Working with Nodes

While agent commands let you interact with your local Bacalhau process, node commands allow you to manage the broader network of compute resources. The orchestrator tracks these nodes, and this guide covers common operations you'll need for monitoring and managing your compute infrastructure.

Surveying Your Compute Network

To get a quick overview of all nodes in your network:

bacalhau node list

This displays a table of nodes with essential information about IDs, types, approval status, and connection state. Use this command for monitoring cluster health and identifying nodes that need attention.

Focusing on Available Compute Resources

When planning job deployments or troubleshooting resource constraints:

bacalhau node list --show version,features

This enhanced view shows version information and supported execution engines. This helps you identify nodes with specific capabilities for your workloads.

Filtering Nodes

Filter the list to show only nodes with specific characteristics:

bacalhau node list --labels "region=us-west,gpu=true"

This filtering capability helps you find nodes in specific regions or with specialized hardware.

Deep Dive into Node Details

When you need comprehensive information about a specific node:

bacalhau node describe compute-abc123

This provides extensive details on the node's identity, resources, and capabilities. Use this when investigating specific issues or verifying a node's configuration.