---
title: influx v1 shell
description: The influx v1 shell subcommand starts an InfluxQL shell (REPL).
url: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/reference/cli/influx/v1/shell/
estimated_tokens: 1192
publisher: InfluxData
canonical: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/reference/cli/influx/v1/shell/
date: '2025-04-02T15:54:32-06:00'
lastmod: '2025-04-02T15:54:32-06:00'
---

* influx CLI 2.4.0+
* InfluxDB Cloud

The `influx v1 shell` subcommand starts an InfluxQL shell (REPL).

#### Set up database and retention policy (DBRP) mapping

InfluxQL queries require a database and retention policy to query data.
In InfluxDB Cloud Serverless, databases and retention policies have been
combined and replaced with [buckets](/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/reference/glossary/#bucket).
To use the InfluxQL to query an InfluxDB Cloud Serverless bucket, first
map your DBRP combinations to an appropriate bucket. For more information, see[Query data with InfluxQL](/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/query-data/influxql/).

## Usage

```sh
influx v1 shell [flags]
```

## Flags

|Flag|                 |                              Description                               |Input type|Maps to [?](/influxdb/cloud-serverless/reference/cli/influx/#view-mapped-environment-variables)|
|----|-----------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|`-c`|`--active-config`|                     Config name to use for command                     |  string  |                                    `INFLUX_ACTIVE_CONFIG`                                     |
|    |`--configs-path` |Path to the influx CLI configurations (default: `~/.influxdbv2/configs`)|  string  |                                     `INFLUX_CONFIGS_PATH`                                     |
|    |    `--host`     |                        HTTP address of InfluxDB                        |  string  |                                         `INFLUX_HOST`                                         |
|    | `--http-debug`  |              Inspect communication with InfluxDB servers.              |          |                                                                                               |
|`-o`|     `--org`     |         Organization name (mutually exclusive with `--org-id`)         |  string  |                                         `INFLUX_ORG`                                          |
|    |   `--org-id`    |           Organization ID (mutually exclusive with `--org`)            |  string  |                                        `INFLUX_ORG_ID`                                        |
|    | `--skip-verify` |                   Skip TLS certificate verification                    |          |                                     `INFLUX_SKIP_VERIFY`                                      |
|`-t`|    `--token`    |                               API token                                |  string  |                                        `INFLUX_TOKEN`                                         |

## Examples

#### Authentication credentials

The examples below assume your InfluxDB **host**, **organization**, and **token** are
provided by either the [active `influx` CLI configuration](/influxdb/cloud-serverless/reference/cli/influx/#provide-required-authentication-credentials) or by environment variables (`INFLUX_HOST`, `INFLUX_ORG`, and `INFLUX_TOKEN`).
If you do not have a CLI configuration set up or the environment variables set, include these required credentials for each command with the following flags:

* `--host`: [InfluxDB host](/influxdb/cloud-serverless/reference/urls/)
* `-o, --org` or `--org-id`: InfluxDB organization name or ID
* `-t, --token`: InfluxDB API token

##### Start an InfluxQL shell

```sh
influx v1 shell
```

#### Related

* [influx CLI—Provide required authentication credentials](/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/reference/cli/influx/#provide-required-authentication-credentials)
* [influx CLI—Provide required authentication credentials](/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/reference/cli/influx/#provide-required-authentication-credentials)
* [Query data with InfluxQL](/influxdb3/cloud-serverless/query-data/influxql/)
* [Use the InfluxQL shell](/influxdb/v2/tools/influxql-shell/)
| Flag |  | Description | Input type | Maps to  ? |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Flag |  | Description | Input type | Maps to  ? |
| -c | --active-config | Config name to use for command | string | INFLUX_ACTIVE_CONFIG |
|  | --configs-path | Path to the influx CLI configurations (default:  ~/.influxdbv2/configs ) | string | INFLUX_CONFIGS_PATH |
|  | --host | HTTP address of InfluxDB | string | INFLUX_HOST |
|  | --http-debug | Inspect communication with InfluxDB servers. |  |  |
| -o | --org | Organization name (mutually exclusive with  --org-id ) | string | INFLUX_ORG |
|  | --org-id | Organization ID (mutually exclusive with  --org ) | string | INFLUX_ORG_ID |
|  | --skip-verify | Skip TLS certificate verification |  | INFLUX_SKIP_VERIFY |
| -t | --token | API token | string | INFLUX_TOKEN |