# Profiling CLI Commands

Blackfire can profile any code that you need to run on the command line thanks to the `blackfire` utility that is bundled with the [Blackfire Agent](../up-and-running/installation#installation-instructions).

## Profiling Simple CLI Scripts

Profiling a PHP script is a matter of prefixing your command with `blackfirerun`:

```bash
$ blackfire run php my-script.php
$ blackfire run php my-script.php --your-script-options and arguments
```

At the end of the execution, `blackfire` outputs the URL where the profile can be found (this can be hidden by passing the `-q` option.)

> **Warning**
>
> Recommended: To explicitly define which [environment](../reference-guide/environments) the profile must be sent to, use the `--env=<ENV_UUID>` parameter.
>
> `v2.14.0+` of the [unified Agent and Client](../up-and-running/update): when no target environment is specified, the Agent uses the `BLACKFIRE_SERVER_ID` environment variable to determine where to send the profile.
>
> When no target environment is specified or implicitly discovered, the profile is sent to the personal sandbox environment of the user whose [personal credentials](../up-and-running/configuration/cli#cli-client-env-vars) (`BLACKFIRE_CLIENT_ID`and `BLACKFIRE_CLIENT_TOKEN`) were used. Only that user can then access the profile from [/my/profiles](../my/profiles).
>
> To explicitly specify your personal sandbox environment, use `--env="My Environment"`

### JSON Output

You can integrate Blackfire results into your tools by using the `--json`option to get a JSON representation of a profile:

```bash
$ blackfire --json run php my-script.php
```

> **Note**
>
> The JSON output is displayed on `STDOUT`, while the regular output (e.g. progress, profile summary...) is displayed on `STDERR`.

The resources consumed are available under the `envelope` entry; keys are the dimensions:

- **pmu**: Peak Memory Usage (in bytes);
- **nw**: Network (in bytes);
- **wt**: Wall Clock Time (in microseconds);
- **cpu**: CPU time (in microseconds);
- **io**: I/O time (in microseconds).

### Specifying the Target Environment

When using `blackfire run` within a Development or Production subscription, you can share the profiling result with your team. To do so, you will need to specify the targeted [environment](../reference-guide/environments) with the `--env` option:

```bash
$ blackfire --env <env-uuid> run php my-script.php
```

## Profiling Part of a CLI Script

Blackfire automatically instruments your code, but sometimes, you might want to focus the profiling on only part of the code. That's possible when opting for [manual instrumentation via the PHP SDK](../php/integrations/sdk#php-sdk-manual-instrumentation).

After instrumenting your code, use the `blackfire` utility as above to profile your application. When not using Blackfire, all calls are converted to *no-ops*.

## Profiling Consumers and Daemons

Consumers and Daemons are special as they run for a very long time (or indefinitely for daemons). In that case, using automatic instrumentation and the `blackfire` utility cannot work. Fortunately, the [PHP SDK](../php/integrations/sdk) provides an abstraction that lets you [profile consumers and daemons](../php/integrations/sdk#php-sdk-profiling-consumers-daemons).