arangodb/Documentation/Books/Manual/Administration/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. It offers a JavaScript shell
environment providing access to the ArangoDB server.
Arangosh can be invoked like this:

```
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.authentication <bool>*: whether or not to use 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.authentication true

_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:

    @startDocuBlockInline shellUseDB
    @EXAMPLE_ARANGOSH_OUTPUT{shellUseDB}
    db._createDatabase("myapp");
    db._useDatabase("myapp");
    db._useDatabase("_system");
    db._dropDatabase("myapp");
    @END_EXAMPLE_ARANGOSH_OUTPUT
    @endDocuBlock shellUseDB

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 
    
    @startDocuBlockInline shellHelp
    @EXAMPLE_ARANGOSH_OUTPUT{shellHelp}
    db._help(); 
    @END_EXAMPLE_ARANGOSH_OUTPUT
    @endDocuBlock shellHelp

you can paste multiple lines into arangosh, given the first line ends with an opening brace:

    @startDocuBlockInline shellPaste
    @EXAMPLE_ARANGOSH_OUTPUT{shellPaste}
    |for (var i = 0; i < 10; i ++) {
    |         require("internal").print("Hello world " + i + "!\n");
    }
    @END_EXAMPLE_ARANGOSH_OUTPUT
    @endDocuBlock shellPaste


To load your own JavaScript code into the current JavaScript interpreter context, use the load command:

    require("internal").load("/tmp/test.js")     // <- Linux / MacOS
    require("internal").load("c:\\tmp\\test.js") // <- Windows

Exiting arangosh can be done using the key combination ```<CTRL> + D``` or by typing ```quit<CR>```