Console

Overview

The console is used for accessing the MikroTik Router's configuration and management features using text terminals, either remotely using serial port, telnet, SSH or console screen within Winbox, or directly using monitor and keyboard. The console is also used for writing scripts. This manual describes the general console operation principles. Please consult the Scripting Manual on some advanced console commands and on how to write scripts.

Hierarchy

The console allows the configuration of the router's settings using text commands. Since there is a lot of available commands, they are split into groups organized in a way of hierarchical menu levels. The name of a menu level reflects the configuration information accessible in the relevant section, eg./ip hotspot.

Example

For example, you can issue the/ip route printcommand:

[admin@MikroTik] > ip route print Flags: X - disabled, A - active, D - dynamic, C - connect, S - static, r - rip, b - bgp, o - ospf, m - mme, B - blackhole, U - unreachable, P - prohibit # DST-ADDRESS PREF-SRC G GATEWAY DIS INTE... 0 A S 0.0.0.0/0 r 10.0.3.1 1 bridge1 1 ADC 1.0.1.0/24 1.0.1.1 0 bridge1 2 ADC 1.0.2.0/24 1.0.2.1 0 ether3 3 ADC 10.0.3.0/24 10.0.3.144 0 bridge1 4 ADC 10.10.10.0/24 10.10.10.1 0 wlan1 [admin@MikroTik] >

Instead of typing/ip route路径在每个命令之前,可以输入的路径ly once to move into this particular branch of menu hierarchy. Thus, the example above could also be executed like this:

[admin@MikroTik] > ip route [admin@MikroTik] ip route> print Flags: X - disabled, A - active, D - dynamic, C - connect, S - static, r - rip, b - bgp, o - ospf, m - mme, B - blackhole, U - unreachable, P - prohibit # DST-ADDRESS PREF-SRC G GATEWAY DIS INTE... 0 A S 0.0.0.0/0 r 10.0.3.1 1 bridge1 1 ADC 1.0.1.0/24 1.0.1.1 0 bridge1 2 ADC 1.0.2.0/24 1.0.2.1 0 ether3 3 ADC 10.0.3.0/24 10.0.3.144 0 bridge1 4 ADC 10.10.10.0/24 10.10.10.1 0 wlan1 [ admin@MikroTik] ip route>

Notice that the prompt changes in order to reflect where you are located in the menu hierarchy at the moment. To move to the top level again, type "/"

[admin@MikroTik] > ip route [admin@MikroTik] ip route> / [admin@MikroTik] >

To move up one command level, type ".."

[admin@MikroTik] ip route> .. [admin@MikroTik] ip>

You can also use/and..to execute commands from other menu levels without changing the current level:

[admin@MikroTik] ip route> /ping 10.0.0.1 10.0.0.1 ping timeout 2 packets transmitted, 0 packets received, 100% packet loss [admin@MikroTik] ip firewall nat> .. service-port print Flags: X - disabled, I - invalid # NAME PORTS 0 ftp 21 1 tftp 69 2 irc 6667 3 h323 4 sip 5 pptp [admin@MikroTik] ip firewall nat>

Item Names and Numbers

Many of the command levels operate with arrays of items: interfaces, routes, users, etc. Such arrays are displayed in similarly looking lists. All items in the list have an item number followed by flags and parameter values.

你改变一个项目的性质,have to usesetcommand and specify name or number of the item.

Item Names

Some lists have items with specific names assigned to each of them. Examples areinterfaceoruserlevels. There you can use item names instead of item numbers.

You do not have to use theprintcommand before accessing items by their names, which, as opposed to numbers, are not assigned by the console internally, but are properties of the items. Thus, they would not change on their own. However, there are all kinds of obscure situations possible when several users are changing router's configuration at the same time. Generally, item names are more "stable" than the numbers, and also more informative, so you should prefer them to numbers when writing console scripts.

Item Numbers

Item numbers are assigned by the print command and are not constant - it is possible that two successive print commands will order items differently. But the results of last print commands are memorized and, thus, once assigned, item numbers can be used even afteradd,removeandmoveoperations (since version 3,moveoperation does not renumber items). Item numbers are assigned on a per session basis, they will remain the same until you quit the console or until the next print command is executed. Also, numbers are assigned separately for every item list, sotheip address printwill not change the numbering of the interface list.

Since version 3 it is possible to use item numbers without runningprintcommand. Numbers will be assigned just as if theprintcommand was executed.

You can specify multiple items as targets to some commands. Almost everywhere, where you can write the number of item, you can also write a list of numbers.

[admin@MikroTik] > interface print Flags: X - disabled, D - dynamic, R - running # NAME TYPE MTU 0 R ether1 ether 1500 1 R ether2 ether 1500 2 R ether3 ether 1500 3 R ether4 ether 1500 [admin@MikroTik] > interface set 0,1,2 mtu=1460 [admin@MikroTik] > interface print Flags: X - disabled, D - dynamic, R - running # NAME TYPE MTU 0 R ether1 ether 1460 1 R ether2 ether 1460 2 R ether3 ether 1460 3 R ether4 ether 1500 [admin@MikroTik] >

Warning:Do not use Item numbers in scripts, it is not a reliable way to edit items inthescheduler. scripts, etc. Instead usefindcommand. More infoherealso look atscripting examples.

Quick Typing

There are two features in the console that help entering commands much quicker and easier - the[Tab]key completions, and abbreviations of command names. Completions work similarly to the bash shell in UNIX. If you press the[Tab]key after a part of a word, the console tries to find the command within the current context that begins with this word. If there is only one match, it is automatically appended, followed by a space:

/inte[Tab]_becomes/interface _

If there is more than one match, but they all have a common beginning, which is longer than that what you have typed, then the word is completed to this common part, and no space is appended:

/interface set e[Tab]_becomes/interface set ether_

If you've typed just the common part, pressing the tab key once has no effect. However, pressing it for the second time shows all possible completions in compact form:

[admin@MikroTik] > interface set e[Tab]_ [admin@MikroTik] > interface set ether[Tab]_ [admin@MikroTik] > interface set ether[Tab]_ ether1 ether5 [admin@MikroTik] > interface set ether_

The[Tab]关键几乎可以用在任何背景下的有限公司nsole might have a clue about possible values - command names, argument names, arguments that have only several possible values (like names of items in some lists or name of protocol in firewall and NAT rules). You cannot complete numbers, IP addresses and similar values.

Another way to press fewer keys while typing is to abbreviate command and argument names. You can type only the beginning of the command name, and, if it is not ambiguous, the console will accept it as a full name. So typing:

[admin@MikroTik] > pin 10.1 c 3 si 100

equals to:

[admin@MikroTik] > ping 10.0.0.1 count 3 size 100

It is possible to complete not only the beginning, but also any distinctive substring of a name: if there is no exact match, the console starts looking for words that have string being completed as first letters of a multiple word name, or that simply contain letters of this string in the same order. If a single such word is found, it is completed at the cursor position. For example:

[admin@MikroTik] > interface x[TAB][TAB]_ dot1x vxlan export [admin@MikroTik] > interface mt[TAB]_ [admin@MikroTik] > interface monitor-traffic _

General Commands

There are some commands that are common to nearly all menu levels, namely:print, set, remove, add, find, get, export, enable, disable, comment, move. These commands have similar behavior throughout different menu levels.

• add- this command usually has all the same arguments asset, except the item number argument. It adds a new item with the values you have specified, usually at the end of the item list, in places where the order of items is relevant. There are some required properties that you have to supply, such as the interface for a new address, while other properties are set to defaults unless you explicitly specify them.
  • Common Parameters
    • copy-from- Copies an existing item. It takes the default values of a new item's properties from another item. If you do not want to make an exact copy, you can specify new values for some properties. When copying items that have names, you will usually have to give a new name to a copy
    • place-before- places a new item before an existing item with a specified position. Thus, you do not need to use the move command after adding an item to the list.
    • disabled- controls disabled/enabled state of the newly added item(-s)
    • comment- holds the description of a newly created item
  • Return Values
    • add command returns the internal number of item it has added

• edit- this command is associated with thesetcommand. It can be used to edit values of properties that contain a large amount of text, such as scripts, but it works with all editable properties. Depending on the capabilities of the terminal, either a fullscreen editor or a single line editor is launched to edit the value of the specified property.
• find- The find command has the same arguments as set, plus the flag arguments likedisabledoractivethat take valuesyesornodepending on the value of the respective flag. To see all flags and their names, look at the top oftheprintcommand's output. Thefindcommand returns internal numbers of all items that have the same values of arguments as specified.
• move- changes the order of items in the list.
  • Parameters
    • first argument specifies the item(-s) being moved.
    • the second argument specifies the item before which to place all items being moved (they are placed at the end of the list if the second argument is omitted).
• print- shows all information that's accessible from a particular command level. Thus,/system clock printshows the system date and time,/ip route printshows all routes, etc. If there's a list of items in the current level and they are not read-only, i.e. you can change/remove them (an example of a read-only item list is /system history, which shows a history of executed actions), then print command also assigns numbers that are used by all commands that operate with items in this list.
  • Common Parameters
    • from- show only specified items, in the same order in which they are given.
    • where- show only items that match specified criteria. The syntax ofwheretheproperty is similar to thefindcommand.
    • brief- forces the print command to use tabular output form
    • detail- forces the print command to use property=value output form
    • count-only- shows the number of items
    • file- prints the contents of the specific submenu into a file on the router.
    • interval- updates the output from theprintcommand for every interval seconds.
    • oid- prints the OID value for properties that are accessible from SNMP
    • without-paging- prints the output without stopping after each screenful.
• remove- removes specified item(-s) from a list.
• set- allows you to change values of general parameters or item parameters. The set command has arguments with names corresponding to values you can change. Use ? or double [Tab] to see list of all arguments. If there is a list of items in this command level, then set has one action argument that accepts the number of item (or list of numbers) you wish to set up. This command does not return anything.
• reset- reset parameters to default values

Modes

The console line editor works either in multiline mode or in single-line mode. In multiline mode line editor displays the complete input line, even if it is longer than a single terminal line. It also uses a full-screen editor for editing large text values, such as scripts. In single-line mode, only one terminal line is used for line editing, and long lines are shown truncated around the cursor. A full-screen editor is not used in this mode.

The choice of modes depends on detected terminal capabilities.

List of keys

F1 Give the list of available commands command F1 Give help on the command and list of arguments [Tab] Complete the command/word. If the input is ambiguous, a second [Tab] gives possible options F3 or Ctrl-R Search command history F4 or Ctrl-X Toggle safe mode F5 or Ctrl-L Repaint the screen F7 Toggle hotlock mode Ctrl-\ Split line Home or Ctrl-A Go to the beginning of the line End or Ctrl-E Go to the end of the line Ctrl-C Interrupt current action Ctrl-D Terminate session (on empty prompt) Ctrl-K Delete to the end of the line Ctrl-U Delete to the beginning of the line / Move up to base level .. Move up one level /command Use command at the base level

up,downandsplitkeys leave the cursor at the end of the line.

Built-in Help

The console has built-in help. PressF1for general console usage Help. The general rule is that Help shows what you can type in a position where theF1was pressed (similarly to pressing[Tab]key twice, but in verbose form and with explanations).

Safe Mode

有时可能改变路由器configuration in a way that will make the router inaccessible (except from local console). Usually, this is done by accident, but there is no way to undo the last change when the connection to the router is already cut. Safe mode can be used to minimize such risk.

The"Safe Mode"button in the Winbox GUI allows you to enter Safe Mode, while in the CLI, you can access it by either using the keyboard shortcutF4或按[CTRL]+[X]. To exit without saving the made changes in CLI, hit[CTRL]+[D].

[admin@MikroTik] ip route>[CTRL]+[X] [Safe Mode taken] [admin@MikroTik] ip route

MessageSafe Mode takenis displayed and prompt changes to reflect that session is now in safe mode. All configuration changes that are made (also from other login sessions), while the router is in safe mode, are automatically undone if the safe mode session terminates abnormally. You can see all such changes that will be automatically undone and tagged with anFflag in the system history:

[admin@MikroTik] /ip/route> [Safe Mode taken] [admin@MikroTik] /ip/route add [admin@MikroTik] /ip/route /system/history/print Flags: U, F - FLOATING-UNDO Columns: ACTION, BY, POLICY ACTION BY POLICY F route 0.0.0.0/0 added admin write

Now, if the telnet connection (or winbox terminal) is cut, then after a while (TCP timeout is9minutes) all changes that were made while in safe mode will be undone. Exiting session by[Ctrl]+[D]also undoes all safe mode changes, while/quitdoes not.

If another user tries to enter safe mode, he's given the following message:

[admin@MikroTik] > Hijacking Safe Mode from someone - unroll/release/don't take it [u/r/d]:

• [u] - undoes all safe mode changes, and puts the current session in safe mode.
• [r] - keeps all current safe mode changes, and puts the current session in a safe mode. The previous owner of safe mode is notified about this:

[admin@MikroTik] ip firewall rule input [Safe mode released by another user]

• [d] - leaves everything as-is.

If too many changes are made while in safe mode, and there's no room in history to hold them all (currently history keeps up to 100 most recent actions), then the session is automatically put out of the safe mode, and no changes are automatically undone. Thus, it is best to change the configuration in small steps, while in safe mode. Pressing[Ctrl]+[X]twice is an easy way to empty safe mode action list.

HotLock Mode

When HotLock mode is enabled commands will be auto-completed.

To enter/exit HotLock mode pressF7.

[admin@MikroTik] /ip/address> [F7] [admin@MikroTik] /ip/address>>

Double>>is an indication that HotLock mode is enabled. For example, if you type/in et, it will be auto-completed to

[admin@MikroTik] /ip/address>> /interface/ethernet/