CLI reference
Burst is driven entirely from the command line. Install once, log in with an invite code, and submit jobs with burst run. Everything below is the full command surface.
Quickstart
Install
One command. No Docker, no dependencies. Installs to your home directory.
$ curl -fsSL https://install.burst.cx | bashLog in
Authenticate with the invite code from your beta onboarding email. Your API key is stored in the system keyring.
$ burst loginRun a job
Point at a directory. Burst uploads it, runs it in an isolated Firecracker microVM, streams logs, and syncs any changed files back when it finishes.
$ burst run ./my-taskJobs
burst run
burst run <dir> [--detach]
Submit a directory as a job and wait for it to finish. The CLI uploads the directory, streams stdout/stderr to your terminal as the job runs, and syncs any changed files back to the local directory when the job completes.
Pass --detach to return immediately with a job id you can monitor with burst logs or sync later with burst sync. Closing your terminal does not stop a detached job.
burst logs
burst logs <id>
Stream the output of a running job, or retrieve the full output of a completed one. Useful for reattaching to a job started with --detach.
burst status
burst status <id>
Get the current state of a job — pending, running, completed, failed, or cancelled — along with start and finish timestamps.
burst sync
burst sync <id> [dir]
Pull changed files from a completed job back into the local directory. burst run does this automatically on completion; use sync explicitly when you ran with --detach or want to re-sync into a different directory.
burst cancel
burst cancel <id>
Cancel a pending or running job. The VM is torn down and the job ends with status cancelled.
Auth
burst login
burst login
Authenticate with an invite code. The CLI exchanges the code for an API key and stores it in the system keyring.
burst logout
burst logout
Remove the stored API key from the keyring. The next command will prompt for login again.
burst usage
burst usage [months]
Show usage statistics for the current month. Pass a number to look further back, e.g. burst usage 3 for the last three months.
Maintenance
burst upgrade
burst upgrade
Update the CLI to the latest version. The CLI also checks for updates in the background on most commands and stages new versions automatically; upgrade forces an immediate install.