Operating Modes

Cassiopeia provides five interfaces for different stages of the data integration workflow. This page describes each mode and when to use it.

Quick Reference

Mode

Interface

Typical use

CLI

Command line

Batch jobs, CI/CD, one-off conversions

Server

REST + WebSocket

Centralized hub, live data streams

Explorer

Terminal (TUI)

Schema discovery, model inspection

Wizard

Terminal (TUI)

Interactive mapping creation

Configurator

Web browser

Same as Wizard, graphical UI

CLI Mode

CLI mode runs a mapping pipeline from the command line. You provide an input source (file or URL) and a mapping configuration; output is written to a local directory or pushed to an NGSI-LD Context Broker.

Use CLI mode for scheduled batch jobs, one-off conversions, and local development. No persistent service is required.

Server Mode

Server mode runs Cassiopeia as a persistent backend with REST and WebSocket APIs.

REST API — Manage mapping configurations, list supported models, and trigger transformations on demand
WebSocket — Real-time communication via MessagePack, suitable for monitoring progress on large datasets or streaming updates

Use Server mode when Cassiopeia acts as a central transformation hub—for example, continuous IoT feeds or environments where external services trigger transformations programmatically.

Explorer Mode

Explorer is a terminal UI for browsing and inspecting FIWARE Smart Data Models. You can search the catalog, view schema hierarchies, and inspect attribute metadata (descriptions, types, constraints, required flags).

Use Explorer before building mappings to understand the target schema. It works offline against a local catalog.