Skip to main content

Need the shared platform overview?

Use Fundamentals for shared concepts. Use this guide when you specifically need the CLI.
On macOS, start with the Desktop app unless you explicitly need terminal scripting, automation, or a non-macOS workflow.

​
Account Creation

Before integrating Ghostable into your workflow, you’ll first need to create a Ghostable account. If you’re collaborating on projects managed by others, a Ghostable subscription isn’t necessary.

Start with a free Ghostable account

Setup takes less than a minute.

​
Requirements

System
  • Node.js 20 LTS (18+ supported) — macOS, Linux, or Windows.
  • No PHP required for standard Ghostable CLI operations.
Laravel
  • Ghostable supports Laravel applications compatible with PHP 8.1+ and Laravel 10.0+.
  • These requirements only apply if you are using Ghostable’s Laravel-specific deployment commands.
  • In all other cases, Ghostable runs fully standalone as a Node-based CLI.

​
Installing the Ghostable CLI

You will interact with your Ghostable environments using the Ghostable CLI. The CLI can be installed globally or on a per-project basis from npm:
Then verify the CLI is on your PATH:

Vendor verification (checksums + provenance)

Validate release checksums, SBOM artifacts, and provenance attestations before rollout.
To save keystrokes, you can add a shell alias that maps ghostable to npx ghostable. This allows you to run ghostable directly without prefixing every command.

​
Creating an Account

Prefer to handle sign-up from the terminal? Run the CLI registration command and complete the flow in your browser:
The CLI launches Ghostable in your default browser (or prints a one-time link) so you can create an account or finish SSO. Once registration succeeds, the CLI finalizes your session automatically. If your email needs verification, the CLI lets you know—verify the address from your inbox, then run ghostable login to continue.

​
Logging In

The CLI now authenticates through your browser for a faster, more secure flow. Run:
What happens next:
  • The CLI opens your default browser (or prints a one-time link if it can’t) and takes you to the Ghostable login screen.
  • Complete the login or SSO flow in the browser; the CLI will wait and confirm when authentication succeeds.
  • If the browser flow is unsupported in your environment, the CLI automatically falls back to the classic prompts for email, password, and 2FA (when enabled).

​
Exploring Commands

Use the global help flag to see every top-level command exposed by the CLI:
Many of these commands expand into their own menus. Append --help after the command to see the available subcommands and options:
Likewise, ghostable device --help reveals flows such as device link, device status, and device unlink. If you already know the exact command, attach --help after it to inspect its flags—for example, ghostable env push --help.

​
Organizations

When you create a Ghostable account, your first step is to create an organization. Organizations act as containers for your projects and environments, and you can belong to multiple organizations to collaborate with different groups or clients. All projects and environments in Ghostable belong to an organization. You can join other organizations as a collaborator or create your own to organize work by client or topic.

​
Listing Organizations

To view all organizations you belong to:

​
Current Organization & Switching Organizations

When working with the Ghostable CLI, you’ll often need to know which organization is currently active. To check your current organization:
To switch to another organization:

​
What’s Next?

Link this repo

Run ghostable init inside your project to link it to an organization and generate the manifest.

Link your device

Use ghostable device link so encryption keys live in your OS keychain and pushes succeed.

Prepare deployments

Create deployment tokens so CI, Laravel platforms, or container builds can fetch secrets securely.