---
title_tag: Pulumi ESC CLI Overview
meta_desc: An overview of the Pulumi ESC (Environments, Secrets, and Configuration) CLI.
title: Pulumi ESC CLI
h1: Pulumi ESC CLI overview
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meta_image: /images/docs/meta-images/docs-meta.png
menu:
  esc_cli:
    name: Overview
---

Pulumi ESC is controlled primarily using the command line interface (CLI). It works in conjunction with the Pulumi Cloud
to help your team manage environment complexity.

## Installation

The Pulumi ESC CLI is open source and free to use:

<a class="btn btn-secondary" href="/docs/install/esc/">Install Pulumi ESC</a>

## Common Commands

The most common commands in the CLI that you'll be using are as follows:

* [esc env](/docs/esc-cli/commands/esc_env/)	 - Manage environments
* [esc env edit](/docs/esc-cli/commands/esc_env_edit/)	 - Edit an environment definition
* [esc env get](/docs/esc-cli/commands/esc_env_get/)	 - Get a value within an environment.
* [esc env init](/docs/esc-cli/commands/esc_env_init/)	 - Create an empty environment with the given name.
* [esc env ls](/docs/esc-cli/commands/esc_env_ls/)	 - List environments.
* [esc env rm](/docs/esc-cli/commands/esc_env_rm/)	 - Remove an environment or a value from an environment.
* [esc env set](/docs/esc-cli/commands/esc_env_set/)	 - Set a value within an environment.
* [esc login](/docs/esc-cli/commands/esc_login/)	 - Log in to the Pulumi Cloud
* [esc open](/docs/esc-cli/commands/esc_open/)	 - Open the environment with the given name.
* [esc run](/docs/esc-cli/commands/esc_run/)	 - Open the environment with the given name and run a command.
* [esc version](/docs/esc-cli/commands/esc_version/)	 - Print esc's version number