inspect

name	inspect
description	Inspect the live state of a running Reboot application from the command line with `rbt inspect`. Lists the application's state types, lists the state IDs (actor IDs) for a type, and prints a single actor's state as JSON. Works against both a local `rbt dev run` backend and a deployed Reboot Cloud app via `--application-url` and `--admin-credential`. Use this to answer "what state types does this app have?", "which actors of this type exist?", or "what is stored in this actor right now?" — i.e. to debug persisted state from the terminal instead of the `/__/inspect` web dashboard.
argument-hint	[type list | state list --type=<full.Name> | state get --type=<full.Name> --id=<id>]
allowed-tools	Bash, Read

inspect — Inspect a Running Reboot Application's State

Version notices: if rbt reports a version mismatch or that a newer Reboot is available, the upgrade skill says how and when to react.

rbt inspect reads the persisted state of a running Reboot application — the same data the /__/inspect web dashboard shows, but from the terminal so it is scriptable and pipeable. Reach for it to debug what an app has actually stored: which state types exist, which actors of a type exist, and what a single actor currently holds.

Use it whenever the question is about runtime state rather than code — e.g. "did create actually persist this field?", "which account IDs exist?", "what does actor alice look like right now?". It does not modify anything; it only reads.

This skill inspects a running app; it does not start one. To bring an app up first, see the run skill. To change what an app stores, see the python skill.

The three operations

# 1. List the application's registered state types (full names).
rbt inspect type list --application-url=<url>

# 2. List the known state IDs (actor IDs) for one type.
rbt inspect state list --type=<full.Type.Name> --application-url=<url>

# 3. Print a single actor's state as JSON.
rbt inspect state get --type=<full.Type.Name> --id=<state-id> \
  --application-url=<url>

The usual flow is to drill down: type list to discover the exact type name to pass to --type, then state list to find the --id, then state get to dump that actor.

• --type takes the full, package-qualified type name exactly as type list prints it (e.g. bank.v1.Account, tests.reboot.Echo) — not the bare Python class name.
• --id is the actor's state ID: the same string you pass to <Type>.ref(id) / <Type>.create(context, id, ...).
• state get prints the state as a JSON object. Pipe it to jq or a file like any other JSON.

Connecting: --application-url and --admin-credential

Both flags match rbt export / rbt import (see ../python/references/lifecycle-reboot-cloud.md).

• --application-url is the app's API URL — not the /__/inspect page URL. It is the address printed as "Your API is available at:" when the app starts.
  • Local dev: the URL rbt dev run prints (e.g. http://localhost:9991).
  • Reboot Cloud: the URL rbt cloud up prints (e.g. https://<application-id>.prod1.rbt.cloud:9991).
• --admin-credential is the app's admin secret, stored under the SECRET_REBOOT_ADMIN_TOKEN secret.
  • Local dev: defaults to dev, so you can omit it.
  • Reboot Cloud: required — pass the value you set for SECRET_REBOOT_ADMIN_TOKEN (see ../python/references/lifecycle-secrets.md).

Examples

Against a local rbt dev run backend (admin credential defaults to dev):

rbt inspect type list --application-url=http://localhost:9991

rbt inspect state list \
  --type=bank.v1.Account \
  --application-url=http://localhost:9991

rbt inspect state get \
  --type=bank.v1.Account --id=alice \
  --application-url=http://localhost:9991

Against a deployed Reboot Cloud app (admin credential required):

rbt inspect state get \
  --type=bank.v1.Account --id=alice \
  --application-url=https://<application-id>.prod1.rbt.cloud:9991 \
  --admin-credential="$SECRET_REBOOT_ADMIN_TOKEN"

Notes

• Read-only. rbt inspect never mutates state; it is safe to run against production.
• state get routes to the actor's host automatically, even in a multi-server deployment, and reassembles large states transparently.
• Pipeable output. type list and state list print one entry per line; state get prints a single JSON object. None of it is colorized when the output is not a TTY, so it composes with grep, jq, etc.
• Web equivalent. The /__/inspect page (linked from rbt dev run and rbt cloud up output) shows the same state plus recent calls in a browser; rbt inspect is the CLI counterpart.