Usage
Syntax
Commands must be formatted in the correct syntax to function and can be composed of a prefix, context, arguments, options, etc. This is the general syntax used throughout eShell:
[<prefix>] [<command path>] <command> [<arguments>]
Example (this activates document protection):
SET ANTIVIRUS DOCUMENT STATUS ENABLED
SET - a prefix
ANTIVIRUS DOCUMENT - path to a particular command, a context where this command belongs
STATUS - the command itself
ENABLED - an argument for the command
Using ? as an argument for command will display the syntax for that particular command. For example, STATUS ? will show you the syntax for STATUS command:
SYNTAX:
[get] | status
set status enabled | disabled
You may notice that [get] is in brackets. It designates that the prefix get is default for the status command. This means that when you execute status without specifying any prefix, it will actually use the default prefix (in this case get status). Using commands without a prefix saves time when typing. Usually get is the default prefix for most commands, but you need to be sure what the default prefix is for a particular command and that it is exactly what you want to execute.
NOTE Commands are not case sensitive, you can use upper case (capital) or lower case letters and the command will execute regardless. |
Prefix / Operation
A prefix is an operation. The GET prefix will give you information about how a certain feature of ESET File Security is configured or show you the status (such as GET ANTIVIRUS STATUS will show you current protection status). The SET prefix will configure functionality or change its status (SET ANTIVIRUS STATUS ENABLED will activate protection).
These are the prefixes that eShell lets you use. A command may or may not support any of the prefixes:
GET |
returns current setting/status |
|---|---|
SET |
sets value/status |
SELECT |
selects an item |
ADD |
adds an item |
REMOVE |
removes an item |
CLEAR |
removes all items/files |
START |
starts an action |
STOP |
stops an action |
PAUSE |
pauses an action |
RESUME |
resumes an action |
RESTORE |
restores default settings/object/file |
SEND |
sends an object/file |
IMPORT |
imports from a file |
EXPORT |
exports to a file |
NOTE Prefixes such as GET and SET are used with many commands, but some commands (such as EXIT) do not use a prefix. |
Command path / Context
Commands are placed in contexts which form a tree structure. The top level of the tree is root. When you run eShell, you are at the root level:
eShell>
You can either execute a command from here, or enter the context name to navigate within the tree. For example, when you enter TOOLS context, it will list all commands and sub-contexts that are available from here.
Yellow items are commands you can execute and grey items are sub-contexts you can enter. A sub-context contain further commands.
If you need to return back to a higher level, use .. (two dots).
EXAMPLE Say you are here: eShell antivirus startup> type .. to go up one level, to: eShell antivirus> |
If you want to get back to root from eShell antivirus startup> (which is two levels lower than root), simply type .. .. (two dots and two dots separated by space). By doing so, you will get two levels up, which is root in this case. Use backslash \ to return directly to root from any level no matter how deep within the context tree you are. If you want to get to a particular context in upper levels, simply use the appropriate number of .. commands to get to the desired level, using space as a separator. For example, if you want to get three levels higher, use .. .. ..
The path is relative to the current context. If the command is contained in the current context, do not enter a path. For example, to execute GET ANTIVIRUS STATUS enter:
GET ANTIVIRUS STATUS - if you are in the root context (command line shows eShell>)
GET STATUS - if you are in the context ANTIVIRUS (command line shows eShell antivirus>)
.. GET STATUS - if you are in the context ANTIVIRUS STARTUP (command line shows eShell antivirus startup>)
You can use single . (dot) instead of two .. because single dot is an abbreviation of two dots.
EXAMPLE . GET STATUS - if you are in the context ANTIVIRUS STARTUP (command line shows eShell antivirus startup>) |
Argument
An argument an action which is performed for a particular command. For example, command CLEAN-LEVEL (located in ANTIVIRUS REALTIME ENGINE) can be used with following arguments:
no - No cleaning
normal - Normal cleaning
strict - Strict cleaning
Another example are the arguments ENABLED or DISABLED, which are used to enable or disable a certain feature or functionality.
Abbreviated form / Shortened commands
eShell allows you to shorten contexts, commands and arguments (provided the argument is a switch or an alternative option). It is not possible to shorten a prefix or argument that are concrete values such as a number, name or path. You can use numbers 1 and 0 instead of enabled and disabled arguments.
EXAMPLE set status enabled => set stat 1 set status disabled => set stat 0 |
Examples of the short form:
EXAMPLE set status enabled => set stat en add antivirus common scanner-excludes C:\path\file.ext => add ant com scann C:\path\file.ext |
In a case where two commands or contexts start with the same letters (such as ABOUT and ANTIVIRUS, and you enter A as shortened command), eShell will not be able to decide which command of these two you want to run. An error message will display and list commands starting with "A" which you can choose from:
eShell>a
The following command is not unique: a
The following commands are available in this context:
ABOUT - Shows information about program
ANTIVIRUS - Changes to context antivirus
By adding one or more letters (for example, AB instead of just A) eShell will execute ABOUT command since it is unique now.
NOTE When you want to be sure that a command executes the way you need, we recommend that you do not abbreviate commands, arguments, etc. and use the full form. This way it will execute exactly as you need and prevent unwanted mistakes. This is especially true for batch files / scripts. |
Automatic completion
This new feature was introduced in eShell 2.0 and is very similar to automatic completion in Windows Command Prompt. While Windows Command Prompt completes file paths, eShell completes commands, context and operation names. Argument completion is not supported. When typing command simply, press Tab to complete or cycle through available variations. Press Shift + Tab to cycle backwards. Mixing abbreviated form and automatic completion is not supported. Use either one or the other. For example, when you type antivir real scan hitting Tab will do nothing. Instead, type antivir and then Tab to complete antivirus, continue typing real + Tab and scan + Tab. You can then cycle through all available variations: scan-create, scan-execute, scan-open, etc.
Aliases
An alias is an alternative name which can be used to execute a command (provided that the command has an alias assigned). There are a few default aliases:
(global) close - exit
(global) quit - exit
(global) bye - exit
warnlog - tools log events
virlog - tools log detections
antivirus on-demand log - tools log scans
"(global)" means that the command can be used anywhere regardless of current context. One command can have multiple aliases assigned, for example the command EXIT has aliases CLOSE, QUIT and BYE. When you want to exit eShell, you can use the EXIT command itself or any of its aliases. The alias VIRLOG is an alias for the command DETECTIONS which is located in the TOOLS LOG context. This way the detections command is available from the ROOT context, making it easier to access (you don't have to enter TOOLS and then LOG context and run it directly from ROOT).
eShell allows you to define your own aliases. Command ALIAS can be found in UI ESHELL context.
Password protected settings
ESET File Security settings can be protected by a password. You can set a password using GUI or eShell using the set ui access lock-password. You'll then have to enter this password interactively for certain commands (such as those that change settings or modify data). If you plan to work with eShell for a longer period of time and do not want to enter the password repeatedly, you can get eShell to remember the password using the set password command. Your password will then be filled-in automatically for each executed command that requires a password. It is remembered until you exit eShell, this means that you'll need to use set password again when you start a new session and want eShell to remember your password.
Guide / Help
When you run the GUIDE or HELP command, it will display a "first run" screen explaining how to use eShell. This command is available from the ROOT context (eShell>).
Command history
eShell keeps a history of previously executed commands. This applies only to the current eShell interactive session. Once you exit eShell, the command history will be dropped. Use the Up and Down arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate through the history. Once you find the command you were looking for, you can execute it again, or modify it without having to type in the entire command from the beginning.
CLS / Clear screen
The CLS command can be used to clear the screen. It works the same way as it does with Windows Command Prompt or similar command line interfaces.
EXIT / CLOSE / QUIT / BYE
To close or exit eShell, you can use any of these commands (EXIT, CLOSE, QUIT or BYE).