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Lab-cli

Lab-CLI is a Klish-based command environment designed for hands-on experimentation, demos, and controlled system operations in the lab. Instead of running arbitrary Linux commands, Lab-CLI exposes a safe, curated set of workflows - things like viewing system information, changing basic settings, and triggering lab utilities - all through a structured, network-device-style interface.

Because Lab-CLI runs on top of Klish 3's client-server architecture, it cleanly separates command parsing from execution logic. That makes it suitable for multi-user environments, containerized setups, and scenarios where command auditing and safety matter. Scripts live in one place, configuration lives in another, and the CLI becomes a stable interface layered on top.

Project Structure

The project is self-contained inside a container, giving you an isolated, reproducible setup. All CLI definitions, scripts, and configuration files live under the klish/ directory and are bundled into the image at build time.

├─ docker-compose.yml
├─ Dockerfile
└─ klish/
    ├─ xml/
    │  └─ main.xml
    ├─ scripts/
    │  └─ ...
    ├─ patches/
    │  └─ klish-suggest.patch  # smart command suggestions
    ├─ config/
    │  ├─ klishd.conf          # server config
    │  └─ klish.conf           # client config
    └─ entrypoint.sh

Getting Started

Build the container:

docker compose build

Start the container in background:

docker compose up -d

Check the logs to verify that everything started correctly:

docker logs netlab-cli

Open an interactive shell to the container:

docker exec -it netlab-cli bash

Start the Klish interactive CLI:

klish

Sample output:

NetLab> show greeting
Hello from NetLab-CLI!
This is a Klish (clish) demo running in Docker.
NetLab> exit

Or run a command using the -c option:

klish -c "show greeting"

Documentation

Guide What it covers
Klish Introduction Client-server architecture, terminal sessions, process isolation
CLI Features Tab completion, help, abbreviation, history, filters, formatters, scripting
Modes & Access Control Views, Cisco IOS hierarchy, enable password, config sessions
Command Discovery Tree view and command search
Smart Command Suggestions Typo correction, abbreviation expansion, cross-vendor mapping
CLI in SONiC Ecosystem CLI frameworks in the SONiC ecosystem