---
title: Telegraf commands and flags
description: The telegraf command starts and runs all the processes necessary for Telegraf to function.
url: https://docs.influxdata.com/telegraf/v1/commands/
estimated_tokens: 2231
product: Telegraf
version: v1
---

# Telegraf commands and flags

The `telegraf` command starts and runs all the processes necessary for Telegraf to function.

## Usage

```
telegraf [commands]
telegraf [flags]
```

## Commands

| Command | Description |
| --- | --- |
| config | Generate and migrate Telegraf configurations |
| secrets | Manage secrets in secret stores |
| plugins | Print available plugins |
| version | Print current version to stdout |

## Global flags

| Flag | Description |
| --- | --- |
| --config <file> | Configuration file to load. |
| --config-directory <directory> | Directory containing additional *.conf files. |
| --test-wait | Number of seconds to wait for service inputs to complete in test or once mode. |
| --usage <plugin> | Print plugin usage (example: telegraf --usage mysql). |
| --pprof-addr <address> | pprof address to listen on. Disabled by default. |
| --watch-config | Restart Telegraf on local configuration changes. Use either fs notifications (notify) or polling (poll). Disabled by default. |
| --pidfile <file> | File to write PID to. |
| --password <password> | Password to unlock secret stores. |
| --old-env-behavior | Switch back to pre-v1.27 environment replacement behavior. |
| --once | Gather metrics once, write them, and exit. |
| --debug | Enable debug logging. |
| --quiet | Run in quiet mode. |
| --unprotected | Do not protect secrets in memory. |
| --test | Gather metrics once and print them. |
| --deprecation-list | Print all deprecated plugins or plugin options. |
| --input-list | Print available input plugins. |
| --output-list | Print available output plugins. |
| --version | (Deprecated) Print Telegraf version. |
| --sample-config | (Deprecated) Print full sample configuration. |
| --plugin-directory <directory> | (Deprecated) Directory containing *.so files to search recursively for plugins. Found plugins are loaded, tagged, and identified. |
| --section-filter <filter> | Filter configuration sections to output (agent, global_tags, outputs, processors, aggregators and inputs). Separator is :. |
| --input-filter <filter> | Filter input plugins to enable. Separator is :. |
| --output-filter | Filter output plugins to enable. Separator is :. |
| --aggregator-filter <filter> | Filter aggregators to enable. Separator is :. |
| --processor-filter <filter> | Filter processor plugins to enable. Separator is :. |
| --secretstore-filter <filter> | Filter secretstore plugins to enable. Separator is :. |

## Examples

-   [Generate a Telegraf configuration file](#generate-a-telegraf-configuration-file)
-   [Generate a configuration with only specific plugins](#generate-a-configuration-with-only-specific-plugins)
-   [Run a single Telegraf configuration and output metrics to stdout](#run-a-single-telegraf-configuration-and-output-metrics-to-stdout)
-   [Run Telegraf with all plugins defined in configuration file](#run-telegraf-with-all-plugins-defined-in-configuration-file)
-   [Run Telegraf, but only enable specific plugins](#run-telegraf-but-only-enable-specific-plugins)
-   [Run Telegraf with pprof](#run-telegraf-with-pprof)

### Generate a Telegraf configuration file

```sh
telegraf config > telegraf.conf
```

### Generate a configuration with only specific plugins

```sh
telegraf config \
  --input-filter cpu \
  --output-filter influxdb
```

### Run a single Telegraf configuration and output metrics to stdout

```sh
telegraf --config telegraf.conf --test
```

### Run Telegraf with all plugins defined in configuration file

```sh
telegraf --config telegraf.conf
```

### Run Telegraf, but only enable specific plugins

```sh
telegraf \
  --config telegraf.conf \
  --input-filter cpu:mem \
  --output-filter influxdb
```

### Run Telegraf with pprof

```sh
telegraf \
  --config telegraf.conf \
  --pprof-addr localhost:6060
```