[[Command_line_parameters]]
= Command line parameters

ifdef::env-github[]
:tip-caption: :bulb:
:note-caption: :information_source:
:important-caption: :heavy_exclamation_mark:
:caution-caption: :fire:
:warning-caption: :warning:
endif::[]

To start up a WildFly managed domain, execute the
`$JBOSS_HOME/bin/domain.sh` script. To start up a standalone server,
execute the `$JBOSS_HOME/bin/standalone.sh`. With no arguments, the
default configuration is used. You can override the default
configuration by providing arguments on the command line, or in your
calling script.

== System properties

To set a system property, pass its new value using the standard jvm
`-Dkey=value` options:

[source,options="nowrap"]
----
$JBOSS_HOME/bin/standalone.sh -Djboss.home.dir=some/location/wildFly \
    -Djboss.server.config.dir=some/location/wildFly/custom-standalone
----

This command starts up a standalone server instance using a non-standard
AS home directory and a custom configuration directory. For specific
information about system properties, refer to the definitions below.

Instead of passing the parameters directly, you can put them into a
properties file, and pass the properties file to the script, as in the
two examples below.

[source,options="nowrap"]
----
$JBOSS_HOME/bin/domain.sh --properties=/some/location/jboss.properties
$JBOSS_HOME/bin/domain.sh -P=/some/location/jboss.properties
----

Note however, that properties set this way (`-D` and `-P`) are not processed as part of
JVM launch. They are processed early in the boot process, but this
mechanism should not be used for setting properties that control JVM
behavior (e.g. java.net.perferIPv4Stack) or the behavior of the JBoss
Modules classloading system.

The syntax for passing in parameters and properties files is the same
regardless of whether you are running the `domain.sh`, `standalone.sh`,
or the Microsoft Windows scripts `domain.bat` or `standalone.bat`.

The properties file is a standard Java property file containing
`key=value` pairs:

[source,options="nowrap"]
----
jboss.home.dir=/some/location/wildFly
jboss.domain.config.dir=/some/location/wildFly/custom-domain
----

System properties can also be set via the xml configuration files. Note
however that for a standalone server properties set this way will not be
set until the xml configuration is parsed and the commands created by
the parser have been executed. So this mechanism should not be used for
setting properties whose value needs to be set before this point.

[[controlling-filesystem-locations-with-system-properties]]
=== Controlling filesystem locations with system properties

The standalone and the managed domain modes each use a default
configuration which expects various files and writable directories to
exist in standard locations. Each of these standard locations is
associated with a system property, which has a default value. To
override a system property, pass its new value using the one of the
mechanisms above. The locations which can be controlled via system
property are:

[[standalone]]
==== Standalone

[cols=",,",options="header"]
|=======================================================================
|Property name |Usage |Default value

|java.ext.dirs |The JDK extension directory paths |null

|jboss.home.dir |The root directory of the WildFly installation. |Set by
standalone.sh to $JBOSS_HOME

|jboss.server.base.dir |The base directory for server content.
|jboss.home.dir/standalone

|jboss.server.config.dir |The base configuration directory.
|jboss.server.base.dir/configuration

|jboss.server.data.dir |The directory used for persistent data file
storage. |jboss.server.base.dir/data

|jboss.server.log.dir |The directory containing the server.log file.
|jboss.server.base.dir/log

|jboss.server.temp.dir |The directory used for temporary file storage.
|jboss.server.base.dir/tmp

|jboss.server.content.dir |The directory used to store deployed content
|jboss.server.data.dir/content
|=======================================================================

==== Managed Domain

[cols=",,",options="header"]
|=======================================================================
|Property name |Usage |Default value

|jboss.home.dir |The root directory of the WildFly installation. |Set by
domain.sh to $JBOSS_HOME

|jboss.domain.base.dir |The base directory for domain content.
|jboss.home.dir/domain

|jboss.domain.config.dir |The base configuration directory
|jboss.domain.base.dir/configuration

|jboss.domain.data.dir |The directory used for persistent data file
storage. |jboss.domain.base.dir/data

|jboss.domain.log.dir |The directory containing the host-controller.log
and process-controller.log files |jboss.domain.base.dir/log

|jboss.domain.temp.dir |The directory used for temporary file storage
|jboss.domain.base.dir/tmp

|jboss.domain.deployment.dir |The directory used to store deployed
content |jboss.domain.base.dir/content

|jboss.domain.servers.dir |The directory containing the output for the
managed server instances |jboss.domain.base.dir/servers
|=======================================================================

[[other-command-line-parameters]]
== Other command line parameters

The first acceptable format for command line arguments to the WildFly
launch scripts is

....
--name=value
....

For example:

[source,options="nowrap"]
----
$JBOSS_HOME/bin/standalone.sh --server-config=standalone-ha.xml
----

If the parameter name is a single character, it is prefixed by a single
'-' instead of two. Some parameters have both a long and short option.

....
-x=value
....

For example:

[source,options="nowrap"]
----
$JBOSS_HOME/bin/standalone.sh -P=/some/location/jboss.properties
----

For some command line arguments frequently used in previous major
releases of WildFly, replacing the "=" in the above examples with a
space is supported, for compatibility.

....
-b 192.168.100.10
....

If possible, use the `-x=value` syntax. New parameters will always
support this syntax.

The sections below describe the command line parameter names that are
available in standalone and domain mode.

[[standalone-1]]
=== Standalone

[cols=",,",options="header"]
|=======================================================================
|Name |Default if absent |Value

|--admin-only |- |Set the server's running type to ADMIN_ONLY causing it
to open administrative interfaces and accept management requests but not
start other runtime services or accept end user requests.

|--server-config -c |standalone.xml |A relative path which is interpreted
to be relative to jboss.server.config.dir. The name of the configuration
file to use.

|--read-only-server-config |- |A relative path which is interpreted to
be relative to jboss.server.config.dir. This is similar to
--server-config but if this alternative is specified the server will not
overwrite the file when the management model is changed. However, a full
versioned history is maintained of the file.

|--graceful-startup | true | Start the servers in gracefully, queuing or cleanly rejecting incoming requests until the server is fully started.

|--git-repo |- | remote Git repository URL to use for configuration directory and content repository content or `local` if only a local repository is to be used.

|--git-branch |master |The Git branch or tag to be used. If a `tag` name is used then the future commits will go into the detached state.

|--git-auth |- |A URL to an Elytron configuration file containing the credentials to be used for connecting to the Git repository.

|--stability |community (__standard__ WildFly)
preview (WildFly _Preview_)|Minimum xref:Feature_stability_levels.adoc#Feature_stability_levels[feature stability level] that the server should support. Features with a lower stability level will not be exposed by the management API.
|=======================================================================

[[managed-domain-1]]
=== Managed Domain

[cols=",,",options="header"]
|=======================================================================
|Name |Default if absent |Value

|--admin-only |- |Set the host controller's running type to ADMIN_ONLY causing it to open
administrative interfaces and accept management requests but not start servers or, if this
host controller is the primary for the domain, accept incoming connections from secondary
host controllers.

|--domain-config -c |domain.xml |A relative path which is interpreted to
be relative to jboss.domain.config.dir. The name of the domain wide
configuration file to use.

|--read-only-domain-config |- |A relative path which is interpreted to
be relative to jboss.domain.config.dir. This is similar to
--domain-config but if this alternative is specified the host
controller will not overwrite the file when the management model is
changed. However, a full versioned history is maintained of the file.

|--host-config |host.xml |A relative path which is interpreted to be
relative to jboss.domain.config.dir. The name of the host-specific
configuration file to use.

|--read-only-host-config |- |A relative path which is interpreted to be
relative to jboss.domain.config.dir. This is similar to --host-config
but if this alternative is specified the host controller will not
overwrite the file when the management model is changed. However, a full
versioned history is maintained of the file.

|--stability |community (__standard__ WildFly)
preview (WildFly _Preview_)|Minimum xref:Feature_stability_levels.adoc#Feature_stability_levels[feature stability level] that the server should support. Features with a lower stability level will not be exposed by the management API. All
Host Controllers in the domain must have the same `stability` setting.
|=======================================================================

The following parameters take no value and are only usable on secondary host
controllers (i.e. hosts configured to connect to a `remote` domain
controller.)

[cols=",",options="header"]
|=======================================================================
|Name |Function

|--backup |Causes the secondary host controller to create and maintain a
local copy (domain.cached-remote.xml) of the domain configuration. If
ignore-unused-configuration is unset in host.xml,a complete copy of the
domain configuration will be stored locally, otherwise the configured
value of ignore-unused-configuration in host.xml will be used. (See
ignore-unused-configuration for more details.)

|--cached-dc |If the secondary host controller is unable to contact the
domain controller to get its configuration at boot, this option
will allow the secondary host controller to boot and become operational using
a previously cached copy of the domain configuration
(domain.cached-remote.xml.) If the cached configuration is not present,
this boot will fail. This file is created using one of the
following methods:- A previously successful connection to the
domain controller using --backup or --cached-dc.- Copying the domain
configuration from an alternative host to
domain/configuration/domain.cached-remote.xml.The unavailable
domain controller will be polled periodically for availability, and once
becoming available, the secondary host controller will reconnect to the
domain controller and synchronize the domain configuration. During
the interval the domain controller is unavailable, the secondary host
controller will not be able to make any modifications to the domain
configuration, but it may launch servers and handle requests to deployed
applications etc.
|=======================================================================

[[common-parameters]]
=== Common parameters

These parameters apply in both standalone or managed domain mode:

[cols=",",options="header"]
|=======================================================================
|Name |Function

|-b=<value> |Sets system property jboss.bind.address to <value>. See
Controlling the Bind Address with -b for further details.

|-b<name>=<value> |Sets system property jboss.bind.address.<name> to
<value> where name can vary. See Controlling the Bind Address with -b
for further details.

|-u=<value> |Sets system property jboss.default.multicast.address to
<value>. See Controlling the Default Multicast Address with -u for
further details.

|--version -v -V |Prints the version of WildFly to standard output and
exits the JVM.

|--help-h |Prints a help message explaining the options and exits the
JVM.
|=======================================================================

[[controlling-the-bind-address]]
== Controlling the Bind Address with -b

WildFly binds sockets to the IP addresses and interfaces contained in
the `<interfaces>` elements in `standalone.xml`, `domain.xml` and
`host.xml`. (See
link:#interfaces[Interfaces]
and
link:#socket-bindings-and-socket-binding-groups[Socket
Bindings] for further information on these elements.) The standard
configurations that ship with WildFly includes two interface
configurations:

[source,xml,options="nowrap"]
----
<interfaces>
    <interface name="management">
        <inet-address value="${jboss.bind.address.management:127.0.0.1}"/>
    </interface>
    <interface name="public">
       <inet-address value="${jboss.bind.address:127.0.0.1}"/>
    </interface>
</interfaces>
----

Those configurations use the values of system properties
`jboss.bind.address.management` and `jboss.bind.address` if they are
set. If they are not set, 127.0.0.1 is used for each value.

As noted in
<<common-parameters,Common
Parameters>>, the AS supports the `-b` and `-b<name>` command line
switches. The only function of these switches is to set system
properties `jboss.bind.address` and `jboss.bind.address.<name>`
respectively. However, because of the way the standard WildFly
configuration files are set up, using the `-b` switches can indirectly
control how the AS binds sockets.

_If your interface configurations match those shown above_, using this
as your launch command causes all sockets associated with interface
named "public" to be bound to `192.168.100.10`.

[source,options="nowrap"]
----
$JBOSS_HOME/bin/standalone.sh -b=192.168.100.10
----

In the standard config files, public interfaces are those not associated
with server management. Public interfaces handle normal end-user
requests.

[IMPORTANT]

The interface named "public" is not inherently special. It is provided
as a convenience. You can name your interfaces to suit your environment.

To bind the public interfaces to all IPv4 addresses (the IPv4 wildcard
address), use the following syntax:


----
$JBOSS_HOME/bin/standalone.sh -b=0.0.0.0
----

You can also bind the management interfaces, as follows:


----
$JBOSS_HOME/bin/standalone.sh -bmanagement=192.168.100.10
----

In the standard config files, management interfaces are those sockets
associated with server management, such as the socket used by the CLI,
the HTTP socket used by the admin console, and the JMX connector socket.

[IMPORTANT]

The `-b` switch only controls the interface bindings because the
standard config files that ship with WildFly sets things up that way. If
you change the `<interfaces>` section in your configuration to no longer
use the system properties controlled by `-b`, then setting `-b` in your
launch command will have no effect.

For example, this perfectly valid setting for the "public" interface
causes `-b` to have no effect on the "public" interface:

[source,xml,options="nowrap"]
----
<interface name="public">
   <nic name="eth0"/>
</interface>
----

The key point is *the contents of the configuration files determine the
configuration. Settings like* `-b` *are not overrides of the
configuration files.* They only provide a shorter syntax for setting a
system properties that may or may not be referenced in the configuration
files. They are provided as a convenience, and you can choose to modify
your configuration to ignore them.

[[controlling-the-default-multicast-address-with--u]]
== Controlling the Default Multicast Address with -u

WildFly may use multicast communication for some services, particularly
those involving high availability clustering. The multicast addresses
and ports used are configured using the `socket-binding` elements in
`standalone.xml` and `domain.xml`. (See
link:#socket-bindings-and-socket-binding-groups[Socket
Bindings] for further information on these elements.) The standard HA
configurations that ship with WildFly include two socket binding
configurations that use a default multicast address:

[source,xml,options="nowrap"]
----
<socket-binding name="jgroups-mping" port="0" multicast-address="${jboss.default.multicast.address:230.0.0.4}" multicast-port="45700"/>
<socket-binding name="jgroups-udp" port="55200" multicast-address="${jboss.default.multicast.address:230.0.0.4}" multicast-port="45688"/>
----

Those configurations use the values of system property
`jboss.default.multicast.address` if it is set. If it is not set,
`230.0.0.4` is used for each value. (The configuration may include other
socket bindings for multicast-based services that are not meant to use
the default multicast address; e.g. a binding the mod-cluster services
use to communicate on a separate address/port with Apache httpd
servers.)

As noted in
<<common-parameters,Common Parameters>>, the AS supports the `-u` command line switch. The only
function of this switch is to set system property `jboss.default.multicast.address`. However, because of the way the
standard AS configuration files are set up, using the `-u` switches can indirectly control how the AS uses multicast.

_If your socket binding configurations match those shown above_, using
this as your launch command causes the service using those sockets
configurations to be communicate over multicast address `230.0.1.2`.

----
$JBOSS_HOME/bin/standalone.sh -u=230.0.1.2
----

[IMPORTANT]

As with the `-b` switch, the `-u` switch only controls the multicast
address used because the standard config files that ship with WildFly
sets things up that way. If you change the `<socket-binding>` sections
in your configuration to no longer use the system properties controlled
by `-u`, then setting `-u` in your launch command will have no effect.
