docs * [Local Development](/dstack/local-development) — local TEE simulator * [CI/CD Pipeline](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/ci-cd-automation/setup-a-ci-cd-pipeline) — GitHub Actions automation