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+.. -*- 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
+
+Listing available cubes and instance
+-------------------------------------
+
+* ``list``, provides a list of the available configuration, cubes
+  and instances.
+
+
+Creation of a new cube
+-----------------------
+
+Create your new cube cube ::
+
+   cubicweb-ctl newcube
+
+This will create a new cube in
+``/path/to/grshell-cubicweb/cubes/<mycube>`` for a Mercurial
+installation, or in ``/usr/share/cubicweb/cubes`` for a debian
+packages installation.
+
+Create an instance
+-------------------
+
+You must ensure `~/etc/cubicweb.d/` exists prior to this. On windows, the
+'~' part will probably expand to 'Documents and Settings/user'.
+
+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`` executes the command ``db-create`` and
+``db-init`` when you run ``create`` so that you can complete an
+instance creation in a single command. But of course it is possible
+to issue these separate commands separately, at a later stage.
+
+Command to create/initialize an instance database
+-------------------------------------------------
+
+* ``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...)
+
+Commands to control instances
+-----------------------------
+
+* ``start``, starts one or more or all instances
+
+of special interest::
+
+  start -D
+
+will start in debug mode (under windows, starting without -D will not
+work; you need instead to setup your instance as a service).
+
+* ``stop``, stops one or more or all instances
+* ``restart``, restarts one or more or all instances
+* ``status``, returns the status of the instance(s)
+
+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 (Python based) 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 instance schema. It is recommanded to create a dump before this operation.
+
+Commands to maintain i18n catalogs
+----------------------------------
+* ``i18ncubicweb``, regenerates messages catalogs of the *CubicWeb* library
+* ``i18ncube``, regenerates the messages catalogs of a cube
+* ``i18ninstance``, recompiles the messages catalogs of an instance.
+  This is automatically done while upgrading.
+
+See also chapter :ref:`internationalization`.
+
+Other commands
+--------------
+* ``delete``, deletes an instance (configuration files and database)