RESTHeart CLI Usage Guide

March 1, 2026 · View on GitHub

This guide provides practical examples for common workflows with the RESTHeart CLI.

Quickstart
Installation
Development Workflow
Build and Deployment
Process Management
Advanced Usage
Troubleshooting

Quickstart

RESTHeart CLI makes it easy to develop and test plugins for RESTHeart. Here's how to get started:

Creating a New Plugin Project

To create a new RESTHeart plugin project:

Clone the plugin skeleton repository:

git clone https://github.com/SoftInstigate/restheart-plugin-skeleton my-plugin
cd my-plugin

Customize the project (optional):
- Open the pom.xml file
- Update the groupId from org.restheart to your organization
- Update the artifactId from restheart-plugin-skeleton to your project name

Initial Setup

The -s option (standalone mode) disables MongoDB-dependent plugins. Use this option if you do not intend to connect to a MongoDB instance during runtime.

⚠️ If you don't pass the -s option RESTHeart tries to connect to a MongoDB instace running at localhost:27017. If that is not present then RESTHeart fails to start.

Once you have your plugin project set up:

# Install RESTHeart (if you haven't already)
rh install

# Build your plugin
rh build

# Run RESTHeart with your plugin (passing the -s standalone flag, to avoid connecting to MongoDB)
rh run -- -s

# For active development, use watch mode (passing the -s standalone flag, to avoid connecting to MongoDB)
# the optional --build flag forces an initial rebuild of the project
rh watch --build -- -s

The watch mode will automatically rebuild and restart RESTHeart whenever you make changes to your code, making the development process much smoother.

Development by connecting to a specific MongoDB instance

💡 You can use the rh command with the run or watch option passing the /mclient/connection-string via the RHO environmemt variable, to connect to a specific MongoDB instance. This way, you can develop locally but using a remote database.

Example:

RHO='/mclient/connection-string->"mongodb://192.168.1.100:27017"' rh watch

Next Steps

After setting up your plugin project, you can:

Explore the sample code in the src directory
Modify the plugin code to implement your desired functionality
Refer to the RESTHeart documentation for detailed information on plugin development

Installation

First-time Installation

Install the latest version of RESTHeart:

rh install

This will:

Download the latest RESTHeart release
Extract it to the .cache/restheart directory
Set up the required directory structure

Installing a Specific Version

rh install 8.10.1

Updating or Reinstalling

Force a clean reinstallation:

rh install --force

Development Workflow

Setup Development Environment

Start a development environment with auto-rebuild:

# Start with file watching (auto-rebuild on changes)
rh watch

# Start with file watching using a custom config file
rh watch -- -o etc/dev-config.yml

💡 Have a look at the configuration section in the official documentation for the available configuration options.

Development with Custom Settings

Watch with custom settings:

# Watch on a different port
rh watch --port 9090

# Watch with initial build
rh watch --build

# Watch with longer debounce time (wait longer between changes)
rh watch --debounce-time 2000

# Watch with debug information
rh watch --debug

Debugging

Enable verbose output for detailed logs:

rh watch --verbose

View the RESTHeart log file:

tail -f restheart.log

Connect to the JDWP debug port (default: HTTP port + 1000):

# If HTTP port is 8080, debug port is 9080
# Configure your IDE to connect to localhost:9080

Build and Deployment

Building and Deploying Plugins

Build and deploy plugins in the current directory:

rh build

Running with Built-in Build

Run RESTHeart with an automatic build before starting:

# Build and run in a single command
rh run --build

Running with Custom Config

💡 Have a look at the configuration section in the official documentation for the available configuration options.

# Run with a custom configuration file
rh run -- -o etc/custom-config.yml

# Build, then run with a custom configuration file
rh run --build -- -o etc/custom-config.yml

Process Management

Check Process Status

rh status

Start and Stop

# Start RESTHeart
rh run

# Stop RESTHeart
rh kill

# Start on a different port
rh run --port 9090

# Stop instance on a specific port
rh kill --port 9090

Multiple Instances

Run multiple instances on different ports:

# Start first instance
rh run --port 8080

# Start second instance (in a new terminal)
rh run --port 9090

Advanced Usage

Custom Build and Run Parameters

# Build and run in debug mode
rh run --build --debug

# Build and run with verbose logging
rh run --build --verbose

Logging

Configure logging verbosity:

# Only show errors
rh --quiet run

# Show verbose debug information
rh --verbose run

# Add timestamps to logs
rh --timestamps run

Understanding Debug vs Verbose

--debug: Enables debug mode in the RESTHeart application itself, showing internal configuration details.
--verbose: Increases the CLI tool's log level to show more detailed information.

# For complete diagnostic information, use both:
rh run --debug --verbose

Non-interactive Environments (CI/CD)

For CI/CD environments, the progress spinners will be automatically disabled. Additional flags for CI environments:

# Run silently (minimal output)
rh --quiet build

# Run with timestamps for better log tracing
rh --timestamps build

Troubleshooting

Common Error: Port in Use

Error: Port 8080 is already in use

Resolution:

# Kill any instances using that port
rh kill --port 8080

# Or start on a different port
rh run --port 9090

Common Error: Build Failure

Error: Maven build failed

Resolution:

# Check the Maven build directly
./mvnw clean package

# Try with verbose output
rh --verbose build

Common Error: RESTHeart Not Starting

Error: RESTHeart failed to start

Resolution:

# Check the log file
cat restheart.log

# Try with debug mode
rh --debug run