--- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
+++ b/doc/book/en/D030-cubicweb-ctl.en.txt	Wed Apr 22 21:59:58 2009 -0700
@@ -0,0 +1,122 @@
+.. -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+
+.. _cubicweb-ctl:
+
+``cubicweb-ctl`` tool
+=====================
+
+`cubicweb-ctl` is the swiss knife to manage `CubicWeb` instances.
+The general syntax is ::
+
+  cubicweb-ctl <command> [options command] <arguments commands>
+
+To view available commands ::
+
+  cubicweb-ctl
+  cubicweb-ctl --help
+
+Please note that the commands available depends on the `CubicWeb` packages
+and cubes that have been installed.
+
+To view the help menu on specific command ::
+
+  cubicweb-ctl <command> --help
+
+Command to create a cube
+------------------------
+
+* ``newcube``, create a new cube on the file system based on the name
+  given in the parameters. This command create a cube from an application
+  skeleton that includes default files required for debian packaging.
+  
+
+Command to create an instance
+-----------------------------
+* ``create``, creates the files for the instance configuration
+* ``db-create``, creates the system database of an instance (tables and
+  extensions only)
+* ``db-init``, initializes the system database of an instance
+  (schema, groups, users, workflows...)
+
+By default, those three commandes are encapsulated in ``create`` so
+that they can be executed consecutively.
+
+Command to create an instance for Google AppEngine datastore source
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+* ``newgapp``, creates the configuration files for an instance
+
+This command needs to be followed by the commands responsible for
+the database initialization. As those are specific to the `datastore`,
+specific Google AppEgine database, they are not available for now
+in cubicweb-ctl, but they are available in the instance created.
+
+For more details, please see :ref:`gaecontents` .
+
+Commands to control instances
+-----------------------------
+* ``start``, starts one or more or all instances
+* ``stop``, stops one or more or all instances
+* ``restart``, restarts one or more or all instances
+* ``status``, returns the status of the instance
+
+Commands to maintain instances
+------------------------------
+* ``upgrade``, launches the existing instances migration when a new version
+  of `CubicWeb` or the cubes installed is available
+* ``shell``, opens a migration shell for manual maintenance of the instance
+* ``db-dump``, creates a dump of the system database
+* ``db-restore``, restores a dump of the system database
+* ``db-check``, checks data integrity of an instance. If the automatic correction
+  is activated, it is recommanded to create a dump before this operation.
+* ``schema-sync``, synchronizes the persistent schema of an instance with
+  the application schema. It is recommanded to create a dump before this operation.
+
+Commands to maintain i18n catalogs
+----------------------------------
+* ``i18nlibupdate``, regenerates messages catalogs of the `CubicWeb` library
+* ``i18nupdate``, regenerates the messages catalogs of a cube
+* ``i18ncompile``, recompiles the messages catalogs of an instance. 
+  This is automatically done while upgrading.
+
+See also chapter :ref:`internationalisation`.
+
+Other commands
+--------------
+* ``list``, provides a list of the available configuration, cubes
+  and instances.
+* ``delete``, deletes an instance (configuration files and database)
+
+
+Create an instance from an existing cube
+````````````````````````````````````````
+
+To create an instance from an existing cube, execute the following
+command ::
+
+   cubicweb-ctl create <cube_name> <instance_name>
+
+This command will create the configuration files of an instance in
+``~/etc/cubicweb.d/<instance_name>``.
+The tool ``cubicweb-ctl`` allows you to execute the command ``db-create``
+and ``db-init`` when you run ``create`` so that you can complete an
+instance creation in a single command.
+
+If you decide not to execut those commands while ``cubicweb-ctl create``,
+then you will have to execute them seperately(``cubicweb-ctl db-create``,
+``cubicweb-ctl db-init`` ) otherwise your installation will not be complete
+and you will not be able to launch your instance.
+
+
+Creation of an instance from a new cube
+```````````````````````````````````````
+
+Create first your new cube cube ::
+
+   cubicweb-ctl newcube <mycube>
+
+This will create a new cube in ``/path/to/forest/cubicweb/cubes/<mycube>``
+for a Mercurial forest installation, or in ``/usr/share/cubicweb/cubes``
+for a debian packages installation, and then create an instance as 
+explained just above.
+
+