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CLI Reference

ixtract ships with 9 commands. All commands connect to PostgreSQL by default; use --source-type for MySQL or SQL Server.

All commands that connect to a source accept:

FlagDescriptionDefault
--databaseDatabase name
--userUsername
--passwordPassword
--hostHostnamelocalhost
--portPort5432
--source-typepostgresql | mysql | sqlserverpostgresql

Profile a table: row count, PK distribution, source latency, skew.

Terminal window
ixtract profile <table> --database <db> --user <user> --password <pw>

Output includes:

  • Estimated row count
  • PK column and type
  • Source latency (p50)
  • Coefficient of variation (CV) — flags skew if CV > 1.0

Plan an extraction without executing it.

Terminal window
ixtract plan <table> --database <db> --user <user> [--standard] [context flags] [cost flags]
FlagDescription
--standardFull output: worker resolution, chunk boundaries, advisories, verdict

Context flags (see Runtime Context):

FlagValues
--source-loadlow | normal | high
--network-qualitygood | normal | degraded
--prioritylow | normal | high
--max-workersInteger hard cap
--min-workersInteger floor
--target-duration-secondsAdvisory
--maintenance-window-minutesAdvisory
--disk-budget-gbAdvisory
--egress-budget-gbAdvisory
--context-filePath to JSON file with all context fields
--forceOverride NOT RECOMMENDED verdict

Cost flags (see Cost Model):

FlagDescription
--compute-rateCost per worker-second (decimal)
--egress-rateCost per GB egressed (decimal)
--connection-rateCost per connection-second (decimal)
--cost-filePath to JSON file with rates

Profile, plan, and extract in one step.

Terminal window
ixtract execute <table> --database <db> --user <user> \
[--output <dir>] [--output-format <fmt>] [context flags] [cost flags] [--force]
FlagDescriptionDefault
--outputOutput directory./output
--output-formatparquet | csv | s3 | gcsparquet

On completion, writes _manifest.json to the output directory.


Show the full reasoning for the last plan: worker source, context applied, chunks.

Terminal window
ixtract explain --object <table> --database <db> --user <user> [--standard]

Classify recent throughput deviation and surface anomalies.

Terminal window
ixtract diagnose --object <table>

Output includes:

  • Direction-aware deviation (degrading / improving / stable)
  • Anomaly detection result (σ deviation from baseline)
  • Recommended action (if any)

Show all past runs for a table.

Terminal window
ixtract history <table>

Columns: run ID, date, workers, throughput (rows/sec), duration, diagnosis result.


Show aggregate performance metrics for a table.

Terminal window
ixtract metrics --object <table>

Includes: best run, worst run, mean throughput, p95 duration, controller convergence status.


Re-execute a historical run using its stored plan exactly.

Terminal window
ixtract replay --run-id <id> [--force] [--output-dir <dir>]
FlagDescription
--run-idRun ID from ixtract history
--forceSkip version mismatch warning
--output-dirOutput directory (defaults to original)

Output shows Decision Check (original vs. replay side-by-side), Outcome Delta (throughput, duration), and Determinism verification.

Replay guarantees identical decisions, not identical results. Timing and external system state may differ.


Calibrate throughput at multiple worker counts to eliminate cold-start bias.

Terminal window
ixtract benchmark <table> --database <db> --user <user>

Runs extraction at 1, 2, 4, 8 workers (or configured range) and stores calibration data. The planner uses this data instead of a single-run estimate.