> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.featherframework.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# feather shell

> An interactive Python shell with the app context and every model already loaded.

`feather shell` launches an interactive Python shell with your Flask application context
pre-loaded. This is invaluable for debugging, data exploration and administrative tasks,
especially in production.

**Auto-loaded:**

* `app` — the Flask application instance
* `db` — the SQLAlchemy database instance
* Every model from your `models/` directory

```bash theme={null}
feather shell
```

## Example session

```python theme={null}
Feather Interactive Shell
========================================

Available variables:
  User: type
  Post: type
  app: Flask
  db: SQLAlchemy

>>> User.query.count()
42
>>> user = User.query.filter_by(email='admin@example.com').first()
>>> user.role = 'admin'
>>> db.session.commit()
```

## In production

Reach it through `docker compose exec web feather shell`, or plain SSH access to your
server.

| Task                   | Example                                     |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| Check user status      | `User.query.filter_by(email='...').first()` |
| Count records          | `Post.query.count()`                        |
| Fix data issues        | `user.active = True; db.session.commit()`   |
| Debug queries          | `User.query.filter_by(role='admin').all()`  |
| Run one-off migrations | Direct database operations when needed      |

<Tip>
  Install IPython (`pip install ipython`) and the shell uses it automatically, for tab
  completion and syntax highlighting.
</Tip>