--- title: Use the influxctl CLI to write line protocol data description: Use the influxctl CLI to write line protocol data to InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated. url: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/cloud-dedicated/write-data/line-protocol/influxctl-cli/ estimated_tokens: 1456 product: InfluxDB 3 Cloud version: cloud publisher: InfluxData canonical: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/cloud-dedicated/write-data/line-protocol/influxctl-cli/ date: '2026-05-15T15:46:14-06:00' lastmod: '2026-05-15T15:46:14-06:00' --- Use the [`influxctl` CLI](/influxdb3/cloud-dedicated/reference/cli/influxctl/)to write line protocol data to InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated. * [Construct line protocol](#construct-line-protocol) * [Write the line protocol to InfluxDB](#write-the-line-protocol-to-influxdb) ## Construct line protocol With a [basic understanding of line protocol](/influxdb3/cloud-dedicated/write-data/line-protocol/), you can construct data in line protocol format and write it to InfluxDB. Consider a use case where you collect data from sensors in your home. Each sensor collects temperature, humidity, and carbon monoxide readings. To collect this data, use the following schema: * **measurement**: `home` * **tags** * `room`: Living Room or Kitchen * **fields** * `temp`: temperature in °C (float) * `hum`: percent humidity (float) * `co`: carbon monoxide in parts per million (integer) * **timestamp**: Unix timestamp in *second* precision The following line protocol represents the schema described above: ```text home,room=Living\ Room temp=21.1,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641024000 home,room=Kitchen temp=21.0,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641024000 home,room=Living\ Room temp=21.4,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641027600 home,room=Kitchen temp=23.0,hum=36.2,co=0i 1641027600 home,room=Living\ Room temp=21.8,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641031200 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.7,hum=36.1,co=0i 1641031200 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.2,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641034800 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.4,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641034800 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.2,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641038400 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.5,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641038400 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.4,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641042000 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.8,hum=36.5,co=1i 1641042000 ``` For this tutorial, you can either pass this line protocol directly to the`influxctl write` command as a string, via `stdin`, or you can save it to and read it from a file. ## Write the line protocol to InfluxDB Use the [`influxctl write` command](/influxdb3/cloud-dedicated/reference/cli/influxctl/write/)to write the [home sensor sample data](#home-sensor-data-line-protocol) to your InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated cluster. Provide the following: * The [database](/influxdb3/cloud-dedicated/admin/databases/) name using the`--database` flag * A [database token](/influxdb3/cloud-dedicated/admin/tokens/#database-tokens)(with write permissions on the target database) using the `--token` flag * The timestamp precision as seconds (`s`) using the `--precision` flag * [Line protocol](#construct-line-protocol). Pass the line protocol in one of the following ways: * a string on the command line * a path to a file that contains the query * a single dash (`-`) to read the query from stdin #### string #### ```sh influxctl write \ --database DATABASE_NAME \ --token DATABASE_TOKEN \ --precision s \ 'home,room=Living\ Room temp=21.1,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641024000 home,room=Kitchen temp=21.0,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641024000 home,room=Living\ Room temp=21.4,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641027600 home,room=Kitchen temp=23.0,hum=36.2,co=0i 1641027600 home,room=Living\ Room temp=21.8,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641031200 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.7,hum=36.1,co=0i 1641031200 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.2,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641034800 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.4,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641034800 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.2,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641038400 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.5,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641038400 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.4,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641042000 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.8,hum=36.5,co=1i 1641042000' ``` Replace the following: * `DATABASE_NAME`: Name of the database to write to. * `DATABASE_TOKEN`: Database token with write permissions on the target database. 1. In your terminal, enter the following command to create the sample data file: ``` cat < ./home.lp && LINE_PROTOCOL_FILEPATH=./home.lp home,room=Living\ Room temp=21.1,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641024000 home,room=Kitchen temp=21.0,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641024000 home,room=Living\ Room temp=21.4,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641027600 home,room=Kitchen temp=23.0,hum=36.2,co=0i 1641027600 home,room=Living\ Room temp=21.8,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641031200 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.7,hum=36.1,co=0i 1641031200 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.2,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641034800 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.4,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641034800 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.2,hum=35.9,co=0i 1641038400 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.5,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641038400 home,room=Living\ Room temp=22.4,hum=36.0,co=0i 1641042000 home,room=Kitchen temp=22.8,hum=36.5,co=1i 1641042000 EOF ``` 1. Enter the following CLI command to write the data from the sample file: ``` influxctl write \ --database DATABASE_NAME \ --token DATABASE_TOKEN \ --precision s \ $LINE_PROTOCOL_FILEPATH ``` Replace the following: * `DATABASE_NAME`: Name of the database to write to. * `DATABASE_TOKEN`: Database token with write permissions on the target database. * `$LINE_PROTOCOL_FILEPATH`: File path to the file containing the line protocol. Can be an absolute file path or relative to the current working directory. ```sh cat $LINE_PROTOCOL_FILEPATH | influxctl write \ --database DATABASE_NAME \ --token DATABASE_TOKEN \ --precision s \ - ``` Replace the following: * `DATABASE_NAME`: Name of the database to write to. * `DATABASE_TOKEN`: Database token with write permissions on the target database. * `$LINE_PROTOCOL_FILEPATH`: File path to the file containing the line protocol. Can be an absolute file path or relative to the current working directory. #### Related * [influxctl write](/influxdb3/cloud-dedicated/reference/cli/influxctl/write/) * [Line protocol reference](/influxdb3/cloud-dedicated/reference/syntax/line-protocol/) * [Get started writing data](/influxdb3/cloud-dedicated/get-started/write/)