Scripting & Automation with Acquia CLI
Use when:
- Automating acli commands in shell scripts
- Integrating acli into CI/CD pipelines
- Running acli non-interactively
Use acli in scripts, CI/CD pipelines, and automation workflows to manage Acquia Cloud resources programmatically.
Non-Interactive Commands
All acli commands can run non-interactively by providing options. This is essential for scripts and CI/CD.
Basic pattern
# Interactive - prompts for missing information
acli ide:create
# Non-interactive - provides all info upfront
acli ide:create \
--application=abc123 \
--label="Automated IDE"Common options
# No prompts - fails if info is missing
acli <command> --no-interaction
# Don't wait for async operations
acli <command> --no-wait
# Skip confirmations
acli <command> --yesSimple Automation Examples
Example 1: Deploy on schedule
#!/bin/bash
# deploy.sh - Deploy to staging nightly
BRANCH="develop"
ENVIRONMENT="staging"
ENV_ID="<environment-id>"
acli api:environments:code-switch $ENV_ID $BRANCH
# Verify Drupal status
acli remote:drush statusRun via cron:
# crontab -e
# Deploy every night at 2am
0 2 * * * /path/to/deploy.sh >> /tmp/deploy.log 2>&1Example 2: Cache clearing workflow
#!/bin/bash
# cache-clear.sh - Clear caches across environments
set -e # Exit on any error
acli remote:drush cr
echo "Caches cleared!"CI/CD Integration
GitHub Actions
Deploy on push to main:
# .github/workflows/deploy.yml
name: Deploy to Acquia
on:
push:
branches: [main]
jobs:
deploy:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Install acli
run: |
curl -fsSL https://github.com/acquia/cli/releases/latest/download/acli \
-o /usr/local/bin/acli
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/acli
- name: Authenticate
env:
ACQUIA_KEY: ${{ secrets.ACQUIA_KEY }}
ACQUIA_SECRET: ${{ secrets.ACQUIA_SECRET }}
run: |
mkdir -p ~/.acquia
cat > ~/.acquia/credentials.json <<EOF
{
"acquia-cloud-api": {
"key": "$ACQUIA_KEY",
"secret": "$ACQUIA_SECRET"
}
}
EOF
- name: Deploy to production
run: |
acli api:environments:code-switch ${{ vars.ACQUIA_PROD_ENV_ID }} mainGitLab CI/CD
# .gitlab-ci.yml
deploy_production:
stage: deploy
image: ubuntu:latest
before_script:
- curl -fsSL https://github.com/acquia/cli/releases/latest/download/acli \
-o /usr/local/bin/acli
- chmod +x /usr/local/bin/acli
- mkdir -p ~/.acquia
- |
cat > ~/.acquia/credentials.json <<EOF
{
"acquia-cloud-api": {
"key": "$ACQUIA_KEY",
"secret": "$ACQUIA_SECRET"
}
}
EOF
script:
- acli api:environments:code-switch $ACQUIA_PROD_ENV_ID $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH
only:
- mainError Handling
Check exit codes
#!/bin/bash
acli ide:create --application=abc123
if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
echo "IDE created successfully"
else
echo "IDE creation failed"
exit 1
fiHandle errors gracefully
#!/bin/bash
set -e # Exit on first error
trap 'echo "Error occurred on line $LINENO"' ERR
acli api:environments:code-switch $ENV_ID main
echo "Deploy successful!"Retry logic
#!/bin/bash
retry_count=0
max_retries=3
while [ $retry_count -lt $max_retries ]; do
if acli remote:drush updatedb; then
echo "Database updates completed"
exit 0
fi
retry_count=$((retry_count + 1))
if [ $retry_count -lt $max_retries ]; then
echo "Attempt $retry_count failed. Retrying..."
sleep 10
fi
done
echo "Failed after $max_retries attempts"
exit 1Logging & Monitoring
Log output
#!/bin/bash
LOGFILE="/var/log/acli-deploy.log"
{
echo "=== Deploy started at $(date) ==="
acli api:environments:code-switch $ENV_ID main
echo "=== Deploy finished at $(date) ==="
} >> $LOGFILE 2>&1Send notifications
#!/bin/bash
SLACK_WEBHOOK="$SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL"
send_slack() {
curl -X POST $SLACK_WEBHOOK \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d "{
\"text\": \"Acquia deployment: $1\",
\"channel\": \"#deployments\"
}"
}
if acli api:environments:code-switch $ENV_ID main; then
send_slack "✓ Production deployment successful"
else
send_slack "✗ Production deployment failed"
exit 1
fiAdvanced: API Key Authentication
For automation on servers, use API keys instead of browser authentication.
Generate API credentials
In Acquia Cloud UI:
- Go to Settings → API Tokens
- Generate a new token
- Copy the Key and Secret
Use with acli
# Method 1: Environment variables
export ACQUIA_KEY="your-key-here"
export ACQUIA_SECRET="your-secret-here"
acli api:applications:list
# Method 2: Credentials file
mkdir -p ~/.acquia
cat > ~/.acquia/credentials.json <<EOF
{
"acquia-cloud-api": {
"key": "your-key-here",
"secret": "your-secret-here"
}
}
EOF
acli api:applications:listSecure credential management
# Option 1: AWS Secrets Manager
aws secretsmanager get-secret-value --secret-id acquia-cli-key
# Option 2: HashiCorp Vault
vault kv get secret/acquia/cli-key
# Option 3: GitHub Secrets (for Actions)
# Set ACQUIA_KEY and ACQUIA_SECRET as repository secretsBest Practices
- Use
--no-interaction— Always pass this in scripts to prevent prompts from blocking the process. - Use
set -e— Exit immediately on any error so failures don't silently continue. - Store credentials securely — Use environment variables or secrets managers, never hardcode.
- Use
app:task-wait— After async operations, wait for completion before the next step.
Troubleshooting
Authentication fails in CI
Set the ACLI_NO_INTERACTION environment variable and supply credentials explicitly:
export ACLI_NO_INTERACTION=1
export ACLI_KEY=your-api-key
export ACLI_SECRET=your-api-secret
acli api:applications:listCommand hangs waiting for input
Always pass --no-interaction in scripts:
acli ide:create --application=abc123 --label="CI IDE" --no-interactionExit code not propagated correctly
Use set -e at the top of your script:
#!/bin/bash
set -e
acli auth:login --no-interaction
acli api:environments:code-switch $ENV_ID main