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For more advanced users, a quick way to interact with Latch Data files is through the command line.

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Setup

1

Install the Latch CLI:

python3 -m pip install latch
The Latch CLI requires Python >=3.8 and < 3.11.
2

Next, authenticate your account. This can be done one of two ways:

  • On a machine with a browser
  • On a machine without a browser
If you’re on a computer where you’re logged into console.latch.bio, simply enter latch login which will authenticate you through the browser that you’re logged into.
3

By default, LatchCLI references your personal workspace. To switch workspaces, use the command:

latch workspace
4

Verifiy the authentication works

Verify that the authentication works and that you are in the desired workspace by typing:
latch ls
Check that the content displayed in the terminal matches your files and folders on https://console.latch.bio

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Copying Data

1

Upload files from local machine to Latch Data:

latch cp file.txt latch:///welcome/
This uploads file.txt and puts it into welcome/ on Latch.
2

Download files from Latch Data to local machine:

latch cp latch:///welcome local_folder/
This downloads the contents of /welcome on Latch and puts them into local_folder on your local computer.
3

Copy files between two Latch Data paths in the same workspace:

latch cp latch:///dir1/ latch:///dir2/
This copies the contents of /dir1 on Latch and puts them into /dir2 on Latch.
4

Copy Latch Data files between two different workspace:

latch cp latch://123.account/dir1/ latch://456.account/dir2/
This copies the contents of /dir1 in workspace 123 and puts them into /dir2 in workspace 456.
You can find the remote path of the file you want to copy in the sidebar of the Latch Console

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Moving Data

You can also move data between two Latch directories. For example, the following command will create file.txt in dir2 and remove it from dir1 in your current workspace. 
latch mv latch:///dir1/file.txt latch:///dir2/

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Syncing Data

The Latch CLI provides a simple way to sync data from a local directory to a Latch Data directory. For example, the following command will update the contents of dir1 in Latch Data with the contents of local_folder on your local computer. 
latch sync local_folder latch:///dir1
If you add files to local_folder and rerun the above command, the changes will be reflected in dir1 in Latch Data. The sync command will only upload files when:
  1. The file does not exist in the remote directory.
  2. The last modified time of the file in the remote directory is older than the last modified time of the file in the local directory.
Note that, by default, the sync command will not remove files from the remote directory if they are removed from local_folder on your local computer. To allow files to be deleted from the remote directory, use the --delete flag: 
latch sync --delete local_folder latch:///dir1

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Other Commands

  • List files in dir1: 
    latch ls latch:///dir1
  • Create directory dir3, creating parent directories dir1 and dir2 if they do not exist: 
    latch mkdirp latch:///dir1/dir2/dir3/
  • Recursively remove dir2 in Latch Data: 
    latch rmr latch:///dir1/dir2

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Behavior

All of the above commands follow the same behavior as their corresponding UNIX command.
  • Using wildcards (*): 
    latch cp local_directory/* latch:///latch_folder
    This copies all content within local_directory to latch_folder: 
    >>> latch ls latch:///latch_folder
Size Date Modified Name
  12 29 Feb 00:43  A.txt
  12 29 Feb 00:43  B.txt
  • Using trailing slashes: 
    latch cp local_directory/ latch:///latch_folder
    This copies the directory itself and uploads it to latch_folder: 
    >>> latch ls latch:///latch_folder
Size Date Modified Name
    - -             local_directory/
  • Omitting the trailing slash: 
    latch cp local_directory latch:///latch_folder
    This has the same behavior as latch cp local_directory/ latch:///latch_folder.

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DEPRECATED

The following commands have been deprecated and will not be available for Latch SDK version >= 2.39.2. To check which version of latch you are using, run latch --version.
  1. latch rm - Use latch rmr instead
  2. latch mkdir - Use latch mkdirp instead
  3. latch touch - No longer supported
  4. latch open - No longer supported