Home Documentation Configuration

Configuration Guide

Kollect is configured through command-line flags and environment variables. There are no configuration files - everything is controlled via CLI arguments and environment variables for simplicity.

💡 Key Point: Kollect uses your existing cloud CLI configurations (AWS CLI, Azure CLI, gcloud, kubectl) by default. No additional setup required for basic usage!

Basic Usage

Start kollect with different inventory types:

# Discover all available resources and start web UI
./kollect --inventory all

# Start web interface only (for importing/viewing existing data)
./kollect --browser

# Discover specific platforms
./kollect --inventory kubernetes
./kollect --inventory aws
./kollect --inventory azure
./kollect --inventory gcp
./kollect --inventory docker
./kollect --inventory terraform
./kollect --inventory vault
./kollect --inventory vsphere
./kollect --inventory veeam

# Find snapshots across all platforms
./kollect --snapshots

# Enable backup platform mode
./kollect --backup

Command-Line Flags

Complete list of available command-line options:

Flag Description Example
--inventory Type of inventory to collect --inventory kubernetes
--browser Start web interface only --browser
--snapshots Collect snapshots from all platforms --snapshots
--backup Enable backup platform UI mode --backup
--output Save collected data to file --output data.json
--storage Collect only storage objects (K8s only) --storage
--kubeconfig Path to kubeconfig file --kubeconfig ~/.kube/config
--kube-context Kubernetes context to use --kube-context prod-cluster
--docker-host Docker host connection --docker-host unix:///var/run/docker.sock
--mcp Start MCP (Model Context Protocol) server --mcp

Platform-Specific Flags

Terraform

--terraform-state Path to local Terraform state file --terraform-state ./terraform.tfstate
--terraform-s3 S3 bucket containing state --terraform-s3 mybucket/terraform.tfstate
--terraform-s3-region AWS region for S3 bucket --terraform-s3-region us-east-1
--terraform-azure Azure storage container --terraform-azure storage/container/blob
--terraform-gcs GCS bucket and object --terraform-gcs bucket/terraform.tfstate

Vault

--vault-addr Vault server address --vault-addr https://vault.example.com:8200
--vault-token Vault authentication token --vault-token s.abc123...

VMware vSphere

--vsphere-server vCenter server address --vsphere-server vcenter.example.com
--vsphere-username vSphere username --vsphere-username readonly@vsphere.local
--vsphere-password vSphere password --vsphere-password password123
--vsphere-insecure Skip SSL verification --vsphere-insecure

Veeam Backup & Replication

--veeam-url Veeam server URL --veeam-url https://veeam.example.com:9419
--veeam-username Veeam username --veeam-username admin
--veeam-password Veeam password --veeam-password password123
--veeam-insecure Skip SSL verification --veeam-insecure

Environment Variables

Many flags can also be set via environment variables for security and convenience:

Vault

# Vault configuration
export VAULT_ADDR="https://vault.example.com:8200"
export VAULT_TOKEN="s.abc123..."

VMware vSphere

# vSphere configuration
export VSPHERE_SERVER="vcenter.example.com"
export VSPHERE_USERNAME="readonly@vsphere.local"
export VSPHERE_PASSWORD="password123"
export VSPHERE_INSECURE="true"

Veeam

# Veeam configuration
export VBR_SERVER_URL="https://veeam.example.com:9419"
export VBR_USERNAME="admin"
export VBR_PASSWORD="password123"
export VBR_INSECURE="true"

Terraform

# AWS region for Terraform S3 backend
export AWS_REGION="us-east-1"

Web Server

The kollect web interface runs on port 8080 by default and cannot be changed. It automatically opens in your browser when you run kollect with any inventory collection.

# Web interface will be available at:
http://localhost:8080

Cloud Provider Authentication

Kollect automatically uses your existing cloud CLI configurations:

Automatic Authentication

Example Workflows

Quick Start - Discover Everything

# Discover all platforms you have configured
./kollect --inventory all

Kubernetes Only

# Focus on Kubernetes cluster
./kollect --inventory kubernetes --kubeconfig ~/.kube/prod-config

Multi-Cloud Discovery

# Discover AWS, Azure, and GCP resources
./kollect --inventory aws,azure,gcp

Terraform State Analysis

# Local state file
./kollect --inventory terraform --terraform-state ./terraform.tfstate

# Remote S3 backend
./kollect --inventory terraform --terraform-s3 mybucket/prod.tfstate --terraform-s3-region us-west-2

vSphere Environment

# Connect to vCenter
export VSPHERE_SERVER="vcenter.company.com"
export VSPHERE_USERNAME="readonly@vsphere.local"
export VSPHERE_PASSWORD="secretpassword"
./kollect --inventory vsphere --vsphere-insecure

Snapshot Discovery

# Find orphaned snapshots across all platforms
./kollect --snapshots

Data Export

# Collect data and save to file
./kollect --inventory all --output infrastructure-audit.json

🔒 Security Best Practices