# Use the Command Line

Supported in ADKPython v0.1.0TypeScript v0.2.0Go v0.1.0Java v0.1.0

ADK provides an interactive terminal interface for testing your agents. This is useful for quick testing, scripted interactions, and CI/CD pipelines.

## Run an agent

Use the following command to run your agent in the ADK command line interface:

```shell
adk run my_agent
```

```shell
npx @google/adk-devtools run agent.ts
```

In Go, the command-line interface is not a standalone `adk` tool. Instead, you embed the launcher directly in your agent's `main.go`. The `full.NewLauncher()` helper bundles the console, web server, and other modes into a single binary, with **console as the default** when no subcommand keyword is given:

main.go

```go
import (
    "google.golang.org/adk/v2/cmd/launcher"
    "google.golang.org/adk/v2/cmd/launcher/full"
)

func main() {
    // ... build your agent and config ...
    l := full.NewLauncher()
    if err := l.Execute(ctx, config, os.Args[1:]); err != nil {
        log.Fatalf("Run failed: %v\n\n%s", err, l.CommandLineSyntax())
    }
}
```

Run the agent in console mode with either of the following commands:

```shell
go run agent.go           # console is the default sublauncher
go run agent.go console   # or explicitly name the console subcommand
```

Create an `AgentCliRunner` class (see [Java Quickstart](https://adk.dev/get-started/java/index.md)) and run:

```shell
mvn compile exec:java -Dexec.mainClass="com.example.agent.AgentCliRunner"
```

This starts an interactive session where you can type queries and see agent responses directly in your terminal.

```shell
Running agent my_agent, type exit to exit.
[user]: What's the weather in New York?
[my_agent]: The weather in New York is sunny with a temperature of 25°C.
[user]: exit
```

```shell
Running agent my_agent, type exit to exit.
[user]: What's the weather in New York?
[my_agent]: The weather in New York is sunny with a temperature of 25°C.
[user]: exit
```

```shell
User -> What's the weather in New York?

Agent -> The weather in New York is sunny with a temperature of 25°C.

User ->
```

To exit, press **Ctrl+C** or send EOF (**Ctrl+D**).

```shell
Running agent my_agent, type exit to exit.
[user]: What's the weather in New York?
[my_agent]: The weather in New York is sunny with a temperature of 25°C.
[user]: exit
```

## Session options

Python only

The `--save_session`, `--resume`, `--replay`, and `--session_id` options are available in the Python ADK CLI only. The Go console launcher does not support session save/resume/replay via command-line flags. In Go, session persistence is configured in code by providing a persistent `session.Service` implementation (such as `session/database`) to `launcher.Config`.

The `adk run` command includes options for saving, resuming, and replaying sessions.

### Save sessions

To save the session when you exit:

```shell
adk run --save_session path/to/my_agent
```

You'll be prompted to enter a session ID, and the session will be saved to `path/to/my_agent/<session_id>.session.json`.

You can also specify the session ID upfront:

```shell
adk run --save_session --session_id my_session path/to/my_agent
```

### Resume sessions

To continue a previously saved session:

```shell
adk run --resume path/to/my_agent/my_session.session.json path/to/my_agent
```

This loads the previous session state and event history, displays it, and allows you to continue the conversation.

### Replay sessions

To replay a session file without interactive input:

```shell
adk run --replay path/to/input.json path/to/my_agent
```

The input file should contain initial state and queries:

```json
{
  "state": {"key": "value"},
  "queries": ["What is 2 + 2?", "What is the capital of France?"]
}
```

## Storage options

Python only

The `--session_service_uri` and `--artifact_service_uri` command-line flags are available in the Python ADK CLI only. In Go, session and artifact services are configured in code when constructing `launcher.Config` — for example, using `session/database` for a persistent database-backed session store, or `artifact/gcsartifact` for Cloud Storage-backed artifacts.

| Option                   | Description                 | Default                        |
| ------------------------ | --------------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| `--session_service_uri`  | Custom session storage URI  | SQLite under `.adk/session.db` |
| `--artifact_service_uri` | Custom artifact storage URI | Local `.adk/artifacts`         |
| `--memory_service_uri`   | Custom memory service URI   | In-memory                      |

### Example with storage options

```shell
adk run --session_service_uri "sqlite:///my_sessions.db" path/to/my_agent
```

## All options

| Option                   | Description                                      |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------ |
| `--save_session`         | Save the session to a JSON file on exit          |
| `--session_id`           | Session ID to use when saving                    |
| `--resume`               | Path to a saved session file to resume           |
| `--replay`               | Path to an input file for non-interactive replay |
| `--session_service_uri`  | Custom session storage URI                       |
| `--artifact_service_uri` | Custom artifact storage URI                      |
| `--memory_service_uri`   | Custom memory service URI                        |

Go flags differ from Python

The Go console launcher does not support `--save_session`, `--resume`, `--replay`, `--session_id`, `--session_service_uri`, or `--artifact_service_uri`. These are Python CLI features. Session and artifact services are configured in Go code via `launcher.Config`.

Flags are passed after the `console` keyword (or directly if `console` is the default):

| Flag                | Description                                | Default |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ------- |
| `-streaming_mode`   | Streaming mode for agent responses (`none` | `sse`)  |
| `-shutdown-timeout` | Graceful shutdown wait time                | `2s`    |
| `-otel_to_cloud`    | Export OpenTelemetry data to GCP           | `false` |

For example, to force non-streaming output:

```shell
go run agent.go console -streaming_mode none
```

Or to force SSE streaming (token-by-token output):

```shell
go run agent.go -streaming_mode sse
```