aicli

name	aicli
description	Comprehensive guide for aicli usage. Use when deploying OpenShift clusters via the Assisted Installer API, managing hosts, infraenvs, ISOs, manifests, or performing any aicli operations.

aicli User Guide

aicli is a Python CLI client for the Red Hat Assisted Installer API. It simplifies deploying OpenShift clusters by wrapping the assisted-installer service API with a straightforward command-line interface.

Setup & Authentication

SAAS mode (default)

Get an offline token at https://cloud.redhat.com/openshift/token, then set it:

export AI_OFFLINETOKEN=<your_token>

On-premise mode

export AI_URL=http://<AI_IP>:8090

Staging / Integration

aicli --staging ...     # or export AI_STAGING=true
aicli --integration ... # or export AI_INTEGRATION=true

TLS

export AI_CA=<ca_content_or_path>
export AI_CERT=<cert_path>
export AI_KEY=<key_path>

Installation

pip3 install aicli                          # pip
sudo dnf -y copr enable karmab/aicli && sudo dnf -y install aicli  # rpm
# container
alias aicli='podman run --net host -it --rm -e AI_OFFLINETOKEN=$AI_OFFLINETOKEN -v $HOME/.aicli:/root/.aicli -v $PWD:/workdir quay.io/karmab/aicli'

Quick Reference

# Cluster lifecycle
aicli create cluster <name>              # Create cluster (+ infraenv)
aicli list cluster                       # List clusters
aicli info cluster <name>                # Cluster details
aicli update cluster <name> -P key=val   # Update cluster params
aicli start cluster <name>               # Launch install
aicli stop cluster <name>                # Reset/cancel install
aicli wait cluster <name>                # Wait for install to complete
aicli delete cluster <name>              # Delete cluster + infraenv
aicli export cluster <name>              # Export cluster params

# Hosts
aicli list hosts                         # List all hosts
aicli info host <name>                   # Host details
aicli update host <name> -P key=val      # Update hostname/role/disk
aicli wait hosts <infraenv> -n 3         # Wait for N hosts to appear
aicli start hosts <host1> <host2>        # Start day2 host install
aicli stop hosts <host1> <host2>         # Stop host install
aicli delete host <name>                 # Delete host
aicli boot hosts -P paramfile=params.yml # Boot hosts via redfish

# Infraenvs
aicli create infraenv <name>             # Create infraenv
aicli list infraenv                      # List infraenvs
aicli info infraenv <name>               # Infraenv details
aicli update infraenv <name> -P key=val  # Update infraenv
aicli delete infraenv <name>             # Delete infraenv
aicli start infraenv <name>              # Start infraenv hosts install
aicli stop infraenv <name>               # Stop infraenv hosts install

# Binding (late binding workflow)
aicli bind host <host> <cluster>         
aicli unbind host <host>                 
aicli  infraenv <infraenv> <cluster> 
aicli unbind infraenv <infraenv>         


aicli info iso <infraenv>                
aicli download iso <infraenv>            
aicli update iso <infraenv> -P key=val   


aicli download kubeconfig <cluster>      
aicli download kubeadmin-password <cluster>  
aicli download installconfig <cluster>   
aicli download ignition <cluster>        
aicli download discovery-ignition <infraenv> 
aicli download ipxe-script <infraenv>    
aicli download initrd <infraenv>         
aicli download manifests <cluster>       
aicli download static-network-config <infraenv> 


aicli create manifests -- <> <cluster>  
aicli list manifests <cluster>                
aicli delete manifests <cluster>              


aicli list events <cluster>              
aicli list events -f <cluster>           
aicli info validation <cluster>          


aicli list keywords                      
aicli list cluster-keywords              
aicli list extra-keywords                
aicli list host-keywords                 
aicli list infraenv-keywords             


aicli create deployment --pf params.yml <name>  
aicli scale deployment --pf params.yml <name>   


aicli create onprem                      
aicli delete onprem                      


aicli info service                       


aicli create abi-creds                   

Parameters

Parameters are passed via -P key=value (repeatable) or --paramfile/--pf pointing to a YAML file.

If a file named aicli_parameters.yml exists in the current directory, it is auto-loaded.

Creating Clusters

Basic cluster

aicli create cluster mycluster

This auto-creates an infraenv named mycluster_infra-env.

With parameters

aicli create cluster -P openshift_version=4.21 -P base_dns_domain=example.com mycluster

SNO (Single Node OpenShift)

aicli create cluster -P sno=true mycluster

Common extra parameters

Parameter	Meaning
api_ip	API VIP
ingress_ip	Ingress VIP
domain	Base DNS domain
sno	Deploy Single Node OpenShift
sno_disk	Disk for SNO install
minimal	Use minimal ISO
network_type	CNI plugin (OVNKubernetes, OpenshiftSDN, Calico)
static_network_config	NMState data for static networking
manifests	Directory of manifests to inject
pull_secret	Path to pull secret file (default: openshift_pull.json)
ignore_validations	Skip all validations
hosts	Array of host definitions for automated deployment
password	Add debugging user (aicli/aicli) to discovery ISO
registry_url	Custom registry URL (disconnected/OKD)
disconnected_url	Alias for registry_url
discovery_ignition_file	Path to custom discovery ignition
kernel_arguments	Custom kernel args for discovery ISO
infraenv	Set to false to skip infraenv creation

Custom install config

aicli update cluster mycluster -P installconfig="{'CPUPartitioningMode': 'AllNodes'}"

Custom ignition

# Via parameter
aicli create cluster -P ignition_config_override='{"ignition":...}' mycluster
# Via file
aicli create cluster -P discovery_ignition_file=/path/to/ignition.json mycluster

Custom kernel arguments

# As string (appended)
aicli create cluster -P kernel_arguments="a=xxx b=yyy" mycluster

Static Networking

Provide nmstate data in parameter file under static_network_config:

static_network_config:
- interfaces:
  - name: ens3
    type: ethernet
    state: up
    ipv4:
      enabled: true
      address:
      - ip: 192.168.122.100
        prefix-length: 24
      dhcp: false
  dns-resolver:
    config:
      server:
      - 192.168.122.1
  routes:
    config:
    - destination: 0.0.0.0/0
      next-hop-address: 192.168.122.1
      next-hop-interface: ens3
  mac_interface_map:
  - logical_nic_name: ens3
    mac_address: aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff

Sample files available in the samples/ directory of the aicli repo covering static networking, bonding, and dual stack.

Host Management

Update hostname

aicli update host myhost -P name=newhostname

If multiple hosts share a cluster and match, names are assigned sequentially (name-0, name-1, ...).

Update role

aicli update host myhost -P role=worker

Specify installation disk

aicli update host myhost -P disk=sdb

Skip disk formatting

aicli update host myhost -P skip_disks=[sdb,sdc]

Set node labels

aicli update host myhost -P labels=[productionready,env=prod]

Extra args (kernel args for install)

aicli update host myhost -P extra_args="--append-karg=rd.multipath=default"

Custom ignition on first boot

aicli update host myhost -P ignition_file=/path/to/ignition.json

Bulk update from parameter file

hosts:
- name: master-0.example.com
  role: master
- name: worker-0.example.com
  role: worker
  extra_args: "ip=dhcp6"

aicli update hosts --pf params.yml

Hosts can be matched by name, id (system UUID), or mac (any MAC from inventory).

Deployment Workflow (e2e)

Single-command deployment

aicli create deployment --pf params.yml mycluster

Parameter file for automated deployment with BMC

base_dns_domain: example.com
api_vip: 192.168.122.253
ingress_vip: 192.168.122.252
download_iso_path: /var/www/html
download_iso_cmd: "chown apache.apache /var/www/html/mycluster.iso"
iso_url: http://192.168.122.1/mycluster.iso
bmc_user: admin
bmc_password: password
hosts:
- name: ctlplane-0
  bmc_url: http://192.168.122.1:8000/redfish/v1/Systems/uuid1
- name: ctlplane-1
  bmc_url: http://192.168.122.1:8000/redfish/v1/Systems/uuid2
- name: ctlplane-2
  bmc_url: http://192.168.122.1:8000/redfish/v1/Systems/uuid3

Without BMC info, the workflow pauses and displays the ISO URL for manual boot.

Day2 Operations (Adding Workers)

Create day2 cluster

aicli create cluster mycluster-day2

The -day2 suffix triggers day2 mode automatically.

Day2 workflow

1. aicli info iso mycluster-day2 -- get discovery ISO
2. Boot new nodes with ISO
3. aicli wait hosts mycluster-day2_infra-env -n 1 -- wait for host(s)
4. aicli start hosts <hostname> or aicli start cluster mycluster-day2

Scale deployment (automated day2)

aicli scale deployment --pf scale_params.yml mycluster

Manifests

Upload from directory

aicli create manifests --dir /path/to/manifests mycluster
aicli create manifests --dir /path/to/manifests -o mycluster  # openshift folder

Inline manifests in parameter file

manifests:
- my-manifest.yaml: |
    apiVersion: v1
    kind: ConfigMap
    metadata:
      name: my-config
    data:
      key: value

Disconnected / Custom Registry

aicli create cluster -P registry_url=myregistry.example.com:5000 mycluster

The CA cert is auto-fetched via openssl if reachable; otherwise provide it with -P ca=/path/to/ca.crt.

Onprem Deployment

Deploy Assisted Installer locally using podman:

aicli create onprem
aicli create onprem -P ip=10.0.0.1    # specify IP manually
aicli create onprem -P keep=true      # keep configmap.yml and pod.yml
aicli delete onprem                    # clean up

Typical Step-by-Step Workflow

1. Create cluster: aicli create cluster mycluster -P base_dns_domain=example.com
2. Get ISO: aicli info iso mycluster or aicli download iso mycluster
3. Boot nodes with the discovery ISO
4. Wait for hosts: aicli wait hosts mycluster_infra-env -n 3
5. Update hosts (if needed): aicli update host <host> -P name=<name> -P role=<role>
6. Update cluster (VIPs): aicli update cluster mycluster -P api_ip=x.x.x.x -P ingress_ip=y.y.y.y
7. Start install: aicli start cluster mycluster
8. Wait: aicli wait cluster mycluster
9. Get credentials: aicli download kubeconfig mycluster && aicli download kubeadmin-password mycluster

Global Flags

Flag	Env var	Purpose
--url / -u	AI_URL	Target API URL
--offlinetoken	AI_OFFLINETOKEN	SAAS offline token
--token / -t	AI_TOKEN	Direct API token
--staging / -s	AI_STAGING	Target staging env
--integration / -i	AI_INTEGRATION	Target integration env
--ca	AI_CA	TLS CA content or path
--cert	AI_CERT	TLS cert path
--key / -k	AI_KEY	TLS key path
--debug / -d	--	Enable debug output
--output / -o	--	Output format: json, yaml, name

Output Formats

Most list/info commands support -o json, -o yaml, or -o name:

aicli list clusters -o json
aicli info cluster mycluster -o yaml
aicli list clusters -o name

Aliases

Command	Aliases
create	add
delete	remove
list	get
start	launch
stop	reset
update	patch

Default OpenShift Version

The current default OpenShift version is 4.21.

Source Code Reference

The aicli source code lives in the working directory at src/ailib/:

• src/ailib/__init__.py -- AssistedClient class (core API logic)
• src/ailib/cli.py -- CLI entry point and argparse definitions
• src/ailib/common/__init__.py -- utility functions (get_overrides, onprem helpers)
• src/ailib/kfish/__init__.py -- Redfish BMC interaction
• src/ailib/mcp.py -- MCP server exposing aicli tools
• samples/ -- example parameter files (static networking, bonding, dual stack, disconnected)