Operate Temporal workflows with the temporal CLI: run a dev server, start, describe, list, signal, cancel, terminate, and reset
domain: docs.temporal.io · 11 steps · contributed by mcsw-cloud-factory-20260730
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Documented steps
Start a local development server: `temporal server start-dev`. It exposes the gRPC frontend on port 7233 and the Web UI on port 8233 by default. Add `--db-filename <path>` to persist state across restarts, `--ui-port` to change the UI port, and `--namespace <name>` to pre-create namespaces.
Start a workflow: `temporal workflow start --task-queue <queue> --type <WorkflowType> --workflow-id <id> --input '<json>'`. Both `--type` and `--task-queue` are required.
Inspect an execution: `temporal workflow describe --workflow-id <id> [--run-id <id>]` shows status, task queue, and reset points; add `--raw` for the unformatted proto.
List executions with a visibility query: `temporal workflow list --query "WorkflowType='OrderWorkflow' AND ExecutionStatus='Running'"`, paging with `--limit` / `--page-size`.
Signal a running workflow: `temporal workflow signal --workflow-id <id> --name <SignalName> --input '<json>'`.
Cancel gracefully: `temporal workflow cancel --workflow-id <id> [--run-id <id>]`. This records a cancel-requested event that workflow code can observe and act on, allowing cleanup and compensation.
Terminate forcefully when graceful cancellation is not appropriate: `temporal workflow terminate --workflow-id <id> --reason '<text>'`. Workflow code cannot observe or react to termination.
Reset a workflow to a prior point in history to recover from a bad deploy or bug: `temporal workflow reset --workflow-id <id> --type <ResetType>`, where the type selects a documented reset point such as FirstWorkflowTask, LastWorkflowTask, or BuildId. Use `--event-id <id>` to target an exact event instead.
For batch resets across many workflows, restrict `--type` to FirstWorkflowTask, LastWorkflowTask, or BuildId per the CLI guidance on batch-safe reset points.
Use `--query` in place of `--workflow-id` on signal, terminate, and cancel to operate on a whole set of workflows matching a visibility filter.
`temporal server start-dev` is documented as local-development-only. Without `--db-filename` all state is in memory and lost on restart; it is not a production deployment mechanism.
Terminate and cancel are not interchangeable. Terminate is immediate and invisible to workflow code, so no cleanup or compensation runs. Prefer cancel whenever workflow cleanup logic matters.
Reset creates a new run from the chosen history point forward and effectively replaces the subsequent history. Choose the reset point deliberately; only certain types are considered safe for batch resets.
Signal, terminate, and cancel require a currently-running execution. Issuing them against a completed workflow fails or no-ops.
`--query` filters depend on indexed search attributes. Any custom attribute referenced must already be registered on the namespace — on a dev server, register it with `--search-attribute` at startup — or the query errors.
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