> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://dify-6c0370d8-release-1-15-0.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Help

> Get help in the terminal with per-command docs, guide topics, and machine-readable JSON

The `difyctl` help system covers four surfaces: the [top-level overview](#get-help), [per-command and group help](#help-for-one-command-or-group), [guide topics](#guide-topics), and a [machine-readable form](#machine-readable-help) of all of them. All help prints to stdout and exits `0`.

## Get Help

Four invocations show the same top-level overview:

```bash theme={null}
difyctl
difyctl help
difyctl --help
difyctl -h
```

The overview lists every command with its one-liner, three getting-started examples, the [global flags](/en/cli/reference/global-flags), and the [guide topics](#guide-topics). For the same inventory with links into this reference, see the [Command Index](/en/cli/reference/command-index).

## Help for One Command or Group

Append `--help` to any command, or put `help` in front of it:

```bash theme={null}
difyctl run app --help
difyctl help run app
```

Per-command help shows the command's description, usage line, arguments, flags with defaults, and examples.

Name a command group instead of a command to list the group's subcommands:

```bash theme={null}
difyctl auth --help
```

```text theme={null}
COMMANDS
  auth devices list    List active sessions for the current bearer
  auth devices revoke  Revoke one or all session devices
  auth list            List all authenticated contexts (host + account pairs)
  auth login           Sign in to Dify via OAuth device flow
  auth logout          Log out of the active Dify host
  auth whoami          Print the active subject's identity
```

A name that matches neither a command, a topic, nor a group fails with `unknown help topic: <name>`, suggestions, and exit code `1`.

## Guide Topics

Long-form topics ship inside the CLI, read with `difyctl help <topic>`:

| Topic         | What it covers                                                    |
| :------------ | :---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `account`     | Onboarding guidance.                                              |
| `environment` | The CLI's own descriptions of the `DIFY_*` environment variables. |
| `agent`       | The cross-command contract for agents driving `difyctl`.          |

These topics are built into the CLI. For which variables `difyctl` actually reads, see [Environment Variables](/en/cli/reference/environment-variables).

## Machine-Readable Help

Every help surface accepts `-o json` and `-o yaml`. The top-level form emits the complete command surface in one document:

```bash theme={null}
difyctl help -o json
```

The document has four top-level keys:

* `bin`, `contract`: exit codes, output formats, the shape of error output, and cross-command rules
* `commands`: one descriptor per command
* `topics`: the available guide topics by name, with each topic's text read via `difyctl help <topic>`

Per-command help in JSON returns just that command's descriptor:

```bash theme={null}
difyctl auth whoami --help -o json
```

```json theme={null}
{
  "command": "auth whoami",
  "description": "Print the active subject's identity",
  "effect": "read",
  "args": [],
  "flags": [
    {
      "name": "json",
      "char": null,
      "type": "boolean",
      "default": false,
      "multiple": false,
      "options": null,
      "description": "emit JSON"
    }
  ],
  "examples": [
    "difyctl auth whoami",
    "difyctl auth whoami --json"
  ],
  "agentGuide": null
}
```

Each descriptor carries the command's arguments and flags with types and defaults, an `effect` label (`read`, `write`, or `destructive`), and an `agentGuide` string where one exists. This is how coding agents discover `difyctl`.

## Exit Codes

| Code | Meaning                            |
| :--- | :--------------------------------- |
| `0`  | Help printed                       |
| `1`  | Unknown help topic or command name |

See [Output Formats and Exit Codes](/en/cli/reference/output-formats-and-exit-codes) for the full scheme.