Configuration file

Configuration File

ardl supports an optional TOML configuration file to set default values for CLI options. This is useful for a dotfiles / chezmoi workflow where you want persistent defaults without passing options every time.

Priority Order

When resolving option values, ardl follows this priority (highest to lowest):

1. CLI options — explicitly passed on the command line
2. Environment variables — ARISTA_* prefixed variables
3. Configuration file — values from the TOML config
4. Click defaults — built-in default values

For example, if your config file sets format = "cEOS", but you run ardl get eos --format 64, the CLI option wins.

File Locations

ardl searches for the configuration file in two locations, using the first one found:

1. ~/.eos-downloader.toml
2. $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/eos-downloader/config.toml (defaults to ~/.config/eos-downloader/config.toml)

Creating a Configuration File

Use ardl config init to generate a template:

# Create config at default location (~/.eos-downloader.toml)
ardl config init

# Create config at a custom path
ardl config init --output ~/dotfiles/eos-downloader.toml

# Overwrite an existing config
ardl config init --force

The generated file contains all available options, commented out, with documentation. The file is created with 0600 permissions since it may contain your API token.

Viewing Active Configuration

ardl config show

This displays the path of the active configuration file and its content. The API token is automatically masked in the output.

Configuration Format

The configuration file uses TOML format. Sections map to the CLI command hierarchy:

[ardl]
token = "your-arista-api-token"
log_level = "info"

[ardl.get.eos]
format = "cEOS"
output = "/home/user/downloads"
import_docker = true
docker_name = "arista/ceos"

[ardl.get.cvp]
format = "ova"

[ardl.info]
# Group-level defaults apply to all info subcommands
format = "json"
package = "eos"

[ardl.info.latest]
# Subcommand-specific values override group defaults
branch = "4.29"

[ardl.debug.xml]
output = "arista.xml"

Group-Level Defaults

Options defined at a group level (e.g., [ardl.info]) are shared across all subcommands in that group. Subcommand-specific values override the group defaults:

[ardl.info]
format = "json"        # Applies to versions, latest, and mapping

[ardl.info.mapping]
format = "fancy"       # Overrides the group default for mapping only

Complete Option Reference

[ardl] — Global Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
token	string	—	Arista API token
log_level	string	"error"	Logging level (debug, info, warning, error, critical)
debug_enabled	boolean	false	Enable debug mode

[ardl.get.eos] — EOS Download

Option	Type	Default	Description
format	string	"vmdk"	Image format (64, vEOS, vEOS-lab, cEOS, cEOS64, etc.)
output	string	"."	Download directory
latest	boolean	false	Download latest version
eve_ng	boolean	false	EVE-NG provisioning mode
import_docker	boolean	false	Import as Docker image
skip_download	boolean	false	Skip download (debug)
docker_name	string	"arista/ceos"	Docker image name
docker_tag	string	—	Docker image tag
version	string	—	Specific EOS version
release_type	string	"F"	Release type (M or F)
branch	string	—	Version branch (e.g., "4.29")
dry_run	boolean	false	Dry-run mode
force	boolean	false	Force re-download
containerlab_topology	string	—	Path to containerlab topology file

[ardl.get.cvp] — CVP Download

Option	Type	Default	Description
format	string	"ova"	Image format
output	string	"."	Download directory
latest	boolean	false	Download latest version
version	string	—	Specific CVP version
branch	string	—	Version branch
dry_run	boolean	false	Dry-run mode
force	boolean	false	Force re-download

[ardl.get.path] — Direct Path Download

Option	Type	Default	Description
source	string	—	Download path on Arista website
output	string	"."	Download directory
import_docker	boolean	false	Import as Docker image
docker_name	string	"arista/ceos:raw"	Docker image name
docker_tag	string	"dev"	Docker image tag
force	boolean	false	Force re-download

[ardl.info.versions] — List Versions

Option	Type	Default	Description
format	string	"fancy"	Output format (json, text, fancy)
package	string	"eos"	Package type (eos or cvp)
branch	string	—	Branch filter
release_type	string	—	Release type filter

[ardl.info.latest] — Latest Version

Option	Type	Default	Description
format	string	"fancy"	Output format (json, text, fancy)
package	string	"eos"	Package type (eos or cvp)
branch	string	—	Branch filter
release_type	string	—	Release type filter

[ardl.info.mapping] — Software Mapping

Option	Type	Default	Description
package	string	"eos"	Package type (eos or cvp)
format	string	"fancy"	Output format (json, text, fancy)
details	boolean	false	Show detailed information

[ardl.debug.xml] — XML Debug

Option	Type	Default	Description
output	string	"arista.xml"	Output file path
log_level	string	"INFO"	Logging level

Security

The configuration file may contain your Arista API token. To keep it secure:

• ardl config init creates the file with 0600 permissions (owner read/write only)
• ardl config show automatically masks the token in its output
• If using version control for dotfiles, consider using a secrets manager or .gitignore the config file