Command-line interface

The Expressif CLI brings expression evaluation, data processing, validation, and diagnostics to a terminal or automation workflow.

Every command starts with expressif:

expressif <command> [arguments] [options]

Choose a command

Command	Use it to
evaluate	Evaluate an expression once, with no input, one explicit value, or one complete source.
run	Evaluate an expression once for every row produced by an input source.
validate	Parse, bind, and compile an expression without evaluating it.
parse	Inspect how the source text forms a syntax tree.
bind	Inspect the functions, parameters, and expression form resolved after parsing.
help	List functions or show documentation for a function.
version	Display the CLI and Expressif library versions.

The important distinction is between evaluate and run:

flowchart LR
    A[One input value] --> B[evaluate]
    B --> C[One result]
    D[Many input rows] --> E[run]
    E --> F[One result per row]

With evaluate --source, every row is collected into one array and the expression is evaluated once. With run --source, rows remain separate and the expression is evaluated for each one.

Get command help

expressif --help
expressif evaluate --help
expressif run --help

Use these pages to move from installation to interactive use and then to reliable automation:

1. Install the CLI.
2. Evaluate an expression once.
3. Run expressions over input data.
4. Validate expressions.
5. Inspect parsing and binding.
6. Use the CLI in automation.

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Table of contents

• Installation
• Evaluate an expression
• Run expressions over input data
• Validate expressions
• Inspect parsing and binding
• Automation and exit codes