> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.warpstream.com/warpstream/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.warpstream.com/warpstream/reference/cli-reference/warpstream-playground.md).

# warpstream playground

## warpstream playground

The `warpstream playground` subcommand creates a temporary WarpStream account, provisions a local WarpStream cluster (writing to memory by default), and provisions a producer client to send data to the Agents.

> For CI pipelines, prefer [`warpstream local`](/warpstream/reference/cli-reference/warpstream-local.md), which runs a fully in-memory, self-contained WarpStream cluster with no connection to the WarpStream control plane and is designed for automated environments. If `warpstream playground` is started in a CI environment, the Agent will automatically reroute to `warpstream local` and print a warning.

The following table displays the available `warpstream playground` arguments.

| Argument                    | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| -advertiseHostnameCustom    | Custom hostname value to advertise to service discovery for clustering purposes if the custom advertise strategy is selected                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| -advertiseHostnameStrategy  | Which hostname strategy should be used the agent should advertise itself on. Auto means that it will try to automatically find an IP that makes sense. If you select custom them you have to also define -advertiseHostnameCustom. Currently supported strategy: \[auto-ip4, auto-ip6, local, custom]. (default "local") |
| -bucketURL                  | Object storage bucket URL for new writes (default "mem://warpstream\_playground")                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| -httpPort                   | Port to run HTTP server on (default 8080)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| -kafkaLoadBalancingInterval | Time after which the Kafka connection will be closed. This mechanism helps load balance the clients by forcing them to query the bootstrap URL again. By resetting the connection periodically, clients are evenly distributed across available Kafka connections. (default 8760h0m0s)                                   |
| -kafkaPort                  | Port to run kafka server on (default 9092)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| -metadataURL                | URL for WarpStream service (default "<https://api.playground.us-east-1.warpstream.com>")                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| -requireAuthentication      | Controls whether the agents will enforce that all connections are SASL authenticated. Will automatically disable Kinesis support if enabled                                                                                                                                                                              |
| -timeout                    | End playground after this duration has elapsed, use Xh format to change (default 4h)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |


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