CLI Commands Quick Reference

CLI Commands -- Last reviewed 2026-08-22 cli console commands reference debugging

CLI Commands Quick Reference

Asterisk's command-line interface (CLI) is the primary tool for real-time monitoring, debugging, and management. Access it with asterisk -r (connect to running instance) or asterisk -rvvvv (connect with high verbosity).

Exit the CLI with quit or Ctrl+C.

Connecting to the Console

# Attach to a running Asterisk instance
asterisk -r

# Attach with verbosity level 4 (more detail)
asterisk -rvvvv

# Run a single command without entering the console
asterisk -rx "pjsip show endpoints"

PJSIP Commands

Command	Description
`pjsip show endpoints`	List all PJSIPThe modern SIP channel driver in Asterisk (chan_pjsip), replacing the older chan_sip. Configured in pjsip.conf using endpoints, AORs, auths, and transports. endpoints and their status
`pjsip show endpoint <name>`	Show detailed info for a specific endpointIn PJSIP configuration, the SIP entity Asterisk communicates with: a phone, trunk, or other user agent. Defined by an endpoint section in pjsip.conf.
`pjsip show aors`	List all Address of Record entries
`pjsip show registrations`	Show outbound registrations
`pjsip show contacts`	Show all registered contacts
`pjsip show channels`	Show active PJSIP channels
`pjsip set logger on/off`	Enable or disable PJSIP SIPSession Initiation Protocol, the standard signaling protocol used to set up, manage, and tear down VoIP calls between Asterisk and phones or carriers. message logging
`pjsip reload`	Reload PJSIP configuration

Legacy SIP Commands (chan_sip)

Command	Description
`sip show peers`	Display SIP peers
`sip show peer <account>`	Display specific SIP peer details
`sip show users`	Display SIP users
`sip show registry`	Display SIP registrations
`sip show settings`	Display SIP global settings
`sip set debug on/off`	Enable or disable SIP debugging
`sip set debug ip <addr>`	Debug SIP traffic filtered by IP address
`sip set debug peer <name>`	Debug SIP traffic filtered by peer name
`sip reload`	Reload SIP configuration

Dialplan Commands

Command	Description
`dialplan show`	Show the entire dialplanThe core call-routing configuration of Asterisk, written mostly in extensions.conf as contexts, extensions, and priorities that decide how every call is handled. Full definition →
`dialplan show <context>`	Show dialplanThe core call-routing configuration of Asterisk, written mostly in extensions.conf as contexts, extensions, and priorities that decide how every call is handled. Full definition → for a specific contextA named section of the dialplan that groups extensions. Calls enter a specific context and can only reach extensions visible from it, making contexts the basic unit of call routing and security.
`dialplan show <exten>@<context>`	Show a specific extensionA dialplan entry that matches a dialed number or pattern within a context and triggers a sequence of prioritized steps. in a context
`dialplan reload`	Reload the dialplan from config files

Channel Commands

Command	Description
`core show channels`	List all active channels
`core show channels verbose`	Detailed active channelA single call leg passing through Asterisk. Channels represent connections to endpoints and are what dialplan applications act on. listing
`core show channel <name>`	Show details for a specific channel
`channel originate <chan> application <app> <args>`	Originate a test call
`channel redirect <chan> <context>,<exten>,<pri>`	Redirect a live channel
`channel hangup <chan>`	Hang up a specific channel

System Commands

Command	Description
`core show settings`	Display Asterisk configuration summary
`core show uptime`	Show how long Asterisk has been running
`core show channeltypes`	List channel types (PJSIP, DAHDI, etc.)
`core show translation`	Display codecA coder-decoder that compresses audio for transmission, such as ulaw, alaw, GSM, or Opus. Endpoints negotiate which codec a call uses. translation cost matrix
`core set verbose <level>`	Set console verbosity (0-10)
`core restart now`	Restart Asterisk immediately
`core restart gracefully`	Restart after all calls end
`core stop now`	Stop Asterisk immediately
`core stop gracefully`	Stop after all calls end
`reload`	Reload all module configurations
`module show`	List all loaded modules
`module show like <pattern>`	List modules matching a pattern
`module load <module>`	Load a module
`module reload <module>`	Reload a specific module
`module unload <module>`	Unload a module

Voicemail Commands

Command	Description
`voicemail show users`	List all voicemailAsterisk's built-in voice messaging system (app_voicemail), configured in voicemail.conf with mailboxes per user. boxes
`voicemail show users for <context>`	List voicemail boxes in a context
`voicemail show zones`	Show voicemail timezone zones
`voicemail reload`	Reload voicemail configuration

Queue Commands

Command	Description
`queue show`	Show all queues and their members
`queue show <name>`	Show a specific queueAn Asterisk call queue (app_queue) that parks incoming calls and distributes them to logged-in agents according to a chosen ring strategy.
`queue add member <chan> to <queue>`	Add a member to a queue
`queue remove member <chan> from <queue>`	Remove a member from a queue
`queue pause member <chan> in <queue>`	Pause a queue member
`queue unpause member <chan> in <queue>`	Unpause a queue member
`queue reload all`	Reload queue configuration

ConfBridge Commands

Command	Description
`confbridge list`	List active conferences
`confbridge show profile bridge <name>`	Show a bridge profile
`confbridge show profile user <name>`	Show a user profile
`confbridge kick <conf> <channel>`	Kick a participant
`confbridge mute <conf> <channel>`	Mute a participant
`confbridge unmute <conf> <channel>`	Unmute a participant

AstDB Commands

Command	Description
`database show`	Show all AstDB entries
`database show <family>`	Show entries in a family
`database get <family> <key>`	Get a specific value
`database put <family> <key> <value>`	Store a value
`database del <family> <key>`	Delete a specific entry
`database deltree <family>`	Delete an entire family

Music on Hold Commands

Command	Description
`moh show classes`	List MOH classes
`moh show files`	Show files loaded for each MOH class
`moh reload`	Reload MOH configuration

Tips

Increase verbosity at runtime with core set verbose 5 to see more dialplan execution detail.
Use module show like pjsip to check which PJSIP modules are loaded: missing modules are a common cause of registration failures.
Run commands from a shell script with asterisk -rx "command". This is useful for cron jobs and monitoring scripts.
Tab completion works in the CLI: type pjsip show and press Tab to see available subcommands.
The help command shows usage for any command: help dialplan show explains all arguments.
For PJSIP systems, ignore the legacy sip commands entirely. They only work with chan_sip, which is deprecated since Asterisk 17.

User Notes

Know a tip or gotcha for this topic? Share it below and help others.

Contribute a note

Share a tip, gotcha, or practical example. Keep it under 2000 characters. No questions (use the Asterisk community forums for support). Wrap code in backticks.