# Activate and deactivate blades

Platform blades can be [active or inactive](cdf-active-and-inactive-blades.md). Here’s how to change the active/inactive state of a blade, and a note about managing the states of mutually exclusive blades.

<dl><dt><strong>💡 TIP</strong></dt><dd>

In the following steps you’ll be using the `dfw` command of the Deployment Framework. Before entering any `dfw` command as `./dfw <command-name>`, make sure your current (working) directory is set to the Deployment Framework’s topmost directory.

For a list of `dfw` commands, [click here](cdf-the-deployment-framework-command-utility-dfw.md).
</dd></dl>

## Activating a blade

To activate a blade, use the Deployment Framework’s [activate](cdf-the-deployment-framework-command-utility-dfw.md#activate) command.

For example, to activate Liberator’s HTTPS blade, follow the steps below on each server in your deployment infrastructure:

1. Enter the command below to shutdown all running core components and integration adapters:

   ```
   ./dfw stop
   ```
2. Enter the command below to activate Liberator’s HTTPS blade:

   ```
   ./dfw activate HTTPS
   ```

   **💡 TIP**\
   To avoid misspelling the name of the blade or typing the name of an already activated blade, enable the DFW’s command-line completion. See [Setting up dfw command-line completion](cdf-setting-up-dfw-command-completion.md).
3. Enter the command below to start core components and integration adapters:

   ```
   ./dfw start
   ```

## Deactivating a blade

To deactivate a blade, use the Deployment Framework’s [deactivate](cdf-the-deployment-framework-command-utility-dfw.md#deactivate) command.

For example, to deactivate Liberator’s HTTP blade, follow the steps below on each server in your deployment infrastructure:

1. Enter the command below to shutdown all running core components and integration adapters:

   ```
   ./dfw stop
   ```
2. Enter the command below to deactivate Liberator’s HTTP blade:

   ```
   ./dfw deactivate HTTP
   ```
3. Enter the command below to start core components and integration adapters:

   ```
   ./dfw start
   ```

## Managing mutually exclusive blades

Some blades are mutually exclusive because they provide different versions of the same feature, so you should only make one of them active at a time.

For example, Liberator has two website blades: LiberatorWebsite and MinimalLiberatorWebsite. Only one of these blades can be active at a time.

If you do activate two mutually exclusive built-in blades, the `activate` command reports the clash, and you won’t be able to start the Framework.

**💡 TIP**\
You can can manage the compatibility of Platform blades that you write by adding entries to the [blade control file](cdf-the-blade-control-file.md).

---

**See also:**

* [Start and stop components and blades](cdf-start-and-stop-components-and-blades.md)