The command-line tool provides access to the complete set of Office SharePoint Server 2007 operations. You can use Stsadm from the command line or with batch files or scripts. Stsadm must be run on the server itself.

To use Stsadm, you must be a member of the local Administrators group on the server. When you invoke Stsadm, you supply an operation and a set of command-line parameters in the form:

-operation OperationName -parameter value

Note:
If a value you need to use with the command-line tool includes a space or a character that is treated as special by the command-line interface, such as an ampersand (&), you can enclose the string in quotation marks ("). For example, if the URL to a site is http://my site, you can enter the URL as "http://my site".

Most parameters for the command line also have a short form that you can use instead of the full parameter name. For example, the following command sets the configuration database to use Server1_collab on Server1 and specifies the database user name and password to connect with:

stsadm -o setconfigdb -connect -ds Server1 -dn Server1_collab -du User1 -dp password

The following table explains the commands and parameters from this example.

Command or parameter	Definition
-o setconfigdb	Creates a connection between Office SharePoint Server 2007 and a configuration database.
-connect	Specifies that there is an existing configuration database to use.
-ds Server1	Specifies the server name that contains the database to use.
-dn Server1_collab	Specifies the database name to use on that server.
-du User1	Specifies an administrator user name for the database.
-dp password	Specifies the password for the user.

Stsadm is not an interactive tool. With Stsadm, you type the operation and parameters all at once. You will not be prompted to fill in missing parameters while the operation is running. If a required parameter is missing, the operation fails, and you must type the operation and parameters again.

This behavior allows better flexibility for batching commands, because the tools do not prompt you for information after you have submitted a command. If you want a more interactive tool, try using the administrative object model or Central Administration pages.

For a complete list of Stsadm operations and properties, see Index for Stsadm operations and properties (Office SharePoint Server).

The following operations are available only from the command line:

addcontentdb (the command line is required for adding databases that need to be upgraded)	enumsolutions	renameserver
addsolution	enumtemplates	restore (site collection level)
addwppack	enumwppacks	retractsolution
backup (site collection level)	execadmsvcjobs	retractwppack
binddrservice	export	scanforfeatures
canceldeployment	forcedeletelist	setadminport
copyappbincontent	getadminport	setconfigdb
createadminvs	getproperty	setproperty
createsiteinnewdb	getsitelock	setworkflowconfig
databaserepair	import	spsearchdiacriticsensitive
deleteadminvs	installfeature	syncsolution
deleteconfigdb	migrateuser	uninstallfeature
deletesolution	provisionservice	unregisterwsswriter
deletewppack	refreshdms	updateaccountpassword
deploysolution	refreshsitedms	updatealerttemplates
deploywppack	registerwsswriter	updatefarmcredentials
displaysolution	removedrservice	upgradesolution
enumdeployments	removesolutiondeploymentlock

The following parameters are available only from the command line:

-force	-propertyname
-globalinstall	-propertyvalue
-newname	-servicename
-overwrite	-ssl

Concepts