CLI Options Reference

Complete reference for all Watch Tower command-line options and environment variables

CLI Options Reference

Complete reference for all Watch Tower command-line options and environment variables.

This page provides a comprehensive reference for all CLI options available in the CoW Protocol Watch Tower.

Global options

These options are available across multiple commands.

Database options

—database-path (string, default: ./database)

Path to the database directory where the Watch Tower stores its state.

• Environment variable: DATABASE_PATH
• Available in: run, dump-db

Logging options

—log-level (string, default: INFO)

Log level for the Watch Tower. Controls the verbosity of logging output.

• Possible values: ERROR, WARN, INFO, DEBUG, TRACE
• Environment variable: LOG_LEVEL
• Available in: run, dump-db

Run command options

These options are specific to the run command.

Configuration

—config-path (string, default: ./config.json)

Path to the chain configuration file. This file defines the networks to monitor and their settings.

• Environment variable: CONFIG_PATH

—only-owner (string[])

Addresses of contracts or safes to monitor programmatic orders for. Can be specified multiple times to monitor multiple owners. Addresses must be valid hex-prefixed Ethereum addresses.

Example: --only-owner 0x1234... --only-owner 0x5678...

Execution mode

—dry-run (boolean, default: false)

Run in dry-run mode without publishing orders to the OrderBook API. The Watch Tower will process orders but not submit them.

• Environment variable: DRY_RUN

—one-shot (boolean, default: false)

Run the Watch Tower once and exit immediately. Useful for testing or cron-based execution.

• Environment variable: ONE_SHOT

API options

—disable-api (boolean, default: false)

Disable the REST API server. When disabled, the Watch Tower runs without the HTTP API interface.

• Environment variable: DISABLE_API

—api-port (number, default: 8080)

Port for the REST API server. Only applicable when the API is enabled.

• Environment variable: API_PORT

Notification options

—silent (boolean, default: false)

Disable notifications and use local logging only. Conflicts with --slack-webhook.

• Environment variable: DISABLE_NOTIFICATIONS

—slack-webhook (string)

Slack webhook URL for sending notifications. Cannot be used with --silent.

• Environment variable: SLACK_WEBHOOK

Dump database command options

These options are specific to the dump-db command.

—chain-id (number, required)

Chain ID to dump from the database. This is a required parameter.

Examples: 1 (Ethereum mainnet), 100 (Gnosis Chain), 11155111 (Sepolia)

Environment variables

All options can be configured using environment variables. The table below shows the mapping between CLI options and environment variables:

CLI Option	Environment Variable	Default Value
--config-path	CONFIG_PATH	./config.json
--database-path	DATABASE_PATH	./database
--log-level	LOG_LEVEL	INFO
--dry-run	DRY_RUN	false
--one-shot	ONE_SHOT	false
--disable-api	DISABLE_API	false
--api-port	API_PORT	8080
--silent	DISABLE_NOTIFICATIONS	false
--slack-webhook	SLACK_WEBHOOK	-

Using environment variables

You can use a .env file or export variables directly:

# .env file
CONFIG_PATH=./my-config.json
DATABASE_PATH=./my-database
LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG
DRY_RUN=true
API_PORT=3000
SLACK_WEBHOOK=https://hooks.slack.com/services/YOUR/WEBHOOK/URL

Or export them in your shell:

export CONFIG_PATH=./my-config.json
export DATABASE_PATH=./my-database
export LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG

watch-tower run

Option precedence

When the same option is specified in multiple ways, the following precedence applies (highest to lowest):

1. Command-line arguments
2. Environment variables
3. Default values

Type validation

Address validation

The --only-owner option validates that addresses are:

• Valid hexadecimal strings
• Prefixed with 0x
• Valid Ethereum addresses (checksummed)

Number validation

Numeric options like --api-port and --chain-id must be valid integers.

Conflicts

The following options conflict with each other and cannot be used together:

• --silent and --slack-webhook: You cannot disable notifications while also providing a Slack webhook.