CLI Reference

Every command, flag, and option.

Synopsis

myflames [options] [explain.json]
myflames -h HOST -u USER -p -D DB -e 'SQL' -o report.html
myflames compare before.json after.json --output diff.html
myflames teach <lesson> [-o file.html]
myflames guide

Rendering options

Option	Default	Description
`--type TYPE`	`flamegraph`	`flamegraph`, `bargraph`, `treemap`, `diagram`, `tree`
`--output FILE`, `-o`	stdout	`.html` = self-contained report; `.svg` = responsive SVG. JSON sidecar auto-written alongside.
`--width N`	1800 / 1200	SVG width in pixels
`--height N`	32	Frame height (flamegraph only)
`--colors SCHEME`	`hot`	`hot`, `mem`, `io`, `red`, `green`, `blue` (flamegraph only)
`--title TEXT`	`MySQL Query Plan`	Chart title shown in the SVG header
`--inverted`	off	Icicle graph — roots at the top (flamegraph only)
`--no-enhance`	off	Disable detailed tooltips (flamegraph only)

Live connection

Same flags as the mysql CLI. Providing -h enables live mode.

Option	Description
`-h HOST`, `--host`	Connect to this host (enables live mode)
`-P PORT`	Port number (default: 3306)
`-u USER`	Username
`-p[PASS]`	Password. `-p` alone prompts; `-p'secret'` inline.
`-D DB`	Default database
`-e SQL`, `--execute`	Query to EXPLAIN ANALYZE (required in live mode)
`--ssl-mode MODE`	`DISABLED`, `PREFERRED`, `REQUIRED`, `VERIFY_CA`, `VERIFY_IDENTITY`
`--ssl-ca PATH`	CA certificate file for TLS verification
`--ssl-cert PATH`	Client certificate for mutual TLS
`--ssl-key PATH`	Client private key for mutual TLS
`--mysql-binary PATH`	Override `mysql`/`mariadb` binary autodetection
`--no-collect-schema`	Skip `SHOW CREATE TABLE` collection
`--no-collect-stats`	Skip `information_schema.tables` row/size collection
`--no-collect-variables`	Skip `SHOW SESSION VARIABLES` collection

Password security: Passwords are written to a mode-0600 temporary --defaults-extra-file and never appear in ps, environment variables, or logs. The temp file is deleted on exit.

JSON sidecar

Option	Description
(default)	Auto-writes `<output>.json` alongside the HTML/SVG
`--sidecar PATH`	Write sidecar to a specific path
`--no-sidecar`	Suppress sidecar generation

Subcommands

`myflames compare`

myflames compare before.json after.json --output diff.html

Side-by-side before/after comparison showing total time delta, per-operator self-time/rows/loops changes, and new/resolved warnings.

`myflames guide`

myflames guide

Interactive guide that helps you pick the right view type for your situation.

`myflames teach`

myflames teach              # list available lessons
myflames teach btree -o btree.html   # render a lesson

Generate self-contained HTML lessons that animate database algorithms. See the Teach Lessons index for the full catalog.

Option	Description
`lesson`	Lesson name: `btree`, `bnl`, `hash`, `join`, `lru`, `filesort`, `tmp`, `icp`, `index_merge`
`--output FILE`, `-o`	Write HTML to file (default: stdout)
`--title TEXT`	Override the lesson title

Query embedding

Option	Description
`--query SQL`	Embed the original SQL in the output for reference
`--query-file PATH`	Read the original SQL from a file

Environment variables

myflames does not read any environment variables. All configuration is through CLI flags.

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
`0`	Success
`1`	Runtime error (parse failure, connection error, file not found)
`2`	Invalid arguments (argparse)