Command line interface (CLI)


Zato administrators use both the web admin and the command line interface (CLI) to manage Zato environments. These two methods don’t overlap, both have their distinct responsibilites.

While the web admin has been created with the goal of aiding in running an already existing environment, the CLI has been created with the goal of preparing Zato environments or otherwise addressing situations that need access to an operating system Zato components are installed on.

Commands offered by the CLI always need an actual access to the file system via, for instance, ssh. They can’t be issued remotely through the web admin.

All commands are run using a single executable called zato.

Some commands are further composed of subcommands, e.g. the zato update command is a wrapper for more specific commands, such as zato update crypto and zato update password.

Commands can be run in a batch mode by using the combination of the –store-config option and the from-config command.

Summary of commands

Name Description
zato apispec Generates API specifications as OpenAPI, WSDL and Sphinx
zato ca Certificate Authority (CA) management
zato check-config Sanity checks against a component’s config
zato component-version Shows a Zato component’s version
zato create Creates a Zato object
zato crypto create-secret-key Creates a new secret key for servers and other commands to use
zato decrypt Decrypts secrets using a Zato component’s private key
zato delete Deletes a Zato component
zato encrypt Encrypts secrets using a Zato component’s public key
zato hash get-rounds Computes configuration for safe hashing of secrets
zato info Shows information on a Zato component
zato from-config Runs commands from a config file
zato quickstart Quickly sets up a working Zato environment
zato service Service management
zato sso User management and Single-Sign On
zato start Starts a Zato component
zato stop Stops a Zato component
zato update Updates parts of a Zato component

Displaying version

$ zato --version
Zato 3.0.0+rev.be10fa20


Zato $major.$minor.$micro.rev-$rev_id
  • $major - incremented on major releases, adding a lot of new functionality
  • $minor - incremented on minor releases, more gradual than major ones
  • $micro - incremented within minor releases when releasing fixes
  • $rev_id - git revision ID used to build the release from

Common options

Each Zato command can make use of the following options:

Name Description
-h, –help Displays given command’s help message
–store-log Stores a command execution log in the directory the command has been run in.
–verbose Displays verbose information during the command’s execution
–store-config Outputs the command’s input parameters to a config file in the directory the command has been run in. The file can be later used with the from-config command.


All the input parameters stored by the –store-config option are in plain text, including passwords and any other secrets.


Version Notes
  • Added ‘zato crypto create-secret-key’
  • Command ‘zato check-config’ extended to work with all components
1.0 Added initially