InfluxDB 3 client: influxctl

influxctl is the official command-line tool for managing and interacting with InfluxDB 3 clusters. Think of it as your Swiss Army knife for database setup, bucket management, and query execution.

This cheatsheet gives you a quick reference for the most useful commands, so you don’t need to dig into the docs every time.

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Installation

brew install influxdata/tap/influxctl   # macOS
apt-get install influxctl               # Debian/Ubuntu (if repo available)

Check version:

influxctl version

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Authentication & Config

Set up your connection profile:

influxctl config create --host https://cluster-url --org my-org --token my-super-secret-token --active

List and manage configs:

influxctl config list
influxctl config switch my-org
influxctl config delete old-org

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Buckets

Buckets are where data is stored.

Create a bucket:

influxctl bucket create --name my-bucket --retention 30d

List buckets:

influxctl bucket list

Delete a bucket:

influxctl bucket delete --name my-bucket

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Users & Orgs

Create a user:

influxctl user create --name arpit --password 'securepass'

List users:

influxctl user list

Manage orgs:

influxctl org list
influxctl org create --name team-analytics

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Writing Data

Write line protocol data directly:

echo "weather,location=delhi temperature=32.5" | influxctl write --bucket my-bucket

Write from a file:

influxctl write --bucket my-bucket --file data.lp

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Querying Data

Run a SQL query:

influxctl query "SELECT * FROM weather LIMIT 10"

Export results as JSON:

influxctl query "SELECT * FROM weather" --format json

Save to CSV:

influxctl query "SELECT time,temperature FROM weather" --format csv > out.csv

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Tokens

List tokens:

influxctl auth list

Create a read-only token:

influxctl auth create --read-bucket my-bucket

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Advanced

• Profiles for multiple clusters
  Easily switch between dev, staging, prod.

    influxctl config create --host https://staging-url --org staging --token token123
    influxctl config switch staging
  

• Debug connection issues

    influxctl ping
    influxctl health
  

• Retention policies

    influxctl bucket update --name my-bucket --retention 7d
  

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Tips

• Keep multiple configs for different clusters and switch quickly with influxctl config switch.

• Use --format json + jq for scriptable queries.

• Automate backups by exporting queries into CSV on cron.

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With this cheatsheet, you should be able to cover most daily tasks in InfluxDB 3 with just influxctl.