CLI configuration

ReplicaDB accepts long command-line options and Java-properties options files. Use an options file for repeatable settings and keep values that change per invocation on the command line.

Options-file rules

Pass a file with --options-file <file-path>. It may appear anywhere in the command line. The file supports comments on their own lines, backslash continuations, and ${VARIABLE} environment substitution. Command-line arguments override values loaded from the options file.

The loader reads the file once before applying explicit flags. An absent environment variable therefore becomes an invalid or empty value rather than a prompt. Validate environment-managed values in the launching shell, keep resolved files owner-readable, and do not print them when collecting logs.

The complete property inventory is in the options-file reference. The exact flag inventory is in the CLI option reference.

Connection settings

The usual source and sink properties are:

mode=complete
jobs=1
fetch.size=100
verbose=INFO
source.connect=${SOURCE_CONNECT}
source.user=${SOURCE_USER}
source.password=${SOURCE_PASSWORD}
source.table=${SOURCE_TABLE}
sink.connect=${SINK_CONNECT}
sink.user=${SINK_USER}
sink.password=${SINK_PASSWORD}
sink.table=${SINK_TABLE}

Keep the file outside the repository when it contains resolved values. JDBC driver-specific parameters use source.connect.parameter.* and sink.connect.parameter.*; authentication settings for supported SQL Server flows use the corresponding source.auth.* and sink.auth.* keys.

Common properties control the transfer as a whole: mode, jobs, fetch.size, bandwidth.throttling, quoted.identifiers, and verbose. Source and sink properties describe their respective endpoints. Numbered replication.table.* entries define a sequential catalog. sentry.dsn is an optional telemetry setting and is disabled when no DSN is configured.

Precedence and validation

The CLI loads the options file first, then applies explicit command-line values. It validates required source and sink connections, mode-specific settings, contiguous multi-table indexes, and watermark restrictions before starting replication. A malformed invocation or validation failure exits with code 1.

Defaults apply only when neither source supplies a value: CLI jobs defaults to 4, fetch.size to 100, mode to complete, bandwidth throttling to 0 (unlimited), and quoted identifiers to false. The maintained sample chooses jobs=1 deliberately as a conservative first-run setting; it does not change the command-line default.