The Linux Command Line Interface
Introduction
This topic describes the Linux command line interface (CLI).
Prerequisites
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The CLI commands are designed for the command line. If run inside a graphical interface's terminal window, certain commands will defer to the GUI version.
Example - abr start
Running abr start in a GUI terminal window shows the following message:
NOTE:The screenshots in this section were taken on a Linux Ubuntu 22.04 desktop, switching between GUI and command line interfaces:
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From GUI to command line:
systemctl set-default multi-user.target
reboot -
From command line to GUI:
systemctl set-default graphical.target
reboot
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Using the CLI requires Admin By Request for Linux version 3.1.9 or greater.
Commands
Version 3.1.9 supports the following commands:
abr finish
abr settings
abr start
abr status
abr version
There are also four global options:
abr --help
abr --master-config-file <arg>
abr --system-config-file <arg>
abr --log-level <arg>
Run abr --help to see a full list of commands and options.
abr finish
Command |
Output |
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Ends an admin session. |
When the pop-up message above disappears, the countdown timer in the bottom right of the status bar also disappears. |
abr settings
Command |
Output |
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Lists the settings from the portal that currently apply to this endpoint. To output settings to a text file:
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abr start
Command |
Output |
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Starts an admin session. The sequence of messages that follow depends on settings in the portal; i.e. whether or not the user must have requests approved before running elevated tasks. |
The final screenshot shows a countdown timer in the status bar. When the timer reaches zero, the session will terminate. |
abr status
Command |
Output |
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Equivalent to selecting About Admin By Request > Connectivity in the GUI app (see Connecting via a Proxy Server). |
In this example, both Internet and Cloud connectivity are Online, and neither the computer nor the user is joined to a domain. |
abr version
Command |
Output |
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abr --log-level
Sets the level for logging (e.g. info, debug etc.). Use this option together with a command as indicated in the following examples:
abr –log-level info start
abr –log-level info status
abr –log-level debug start
abr –log-level debug status
The default level is info and the current level can be seen in either the master config file or the system config file.
Auditlog
In the same way as the graphical interface, all activity is logged, both for Run As Admin and Admin Session.
The following examples show typical activity recorded in the auditlog.