# Channels list

Use the `ably channels list` command to list active channels using the channel enumeration API.

## Synopsis

<Code>

### Shell

```
ably channels list [options]
```
</Code>

## Options

### `--limit` 

The maximum number of channels to return. Defaults to `100`.

### `--prefix | -p` 

Filter channels by a name prefix.

### `--json` 

Output results as compact JSON. Mutually exclusive with `--pretty-json`.

### `--pretty-json` 

Output results in formatted JSON. Mutually exclusive with `--json`.

### `--verbose | -v` 

Enable verbose logging. Can be combined with `--json` or `--pretty-json`.

## Examples

List all active channels:

<Code>

### Shell

```
ably channels list
```
</Code>

List channels with a specific prefix:

<Code>

### Shell

```
ably channels list --prefix "chat:"
```
</Code>

List channels with a limit:

<Code>

### Shell

```
ably channels list --limit 10
```
</Code>

List active channels in JSON format:

<Code>

### Shell

```
ably channels list --json
```
</Code>

List active channels in formatted JSON output:

<Code>

### Shell

```
ably channels list --pretty-json
```
</Code>

## See also

* [Channels](https://ably.com/docs/cli/channels.md) — Explore all `ably channels` commands.
* [CLI reference](https://ably.com/docs/cli.md) — Full list of available commands.

## Related Topics

- [subscribe](https://ably.com/docs/cli/channels/subscribe.md): Subscribe to messages on one or more Ably Pub/Sub channels using the CLI.
- [publish](https://ably.com/docs/cli/channels/publish.md): Publish a message to an Ably Pub/Sub channel using the CLI.
- [batch-publish](https://ably.com/docs/cli/channels/batch-publish.md): Publish a message to multiple Ably Pub/Sub channels at once using the CLI.
- [history](https://ably.com/docs/cli/channels/history.md): Retrieve message history for an Ably Pub/Sub channel using the CLI.
- [append](https://ably.com/docs/cli/channels/append.md): Append data to a message on an Ably Pub/Sub channel using the CLI.
- [update](https://ably.com/docs/cli/channels/update.md): Update a message on an Ably Pub/Sub channel using the CLI.
- [delete](https://ably.com/docs/cli/channels/delete.md): Delete a message on an Ably Pub/Sub channel using the CLI.
- [inspect](https://ably.com/docs/cli/channels/inspect.md): Open the Ably dashboard to inspect a specific channel using the CLI.

## Documentation Index

To discover additional Ably documentation:

1. Fetch [llms.txt](https://ably.com/llms.txt) for the canonical list of available pages.
2. Identify relevant URLs from that index.
3. Fetch target pages as needed.

Avoid using assumed or outdated documentation paths.