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Getting started

Experiment with creating, editing, and querying tables from the comfort of the command line.

The @tableland/cli package is a developer tool to help you connect, create, write, and read from The comfort of your command line. It’s simple, easy to use, and integrates nicely with tools like jq. When interacting with the Tableland CLI, you can also specify your own provider endpoints for added control. Using the CLI, you can:

  • Connect to any of the chains that Tableland supports.
  • Create, write to, and read from tables.
  • Retrieve and set table controllers.
  • Leverage utility commands for retrieving other table related information.
tip

See the CLI quickstart page if you’re looking to get up and running without all of the details.

Setup​

Install​

You can install the CLI tool globally via npm or yarn.

npm install -g @tableland/cli@latest

Configuration​

The init command sets up a configuration file at /Users/$USER/.tablelandrc.json (or wherever you'd like to place it). This makes it easier to use the CLI such that it will look for privateKey, chain, and providerUrl values within this file. Alternatively, you can pass these values as flags (e.g., --privateKey abc123) for each command.

Generally, every command should have these values specified, except for the read command since it directly interacts with a Tableland validator without needing to go through a host chain. If you do not specify a privateKey or providerUrl, you will run into issues. There is a default value for the chain (maticmum), so it's fine to use the chain default if you are in fact developing on this chain.

Usage patterns​

Most of the common Tableland usage patterns are possible via the command line. In general, you'll need to connect (to a host/provider), create a table (with a schema, using create), insert/mutate values (write), and query (read) a table. Developers can even retrieve all tables owned by a specific EVM address (using list). And for a full list of valid SQL statements used throughout these different commands, check out the SQL Specification’s statement types.

There also exists some useful commands for on-chain information. View Tableland’s live chain deployments & smart contract addresses (chains) or retrieve on-chain data from a create or write query (passing the transaction hash to receipt). Lastly, the corresponding token metadata about a table can also be requested (i.e., tables are on-chain as ERC721s — the minted table’s name can be passed to info).

Examples format​

For many of the examples, the format <some_text_here> will be used to denote a value passed the developer. For example, in --private-key <private_key>, some private key abc123 would then be used as --private-key abc123.

Additionally, a table created with the prefix cli_demo_table should resemble something like cli_demo_table_31337_2, where 31337 is the specific chain and 2 is unique to the chain / table owner. This is the standard {prefix}_{chainId}_{tableId} format. Be sure to replace prefix, chainId, & tableId with your unique values.

Commands​

There are a number of commands available for interacting with Tableland. Each one has a specific set of required and optional arguments, plus various flags. Be sure to specify a providerUrl and privateKey for most commands, along with the desired host chain.

The general command format is as follows:

tableland <command> <arguments> [flags]

Chains​

tableland chains: List information about supported chains.

Controller​

tableland controller <subcommand>: Get, set, and lock the controller contract for a given table.

  • get <name> : Get the current controller address for a table.
  • set <controller> <name>: Set the controller address for a table.
  • lock <name>: Lock the controller address for a table.

Create​

tableland create <schema> [prefix]: Create a new table (prefix is optional).

Info​

tableland info <name>: Get info about a given table by name.

Init​

tableland init: Create a config file—including the chain, provider, private key, and table aliases filepath—which is automatically read when each command is executed (i.e., instead of passing flags each time).

List​

tableland list <address>: List tables owned by an address.

Namespace​

tableland namespace <subdomain> <name>: Use ENS to namespace tables.

  • set <subdomain> <name>: Set the namespace with a subdomain mapped to a table.
  • get <namespace> : Get the table mapped to a namespace.

Read​

tableland read <statement>: Run a read-only query against a remote table.

Receipt​

tableland receipt <hash>: Get the receipt of a chain transaction to know if it was executed, and the execution details.

Schema​

tableland schema <name>: Get info about a given table schema.

Shell​

tableland shell [statement]: Interact with tableland via an interactive shell environment.

Transfer​

tableland transfer <name> <receiver>: Transfer a table to another address.

Write​

tableland write <statement>: Run a mutating SQL statement against a remote table.

Global flags​

The Tableland CLI includes a number of global flags.

Help​

-h, --help: Show help.

Version​

-V, --version: Show version number.

Private Key​

-k, --privateKey <private_key>: Private key string. Note: most commands, aside from read queries, will need to flag a --privateKey (or set the configuration variables with the init command).

Chain​

-c, --chain <chain_name>: The EVM chain to target (default: maticmum).

Testnets

  • sepolia (Ethereum Sepolia)
  • maticmum (Polygon Mumbai)
  • optimism-goerli (Optimism Goerli)
  • arbitrum-sepolia (Arbitrum Sepolia)
  • filecoin-calibration (Filecoin Calibration)

Mainnets

  • mainnet (Ethereum)
  • homestead (Ethereum)
  • matic (Polygon)
  • optimism (Optimism)
  • arbitrum (Arbitrum One)
  • arbitrum-nova (Arbitrum Nova)
  • filecoin (Filecoin)

Local

  • localhost
  • local-tableland (Local Tableland)

Base URL​

--baseUrl <url>: The URL of a Tableland validator.

Provider URL​

-p, --providerUrl <url>: JSON RPC API provider URL (e.g., https://eth-mainnet.alchemyapi.io/v2/123abc123a...).

Table aliases​

One helpful option to set during the init command or passed directly to any command is a JSON file stored table aliases to universally unique table names. All that's needed is a path to a JSON file. Creating a table will write an alias-to-name mapping, and subsequent table queries can make use of the alias instead of the full table name.

-a, --aliases <filepath>: Path to table aliases JSON file (e.g., ./tableland.aliases.json).

Defaults​

The following are the default options:

  • --chain ⇒ maticmum: Polygon Mumbai has been set as the default chain; any other chain names from the tableland chains command can be used.
  • --baseUrl ⇒ http://localhost:8080: The default Tableland validator URL is on port 8080; a custom port can be set in a validator's configuration file, such as with Local Tableland or a full validator node.