generated: '2026-07-20'
method: searched
source: https://docs.meltano.com/reference/command-line-interface
name: meltano
description: >-
  Meltano's command-line interface manages projects, plugins (extractors,
  loaders, transformers, utilities) sourced from Meltano Hub, and runs EL(T)
  pipelines as declarative, version-controlled code.
binary: meltano
package: packages/meltano-packages.yml
docs: https://docs.meltano.com/reference/command-line-interface
install:
  - method: pipx
    command: pipx install meltano
    recommended: true
  - method: pip
    command: pip install meltano
  - method: uv
    command: uv tool install meltano
  - method: docker
    command: docker pull meltano/meltano
command_groups:
  - group: project
    commands:
      - {name: init, description: Create a new Meltano project at a given directory path}
      - {name: upgrade, description: Upgrade Meltano and apply database migrations}
      - {name: version, description: Display the installed Meltano version}
      - {name: docs, description: Open the Meltano documentation in the default browser}
      - {name: environment, description: Manage Meltano environments for different configurations}
      - {name: compile, description: Generate manifest files for environments}
  - group: plugins
    commands:
      - {name: add, description: Add or update plugins in the project from Meltano Hub}
      - {name: install, description: Install plugin dependencies from meltano.yml}
      - {name: remove, description: Remove one or more plugins from the project}
      - {name: invoke, description: Execute a plugin's executable with the given arguments}
      - {name: config, description: Manage configuration for Meltano or any plugin}
      - {name: select, description: Add selection patterns to extractors for stream/property filtering}
      - {name: lock, description: Create lock files for non-custom plugins}
      - {name: hub, description: Interact with Meltano Hub (e.g. connectivity checks)}
  - group: pipeline
    commands:
      - {name: el, description: Run extract and load using an extractor and loader pair}
      - {name: elt, description: Run extract, load, and transform (deprecated in favor of run)}
      - {name: run, description: Run a set of command blocks in series for complex workflows}
      - {name: job, description: Define sequences of tasks that can be executed or scheduled}
      - {name: schedule, description: Configure jobs to run at regular intervals via an orchestrator}
      - {name: state, description: Manage incremental replication state for jobs}
      - {name: test, description: Run plugin tests (commands whose names start with "test")}
      - {name: logs, description: View recent job runs and log content}
key_flows:
  - name: Bootstrap a project
    steps: [meltano init my-project, meltano add extractor tap-github, meltano add loader target-postgres, meltano install]
  - name: Run an EL pipeline
    steps: [meltano el tap-github target-postgres]
  - name: Schedule a job
    steps: [meltano job add nightly --tasks "tap-github target-postgres", meltano schedule add nightly --job nightly --interval "@daily"]