--- title: "Export Content Using the CLI" description: "Export content efficiently with Contentstack’s latest Command-line Interface commands to simplify data migration and content backup." url: "https://www.contentstack.com/docs/headless-cms/export-content-using-the-cli" product: "Contentstack" doc_type: "guide" audience: - developers - admins version: "current" last_updated: "2026-08-06" --- # Export Content Using the CLI To migrate content from one [stack](/docs/headless-cms/about-stack) to another, begin by exporting content from the source stack, then import it into the destination stack. This guide explains how to use the cm:stacks:export command by logging in to the CLI (or using a management token), using configuration files, or using direct CLI parameters. ## Prerequisites * [Contentstack account](https://www.contentstack.com/login/) * Contentstack CLI [installed](/docs/headless-cms/install-the-cli) * CLI [authenticated](/docs/headless-cms/cli-authentication#login) * [Configured management token](/docs/headless-cms/cli-authentication#add-management-token) (alias) _(optional)_ ## Supported Modules * [Assets](/docs/headless-cms/about-assets/) * [Locales](/docs/headless-cms/about-languages/) * [Environments](/docs/headless-cms/about-environments/) * [Stacks](/docs/headless-cms/about-stack) _(CLI supports Stacks from v1.42.0)_ * [Extensions](/docs/developer-hub/about-ui-locations) * [Marketplace](/docs/marketplace/about-marketplace/) Apps * [Webhooks](/docs/headless-cms/about-webhooks/) * [Global Fields](/docs/headless-cms/about-global-field/) _(CLI supports_ [_Nested Global Fields_](/docs/headless-cms/about-global-field#nested-global-fields) _from v1.42.0)_ * [Content Types](/docs/headless-cms/about-content-types/) * [Entries](/docs/headless-cms/about-entries/) * [Labels](/docs/headless-cms/about-labels/) * [Workflow](/docs/headless-cms/about-workflows/) * [Custom Role](/docs/headless-cms/types-of-roles#custom-role) * [Taxonomy](/docs/headless-cms/about-taxonomy) * [Personalize](/docs/personalize/about-personalize) * [Studio](/docs/studio/about-studio) ## Commands The cm:stacks:export command lets you export content from one stack to another. **Usage** ``` csdx cm:stacks:export -k <> --data-dir <> ``` **Options** Use the following options with any applicable export command: Flag Short Flag Description \--stack-api-key=stack-api-key \-k API key of the source stack. \--alias=alias \-a Management token alias of the source stack. \--data-dir=data-dir \- Absolute path to the folder where exported content is stored. \--branch=branch \- Name of the branch from which content is exported. Default: main If not specified, content is exported from the main branch only. If the stack has no branch named main, the command fails. \--branch-alias=branch-alias Alias of the branch from which content is exported. \--module=module \- \[Optional\] Export a specific module from the source stack. If not specified, all modules are exported. Available modules: stack, assets, locales, environments, extensions, webhooks, global-fields, entries, content-types, custom-roles, workflows, publishing-rules, labels, marketplace-apps, taxonomies, personalize, composable-studio The CLI validates this value before the export starts and fails immediately if the module name is not in the list above. \--content-types=content-types \- \[Optional\] UID of the content type(s whose content should be exported. For multiple content types, separate IDs using spaces. \--secured-assets=secured-assets \- \[Optional\] Required if the secured assets feature is enabled for the stack. Ensure this flag is included when exporting secured assets. \--yes \-y Force override all Marketplace prompts. If not provided, you are prompted to enter an encryption key while exporting Marketplace app configurations. \--config=config \-c Path to the configuration JSON file containing all options for a single run. **Examples** * To export all modules from a stack: ``` csdx cm:stacks:export --data-dir "C:\Users\Name\Desktop\cli\content" -k bltxxxxxx ``` * To export all modules from a specific branch (e.g., develop): ``` csdx cm:stacks:export --data-dir "C:\Users\Name\Desktop\cli\content" -k bltxxxxxx --branch develop ``` * To export all modules from a branch using an alias: ``` csdx cm:stacks:export --data-dir "C:\Users\Name\Desktop\cli\content" -k bltxxxxxx --branch-alias developAlias ``` * To export only content types: ``` csdx cm:stacks:export --data-dir "C:\Users\Name\Desktop\cli\content" --module content-types -k bltxxxxxx ``` **Note:** When exporting modules individually, follow this module sequence: assets → environments → stack → locales → extensions → marketplace-apps → webhooks → taxonomies → global-fields → content-types → workflows → entries → labels → custom-roles → publishing-rules → personalize → composable-studio For example, before exporting entries, you must have already exported assets, environments, stacks, locales, extensions, marketplace-apps, webhooks, taxonomies, global-fields, content-types, and workflows. ### Export Output Structure The export writes content directly into the folder you pass to \--data-dir. **Warning:** The export never creates a per-branch subfolder. Exporting two branches into the same \--data-dir overwrites the first export with the second, and no error is raised. Use a separate \--data-dir for each branch. ``` csdx cm:stacks:export --branch main --data-dir ./export-main --stack-api-key bltxxxxxx csdx cm:stacks:export --branch feature-x --data-dir ./export-feature --stack-api-key bltxxxxxx ``` Content types and global fields are each written as one file per UID: ``` export/content_types/blog.json export/content_types/author.json export/global_fields/my_header.json export/global_fields/my_footer.json ``` Four files that earlier versions of the CLI wrote are no longer produced: File Status content\_types/schema.json Not written. Read the individual content\_types/.json files instead. global\_fields/globalfields.json Not written. Read the individual global\_fields/.json files instead. branches.json Not written. The export no longer records the branch list at the export root. export-info.json Not written. Any pipeline step that reads contentVersion from this file needs to be removed. If a script or pipeline reads any of these files, it fails on an export produced by this version of the CLI, because the files do not exist. ### Using Configuration File You can also export content using a configuration file. To get started, follow the steps below: * Download the [configuration file](https://github.com/contentstack/cli-plugins/blob/main/packages/contentstack-export/example_config/auth_config.json). * Add your values. * Note the path where the file is saved. **Usage** ``` csdx cm:stacks:export -c <> ``` **Example** * To export content using a configuration file: ``` csdx cm:stacks:export -c "C:\Users\Name\Desktop\cli\config.json" ``` **Note:** * Mac OS users must use "/" for paths in a JSON file. * Windows OS users must use "\\\\" for paths in a JSON file. **Configuration File Options** The following are the possible file options in the [configuration file](https://github.com/contentstack/cli/blob/v2.0.0-beta/packages/contentstack-export/example_config/auth_config.json): Configuration File Option Options Description versioning true, false  Exports versioned entries. host Any valid CMA base URL  Sets the host for the export operation. preserveStackVersion true, false  Preserves the stack version while exporting data. fetchConcurrency Any natural number  Specifies the number of files to fetch per request. writeConcurrency Any natural number  Specifies the number of files to write per request. source\_stack   UID of the stack from which data is exported. data   File path where the exported data is stored. branchName   Name of the branch to export data from. branchAlias \- Alias of the branch to export data from. moduleName stack, assets, locales, environments, extensions, webhooks, global-fields, content-types, custom-roles, workflows, entries, labels, marketplace-apps  Specifies the module to export. securedAssets true, false  Fetches only secured assets. ## Export Content Using Management Token You can also export content from your stack using a [management token](/docs/headless-cms/cli-authentication#token-management). **Usage** ``` csdx cm:stacks:export -a <> ``` Alternatively, refer to the following command to add several parameters or options in a single line: ``` csdx cm:stacks:export -a <> --data-dir <> ``` You can also **export content by using a management token and a** [**configuration file**](https://github.com/contentstack/cli/blob/v2.0.0-beta/packages/contentstack-export/example_config/management_config.json) that contains the parameters or options and the associated values. By doing so, you don’t need to separately provide parameters or options in the command. **Usage** ``` csdx cm:stacks:export -a <> -c <> ``` **Example** * To export content using a configuration file: ``` csdx cm:stacks:export -a mytoken -c "C:\Users\Name\Desktop\cli\config.json" ``` ## Toggle Between Console Logs and Progress Manager View (2.x.x-beta) Contentstack CLI lets you toggle between the raw console logs and the visual Progress Manager UI during export or plugin workflows. **Default Usage:** ``` csdx cm:stacks:export --data-dir "./export-data" -k bltxxxxxx ``` **Note:** By default, the Progress Manager UI displays when you run the export command and does not require any configuration. **Example for Progress Manager View (Default Mode):** ``` STACK: ├─ Settings |████████████████████████████████████████| 100% | 1/1 | ✓ Complete (1/1) ├─ Locale |████████████████████████████████████████| 100% | 1/1 | ✓ Complete (1/1) LOCALES: └─ Locales |████████████████████████████████████████| 100% | 2/2 | ✓ Complete (2/2) CONTENT TYPES: └─ Content types |████████████████████████████████████████| 100% | 6/6 | ✓ Complete (6/6) ENTRIES: ├─ Entries |████████████████████████████████████████| 100% | 12/12 | ✓ Complete (12/12) ``` **Steps to Switch to Console Logs (Optional):** 1. Run the following command to switch to console log mode: ``` csdx config:set:log --show-console-logs ``` 2. Run the export command: ``` csdx cm:stacks:export --data-dir "./export-data" -k bltxxxxxx ``` The screen displays the console logs for the export operation. **Tip:** Use \--show-console-logs for detailed debugging when troubleshooting export issues. 3. Run the following command to switch back to default mode: ``` csdx config:set:log --no-show-console-logs ``` **Options:** * \--show-console-logs: Displays the console logs for the operation. * \--no-show-console-logs: Hides the console logs and displays the Progress Manager view. **Example for Console Log Mode:** ``` [2025-08-22 16:12:23] INFO: Exporting content from branch main [2025-08-22 16:12:23] INFO: Started to export content, version is 2 [2025-08-22 16:12:23] INFO: Exporting module: stack [2025-08-22 16:12:24] INFO: Exporting stack settings [2025-08-22 16:12:25] SUCCESS: Exported stack settings successfully! ``` ## Limitations * If multiple assets have the same UID and file name, only the first asset will be exported. * To resolve the maxContentLength and maxBodyLength errors, include these parameters in the configuration JSON with values specified in bytes. The default limit is **100MB**. For implementation details, refer to the [example configuration file](https://github.com/contentstack/cli/blob/v2.0.0-beta/packages/contentstack-export/example_config/management_config.json). * To manage API request timing and prevent concurrency issues, add the delayMs parameter to your configuration file. For example, use delayMs: 1000 (for a 1-second delay). * Currently, only the latest version of entries and assets is exported. * Currently, the following modules cannot be exported: * [Users](/docs/headless-cms/about-stack-users/) * [Releases](/docs/headless-cms/about-releases/) **Additional Resource:** Learn more about the CLI-supported export operations in the [CLI-Supported Features for Export, Import, and Clone Operations](/docs/headless-cms/cli-supported-features-for-export-import-and-clone-operations) document.