# Usage

ConiFW is activated by running the command ```conifw``` and specifying the
required action. The different actions are described in more detail below.

Example:

```
# Print out generated ruleset directly to the console
conifw generate --stdout
```

You can always view the usage using ```conifw --help```:

```
$ conifw --help
usage: conifw [-h] [-C CONFIG_PATH] [-d] {apply,generate,check,version} ...

ConiFW CLI Tool

positional arguments:
  {apply,generate,check,version}
    apply               Apply rules
    generate            Generate, but do not apply rules
    check               Check configuration
    version             Show version

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -C, --config CONFIG_PATH
                        Path to configuration directory
  -d, --debug           Enable debug logging. This is applied during early
                        program startup and before any configuration has been
                        read. Overrides log level in the configuration file.
```

Or view help for specific actions with ```conifw <action> --help```:
```
$ conifw generate --help
usage: conifw generate [-h] [--stdout] [-o FILENAME] [-O]

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  --stdout              Write ruleset to stdout
  -o, --filename FILENAME
                        Write ruleset to given filename
  -O, --overwrite       Overwrite existing file
```

## Apply

(Not supported yet)

## Generate

This action generates the configuration but does not apply it automatically. If
used with the ```--filename <filename>``` option, you are able to generate the
rules on one host and then transfer them to another host via whatever method
you wish. This also means you can manage the rules for multiple remote hosts
using only one instance of conifw, using separate configuration files/directories.
See the [configuration](../configuration/index) documentation for more
details on how to use multiple configurations.

```{Note}
Simply running ```conifw generate``` without any parameters will not produce
any output (screen nor file). You will need to specify one or more of the
options below to be able to view the generated configuration.
```

### Options

#### ```-o``` / ```--filename```)

Write the generated configuration to the indicated file name. An existing file
will not be replaced unless ```-O``` / ```--overwrite``` is specified.

#### ```--stdout```

This option will produce the generated configuration to standard output. Can be
used together with ```-o filename``` to generate the file and displaying the
output at the same time.

## Check

The ```check``` action will process the configuration and then exit the program.
It is useful for checking for any immediately obvious configuration errors.

## Version

This action prints out the current version and exits the program.

## Optional parameters for all actions

### ```-C``` / ```--config```

This parameter specifies an alternative location for the main configuration
file. See [configuration](../configuration/index) for more explanation.

### ```-d``` / ```--debug```

This will make conifw log a great deal of debug information to the console.
It's not beneficial in normal use, but may be helpful in resolving some
error situations.

Furthermore, specifying this parameter on the command line will enable debug
logging earlier than just changing the level in the main configuration file.