# echolot fake (/docs/cli/fake)

`echolot fake` fills a template with fake data: names, emails, addresses, prices, dates, lorem ipsum and about 120
other values. It uses the same templates as the bodies of [routes made by hand](/docs/mocks/routes#bodies-with-fake-data),
so you can try a body, or write fixtures and seed data for tests.

```sh
echolot fake [<template>] [--file <file>] [--count <count>] [--seed <seed>] [--type <type>]
echolot fake list
```

The template comes from the argument, from `--file`, or from standard input. The result goes to standard output.

## Make a list [#make-a-list]

`--count` makes the template one item of a JSON list:

```sh
echolot fake '{"id": {{@number}}, "name": "{{$randomFullName}}", "email": "{{$randomEmail}}"}' --count 3
```

```json
[
{"id": 1, "name": "Henry Adams", "email": "stella.meyer.45@yahoo.com"},
{"id": 2, "name": "Jack Grant", "email": "bianca.ivanova.11@icloud.com"},
{"id": 3, "name": "Theo Sato", "email": "samuel.lee.88@yahoo.com"}
]
```

With `--type xml` or `--type text` the items come one after another:

```sh
echolot fake '<city>{{$randomCity}}</city>' --count 2 --type xml
```

```xml
<city>Kyoto</city>
<city>Athens</city>
```

A template can make lists of its own with `{{#repeat 10}}` … `{{/repeat}}`; see
[lists](/docs/mocks/routes#lists).

## The same data again [#the-same-data-again]

`--seed` makes the same data every time, for fixtures that shouldn't change between runs:

```sh
echolot fake --file user.json.template --count 50 --seed 7 > users.json
```

## Escaping [#escaping]

`--type` decides how values are escaped: `json` (the default) escapes values inside JSON strings, `xml` escapes `&`,
`<`, `>` and quotes for XML and HTML, `text` escapes nothing. See [escaping](/docs/mocks/routes#escaping).

## The values [#the-values]

`echolot fake list` prints every value by group, with its arguments:

```text
COMMON
  $randomUUID  A random UUID: 3f2c1e0a-…
  $randomInt(Minimum, Maximum)  A whole number, 0 to 1000 unless bounds are given.
  $randomFloat(Minimum, Maximum, Decimals)  A decimal number between the bounds (0 to 1000), with 2 decimals unless told otherwise.
…
```

[Dynamic values](/docs/reference/dynamic-values#fake-data) lists them all. Tokens about the request, such as
`{{request.params.id}}`, belong to mock routes and stay as written here.

## Options [#options]

| Option | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| `<template>` | The template, or `list` to list the fake values. |
| `-f`, `--file <file>` | Read the template from a file. |
| `-c`, `--count <count>` | Make this many items, up to 10,000: a JSON list, or one item after another for `--type xml` and `text`. |
| `--seed <seed>` | Make the same data every time. |
| `--type <type>` | `json` (default), `xml` or `text`. |

## Exit codes [#exit-codes]

`0` when every value was made. `1` when a value couldn't be made, such as `{{$randomInt(9, 1)}}`: the reason goes to
standard error, and the token stays as written in the output. `64` for a wrong option.