Getting Started with Basic OCI CLI Commands

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) provides a powerful command line interface called OCI CLI that allows administrators, developers, and cloud engineers to manage cloud resources directly from the terminal.

OCI CLI is extremely useful for:

• Cloud automation
• Managing compute instances
• Working with Object Storage
• Managing networking resources
• Database administration
• Terraform integrations
• Scripting and DevOps operations

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What is OCI CLI?

OCI CLI stands for:

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Command Line Interface

It allows you to interact with OCI services using commands instead of the web console.

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OCI CLI Command Structure

Most OCI CLI commands follow this structure:

oci <service> <resource> <action>

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Example

oci iam region list

Breakdown:

• iam → OCI Identity service
• region → Resource type
• list → Action

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Check OCI CLI Installation

To verify OCI CLI is installed:

oci --version

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Display OCI CLI Help

oci --help

or simply:

oci

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Useful Global OCI CLI Options

Option	Description
--help	Show help information
--version	Display OCI CLI version
--output table	Display output in table format
--debug	Enable debug output
--region	Specify OCI region
-i	Interactive mode

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Enable Interactive Mode

OCI CLI supports interactive mode for auto-completion and easier command discovery.

oci -i

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Basic OCI Commands

1. List OCI Regions

oci iam region list

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2. Display Output in Table Format

oci iam region list --output table

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3. Get Current Object Storage Namespace

oci os ns get

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4. List Compartments

oci iam compartment list --all

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5. List Availability Domains

oci iam availability-domain list

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Working with Compute Instances

List Compute Instances

oci compute instance list \
--compartment-id <compartment_ocid>

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Get Instance Details

oci compute instance get \
--instance-id <instance_ocid>

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Start a Compute Instance

oci compute instance action \
--instance-id <instance_ocid> \
--action START

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Stop a Compute Instance

oci compute instance action \
--instance-id <instance_ocid> \
--action STOP

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Working with Object Storage

List Buckets

oci os bucket list \
--compartment-id <compartment_ocid> \
--namespace-name <namespace>

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Create a Bucket

oci os bucket create \
--compartment-id <compartment_ocid> \
--name mybucket \
--namespace-name <namespace>

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Upload a File

oci os object put \
--bucket-name mybucket \
--file test.txt

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List Objects Inside Bucket

oci os object list \
--bucket-name mybucket

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Working with Networking

List Virtual Cloud Networks (VCNs)

oci network vcn list \
--compartment-id <compartment_ocid>

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List Subnets

oci network subnet list \
--compartment-id <compartment_ocid>

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List Internet Gateways

oci network internet-gateway list \
--compartment-id <compartment_ocid>

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Working with Databases

List Autonomous Databases

oci db autonomous-database list \
--compartment-id <compartment_ocid>

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List DB Systems

oci db system list \
--compartment-id <compartment_ocid>

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Using Queries in OCI CLI

OCI CLI supports JMESPath queries for filtering output.

Example

oci iam compartment list \
--all \
--query "data[*].name"

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Get Only OCIDs

oci iam compartment list \
--all \
--query "data[*].id"

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Using Raw Output

oci os ns get --query data --raw-output

This returns only the namespace value without JSON formatting.

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Generate JSON Templates

OCI CLI can automatically generate JSON input templates.

Example

oci os bucket create \
--generate-full-command-json-input

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Working with Configuration Files

OCI CLI configuration file location:

~/.oci/config

Typical configuration:

[DEFAULT]
user=ocid1.user.oc1...
fingerprint=xx:xx:xx
tenancy=ocid1.tenancy.oc1...
region=ap-mumbai-1
key_file=/home/opc/.oci/oci_api_key.pem

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OCI CLI Authentication Types

OCI CLI supports multiple authentication methods:

Authentication Type	Description
api_key	Standard API key authentication
instance_principal	Authentication from OCI compute instances
security_token	Token-based authentication
resource_principal	Used for OCI services and functions

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OCI Cloud Shell Advantage

OCI Cloud Shell already includes:

• OCI CLI pre-installed
• Authentication pre-configured
• Terraform tools
• kubectl
• Git
• Python SDKs

This makes it very easy to start working with OCI immediately.

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Useful Troubleshooting Commands

Enable Debugging

oci --debug iam region list

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Check Current Region

cat ~/.oci/config

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Validate Authentication

oci iam region list

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Best Practices

• Use OCI CLI interactive mode for learning
• Store scripts securely
• Avoid exposing OCIDs publicly
• Use instance principals where possible
• Use table output for readability
• Use queries to simplify output

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Conclusion

OCI CLI is one of the most powerful tools available for managing Oracle Cloud Infrastructure resources.

With simple commands, administrators can manage:

• Compute instances
• Networking
• Object Storage
• Databases
• Kubernetes
• Security services

Combined with Oracle Cloud Shell, OCI CLI becomes an excellent platform for automation, cloud administration, and DevOps operations.

Learning basic OCI commands is the first step toward mastering Oracle Cloud Infrastructure administration and automation.