System information
Manual:Console
6
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, 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] key can be used almost in any context where the console 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
beginning of command name, and, if it is not ambiguous, console will accept it as a full name. So typing:
[admin@MikroTik] > pi 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 beginning, but also any distinctive substring of a name: if there is no exact match,
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 single such word is found, it is completed at cursor position.
For example:
[admin@MikroTik] > interface x[TAB]_
[admin@MikroTik] > interface 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 as set, 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.