cmd exec

nself exec

Execute a command inside a running service container.

Synopsis

nself exec [flags] <SERVICE> [COMMAND...]

Description

nself exec runs a command inside a running service container. It is a thin wrapper around docker compose exec with ɳSelf-aware defaults: if no command is given, it opens a sensible interactive shell for the service (psql for postgres, redis-cli for redis, /bin/sh for everything else).

The command supports piping, you can feed SQL files or other input through stdin using shell pipes. Allocate a pseudo-TTY by default for interactive sessions; pass --no-tty when piping input.

Flags

Flag	Default	Description
--user, -u	""	Run the command as this user inside the container
--workdir, -w	""	Working directory inside the container
--no-tty, -T	false	Disable pseudo-TTY allocation
--env, -e	[]	Set environment variables (KEY=VALUE, repeatable)
--help, -h	—	Show help

Default Commands by Service

Service	Default Command
postgres	psql -U postgres
redis	redis-cli
(all others)	/bin/sh

Examples

# Open an interactive psql session
nself exec postgres

# Open redis-cli
nself exec redis

# Open a shell in the hasura container
nself exec hasura

# Run a specific command
nself exec postgres -- pg_dump mydb

# Run as root in nginx
nself exec -u root nginx /bin/bash

# Pipe a SQL file into psql (disable TTY for piping)
cat schema.sql | nself exec -T postgres psql

# Set environment variables
nself exec -e DEBUG=true functions /bin/sh

# Use a specific working directory
nself exec -w /app functions /bin/sh

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