About Splunk Command options

[inventsekar]

Hi There Dear Splunkers, 

So, today myself and my friend were reading that question about "splunk kvstore backup"... link 

https://community.splunk.com/t5/Splunk-Enterprise/when-backup-kvStore-using-quot-auth-quot-option/td...

hence, automatically, my we thought to check the Splunk list of commands and look for the command "splunk" and its options. 

this below page got all list of Splunk Commands, but not the "splunk" command.

https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/spl-search-reference/10.0/search-commands/abstract

my friend asked me --- ok, i agree, "splunk" itself is not a command, it is service, but this "splunk" command can be used for kvstore backup and many other tasks, right. 

so it wont be a wrong decision to add it as part of the Splunk list of documentations, i believe. 

i had no answer to give him.  so asking here. maybe i will check with the Documentations team on the Splunk Slack channel. meanwhile, pls pour your thoughts, thanks. 

[inventsekar]

Hi @richgalloway @livehybrid @PrewinThomas .. all three of you gave the right answers. so, following the "first come first served" logic, selecting Rich's answer as the solution. given karma points for all 3, thanks. 

for future users reference, pls check these 2 links for detailed info:
https://help.splunk.com/en/data-management/splunk-enterprise-admin-manual/9.4/administer-the-app-key...

https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/admin-manual/10.0/administer-splunk-enterpri...

[PrewinThomas]

@inventsekar 

The splunk CLI command is not an SPL search command. It’s the Splunk CLI binary, It controls Splunk services ,manages configurations ,performs maintenance tasks like KVStore backup/restore etc..

So for user clarity, the Splunk CLI should remain documented separately in the Admin Manual/CLI Reference, not in the Search Commands page, as it serves administrative functions rather than SPL operations.

Regards,
Prewin
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[livehybrid]

Hi @inventsekar 

I think there is some conflusion here, the command referred to in that other post are system/CLI/shell commands, not SPL commands. As fair as I know there is no `splunk` SPL command.

For docs on the CLI splunk command please check out https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/administer/admin-manual/10.0/administer-splunk-enterpri...

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[richgalloway · Accepted solution]

What is a command depends on your point of reference.

From the perspective of the operating system/shell, "splunk" is the command and everything else is arguments.

From Splunk's perspective, the first argument (other than options) on the command line is the command.

Since the documentation is written from Splunk's point of view, it doesn't make sense to treat "splunk" as a separate command since it is necessary to invoke any of the other commands.  IOW, what Splunk documents as commands are directives to Splunk and so the leading "splunk" is implied.