Command-Line Utility

Dallinger is executed from the command line within the experiment directory with the following commands:

verify

Verify that a directory is a Dallinger-compatible app.

bot

Spawn a bot and attach it to the specified application. The --debug flag connects the bot to the locally running instance of Dallinger. Alternatively, the --app <app> flag specifies a live experiment by its id.

debug

Run the experiment locally. An optional --verbose flag prints more detailed logs to the command line.

sandbox

Runs the experiment on MTurk’s sandbox using Heroku as a server. An optional --verbose flag prints more detailed logs to the command line.

deploy

Runs the experiment live on MTurk using Heroku as a server. An optional --verbose flag prints more detailed logs to the command line. An optional --bot flag forces the bot recruiter to be used, rather than the configured recruiter.

logs

Open the app’s logs in Papertrail. A required --app <app> flag specifies the experiment by its id.

summary

Return a summary of an experiment. A required --app <app> flag specifies the experiment by its id.

export

Download the database and partial server logs to a zipped folder within the data directory of the experimental folder. Databases are stored in CSV format. A required --app <app> flag specifies the experiment by its id.

qualify

Assign a Mechanical Turk qualification to one or more workers. Requires a qualification, which is a qualification ID, (or, if the --by_name is used, a qualification name), value value, and a list of one or more worker IDs, passed at the end of the command. This is useful when compensating workers if something goes wrong with the experiment.

revoke

Revoke a Mechanical Turk qualification for one or more workers. Requires a qualification, which is a qualification ID, (or, if the --by_name is used, a qualification name), an optional reason string, and a list of one or more MTurk worker IDs. This is useful when developing an experiment with “insider” participants, who would otherwise be prevented from accepting a HIT for an experiment they’ve already participated in.

hibernate

Temporarily scales down the specified app to save money. All dynos are removed and so are many of the add-ons. Hibernating apps are non-functional. It is likely that the app will not be entirely free while hibernating. To restore the app use awaken. A required --app <app> flag specifies the experiment by its id.

awaken

Restore a hibernating app. A required --app <app> flag specifies the experiment by its id.

destroy

Tear down an experiment server. A required --app <app> flag specifies the experiment by its id.