Configuration

Global flags

Every ekso command accepts these flags. They sit alongside command-specific options:

Flag	Description	Env var	Default
`--url <URL>`	Absolute URL of your Ekso install (e.g. `https://ekso.acme.com`). Required unless env-var is set.	`EKSO_URL`	—
`--api-key <KEY>`	API key for non-interactive auth. Overrides any stored device-flow tokens.	`EKSO_API_KEY`	—
`-f, --format <FORMAT>`	Output format. One of `json`, `jsonl`, `yaml`, `table`.	`EKSO_FORMAT`	`json`
`-q, --quiet`	Suppress non-essential output. On `create`, prints just the new id.	—	off
`-v, --verbose`	Verbose logging — request/response details.	—	off
`--no-color`	Disable ANSI colors. Honours NO_COLOR.	`NO_COLOR`	off
`--timeout <SECONDS>`	HTTP timeout in seconds.	`EKSO_TIMEOUT`	`30`

Flags always win over env vars. Env vars are convenient for shell sessions and CI runners — set once, every subsequent ekso ... call inherits them. Self-host: there is no concept of tenant subdomain. The install URL — whatever PublicUrl you set during the /startup wizard — is the single addressable identity, and the CLI talks to it directly.

Recommended shell setup

Drop these in your .zshrc / .bashrc so you don’t repeat yourself:

# Production install
export EKSO_URL=https://ekso.acme.com
# CI/agent — leave unset for local dev (uses cached device-flow tokens)
# export EKSO_API_KEY=ek_live_xxx

For local backend development:

export EKSO_URL=https://devinc.localhost:7070

Output formats

The CLI defaults to JSON — the same shape Ekso returns over HTTP. Use --format (or EKSO_FORMAT) to change:

Format	Use case
`json` (default)	Machine-readable, pipes cleanly into `jq`.
`jsonl`	Newline-delimited JSON. One record per line. Good for streaming.
`yaml`	Human-readable for browsing, terraform-style configs.
`table`	Compact aligned columns for terminal viewing. Loses nested fields.

ekso item list --format table

-q, --quiet is independent of --format — it suppresses success messages and non-essential prose, leaving only the data (or just the id, on create). Combine -q --format json for clean machine output.

Exit codes

The CLI follows POSIX conventions plus a few Ekso-specific codes:

Code	Meaning
`0`	Success
`1`	Generic error (unknown failure)
`2`	Usage error (bad flags / missing required argument)
`3`	Auth error (no credentials, expired refresh token, revoked key)
`4`	Forbidden (insufficient permissions, e.g. not a super admin)
`5`	Not found (HTTP 404)
`6`	Validation error (HTTP 400 / 422)
`7`	Rate limited (HTTP 429) — back off and retry
`8`	Network error (DNS, TCP, TLS, timeout) — typically transient
`9`	Server error (HTTP 5xx)

Branch on these in shell pipelines:

ekso item create --name "Bug" --url https://ekso.acme.com
case $? in
    0) echo "ok" ;;
    3) echo "re-authenticate" ; ekso auth login --url https://ekso.acme.com ;;
    7) echo "rate limited" ; sleep 30 ;;
    *) echo "failed: exit $?" ;;
esac

Help

Every command and branch has built-in help:

ekso --help                  # Top-level: list of branches
ekso item --help             # Branch: list of verbs
ekso item create --help      # Verb: flags + arguments

--help prints the same surface as the docs but reflects the binary you have installed — it’s the source of truth if the rendered docs and the installed CLI ever drift.

Getting started

Migrate

Reference

Global flags

Recommended shell setup

Output formats

Exit codes

Help

​Global flags

​Recommended shell setup

​Output formats

​Exit codes

​Help

Global flags

Recommended shell setup

Output formats

Exit codes

Help