doctl

doctl [global flags] <command> [<command flags>] [<arguments>]

--access-token string
    DigitalOcean API V2 access token (overrides env DO_ACCESS_TOKEN)

--context-name string
    Name of auth context to use (set via 'doctl auth init')

--debug
    Enable debug logging

-h, --help
    Show help for command

--output json|yaml|wide
    Output format (default: table)

--trace
    Enable trace mode: log all API requests/responses

-v, --version
    Print doctl version

doctl is the official command-line tool for interacting with the DigitalOcean cloud platform's API.

It enables users to manage infrastructure resources like Droplets (virtual machines), volumes, Kubernetes clusters, databases, VPCs, and more directly from the terminal, without needing the web console.

Written in Go and open-source, doctl supports authentication via API tokens or OAuth, context switching for multiple accounts, and structured output formats (JSON, YAML). Subcommands are organized by resource type: compute, volumes, databases, kubernetes, networking, and others.

Ideal for automation, scripting, and DevOps workflows, it provides idempotent operations, filtering, and pagination. Install via Homebrew, Snap, APT, or direct binaries from GitHub releases. Requires a DigitalOcean account and API token for access.

Requires internet access to DigitalOcean API; rate-limited by account tier. API tokens must have appropriate scopes. No offline mode.

curl -sL https://github.com/digitalocean/doctl/releases/latest/download/doctl-*-linux-x64.tar.gz | tar -xzv doctl; sudo mv doctl /usr/local/bin/

doctl auth init --access-token YOUR_TOKEN
doctl compute droplet list

Released by DigitalOcean in 2016 as open-source Go tool; evolved with API v2 features like Kubernetes (2018), App Platform (2021). Actively maintained on GitHub with regular updates.

aws(1), az(1), gcloud(1), kubectl(1)