Custom Commands

This example demonstrates how to extend Atmos with custom CLI commands, making it easier for teams to use your toolchain through a single, consistent interface.

Quick Start

# View available custom commands
atmos --help

# Run basic commands
atmos hello
atmos ip
atmos github status
atmos greet Alice
atmos weather --location LAX

Example Structure

custom-commands/
├── atmos.yaml              # Basic custom commands
├── .atmos.d/
│   ├── interactive.yaml    # Interactive step types (choose, confirm, input, etc.)
│   └── advanced.yaml       # Boolean flags, component config, working directory
└── README.md

Basic Commands (atmos.yaml)

Hello World

The simplest custom command:

atmos hello

Get Your IP

Returns your current public IP address:

atmos ip

Nested Commands (GitHub)

Commands can be nested under parent commands:

# Check GitHub status
atmos github status

# Get stargazer count for a repository
atmos github stargazers cloudposse/atmos

Positional Arguments

Pass arguments to commands:

# Uses default "John Doe"
atmos greet

# Pass a custom name
atmos greet Alice

Flags

Use long or short flags:

atmos weather --location LAX
atmos weather -l NYC

Interactive Commands (.atmos.d/interactive.yaml)

Interactive commands create CLI wizards using various step types.

Note: Interactive commands require a TTY (terminal) and won't work in CI/CD pipelines.

Deploy Wizard

Interactive deployment with environment selection and confirmation:

atmos deploy-wizard

Component Selection

Multi-select components with filtering:

atmos select-components

Create Ticket

Collect information with various input types:

atmos create-ticket

Collect Credentials

Secure credential collection with password masking:

atmos collect-credentials

File Selection

Interactive file picker:

atmos select-config

Show Environments

Display data in a formatted table:

atmos show-environments

Build with Progress

Show progress spinner during command execution:

atmos build-with-progress

Advanced Commands (.atmos.d/advanced.yaml)

Boolean Flags

Commands with boolean flags and conditional execution:

# Default behavior (clean=true, verbose=false)
atmos build

# Enable verbose output
atmos build --verbose
# or
atmos build -v

# Disable clean step
atmos build --clean=false

# Dry run mode
atmos build --dry-run

Environment Variables

Commands that set environment variables:

atmos deploy-component vpc -s dev
atmos deploy-component eks -s prod --auto-approve

Component Configuration

Access component configuration in command steps:

# Requires stacks to be configured
atmos show-component vpc -s dev

Working Directory

Run commands from specific directories:

# Run from repository root
atmos run-from-root

Nested Subcommands

Multiple levels of command nesting:

atmos ops status
atmos ops health --verbose
atmos ops restart my-service --force

Trailing Arguments

Pass additional arguments after --:

atmos run myscript.sh -- --arg1 value1 --arg2 value2

Configuration Structure

Custom commands are defined in the commands section of atmos.yaml or any file in .atmos.d/:

commands:
  - name: my-command
    description: Description shown in help
    arguments:
      - name: arg-name
        description: Argument description
        required: true
        default: default-value
    flags:
      - name: flag-name
        shorthand: f
        description: Flag description
        type: bool  # or string (default)
        default: false
    env:
      - key: MY_VAR
        value: "{{ .Arguments.arg-name }}"
    steps:
      - echo "Running command"
      - "{{ if .Flags.flag-name }}echo 'Flag enabled'{{ end }}"

Available Step Types

Custom commands support various step types for building interactive CLIs:

Type	Description
Shell command (string)	Execute a shell command
markdown	Display formatted markdown
choose	Single-select dropdown
filter	Filterable multi-select
input	Single-line text input
write	Multi-line text editor
confirm	Yes/No confirmation
file	File picker
toast	Styled status message
spin	Progress spinner
table	Tabular data display
style	Styled bordered content

Template Variables

Steps can access various template variables:

• {{ .Arguments.name }} - Positional argument value
• {{ .Flags.name }} - Flag value
• {{ .TrailingArgs }} - Arguments after --
• {{ .steps.step_name.value }} - Value from a previous step
• {{ .steps.step_name.values }} - Array of values (multi-select)
• {{ .ComponentConfig.vars.xxx }} - Component configuration (requires component_config)
• {{ .env.VAR }} - Environment variable

Learn More

• Custom Commands Documentation
• Workflows Documentation
• Interactive Workflows Example