# Connect to Holesail server

Run the following command to connect to a Holesail server instance:

```
holesail <KEY>
```

Supported options:

| Option    | Purpose                                           | Required / Optional            |
| --------- | ------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| \<key>    | Connect to a holesail server                      | Required                       |
| --connect | Similar to doing holesail KEY\_STRING             | Optional                       |
| --host    | Bind to a custom host                             | Optional. Default is 127.0.0.1 |
| --port    | Specify a custom port to use on the local machine | Optional. Default is port 8989 |
| --log     | Start debug logging                               | Optional.                      |

<mark style="color:orange;">Examples:</mark>

1. Connect to a Holesail server with default options:

```
  holesail hs://s000a19f5778ccf3b7471fd45205758ad44a572aec1e7cdf76864613db0e63b8a49c
```

2. Connect to a Holesail server with a custom key and custom port:

```
  holesail my-custom-connection --port 8080
```

3. Connect to a Holesail server and listen on a custom port and host:

```
holesail "my-connection-key" --port 8765 --host localhost
```

4. Start a holesail server with custom connection string and its smaller than 32 characters:

```
holesail --live 4545 --key "its-quite-small" --force
```

You can use multiple flags as per your need. Once you are connected, you can access the running application on the host and port you specified before.

<figure><img src="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1232882914635681823/1390098730664984576/image.png?ex=686705d4&#x26;is=6865b454&#x26;hm=af79c8f01b711262703958f696247c754d5a09732909988a7cbb705cf252c64c&#x26;=&#x26;format=webp&#x26;quality=lossless&#x26;width=822&#x26;height=370" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.holesail.io/usage-guide/connect-to-holesail-server.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.