Appendix A. Command options for insights-client


As a system administrator with root privileges, you can use the insights-client command and its options to control the Insights client operation on your system. Because the insights-client.rpm is updated less frequently than individual components in Insights for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the man page might not include the most recent information about insights-client.

Each time you enter the insights-client command, the client collects data and sends it to Insights for Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Note

Using the insights-client --display-name command to set the display name takes effect immediately, but does not run the Insights client.

A.1. Options for the Insights client

Table A.1. insights-client user command options
OptionDescription

--help

-h

Display help information

--register

Register the host to Insights for Red Hat Enterprise Linux by using the information in /etc/hostname. Will automatically enable the nightly cron job unless --disable-schedule is set.

--unregister

Unregister the host from Insights for Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

--display-name=DISPLAY_NAME

Set or change the host display name in the GUI. Use with --register to set the value of display_name when the host is registered if you want to use a different name than the one specified in /etc/hostname. You can also use the --display-name option after registration to override the name shown for this host in Insights inventory.

--group=GROUP

Add host to GROUP during registration. Group names are defined in /etc/insights-client/tags.yaml.

--retry=RETRIES

Set the number of times to retry an upload. The default is 1. The retry interval is 180 seconds, which is how long the Insights client waits until retrying the upload.

NOTE: In the scheduler, the number of retries is 3.

--validate

Validate the /etc/insights-client/remove.conf and /etc/insights-client/tags.yaml files.

--quiet

Only log error messages to the console.

--silent

Log nothing to the console.

--enable-schedule

Enable the job schedule. By default, the Insights client runs daily, at or near midnight.

NOTE: If you are using Client 1.x, use the --register option to enable the schedule.

--disable-schedule

Disable the nightly job schedule.

--conf=CONF

-c=CONF

Use a custom configuration file CONF instead of the default /etc/insights-client/insights-client.conf file.

--no-upload

Runs the client but does not upload the archive to Red Hat Insights. The archive is stored in the /var/tmp/ directory. The file name displays when the insights-client command completes.

--offline

Run the client without using network functionality. Implies --no-upload.

--logging-file=LOGFILE

Output the log data to the specified log file (LOGFILE). The default log file is /var/log/insights-client/insights-client.log.

--diagnosis

Fetch diagnostic information from the API. You need to ensure that the system has been registered and uploaded at least once before you can use --diagnosis.

--compliance

Scan the system with OpenSCAP and upload the report.

--compliance-policies

Lists all the policies that the system can be assigned to and provides useful information in the output table for the following categories:

  • Assigned: Lists the status of the policy as False (system does not have the policy assigned) or True (system has the policy assigned)
  • ID: Lists the unique ID (UUID) for the policy.
  • Title: Lists the name of the Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP) policy to which you can add your system.

--compliance-assign

Assigns the system to the policy by using the ID that is output from insights-client --compliance-policies.

--compliance-unassign

Unassigns the system from the policy by using the ID that is output from insights-client --compliance-policies.

--payload=PAYLOAD

Upload a specific archive payload file to Red Hat Insights for Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Requires --content-type to be set.

--content-type=TYPE

Set the content type for PAYLOAD. Type can be gz, bz2, xz, or none. The value of TYPE must match the --compressor used with the payload file.

--show-results

Display analysis results fetched by --check-results.

--output-dir=DIR

Write the collection to a specified directory instead of uploading.

--output-file=FILE

Write the collection to a specified archive instead of uploading.

--ansible-host=ANSIBLE_HOST

Set or change the Ansible hostname in Red Hat Insights inventory. Use this option during registration when you want to set a different name than the one specified in /etc/hostname or the configuration file. You can also use this option to override the hostname injected into playbooks targeting this host as generated by Red Hat Insights remediations.

--list-specs

Show insights-client collection specs.

--build-packagecache

Refresh the system package manager cache.

--manifest=MANIFEST

The specified manifest YAML file that defines what Insights Core should collect.

--checkin

Do a lightweight check-in instead of a full upload.

--collector=APP

Run the specified app and upload its results archive.

For example, specify:

  • --collector malware-detection to use Red Hat Insights to help detect the presence of malware. For more information, see the Additional resources section.
  • --collector compliance to instruct Red Hat Insights to scan the system with OpenSCAP and upload the report. This action can also be achieved by using the`--compliance` option instead.

Additionally, use the following insights-client command options when you need to debug Insights client operations:

Table A.2. insights-client debug options
OptionDescription

--version

Print the versions of insights-client Client and Core.

--test-connection

Test connectivity to the Red Hat Insights for Red Hat Enterprise Linux services.

--verbose

Log all debug output to the console.

--no-upload

Runs the client but does not upload the archive. The archive gets stored in the /var/tmp/ directory. The file name displays when insights-client completes.

--keep-archive

Store the archive in the /var/cache/insights-client/ directory after upload.

--support

Generate a diagnostic log for support.

--status

Display host registration status.

--net-debug

Log network calls to the console.

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