Floe CLI Flags Reference

Global flags

Available on all commands (send, receive, update, version).

Flag	Default	Description
`--server <url>`	`https://api.floe.one`	Signaling server URL. Use `http://localhost:3001` for local testing or your self-hosted server URL.
`--no-relay`	`false`	Disable the TURN relay. Only direct (STUN) connections are attempted. The transfer fails if a direct path cannot be established. Useful for ensuring files never pass through a relay.
`--web <url>`	(auto-detected)	Web app URL included in the browser link printed by `floe send`. Auto-detected from `--server`: `https://api.floe.one` maps to `https://floe.one`, `http://localhost:3001` maps to `http://localhost:3000`, and any other server maps to itself, on the assumption that one origin serves both the API and the web app. Set `--web` only when your web app has its own hostname.
`--iface <name>`	(all interfaces)	Restrict WebRTC to network interfaces whose name contains this value (case-insensitive). Repeatable. Use when a VPN or virtual-machine adapter (Tailscale, VMware, WSL, Hyper-V) slows connection setup, for example `--iface Ethernet`. See Troubleshooting.

The desktop app has equivalents for two of these. --server and --web are Server address and Share link address, under Advanced in Settings. --no-relay has no desktop equivalent: the Hide my IP address toggle does the opposite, forcing every transfer through the relay rather than refusing it. See Desktop Settings.

Help and version flags

These come from the CLI framework rather than from Floe itself.

Flag	Short	Default	Description
`--help`	`-h`	`false`	Print usage and exit. Works on every command, so `floe send --help` and `floe receive --help` each print that command’s own flags.
`--version`	`-v`	`false`	Print the installed version and exit, for example `floe 1.10.4`. Root only: `floe --version` works, `floe send --version` does not. See Alternatives.

floe completion and floe help come from the same place and are not part of Floe’s own interface. Run floe completion --help if you want shell completion.

Environment variables

Floe reads four environment variables. If you run your own signaling server, set it once in your environment instead of passing --server on every command.

Variable	Equivalent flag	Description
`FLOE_SERVER`	`--server`	Signaling server URL, used by every command.
`FLOE_WEB`	`--web`	Web app URL used for the browser link printed by `floe send`.
`FLOE_NO_STATS`	`--no-report`	Set to `1` to never report byte counts. Applies to `floe receive`. See Opting out of the global counter.
`FLOE_NO_UPDATE_CHECK`	(no flag)	Set to `1` to suppress the “Update available” hint that `floe version` prints. It does not affect transfers or `floe update` itself.

A flag always beats its variable, so you can override the setting for a single command without unsetting anything:

macOS and Linux

export FLOE_SERVER=https://floe.example.com
floe send photo.jpg                                # uses floe.example.com
floe send photo.jpg --server https://api.floe.one  # the flag wins, just this once

On Windows PowerShell:

Windows

$env:FLOE_SERVER = "https://floe.example.com"
floe send photo.jpg

Trailing slashes are trimmed, so https://floe.example.com/ and https://floe.example.com behave the same. Set FLOE_WEB only when your web app runs on a different host from your signaling server. Leave it unset and share links point at the same host as your server, which is what you want when one domain serves both. The only exceptions are Floe’s own deployment and the local dev pair, which are special-cased to their web hosts as described under --web above.

`floe receive` flags

Specific to the receive command.

Flag	Short	Default	Description
`--output <dir>`	`-o`	`.`	Directory to save received files. Created automatically if it does not exist.
`--yes`	`-y`	`false`	Accept incoming files without the confirmation prompt.
`--no-report`		`false`	Do not report the transferred byte count to Floe’s public global counter. See Opting out of the global counter below.

`floe update` flags

Specific to the update command.

Flag	Default	Description
`--check`	`false`	Report whether a newer release exists and exit without installing it. On an up-to-date binary the flag changes nothing: `floe update` prints `Already up to date (1.10.4)` and stops either way (the installed version carries no leading `v`). On a package-managed install the update guard runs first, so `--check` stops with the upgrade command for your package manager instead of a version report. See Update the CLI.

Opting out of the global counter

After a successful transfer, the receiver sends only the total byte count to the signaling server it is connected to (api.floe.one by default, or your own server when you set --server or FLOE_SERVER) to power the public “transferred globally” counter. No file names, contents, or identity are included. The sender never reports. Errors are ignored, so a failed report never changes the outcome of a transfer. The request goes out after every file is written and the summary has printed, and it carries a 5 second timeout, so an unreachable server can delay floe receive from exiting by a few seconds but never affects the files. To opt out for a single transfer, pass --no-report:

Terminal

floe receive olive-tiger-castle --no-report

To opt out permanently, set FLOE_NO_STATS=1 in your environment (for example in your shell profile):

Terminal

export FLOE_NO_STATS=1
floe receive olive-tiger-castle

When opted out, no request is sent to the server and the global counter is not incremented for that transfer. The transfer itself is unaffected. In the desktop app the same choice is the Contribute to global stats toggle in Settings, and turning it off is the equivalent of --no-report.

Examples

Use a local dev server for both sender and receiver:

Terminal

floe send photo.jpg --server http://localhost:3001
floe receive olive-tiger-castle --server http://localhost:3001

Disable relay fallback (direct connections only):

Terminal

floe send photo.jpg --no-relay

Point the browser link at a custom web client:

Terminal

floe send photo.jpg --server https://api.example.com --web https://app.example.com

Save received files to a specific folder and auto-accept:

Terminal

floe receive olive-tiger-castle -o ~/Downloads -y

See Against a Self-Hosted Server for more server configuration examples.

Getting started

Web

Desktop

CLI

Self-hosting

How it works

Help

Reference

Floe CLI Flags Reference

Global flags

Help and version flags

Environment variables

`floe receive` flags

`floe update` flags

Opting out of the global counter

Examples

​Global flags

​Help and version flags

​Environment variables

​floe receive flags

​floe update flags

​Opting out of the global counter

​Examples

Global flags

Help and version flags

Environment variables

`floe receive` flags

`floe update` flags

Opting out of the global counter

Examples