> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kosli-mbevc1-patch-1.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# 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. |
| `-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. |
| `-q`, `--quiet` | \[optional] Suppress non-critical warning messages. Errors and normal output are not affected. If both `--quiet` and `--debug` are set, `--debug` wins. |
## 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/9cc2a80e1306376b88039715dfdcfc161a0e3904/.github/workflows/main.yml#L78), which created [this Kosli Event](https://app.kosli.com/cyber-dojo/flows/runner-ci/trails/9cc2a80e1306376b88039715dfdcfc161a0e3904?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/34f14b6fc5d87ff95426046716ec8a09141c13a7?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
```