The earthly command

earthly
Synopsis
Target form
earthly [options...] <target-ref> [build-args...]
Artifact form
earthly [options...] --artifact|-a <target-ref>/<artifact-path> [<dest-path>]
earthly [options...] --artifact|-a (<target-ref>/<artifact-path> [build-args...]) [<dest-path>]
Image form
earthly [options...] --image <target-ref> [build-args...]
Description
The earthly command executes a build referenced by <target-ref> (target form and image form) or <artifact-ref> (artifact form). In the target form, the referenced target and its dependencies are built. In the artifact form, the referenced artifact and its dependencies are built, but only the specified artifact is output. The output path of the artifact can be optionally overridden by <dest-path>. In the image form, the image produced by the referenced target and its dependencies are built, but only the specified image is output.
If a BuildKit daemon has not already been started, and the option --buildkit-host is not specified, this command also starts up a container named earthly-buildkitd to act as a build daemon.
The execution has four phases:
Init
Build
Push (optional - disabled by default)
Local output (optional - enabled by default)
During the init phase the configuration is interpreted and the BuildKit daemon is started (if applicable). During the build phase, the referenced target and all its direct or indirect dependencies are executed. During the push phase, when enabled, Earthly performs image pushes and it also runs RUN --push commands. During the local output phase, all applicable artifacts with an AS LOCAL specification are written to the specified output location, and all applicable docker images are loaded onto the host's docker daemon.
If the build phase does not succeed, no output is produced and no push instruction is executed. In this case, the command exits with a non-zero exit code.
Target and Artifact References
The <target-ref> can reference both local and remote targets.
Local Reference
+<target-name> will reference a target in the local Earthfile in the current directory.
<local-path>+<target-name> will reference a local Earthfile in a different directory as specified by <local-path>, which must start with ./, ../, or /.
Remote Reference
<gitvendor>/<namespace>/<project>/path/in/project[:some-tag]+<target-name> will access a remote git repository.
Artifact Reference
The <artifact-ref> can reference artifacts built by targets. <target-ref>/<artifact-path> will reference a build target's artifact.
Examples
See the Target, artifact, and image referencing guide for more details and examples.
Build args
Synopsis:
Target form earthly <target-ref> [--<build-arg-key>=<build-arg-value>...]
Artifact form earthly --artifact (<target-ref>/<artifact-path> [--<build-arg-key>=<build-arg-value>...]) <dest-path>
Image form earthly --image <target-ref> [--<build-arg-key>=<build-arg-value>...]
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_BUILD_ARGS="<build-arg-key>=<build-arg-value>,<build-arg-key>=<build-arg-value>,...".
Build arg overrides may be specified as part of the Earthly command. The value of the build arg <build-arg-key> is set to <build-arg-value>.
In the target and image forms the build args are passed after the target reference. For example earthly +some-target --NAME=john --SPECIES=human. In the artifact form, the build args are passed immediately after the artifact reference, however they are surrounded by parenthesis, similar to a COPY command. For example earthly --artifact (+some-target/some-artifact --NAME=john --SPECIES=human) ./dest/path/.
The build arg overrides only apply to the target being called directly and any other target referenced as part of the same Earthfile. Build arg overrides, will not apply to targets referenced from other directories or other repositories.
Storing values in the .arg File
Build args can also be specified using a .arg file, relative to the current working directory where earthly is executed from, using the syntax:
<NAME_OF_BUILD_ARG>=<value>
...
Each variable must be specified on a separate line, without any surrounding quotes. If quotes are included, they will become part of the value. Lines beginning with # are treated as comments. Blank lines are allowed. Here is a simple example:
# an example build arg
MY_SETTING=a setting which contains spaces
Note
The directory used for loading the .arg file is the directory where earthly is called from and not necessarily the directory where the Earthfile is located in.
Important
The .arg file is meant for settings which are specific to the local environment the build executes in. These settings may cause inconsistencies in the way the build executes on different systems, leading to builds that are difficult to reproduce. Keep the contents of .arg files to a minimum to avoid such issues.
Additional Information
For more information about build args see the ARG Earthfile command, and the build args guide.
Environment Variables and .env File
Flag options can either be set on the command line, or by using an equivalent environment variable, as specified under the options section.
It is also possible to set these flag options in an .env file, relative to the current working directory where earthly is executed from, using the syntax:
<NAME_OF_ENV_VAR>=<value>
...
Each variable must be specified on a separate line, without any surrounding quotes. If quotes are included, they will become part of the value. Lines beginning with # are treated as comments. Blank lines are allowed. Here is a simple example:
# Settings
EARTHLY_ALLOW_PRIVILEGED=true
EARTHLY_VERBOSE=true
Global Options
--help
Prints help information about earthly.
Synopsis
earthly --help
earthly <command> --help
--config <path>
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_CONFIG=<path>.
Overrides the earthly configuration file, defaults to ~/.earthly/config.yml.
--installation-name <name>
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_INSTALLATION_NAME=<name>.
Overrides the Earthly installation name. The installation name is used for the Buildkit Daemon name, the cache volume name, the configuration directory (~/.<installation-name>) and for the ports used by Buildkit. Using multiple installation names on the same system allows Earthly to run as multiple isolated instances, each with its own configuration, cache and daemon. Defaults to earthly.
--ssh-auth-sock <path-to-sock>
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_SSH_AUTH_SOCK=<path-to-sock>.
Sets the path to the SSH agent sock, which can be used for SSH authentication. SSH authentication is used by Earthly in order to perform git clone's underneath.
On Linux systems, this setting defaults to the value of the env var $SSH_AUTH_SOCK. On most systems, the env var SSH_AUTH_SOCK env var is already set if an SSH agent is running.
On Mac systems, this setting defaults to /run/host-services/ssh-auth.sock to match recommendation in the official Docker documentation.
For more information see the Authentication page.
--auth-token <value>
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_TOKEN=<value>.
Force Earthly account login to authenticate with supplied token.
--verbose
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_VERBOSE=1.
Enables verbose logging.
--git-username <git-user> (deprecated)
Also available as an env var setting: GIT_USERNAME=<git-user>.
This option is now deprecated. Please use the configuration file instead.
--git-password <git-pass> (deprecated)
Also available as an env var setting: GIT_PASSWORD=<git-pass>.
This option is now deprecated. Please use the configuration file instead.
--git-url-instead-of <git-instead-of> (obsolete)
Also used to be available as an env var setting: GIT_URL_INSTEAD_OF=<git-instead-of>.
This option is now obsolete. By default, earthly will automatically switch from ssh to HTTPS when no keys are found or the ssh-agent isn't running. Please use the configuration file to override the default behavior.
Build Options
Build options are specific to executing Earthly builds; they are simply listed in this section for readability, and can be supplied as global options.
--secret|-s <secret-id>[=<value>]
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_SECRETS="<secret-id>=<value>,<secret-id>=<value>,...".
Passes a secret with ID <secret-id> to the build environments. If <value> is not specified, then the value becomes the value of the environment variable with the same name as <secret-id>.
The secret can be referenced within Earthfile recipes as RUN --secret <arbitrary-env-var-name>=<secret-id>. For more information see the RUN --secret Earthfile command.
Secrets can also be stored in a .secret file using the same syntax as an .arg file; an example is given under the build args guide.
--secret-file <secret-id>=<path>
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_SECRET_FILES="<secret-id>=<path>,<secret-id>=<path>,...".
Loads the contents of a file located at <path> into a secret with ID <secret-id> for use within the build environments.
The secret can be referenced within Earthfile recipes as RUN --secret <arbitrary-env-var-name>=<secret-id>. For more information see the RUN --secret Earthfile command.
--push
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_PUSH=true.
Instructs Earthly to push any docker images declared with the --push flag to remote docker registries and to run any RUN --push commands. For more information see the SAVE IMAGE Earthfile command and the RUN --push Earthfile command.
Pushing only happens during the output phase, and only if the build has succeeded.
--no-output
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_NO_OUTPUT=true.
Instructs Earthly not to output any images or artifacts. This option cannot be used with the artifact form or the image form.
--output
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_OUTPUT=true.
Allow artifacts or images to be output, even when running under --ci mode.
--no-cache
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_NO_CACHE=true.
Instructs Earthly to ignore any cache when building. It does, however, continue to store new cache formed as part of the build (to be possibly used on future invocations).
--allow-privileged|-P
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_ALLOW_PRIVILEGED=true.
Permits the build to use the --privileged flag in RUN commands. For more information see the RUN --privileged command.
--use-inline-cache
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_USE_INLINE_CACHE=true
Enables use of inline cache, if available. Any SAVE IMAGE --push command is used to inform the system of possible inline cache sources. For more information see the remote caching guide.
--save-inline-cache
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_SAVE_INLINE_CACHE=true
Enables embedding inline cache in any pushed images. This cache can be used on other systems, if enabled via --use-inline-cache. For more information see the remote caching guide.
--remote-cache <image-tag>
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_REMOTE_CACHE=<image-tag>
Enables use of explicit cache. The provided <image-tag> is used for storing and retrieving the cache to/from a Docker registry. Storing explicit cache is only enabled if the option --push is also passed in. For more information see the remote caching guide.
--max-remote-cache
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_MAX_REMOTE_CACHE=true
Enables storing all intermediate layers as part of the explicit cache. Note that this setting is rarely effective due to the excessive upload overhead. For more information see the remote caching guide.
--ci
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_CI=true
In target mode, this option is an alias for
--no-output --strict
In artifact and image modes , this option is an alias for
--strict
--platform <platform>
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_PLATFORMS=<platform>.
Sets the platform to build for.
Note
It is not yet possible to specify multiple platforms through this flag. You may, however, use a wrapping target and a BUILD command in your Earthfile:
build-all-platforms:
  BUILD --platform=linux/amd64 --platform=linux/arm/v7 +build
​
build:
  ...
--build-arg <key>[=<value>] (deprecated)
This option has been deprecated in favor of the new build arg syntax earthly <target-ref> --<key>=<value>.
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_BUILD_ARGS="<key>=<value>,<key>=<value>,...".
Overrides the value of the build arg <key>. If <value> is not specified, then the value becomes the value of the environment variable with the same name as <key>. For more information see the ARG Earthfile command.
--interactive|-i
Also available as an env var setting: EARTHLY_INTERACTIVE=true.
Enable interactive debugging mode. By default when a RUN command fails, earthly will display the error and exit. If the interactive mode is enabled and an error occurs, an interactive shell is presented which can be used for investigating the error interactively. Due to technical limitations, only a single interactive shell can be used on the system at any given time.
--strict
Disallow usage of features that may create unrepeatable builds.
Log formatting options
These options can only be set via environment variables, and have no command line equivalent.
Variable
Usage
NO_COLOR
NO_COLOR=1 disables the use of color.
FORCE_COLOR
FORCE_COLOR=1 forces the use of color.
EARTHLY_TARGET_PADDING
EARTHLY_TARGET_PADDING=n will set the column to the width of n characters. If a name is longer than n, its path will be truncated and remaining extra length will cause the column to go ragged.
EARTHLY_FULL_TARGET
EARTHLY_FULL_TARGET=1 will always print the full target name, and leave the target name column ragged.
earthly --version
Synopsis
earthly --version
Description
Prints version information about earthly.
earthly ls
Synopsis
earthly ls [<project-ref>]
Description
Prints all targets in an Earthfile in a project.
Options
--args
Show arguments (ARG statements) in the targets.
--long
Show full, canonical target references (includes the project part of the reference, if applicable).
earthly doc
Synopsis
earthly doc [<project-ref>[+<target-ref>]]
Description
Prints documentation comments for documented targets in an Earthfile in a project. Documentation on a target is any comment block that ends on the line immediately above the target definition and begins with the name of the target.
Examples
Given the following Earthfile:
VERSION 0.7
FROM golang:1.19-alpine3.15
​
deps:
    COPY go.mod go.sum .
    RUN go mod download
​
# build runs 'go build' and saves the artifact locally.
build:
    FROM +deps
    COPY . .
    ARG output=./build/something
    RUN go build -o /bin/something
    SAVE ARTIFACT /bin/something AS LOCAL $output
​
# tidy runs 'go mod tidy' and saves go.mod/go.sum locally.
tidy:
    FROM +deps
    COPY . .
    RUN go mod tidy
    SAVE ARTIFACT go.mod AS LOCAL go.mod
    SAVE ARTIFACT go.sum AS LOCAL go.sum
Print the doc comments for all documented targets:
$ earthly doc
TARGETS:
  +build
    build runs 'go build' and saves the artifact locally.
  +tidy
    tidy runs 'go mod tidy' and saves go.mod/go.sum locally.
Note that, unlike earthly ls, earthly doc does not mention the deps target. Since it has no documentation, the deps target is not included in the output.
Print the doc comments for a specific target:
$ earthly doc +build
+build
  build runs 'go build' and saves the artifact locally.
earthly prune
Synopsis
# Standard form
earthly [options] prune (--all|-a)
​
# Reset form
earthly [options] prune --reset
Description
The command earthly prune eliminates the Earthly cache.
In standard form (default) it issues a prune command to the BuildKit daemon.
In reset form it restarts the BuildKit daemon, instructing it to completely delete the cache directory on startup, thus forcing it to start from scratch.
Options
--all|-a
Instructs earthly to issue a "prune all" command to the BuildKit daemon.
--reset
Restarts the BuildKit daemon and completely resets the cache directory.
--age
Prunes cache older than the specified duration. Accepts a duration string, which is a sequence of decimal numbers, each with optional fraction and a unit suffix, such as 300ms. Valid time units are ns, us, ms, s, m, h.
--size
Prunes cache to specified size, starting with the oldest cache. It will eliminate cache until it reaches or exceeds the target size.
earthly config
Synopsis
# Set key value in your earthly config
​
earthly [options] config [key] [value]
Description
Manipulates values in ~/.earthly/config.yml. It does its best to preserve existing formatting and comments. [value] must be a valid YAML literal for the given [key].
Options
--dry-run
Prints the changed config file to the console instead of writing it to file
Examples
Set your cache size:
earthly config global.cache_size_mb 1234
Set additional BuildKit args, using a YAML array:
earthly config global.buildkit_additional_args ['userns', '--host']
Set a key containing a period:
earthly config git."example.com".password hunter2
Set up a whole custom git repository for a server called example.com, using a single-line YAML literal:
which stores git repos under /var/git/repos/name-of-repo.git
allows access over ssh
using port 2222
sets the username to git
is recognized to earthly as example.com/name-of-repo
config git "{example: {pattern: 'example.com/([^/]+)', substitute: 'ssh://[email protected]:2222/var/git/repos/\$1.git', auth: ssh, user: git}}"
The above command yields the following config file:
git:
    example:
        pattern: example.com/([^/]+)
        substitute: ssh://[email protected]:2222/var/git/repos/$1.git
        auth: ssh
        user: git
earthly account
Contains sub-commands for registering and administration an Earthly account.
earthly account register
Synopsis
# Register an account using your email
earthly [options] account register --email <email>
​
# Complete account registration 
earthly [options] account register --email <email> --token <email-verification-token> [--password <password>] [--public-key <public-key>] [--accept-terms-conditions-privacy]
Description
Register for an Earthly account. Registration is done in two steps: first run the register command with only the --email argument, this will then send an email to the supplied email address with a registration token (which is used to verify your email address), second re-run the register command with both the --email and --token arguments to complete the registration process.
Options
--email <email>
Pass in an email address for registering your Earthly account. An email will be sent containing your registration token.
--token <token>
Pass in token for email verification. Retrieve the token from your email and register it with the --email option.
--password <password>
Specify your password on the command line instead of interactively being asked.
--public-key <public-key>
Path to public key to register.
--accept-terms-of-service-privacy
Accept the Terms & Conditions, and Privacy Policy.
earthly account login
Synopsis
# login using registered public keys or check who you are logged in as
earthly [options] account login
​
# Login with email and input password interactively
earthly [options] account login --email <email>
​
# Login with email and password
earthly [options] account login --email <email> --password <password>
​
# Login with your tokem
earthly [options] account login --token <token>
Description
Login to an existing Earthly account. If no email or token is given, earthly will attempt to login using registered public keys.
Options
--email <email>
Pass in email address connected with your Earthly account.
--token <token>
Pass in your authentication token
--password <password>
Pass in the password for your Earthly account. If not provided you will be interactively asked.
earthly account logout
Synopsis
earthly [options] account logout
Description
Removes cached login information from ~/.earthly/auth.token.
earthly account list-keys
Synopsis
earthly [options] account list-keys
Description
Lists all public keys that are authorized to login to the current Earthly account.
earthly account add-key
Synopsis
earthly [options] account add-key [<public-key>]
Description
Authorize a new public key to login to the current Earthly account. If key is omitted, an interactive prompt is displayed to select a public key to add.
earthly account remove-key
Synopsis
earthly [options] account remove-key <public-key>
Description
Removes an authorized public key from accessing the current Earthly account.
earthly account list-tokens
Synopsis
earthly [options] account list-tokens
Description
List account tokens associated with the current Earthly account. A token is useful for environments where the ssh-agent is not accessible (e.g. a CI system).
earthly account create-token
Synopsis
earthly [options] account create-token [--write] [--expiry <expiry>] <token-name>
Description
Creates a new authentication token. A read-only token is created by default, If the --write flag is specified the token will have read+write access. The token will expire in 1 year from creation date unless a different date is supplied via the --expiry option.
It is then possible to export EARTHLY_TOKEN=..., which will force earthly to use this token for all authentication (overriding any other currently-logged in sessions).
Options
--write
Grant write permissions in addition to read permissions
--expiry
Set token expiry date in the form YYYY-MM-DD or never
earthly account remove-token
Synopsis
earthly [options] account remove-token <token>
Description
Removes a token from the current Earthly account.
earthly account reset
Synopsis
earthly [options] account reset --email <email> [--token <token>]
Description
Reset the password associated with the provided email. The command should first be run without a token, which will cause a token to be emailed to you. Once the command is re-run with the provided token, it will prompt you for a new password.
Options
--email <email>
Email address for which to reset the password.
--token <token>
Authentication token with with to rerun the command with your email to reset your password. Once run you will be prompted for a new password.
earthly org
Contains sub-commands for creating and managing Earthly organizations.
earthly org create
Synopsis
earthly [options] org create <org-name>
Description
Create a new organization, which can be used to share secrets between different user accounts.
earthly org list
Synopsis
earthly [options] org list
​
earthly [options] org ls
Description
List all organizations the current account is a member, or administrator of.
earthly org list-permissions
Synopsis
earthly [options] org list-permissions <org-name>
Description
List all accounts and the paths they have permission to access under a particular organization.
earthly org invite
Synopsis
earthly [options] org [--org <organization-name>] invite [--name <recipient-name>] [--permission <permission>] [--message <message>] <email>
Description
Invites a user into an organization; <org-path> can either be a top-level org access by granting permission on /<org-name>/, or finer-grained access can be granted to a subpath e.g. /<org-name>/path/to/share/. By default users are granted read-only access unless the --write flag is given.
Subcommands
accept
Accept an invitation to join an organization
ls | list
List all sent invitations (both pending and accepted)
Options
--permission
The access level the new organization member will have. Can be one of: read, write, or admin.
--message
An optional message to send with the invitation email
earthly org revoke
Synopsis
earthly [options] org revoke <org-path> <email> [<email>, ...]
Description
Revokes a previously invited user from an organization.
earthly org member
Synopsis
earthly [options] org [--org <organization-name>] members (ls|update|rm)
Description
Manage organization members
Subcommands
ls
List organization members and their permission level
update
Update an organization member's permissions.
--permission
Flag for update subcommand. Can be one of: read, write, or admin.
rm
Remove a user from the organization
earthly org select
Synopsis
earthly [options] org select <org-name>
Description
Selects an existing Earthly org to be the default. Analogous to the EARTHLY_ORG environment variable, or the --org flag available on some commands. When multiple organizations are specified, the precedence order is the following:
1.--org argument
2.EARTHLY_ORG environment variable
3.The configuration setting controlled by this command
earthly org unselect
Synopsis
earthly [options] org unselect
Description
Removes the configuration option specifying a default organization.
earthly secrets
Synopsis
Alias earthly secret
earthly [options] secrets [--org <organization-name>, --project <project>] (set|get|ls|rm|migrate|permission)
Contains sub-commands for creating and managing Earthly secrets.
Description
Contains sub-commands for creating and managing Earthly secrets.
Options
--org
The organization to which the project belongs.
--project
The organization project in which to store secrets.
earthly secrets set
Synopsis
earthly [options] secrets set <path> <value>
earthly [options] secrets set --file <local-path> <path>
Description
Stores a secret in the secrets store.
Options
--file
Stores secret from file to the path.
--stdin
Stores secret read from stdin to the path.
earthly secrets get
Synopsis
earthly [options] secrets get [-n] <path>
Description
Retrieve a secret from the secrets store. If -n is given, no newline is printed after the contents of the secret.
Options
--n
Disables newline at the end of the stored secret.
earthly secrets ls
Synopsis
earthly [options] secrets ls [<path>]
Description
List secrets the current account has access to.
earthly secrets rm
Synopsis
earthly [options] secrets rm <path>
Description
Removes a secret from the secrets store.
earthly secrets migrate
Synopsis
earthly [options] secrets --org <organization> --project <project> migrate <source-organization>
Description
Migrate existing secrets into the new project-based structure.
Options
--dry-run
Output what the command will do without actually doing it.
earthly secrets permission
Synopsis
earthly [options] secrets permission (ls|set|rm)
Description
Manage user-level secret permissions.
Subcommands
ls
List any user secret permissions.
rm
Remove a user secret permission.
set
Create or update a user secret permission.
earthly registry
Synopsis
earthly [options] registry [--org <organization-name>, --project <project>] (setup|list|remove) [<flags>]
Description
Contains sub-commands for managing registry access in cloud-based secrets.
Options
--org
The organization to store the credentials under; must be used in combination with --project. If omitted, the user's personal secret store will be used instead.
--project
The organization's project to store the credentials under; the user's secret store will be used if empty.
earthly registry setup
Synopsis
earthly [options] registry [--org <org> --project <project>] setup [--cred-helper <none|ecr-login|gcloud>] ...
Description
Store registry credentials in the earthly-cloud secrets store. These credentials are used to authenticate with the registry. When they are associated with a project, by specifying --org, and --project flags, they will be associated with the project (as referenced by the PROJECT Earthfile command), which is used when running in CI.
Note
Registry credentials are stored under std/registry/<host>/... of either the user, or project based secrets.
The earthly registry ... commands exist for convience; however, it is possible to set (or delete) these values using the earthly secrets ... commands.
Examples
username/password based registry (--cred-helper=none)
earthly [options] registry setup --username <username> --password <password> [<host>]
​
earthly [options] registry --org <org> --project <project> setup --username <username> --password <password> [<host>]
AWS elastic container registry (--cred-helper=ecr-login)
Variable	Usage
NO_COLOR	`NO_COLOR=1` disables the use of color.
FORCE_COLOR	`FORCE_COLOR=1` forces the use of color.
EARTHLY_TARGET_PADDING	`EARTHLY_TARGET_PADDING=n` will set the column to the width of `n` characters. If a name is longer than `n`, its path will be truncated and remaining extra length will cause the column to go ragged.
EARTHLY_FULL_TARGET	`EARTHLY_FULL_TARGET=1` will always print the full target name, and leave the target name column ragged.