CLI Command Reference

Parameter Description
-h, --help Show a help message and exit
-v, --version Version
-d, --directory DIRECTORY IaC root directory (can not be used together with –file).
--add-check Generate a new check via CLI prompt
-f, --file FILE File to scan (can not be used together with –directory). With this option, Checkov will attempt to filter the runners based on the file type. For example, if you specify a “.tf” file, only the terraform and secrets frameworks will be included. You can further limit this (e.g., skip secrets) by using the –skip-framework argument.
--skip-path SKIP_PATH Path (file or directory) to skip, using regular expression logic, relative to the current working directory. Word boundaries are not implicit; i.e., specifying “dir1” will skip any directory or subdirectory named “dir1”. Ignored with -f. Can be specified multiple times.
--external-checks-dir EXTERNAL_CHECKS_DIR Directory for custom checks to be loaded. Can be repeated
--external-checks-git EXTERNAL_CHECKS_GIT GitHub URL of external checks to be added. you can specify a subdirectory after a double-slash //. Cannot be used together with –external-checks-dir
-l, --list List checks
-o, --output {cli, cyclonedx, cyclonedx_json, json, junitxml, github_failed_only, sarif} Report output format. Add multiple outputs by using the flag multiple times (-o sarif -o cli)
--output-file-path OUTPUT_FILE_PATH Name of the output folder to save the chosen output formats. Advanced usage: By using -o cli -o junitxml –output-file-path console,results.xml the CLI output will be printed to the console and the JunitXML output to the file results.xml.
--output-bc-ids Print Bridgecrew platform IDs (BC…) instead of Checkov IDs (CKV…), if the check exists in the platform
--include-all-checkov-policies When running with an API key, Checkov will omit any policies that do not exist in the Bridgecrew or Prisma Cloud platform, except for local custom policies loaded with the –external-check flags. Use this key to include policies that only exist in Checkov in the scan. Note that this will make the local CLI results different from the results you see in the platform. Has no effect if you are not using an API key. Use the –check option to explicitly include checks by ID even if they are not in the platform, without using this flag.
--quiet For the CLI output, display only failed checks. Also disables progress bars.
--compact For the CLI output, do not display code blocks.
--framework {bitbucket_pipelines, argo_workflows, arm, bicep, cloudformation, dockerfile, github_configuration, github_actions, gitlab_configuration, gitlab_ci, bitbucket_configuration, helm, json, yaml, kubernetes, kustomize, openapi, sca_package, sca_image, secrets, serverless, terraform, terraform_plan, all} Filter scan to run only on specific infrastructure code frameworks [env var: CKV_FRAMEWORK]
--skip-framework {bitbucket_pipelines, argo_workflows, arm, bicep, cloudformation, dockerfile, github_configuration, github_actions, gitlab_configuration, gitlab_ci, bitbucket_configuration, helm, json, yaml, kubernetes, kustomize, openapi, sca_package, sca_image, secrets, serverless, terraform, terraform_plan} Filter scan to skip specific infrastructure as code frameworks. This will be included automatically for some frameworks if system dependencies are missing. Add multiple frameworks using spaces. For example, “–skip-framework terraform sca_package.”
-c, --check CHECK Checks to run; any other checks will be skipped. Enter one or more items separated by commas. Each item may be either a Checkov check ID (CKV_AWS_123), a BC check ID (BC_AWS_GENERAL_123), or a severity (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH, CRITICAL). If you use a severity, then all checks equal to or above the lowest severity in the list will be included. This option can be combined with –skip-check. If it is, priority is given to checks explicitly listed by ID or wildcard over checks listed by severity. For example, if you use –check CKV_123 and –skip-check LOW, then CKV_123 will run even if it is a LOW severity. In the case of a tie (e.g., –check MEDIUM and –skip-check HIGH for a medium severity check), then the check will be skipped. If you use a check ID here along with an API key, and the check is not part of the BC / PC platform, then the check will still be run (see –include-all-checkov-policies for more info). [env var: CKV_CHECK]
--skip-check SKIP_CHECK Checks to skip; any other checks will not be run. Enter one or more items separated by commas. Each item may be either a Checkov check ID (CKV_AWS_123), a BCcheck ID (BC_AWS_GENERAL_123), or a severity (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH, CRITICAL). If you use a severity, then all checks equal to or below the highest severity in the list will be skipped. This option can be combined with –check. If it is, priority is given to checks explicitly listed by ID or wildcard over checks listed by severity. For example, if you use –skip-checkCKV_123 and –check HIGH, then CKV_123 will be skipped even if it is a HIGH severity. In the case of a tie(e.g., –check MEDIUM and –skip-check HIGH for a medium severity check), then the check will be skipped. [env var: CKV_SKIP_CHECK]
--run-all-external-checks Run all external checks (loaded via –external-checks options) even if the checks are not present in the –check list. This allows you to always ensure that new checks present in the external source are used. If an external check is included in –skip-check, it will still be skipped.
-s, --soft-fail Runs checks but always returns a 0 exit code. Using either –soft-fail-on and / or –hard-fail-on overrides this option, except for the case when a result does not match either of the soft fail or hard fail criteria, in which case this flag determines the result.
--soft-fail-on SOFT_FAIL_ON Exits with a 0 exit code if only the specified items fail. Enter one or more items separated by commas. Each item may be either a Checkov check ID(CKV_AWS_123), a BC check ID (BC_AWS_GENERAL_123), or a severity (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH, CRITICAL). If you use a severity, then any severity equal to or less than the highest severity in the list will result in a soft fail. This option may be used with –hard-fail-on, using the same priority logic described in –check and–skip-check options above, with –hard-fail-on taking precedence in a tie. If a given result does not meet the –soft-fail-on nor the –hard-fail-on criteria, then the default is to hard fail.
--hard-fail-on HARD_FAIL_ON Exits with a non-zero exit code for specified checks. Enter one or more items separated by commas. Each item may be either a Checkov check ID (CKV_AWS_123), a BCcheck ID (BC_AWS_GENERAL_123), or a severity (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH, CRITICAL). If you use a severity, then any severity equal to or greater than the lowest severity in the list will result in a hard fail. This option can be used with –soft-fail-on, using the same priority logic described in –check and –skip-check options above, with –hard-fail-on taking precedence in a tie.
--bc-api-key BC_API_KEY Bridgecrew API key or Prisma Cloud Access Key (see–prisma-api-url) [env var: BC_API_KEY]
--prisma-api-url PRISMA_API_URL The Prisma Cloud API URL (see:https://prisma.pan.dev/api/cloud/api-urls). Requires –bc-api-key to be a Prisma Cloud Access Key in the following format: :: [env var: PRISMA_API_URL]
--docker-image DOCKER_IMAGE Scan docker images by name or ID. Only works with –bc-api-key flag
--dockerfile-path DOCKERFILE_PATH Path to the Dockerfile of the scanned docker image
--repo-id REPO_ID Identity string of the repository, with form /
-b, --branch BRANCH Selected branch of the persisted repository. Only has effect when using the –bc-api-key flag
--skip-download Do not download any data from Bridgecrew. This will omit doc links, severities, etc., as well as custom policies and suppressions if using an API token. Note: it will prevent BC platform IDs from being available in Checkov.
--no-guide Deprecated - use –skip-download
--skip-suppressions Deprecated - use –skip-download
--skip-policy-download Deprecated - use –skip-download
--skip-fixes Do not download fixed resource templates from Bridgecrew. Only has effect when using the API key.
--download-external-modules DOWNLOAD_EXTERNAL_MODULES Download external terraform modules from public git repositories and terraform registry [env var:DOWNLOAD_EXTERNAL_MODULES]
--var-file VAR_FILE Variable files to load in addition to the default files (see https://www.terraform.io/docs/language/values/variables.html#variable-definitions-tfvars-files). Currently only supported for source Terraform (.tf file), and Helm chart scans. Requires using –directory, not –file.
--external-modules-download-path EXTERNAL_MODULES_DOWNLOAD_PATH Set the path for the download external terraform modules [env var: EXTERNAL_MODULES_DIR]
--evaluate-variables EVALUATE_VARIABLES Evaluate the values of variables and locals [env var:CKV_EVAL_VARS]
-ca, --ca-certificate CA_CERTIFICATE Custom CA certificate (bundle) file [env var:BC_CA_BUNDLE]
--repo-root-for-plan-enrichment REPO_ROOT_FOR_PLAN_ENRICHMENT Directory containing the HCL code used to generate a given plan file. Use with -f.
--config-file CONFIG_FILE Path to the Checkov configuration YAML file
--create-config CREATE_CONFIG Takes the current command line args and writes them out to a config file at the given path
--show-config Prints all args and config settings and where they came from (e.g., command line, config file, environment variable or default)
--create-baseline Alongside outputting the findings, save all results to .checkov.baseline file so future runs will not re-flag the same noise. Works only with –directory flag
--baseline BASELINE Use a .checkov.baseline file to compare current results with a known baseline. Report will include only failed checks that are new with respect to the provided baseline
--output-baseline-as-skipped Output checks that are skipped due to baseline file presence
--skip-cve-package SKIP_CVE_PACKAGE Filter scan to run on all packages but a specific package identifier (deny list), You can specify this argument multiple times to skip multiple packages
--policy-metadata-filter POLICY_METADATA_FILTER Comma separated key:value string to filter policies based on Prisma Cloud policy metadata. See https://prisma.pan.dev/api/cloud/cspm/policy#operation/get-policy-filters-and-options for information on allowed filters. Format: policy.label=test,cloud.type=aws
--summary-position {top, bottom} Chose whether the summary will be appended on top (before the checks results) or on bottom (after check results), default is on top.