> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.kosli.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
## Submitting Feedback
If you encounter incorrect, outdated, or confusing documentation on this page, submit feedback:
POST https://docs.kosli.com/feedback
```json
{
"path": "/client_reference/kosli_begin_trail",
"feedback": "Description of the issue"
}
```
Only submit feedback when you have something specific and actionable to report.
# kosli begin trail
> Begin or update a Kosli flow trail.
## Synopsis
```shell theme={"theme":"dracula","languages":{"custom":["/languages/rego.json"]}}
kosli begin trail TRAIL-NAME [flags]
```
Begin or update a Kosli flow trail.
You can optionally associate the trail to a git commit using `--commit` (requires access to a git repo). And you
can optionally redact some of the git commit data sent to Kosli using `--redact-commit-info`.
To record repository information, all three of `--repo-id`, `--repo-url`, and `--repository` must be set together.
These are automatically set in GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Bitbucket Pipelines, and Azure DevOps.
In other CI systems, set them explicitly to capture repository metadata.
`TRAIL-NAME`s must start with a letter or number, and only contain letters, numbers, `.`, `-`, `_`, and `~`.
## Flags
| Flag | Description |
| :------------------------------------ | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| -g, --commit string | \[defaulted] The git commit from which the trail is begun. (defaulted in some CIs: [docs](/integrations/ci_cd), otherwise defaults to HEAD ). |
| --description string | \[optional] The Kosli trail description. |
| -D, --dry-run | \[optional] Run in dry-run mode. When enabled, no data is sent to Kosli and the CLI exits with 0 exit code regardless of any errors. |
| --external-fingerprint stringToString | \[optional] A SHA256 fingerprint of an external attachment represented by --external-url. The format is label=fingerprint (labels cannot contain '.' or '='). This flag can be set multiple times. There must be an external url with a matching label for each external fingerprint. |
| --external-url stringToString | \[optional] Add labeled reference URL for an external resource. The format is label=url (labels cannot contain '.' or '='). This flag can be set multiple times. If the resource is a file or dir, you can optionally add its fingerprint via --external-fingerprint |
| --flow string | The Kosli flow name. |
| -h, --help | help for trail |
| -o, --origin-url string | \[optional] The url pointing to where the attestation came from or is related. (defaulted to the CI url in some CIs: [docs](/integrations/ci_cd/#defaulted-kosli-command-flags-from-ci-variables) ). |
| --redact-commit-info strings | \[optional] The list of commit info to be redacted before sending to Kosli. Allowed values are one or more of \[author, message, branch]. |
| --repo-id string | \[conditional] The stable, unique identifier for the repository in your VCS provider (e.g. a numeric ID). Do not use the repository name as it can change if the repo is renamed. All three of --repo-id, --repo-url and --repository must be set to record repository information (defaulted in some CIs: [docs](/integrations/ci_cd) ). |
| --repo-provider string | \[optional] The source code hosting provider. One of: github, gitlab, bitbucket, azure-devops (defaulted in some CIs: [docs](/integrations/ci_cd) ). |
| --repo-root string | \[defaulted] The directory where the source git repository is available. Only used if --commit is used or defaulted in CI, see [docs](/integrations/ci_cd/#defaulted-kosli-command-flags-from-ci-variables) . (default ".") |
| --repo-url string | \[conditional] The URL of the repository. Must be a valid URL. All three of --repo-id, --repo-url and --repository must be set to record repository information (defaulted in some CIs: [docs](/integrations/ci_cd) ). |
| --repository string | \[conditional] The name of the repository (e.g. owner/repo-name). All three of --repo-id, --repo-url and --repository must be set to record repository information (defaulted in some CIs: [docs](/integrations/ci_cd) ). |
| -f, --template-file string | \[optional] The path to a yaml template file. |
| -u, --user-data string | \[optional] The path to a JSON file containing additional data you would like to attach to the flow trail. |
## Flags inherited from parent commands
| Flag | Description |
| :------------------------ | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| -a, --api-token string | The Kosli API token. |
| -c, --config-file string | \[optional] The Kosli config file path. (default "kosli") |
| --debug | \[optional] Print debug logs to stdout. A boolean flag [docs](/faq/#boolean-flags) (default false) |
| -H, --host string | \[defaulted] The Kosli endpoint. (default "[https://app.kosli.com](https://app.kosli.com)") |
| --http-proxy string | \[optional] The HTTP proxy URL including protocol and port number. e.g. `http://proxy-server-ip:proxy-port` |
| -r, --max-api-retries int | \[defaulted] How many times should API calls be retried when the API host is not reachable. (default 3) |
| --org string | The Kosli organization. |
## Live Examples in different CI systems
View an example of the `kosli begin trail` command in GitHub.
In [this YAML file](https://github.com/cyber-dojo/runner/blob/8768460dc1c91de5f6485a7d3e36870b683edfc3/.github/workflows/main.yml#L78), which created [this Kosli Event](https://app.kosli.com/cyber-dojo/flows/runner-ci/trails/8768460dc1c91de5f6485a7d3e36870b683edfc3?attestation_id=1).
View an example of the `kosli begin trail` command in GitLab.
In [this YAML file](https://gitlab.com/cyber-dojo/creator/-/blob/65fd2bfa2478534ea4bc5ccf30f6bfc6aab7550c/.gitlab/workflows/main.yml#L55), which created [this Kosli Event](https://app.kosli.com/cyber-dojo/flows/creator-ci/trails/65fd2bfa2478534ea4bc5ccf30f6bfc6aab7550c?attestation_id=1).
## Examples Use Cases
These examples all assume that the flags `--api-token`, `--org`, `--host`, (and `--flow`, `--trail` when required), are [set/provided](/getting_started/install/#assigning-flags-via-environment-variables).
```shell theme={"theme":"dracula","languages":{"custom":["/languages/rego.json"]}}
kosli begin trail yourTrailName
--description yourTrailDescription
--template-file /path/to/your/template/file.yml
--user-data /path/to/your/user-data/file.json
```