arangodb/Documentation/Books/Users/Arangosh

!CHAPTER ArangoDB Shell Introduction

The ArangoDB shell (_arangosh_) is a command-line tool that can be used for
administration of ArangoDB, including running ad-hoc queries.

The _arangosh_ binary is shipped with ArangoDB and can be invoked like so:

```
unix> arangosh
```

By default _arangosh_ will try to connect to an ArangoDB server running on
server *localhost* on port *8529*. It will use the username *root* and an
empty password by default. Additionally it will connect to the default database
(*_system*). All these defaults can be changed using the following 
command-line options:

* *--server.database <string>*: name of the database to connect to
* *--server.endpoint <string>*: endpoint to connect to
* *--server.username <string>*: database username
* *--server.password <string>*: password to use when connecting 
* *--server.disable-authentication <bool>*: disable password prompt and authentication

For example, to connect to an ArangoDB server on IP *192.168.173.13* on port
8530 with the user *foo* and using the database *test*, use:

    unix> arangosh  \
      --server.endpoint tcp://192.168.173.13:8530  \
      --server.username foo  \
      --server.database test  \
      --server.disable-authentication false

_arangosh_ will then display a password prompt and try to connect to the 
server after the password was entered.

To change the current database after the connection has been made, you
can use the `db._useDatabase()` command in arangosh:

    arangosh> db._useDatabase("myapp");

To get a list of available commands, arangosh provides a *help()* function.
Calling it will display helpful information.

_arangosh_ also provides auto-completion. Additional information on available 
commands and methods is thus provided by typing the first few letters of a
variable and then pressing the tab key. It is recommend to try this with entering
*db.* (without pressing return) and then pressing tab.

By the way, _arangosh_ provides the *db* object by default, and this object can
be used for switching to a different database and managing collections inside the
current database.

For a list of available methods for the *db* object, type 
    
    arangosh> db._help();