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CLI Option Values

This page lists command option values that are selected from a bounded set. Free-form names, paths, URLs, reasons, SQL text, timestamps, and environment variable names are documented in the CLI Manual instead.

Control Output Format Values

Used by --format on most control-plane commands and by --output-format when --format is already used for a data or source format.

ValueDescription
textHuman-oriented terminal output. Layout can change between releases.
jsonStable machine-readable response envelope for automation.

Dataset Data Format Values

Used by dataset data --format and dataset export --format.

ValueDescription
arrowArrow IPC output for Arrow-native consumers. Requires --to because binary output is written to a file.
parquetParquet dataset export. Requires --to because binary output is written to a file.
csvComma-separated text rows. This is the only format that can stream to stdout.
jsonNewline-delimited JSON rows. Requires --to; internally this maps to the NDJSON export path.

Dataset Table Format Values

Used by ingest dataset table --format and ingest dataset from-datafile --format.

ValueDescription
csvCSV table source.
xlsxExcel workbook source. Use --sheet when the workbook has multiple relevant sheets.
jsonJSON table source. Pair with --json-format when automatic detection is not enough.
arrowArrow IPC table source.
parquetParquet table source.

JSON Data Format Values

Used by dataset table parsing option --json-format.

ValueDescription
autoLet the ingest workflow infer the JSON shape.
arrayTreat the source as a JSON array of records.
newline-delimitedTreat the source as newline-delimited JSON records.
unstructuredTreat the source as unstructured JSON rather than a rectangular record table.

Boolean Option Values

Used by explicit boolean-valued options such as dataset table parsing option --header.

ValueDescription
trueEnables the option.
falseDisables the option.

Asset Type Values

Used by asset selectors such as asset --type and tag selector --asset-type.

ValueDescription
datasetDataset asset.
fileManaged datafile asset.

PostgreSQL SSL Mode Values

Used by datastore maintenance option --sslmode. The value is passed through to PostgreSQL/libpq connection handling.

ValueDescription
disableDo not use SSL/TLS.
allowTry a non-SSL connection first, then SSL if needed.
preferTry SSL first, then non-SSL if needed.
requireRequire SSL/TLS without certificate authority verification.
verify-caRequire SSL/TLS and verify the server certificate authority.
verify-fullRequire SSL/TLS, verify the certificate authority, and verify the server hostname.

Tag Target Values

Used by tag get --target and tag set --target.

ValueDescription
domainTags a semantic domain selected by --name.
studyTags a study selected by --name.
variableTags a variable selected by --domain and --name.
entityTags an entity definition selected by --domain and --name.
entity-relationTags an entity relation definition selected by --domain and --name.
assetTags an asset selected by --name; --asset-type can disambiguate dataset and file assets. Protocol automation can also use an asset ref.
asset-versionTags an asset version selected by --name, --version, and optional --asset-type. Protocol automation can also use an asset ref plus version.
datafileTags a managed datafile asset selected by --name. Protocol automation can also use a datafile ref.
datafile-versionTags a managed datafile version selected by --name and --version. Protocol automation can also use a datafile ref plus version.
datasetTags a dataset asset selected by --name. Protocol automation can also use a dataset ref.
dataset-versionTags a dataset version selected by --name and --version. Protocol automation can also use a dataset ref plus version.

Protocol automation can also target semantic domain, study, variable, entity, and entity-relation tag targets by their public refs. Data catalog tag targets support asset, datafile, and dataset refs on the implemented automation and daemon-backed protocol paths; missing refs fail as not found or validation errors rather than unsupported selector errors.

Shell Values

Used by completion <shell>.

ValueDescription
bashGenerate Bash completion.
elvishGenerate Elvish completion.
fishGenerate Fish completion.
powershellGenerate PowerShell completion.
zshGenerate Zsh completion.

Study Type Values

Used by study add --study-type. The CLI accepts either the integer id or the symbolic name and normalizes the value to the integer id before sending a stable protocol request. Stable protocol and app-layer requests still use the integer id. These values come from the seeded study_types reference table.

ValueNameDescription
1HDSSHealth and Demographic Surveillance System
2COHORTCohort Study
3SURVEYCross-sectional Study
4PANELLongitudinal/Panel Survey
5CASE_CONTROLCase-Control Study
6RCTRandomized Controlled Trial
7QUASI_EXPERIMENTALQuasi-experimental Study
8NATURAL_EXPERIMENTNatural Experiment
10LAB_EXPERIMENTLaboratory Study
11QUALITATIVE_INTERVIEWIn-depth or Key Informant Interviews
12FOCUS_GROUPFocus Group Discussion
13ETHNOGRAPHYEthnographic Study
14PARTICIPATORYParticipatory Action Research
15CASE_STUDYCase Study
16MIXED_METHODSMixed Methods Study
17SECONDARY_ANALYSISSecondary Data Analysis
18DESK_REVIEWDesk or Literature Review
19TIME_MOTIONTime and Motion Study
20DIARYDiary Study
21LONGITUDINAL_OBSERVATIONLongitudinal Observational Study
22SIMULATIONSimulation Study
23AGENT_BASED_MODELAgent-based Modelling
24STATISTICAL_MODELStatistical Modelling
25SYSTEM_DYNAMICSBiological system modelling
26GENOMICSGenomics Study
27MULTIOMICSMulti-omics Study, such as proteomics or metabolomics
28BIOBANKBiobank-based Study
29PHARMACOGENOMICSPharmacogenomics Study

Variable Value Type Values

Used by variable add --value-type and variable update --value-type. These values come from the seeded value_types reference table.

ValueDescription
xsd:integerInteger value.
xsd:floatFloating-point value.
xsd:stringString value.
xsd:dateISO date value, yyyy-mm-dd.
xsd:dateTimeISO datetime value, yyyy-mm-ddTHH:mm:ss.sss.
xsd:timeISO time value, HH:mm:ss.sss.
enumerationCategorical variable represented by a governed vocabulary with integer values and string codes.
multiresponseMulti-response categorical variable with multiple values, stored as an array of integers.

Variable Keyrole Values

Used by variable add --keyrole and variable update --keyrole.

ValueDescription
noneOrdinary variable with no row identity role.
recordRecord key variable for identifying rows within a dataset.
externalExternal identifier variable that maps source rows to study-specific entity or relation identifiers.

SQL Source Flavour Values

Used by ingest dataset from-sql --flavour.

ValueDescription
duckdbClient-side read from --duckdb-path.
sqliteClient-side read from --sqlite-path.
postgresqlClient or Trusted read from --source-endpoint postgresql://HOST:PORT/DATABASE.
mssqlClient or Trusted read from --source-endpoint mssql://HOST:PORT/DATABASE.

Remote sources require explicit --acquisition client or trusted and typed credentials through --source-auth postgresql/mssql with --source-material-stdin, or an entitled --shared-source for Trusted acquisition. Credentials and connection-string options are forbidden in the endpoint. See the SQL source contract.

Datafile Format Values

Used by ingest datafile --format. This option stores an EDAM format value for the managed datafile. It is not a closed enum: explicit EDAM identifiers or MIME types are accepted. The CLI also normalizes the common shortcuts below.

ValueStored formatDescription
csvEDAM:format_3752Shortcut for CSV datafiles.
text/csvEDAM:format_3752MIME-type shortcut for CSV datafiles.
jsonEDAM:format_3464Shortcut for JSON datafiles.
application/jsonEDAM:format_3464MIME-type shortcut for JSON datafiles.
<EDAM-or-MIME>As suppliedAny other non-empty EDAM format identifier or MIME type is recorded as supplied.

Asset Version Selector Values

Used by ordinary asset, datafile, and dataset version selectors. When these options are optional and omitted, commands normally select the latest version.

ValueDescription
latestSelect the latest version of the asset.
<semver>Select a specific semantic version, such as 1.0.0.

Delete Version Selector Values

Used by datafile delete --version and dataset delete --version.

ValueDescription
latestSelect the latest version of the asset.
allSelect every version of the asset for whole-asset deletion.
<semver>Select a specific semantic version, such as 1.0.0.

Dataset Withdrawal Version Values

Used by dataset withdraw --version.

ValueDescription
<semver>Select a specific semantic version, such as 1.0.0. latest is intentionally rejected for withdrawals.