Command Groups in rConfig V8 Core

Command Groups are the organisational layer that links devices to the CLI commands rConfig runs when it backs up their configuration. After reading this page you can plan a Command Group structure, create and edit groups, attach commands from the Commands page, and resolve the common errors that block device assignment.

Categories is now Command Groups

The feature once called “Categories” was renamed to “Command Groups” from V6 Core onwards. The change is cosmetic only, so you may still see “Categories” in some URLs and permission tables. Existing Categories carry over as Command Groups with no action required.

What are Command Groups?

Every device in rConfig is assigned to exactly one Command Group. That group is associated with a set of commands, and those commands determine what configuration data rConfig retrieves from each member device during both manual and scheduled backups.

When rConfig runs a backup, it:

1. Reads the target device’s assigned Command Group.
2. Retrieves the commands attached to that group.
3. Connects to the device using its stored credentials.
4. Runs each command in order.
5. Captures and stores the output as configuration data.

This gives you a single place to control what gets collected from a population of similar devices, rather than configuring commands device by device.

Where commands are managed in the current UI

In current rConfig V8 Core builds, including V8.2.17, the Command Group edit form does not include a dedicated Commands tab. Attach or bulk-assign commands from Commands instead.

Commands are required

A Command Group with no attached commands cannot be assigned to devices or scheduled tasks. rConfig enforces this so backups never run against an empty command set.

Key rules

• One device belongs to one Command Group; one Command Group can hold many devices.
• A Command Group must have at least one attached command before any device can be assigned.
• Commands are independent entities attached to groups in a many-to-many relationship, so the same command can be reused across several groups.
• Manual and scheduled downloads both use the device’s Command Group assignment to decide which commands to run.

How to organise Command Groups

Most teams design Command Groups around one or more of these factors:

• Vendor platform (Cisco IOS, Arista EOS, Juniper Junos)
• Device role (core, distribution, access layer)
• Geographic location (data centre, branch, remote site)
• Command requirements (full config versus operational state data)

Start with broader groups and subdivide only when command requirements genuinely differ. For example, split Cisco_Routers_BGP from Cisco_Routers_OSPF only if the routing protocol actually needs a different command set.

Example design patterns

Vendor-based

Group devices by vendor and platform. Best for multi-vendor environments where command syntax varies between platforms.

Command Group	Member devices	Attached commands
Cisco_IOS_Routers	Router1, Router2, Router3	show running-config, show ip route, show ip bgp neighbors, show ip protocols
Cisco_NX_Switches	Nexus_Core_1, Nexus_Core_2	show running-config, show vpc, show interface status, show cdp neighbors detail
Arista_Switches	Arista_Leaf_1, Arista_Leaf_2	show running-config, show ip route, show lldp neighbors, show interfaces status
Juniper_Firewalls	SRX_FW_1, SRX_FW_2	show configuration, show security policies, show security zones

Role-based

Group devices by network function. Suitable for single-vendor environments where role drives command needs.

Command Group	Member devices	Attached commands
Core_Routers	BR_Core_1, US_Core_1, IRE_Core_1	show running-config, show ip route, show ip bgp, show ip bgp summary
Distribution	Dist_Switch_1, Dist_Switch_2	show running-config, show spanning-tree, show etherchannel summary
Access_Switches	Access_SW_1, Access_SW_2	show running-config, show version, show mac address-table
Edge_Devices	Edge_1, Edge_2, Edge_3	show running-config, show ip route, show interface status

Hybrid

Combine vendor and role for complex environments where both matter.

Command Group	Member devices	Attached commands
Cisco_Core_BGP	Core_R1, Core_R2	show running-config, show ip bgp, show ip bgp neighbors, show ip route bgp
Cisco_Core_OSPF	Core_R3, Core_R4	show running-config, show ip ospf, show ip ospf neighbor, show ip route ospf
HP_Edge_Minimal	HP_Clos_1, HP_Clos_2	show running-config
Cisco_Access_Standard	Switch1, Switch2, Switch3	show running-config, show version, show lldp neighbors

When to use this

Create or edit a Command Group whenever you onboard a new class of device, need a different command set for a group of devices, or are preparing devices for scheduled backups. You will also work here when a Command Group shows an error because it has no commands attached.

Prerequisites

• Administrative access to rConfig V8 Core
• The commands you intend to attach already created in the Commands interface
• A classification strategy for your device inventory (vendor, role, or location based)

Watch: adding and editing Command Groups

This video walks through the full workflow for adding and editing Command Groups, including attaching commands and resolving the no-commands error.

Add a new Command Group

1. Navigate to Inventory > Command Groups from the main rConfig menu.
2. Click Add Command Group in the top-right corner. The Command Group creation form opens.
3. Enter a descriptive Name that follows your naming convention, for example Cisco_IOS_Routers rather than Group1. Include the vendor, platform, or role where it helps.
4. Enter a Description explaining which devices belong in this group and any special command requirements. This text appears in device assignment workflows.
5. Click Save. rConfig creates the group in a pending-commands state.

Warning indicator is expected

A new Command Group shows a warning indicator until commands are attached. This prevents incomplete backups and resolves itself once you attach at least one command.

6. Navigate to Inventory > Commands.
7. Create a new command or edit an existing one, assign it to the new Command Group, and save it. For multiple existing commands, use the bulk assignment workflow on the Commands page.
8. Return to Inventory > Command Groups and confirm the group is no longer in the warning state.

Verify the group

After saving, confirm the group appears in the list without an error indicator and that all intended commands are attached. Assign a single device and run a manual download, then review the captured configuration to confirm every expected command output is present.

Naming conventions

Consistent names keep large estates maintainable. Useful patterns:

• {Vendor}_{Platform}_{Role}, for example Cisco_IOS_Core
• {Location}_{DeviceType}, for example DataCenter_Switches
• {Function}_{Protocol}, for example Routers_BGP

Avoid generic names like Group1, Test, or Misc, names that do not reflect their content, and special characters that can cause database issues.

Edit a Command Group

1. Navigate to Inventory > Command Groups.
2. Locate the target group and click the Edit action button.
3. Modify the name or description. Manage command membership from Commands.
4. Click Save to apply changes.

Edits apply to every member device

Changing the commands attached to a group immediately affects all devices in it. The next backup for those devices runs the updated command set. You cannot delete a group while devices are assigned to it, and you cannot remove a command while a scheduled task references it: reassign or update those dependencies first.

Manage commands for a group

Attach commands

1. Navigate to Inventory > Commands.
2. Create a new command or edit an existing command.
3. In the command form, assign the target Command Group.
4. Click Save.

If you need to attach several existing commands at once, use the bulk assignment workflow on the Commands page.

Command selection considerations:

• Dependencies. Some commands rely on the device state left by a previous command.
• Performance. More commands increase download time and storage.
• Relevance. Only attach commands that produce useful output for the device class.

Command sequence considerations

Commands run sequentially. For modal devices, the sequence can be critical:

Example sequence:
1. enable             (enter privileged mode)
2. configure terminal (enter configuration mode)
3. show running-config (capture configuration)

For read-only show commands, sequence is less critical, but keep logical groupings together (all routing commands, then all interface commands) to make output easier to read. The current V8 Core UI does not expose a dedicated reorder control on the Command Group page, so test sequence-dependent command sets on a non-production device before rolling them out widely.

Remove commands

1. Navigate to Inventory > Commands.
2. Edit the target command or use bulk assignment if you are removing several commands.
3. Remove the Command Group association from that command.
4. Click Save.

Removals apply immediately

Removing a command stops future backups from running it against every device in the group. Historical configuration data that already contains that command output remains accessible.

Command Groups in backups

Scheduled backups

Scheduled tasks target Command Groups rather than individual devices, which makes bulk operations efficient. A single task can target several groups at once, and each device still runs only the commands from its own group.

Scheduled task: "Daily Configuration Backup"
Target Command Groups:
  - Cisco_IOS_Routers (15 devices)
  - Cisco_NX_Switches (8 devices)
  - Arista_Switches (12 devices)

Result: 35 devices backed up, each running its assigned command set.

For the full task workflow, see Scheduled Tasks.

Manual backups

A manual download uses the device’s assigned Command Group to decide which commands to run. There is no way to override these commands during a manual download, which keeps backups consistent.

From the UI, open the device details page and click Download Configuration. rConfig retrieves the commands from the device’s Command Group, runs them, and displays the results.

From the CLI:

cd /var/www/html/rconfig
php artisan rconfig:download-device {device_id}

The CLI command uses the Command Group assigned to the specified device.

Common gotchas

Watch for these

• No attached commands. A group created without commands shows an error and cannot be assigned to devices. Open Commands, assign at least one command to the group, and save.
• Group will not delete. rConfig blocks deletion while a group has assigned devices or is referenced by a scheduled task. Reassign every device to another group and remove the group from any task, then delete it.
• Commands appear but produce no output. The device credentials may lack the privilege the command needs, or the command syntax may not match the device platform. Test the command over SSH using the same credentials before adding it to the group.
• Sensitive output. Commands such as show running-config can capture passwords and keys. rConfig is built for read-only retrieval; avoid commands that modify the device.

Resolve a Command Group with no commands

A group with no commands shows an error indicator in the Command Groups list, with the message “This Command Group has no attached commands.” This is the normal intermediate state right after creation.

To resolve it:

1. Click the Edit button for the affected group so you can confirm which group needs commands.
2. Open Commands and create or edit a command.
3. Assign that command to the affected Command Group and save it.
4. Confirm the error indicator has cleared from the Command Groups list.

Attach commands immediately after creating a group to avoid accidental device assignments to an empty group.

Delete a Command Group

A group cannot be deleted while it is assigned to devices or referenced by scheduled tasks. To remove a group:

1. Open the Command Group details page and review the assigned devices and any scheduled tasks that reference it.
2. For each assigned device, open its settings, assign a different appropriate Command Group, and save.
3. Edit any scheduled task that references the group, remove the group from the task targets (or delete the task), and save.
4. Return to the Command Groups list and delete the now-unused group.

Record the group first

Before deleting, note the group’s purpose and command list. It saves time if you need to recreate similar functionality later.

Performance considerations

The number and size of commands in a group directly affect backup duration. Large outputs (such as show tech-support), slow-responding devices, and high command counts all add time.

To keep backups fast:

• Right-size command sets. Include only commands whose output you actually use.
• Split config from operational data. Run a small daily group for show running-config and show startup-config, and a larger weekly group for inventory, routing, and interface state. Use separate scheduled tasks with different frequencies.
• Avoid slow commands. Be cautious with show tech-support on large devices, and test new commands on a single device before adding them to a group.
• Monitor and adjust. Review backup duration and optimise the groups that run longest.

As a rough guide, keep groups to around 5 to 10 commands and subdivide groups that grow much larger than a few hundred devices. None of these are hard limits, but performance degrades as command counts climb.

Larger editions

Distributed backup architectures, policy-based compliance grouping, and advanced large-scale tuning are part of rConfig Pro and Enterprise. See the Pro, Enterprise, and Vector documentation for those editions.

Common operations reference

Operation	Path	Notes
Create Command Group	Inventory > Command Groups > Add	Attach commands before assigning devices
Edit Command Group	Inventory > Command Groups > Edit	Changes affect all member devices
Attach commands	Inventory > Commands > Add/Edit/Bulk assign	Manage group membership from the Commands page
Assign device to group	Devices > Edit > Command Group	A device belongs to one group only
View group members	Command Groups > View > Devices	Shows all assigned devices
Delete Command Group	Command Groups > Delete	Remove all dependencies first

What’s next

• Create and manage commands to build the command library you attach to groups.
• Add and manage devices and assign them to your Command Groups.
• Schedule automated backups that target your Command Groups.