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RaspOVOS Commands Reference

In a nutshell

When you log in to a raspOVOS device, it prints a welcome banner listing its built-in helper commands. The banner mixes two kinds of command. Most are raspOVOS-specific shell helpers, aliases and small scripts baked into the image. Others are standard OVOS console scripts that any install provides, and those are documented in CLI Tools. This page is the full reference list. Run ovos-help on the device at any time to reprint it. See the Glossary for unfamiliar terms.

Helpful Commands

Web interfaces:

  • ovos-yaml-editor: web editor for OVOS configuration (port 9210).
  • ovos-skill-config-tool: web editor for individual skill settings (port 8000).

Talking to OVOS:

  • ovos-config: manage your local OVOS configuration files.
  • ovos-listen: activate the microphone to listen for a command.
  • ovos-speak <phrase>: have OVOS speak a phrase to the user.
  • ovos-say-to <phrase>: send an utterance to OVOS as if you had spoken it.
  • ovos-simple-cli: chat with your device from the terminal.
  • ovos-docs-viewer: open the documentation viewer (also ovos-manual, ovos-skills-info).

Managing packages:

  • ovos-install: install OVOS packages with the correct version constraints.
  • ovos-update: routine, in-place update of all OVOS and skill packages, scoped to the release channel recorded in /opt/ovos/tag. It does not change the base image. Moving to a new raspOVOS release (a major image update) instead means reflashing a new image and restoring your .config/mycroft and .local/share/mycroft from a backup — see the repo's update how-to for the backup/restore commands.
  • ovos-force-reinstall: force a full reinstall of all OVOS packages (last-resort repair).
  • ovos-freeze: export installed OVOS packages to requirements.txt.
  • ovos-outdated: list outdated OVOS/skill packages.
  • ovos-reset-brain: reset the "OVOS brain" to a blank state by uninstalling all skills.

Inspecting plugins:

  • ls-skills: list the skill_id of every installed skill.
  • ls-stt / ls-tts / ls-ww / ls-tx: list installed STT / TTS / wake word / translation plugins.

Sound/audio:

  • ovos-audio-diagnostics: print the active sound server, sinks, and default output device.
  • ovos-audio-setup: interactive audio configuration menu (handy after wiring up a HAT).

Logs and status:

  • ologs: follow the logs in real time — except bus.log, which the alias excludes (tail -f ~/.local/state/mycroft/!(bus.log)). For messagebus traffic, tail that file directly: tail -f ~/.local/state/mycroft/bus.log.
  • ovos-logs [COMMAND] --help: a small tool to help navigate the logs.
  • ovos-status: list OVOS-related systemd services.
  • ovos-restart: restart all OVOS-related systemd services.
  • ovos-server-status: check the live status of the public OVOS servers.

Misc:

  • ovos-commands: usage examples for the installed skills.
  • ovos-support: compile logs into a support package to share when asking for help.
  • ovos-help: reprint this command list.
  • ovos-logo: print the raspOVOS logo.

Audio HAT setup on raspOVOS uses ovos-i2csound

On raspOVOS, an i2c sound HAT (such as a Respeaker or the Mark 2's SJ201) is detected and configured at boot by the ovos-i2csound service shipped in the image, which writes the detected board to /etc/OpenVoiceOS/i2c_platform. This is specific to the raspOVOS image. The ovos-installer does not use it (see Mark 2 Hardware for the installer's kernel-driver approach).

Check Logs in Real-Time

  • Use the ologs command to monitor logs live on your screen.
  • If you're unsure whether the system has finished booting, check logs using this command.

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