API Operations

API Operations#

The bfabric-cli api command provides generic CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations on all B-Fabric entity types from the command line.

Note

Use the CLI when you need quick one-off operations, want to test API calls, or prefer working from the terminal. For complex workflows, automated processing, or programmatic logic, use the Python API instead.

Overview#

bfabric-cli api --help

Subcommand

Purpose

create

Create new entities

read

Query and retrieve entities

update

Modify existing entities

delete

Remove entities

inspect

Inspect SOAP API structure

Reading Entities#

Basic Usage#

bfabric-cli api read [ENDPOINT] [QUERY] [OPTIONS]

Parameters#

Parameter

Required

Description

endpoint

Yes

Entity type (e.g., resource, sample, workunit, dataset)

query

No

Key-value pairs to filter results

--format

No

Output: json, yaml, tsv, table-rich (default: table-rich)

--limit

No

Maximum results (default: 100)

--columns

No

Comma-separated columns to display

--file

No

Write output to file

Examples#

# List recent resources
bfabric-cli api read resource --limit 10

# Filter by columns
bfabric-cli api read resource --limit 10 --columns id,name,relativepath

# Query by multiple criteria
bfabric-cli api read resource createdby pfeeder createdafter 2024-05-01

# Query multiple IDs
bfabric-cli api read resource id 2784586 id 2784576

# Output formats
bfabric-cli api read resource --limit 10 --format json
bfabric-cli api read resource --limit 10 --format tsv

# Save to file
bfabric-cli api read resource --limit 100 --format json --file results.json

Creating Entities#

Basic Usage#

bfabric-cli api create [ENDPOINT] [ATTRIBUTES]

Examples#

# Create a resource
bfabric-cli api create resource name "hello.txt" workunitid 321802 base64 aGVsbG8=

# Create a sample
bfabric-cli api create sample name "My Sample" containerid 1234

Updating Entities#

Basic Usage#

bfabric-cli api update [ENDPOINT] [ENTITY_ID] [ATTRIBUTES]

Examples#

# Update a workunit
bfabric-cli api update workunit 321802 description "Updated description"

# Update multiple attributes
bfabric-cli api update sample 12345 name "New Name" description "Updated"

# Skip confirmation (use with caution!)
bfabric-cli api update resource 12345 name "New Name" --no-confirm

Deleting Entities#

Basic Usage#

bfabric-cli api delete [ENDPOINT] [ID] [OPTIONS]

Examples#

# Delete a single entity
bfabric-cli api delete resource 12345

# Delete multiple entities
bfabric-cli api delete resource 12345 12346 12347

# Skip confirmation (dangerous!)
bfabric-cli api delete resource 12345 --no-confirm

Inspecting API Structure#

For detailed information about discovering endpoints and understanding API structure, see API Inspection.

# Quick inspect
bfabric-cli api inspect [ENDPOINT] [METHOD]

Common Entity Types#

Endpoint

Description

resource

File resources

sample

Samples

workunit

Workunits/jobs

dataset

Datasets

project

Projects

container

Containers

application

Applications

executable

Application executables

importresource

Import resources

Tips#

  1. Test with small limits first: bfabric-cli api read resource --limit 5

  2. Use named parameters: --limit 10 is clearer than positional 10

  3. Save output: --file results.json for further processing

  4. Check Python equivalence: CLI shows the equivalent Python code on stderr

See Also#

Contents