---
title: influxdb3 loadcap start
description: The influxdb3 loadcap start command starts a timed workload capture in InfluxDB 3 Enterprise.
url: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/cli/influxdb3/loadcap/start/
estimated_tokens: 835
product: InfluxDB 3 Enterprise
version: enterprise
publisher: InfluxData
canonical: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/cli/influxdb3/loadcap/start/
date: '2026-07-29T09:58:30-05:00'
lastmod: '2026-07-29T09:58:30-05:00'
---

* InfluxDB 3 Enterprise v3.10.0+

Use `influxdb3 loadcap start` to capture write requests, query requests, or both on a query-capable InfluxDB 3 Enterprise node.
Only one capture can run on a node at a time.

> [!Note]
> Load capture requires the [upgraded storage engine](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/internals/storage-engine/)—the default for new clusters.
> On clusters that started on 3.10 or earlier, first run the [storage engine upgrade](/influxdb3/enterprise/reference/config-options/#upgrade-pacha-tree) (`--upgrade-pacha-tree`).
> Send requests to a node with an explicit `--mode` setting that includes `query`, for example, `--mode query` or `--mode ingest --mode query --mode compact`.
> Load capture isn’t available on a node that uses the default `--mode all` configuration.

## Usage

```bash
influxdb3 loadcap start --type <TYPE> --duration <DURATION> [OPTIONS]
```

## Options

|Option|                       |                                 Description                                 |        Default        |  Environment variable   |
|------|-----------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------|-------------------------|
|      |    `--type <TYPE>`    |            Request types to capture: `write`, `query`, or `both`            |                       |                         |
|      |`--duration <DURATION>`|Capture duration, for example, `30s`, `5m`, or `1h`. The maximum is one hour.|                       |                         |
| `-H` |  `--host <HOST_URL>`  |                      InfluxDB 3 Enterprise server URL                       |`http://127.0.0.1:8181`|  `INFLUXDB3_HOST_URL`   |
|      |`--token <AUTH_TOKEN>` |                            Authentication token                             |                       | `INFLUXDB3_AUTH_TOKEN`  |
|      | `--tls-ca <CA_CERT>`  |                 Path to a custom TLS certificate authority                  |                       |   `INFLUXDB3_TLS_CA`    |
|      |   `--tls-no-verify`   |                    Disable TLS certificate verification                     |                       |`INFLUXDB3_TLS_NO_VERIFY`|
| `-h` |       `--help`        |                           Print help information                            |                       |                         |

## Example

```bash
influxdb3 loadcap start \
  --host http://localhost:8181 \
  --token AUTH_TOKEN \
  --type both \
  --duration 5m
```

#### Related

* [Capture workload data](/influxdb3/enterprise/admin/load-capture/)
| Option |  | Description | Default | Environment variable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Option |  | Description | Default | Environment variable |
|  | --type <TYPE> | Request types to capture:  write ,  query , or  both |  |  |
|  | --duration <DURATION> | Capture duration, for example,  30s ,  5m , or  1h . The maximum is one hour. |  |  |
| -H | --host <HOST_URL> | InfluxDB 3 Enterprise server URL | http://127.0.0.1:8181 | INFLUXDB3_HOST_URL |
|  | --token <AUTH_TOKEN> | Authentication token |  | INFLUXDB3_AUTH_TOKEN |
|  | --tls-ca <CA_CERT> | Path to a custom TLS certificate authority |  | INFLUXDB3_TLS_CA |
|  | --tls-no-verify | Disable TLS certificate verification |  | INFLUXDB3_TLS_NO_VERIFY |
| -h | --help | Print help information |  |  |