Zowe CLI quick start
Zowe CLI quick start
Get started with Zowe CLI quickly and easily.
Note: This section assumes some prerequisite knowledge of command-line tools and writing scripts. If you prefer more detailed instructions, see Installing Zowe CLI.
- Installing
- Where can I use the CLI?
- Issuing your first commands
- Using profiles
- Writing scripts
- Next steps
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InstallingBefore you install Zowe CLI, download and install Node.js and npm.
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Installing Zowe CLI corenpm config set @brightside:registry https://api.bintray.com/npm/ca/brightside
npm install @brightside/core@lts-incremental -g
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Installing CLI plug-inszowe plugins install @brightside/cics@lts-incremental
The command installs the IBM CICS plug-in, but the IBM Db2 plug-in requires additional configuration to install.
For a list of available plug-ins, see Extending Zowe CLI.
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Where can I use the CLI?Usage Scenario | Example |
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Interactive use, in a command prompt or bash terminal. | Perform one-off tasks such as submitting a batch job. |
Interactive use, in an IDE terminal | Download a data set, make local changes in your editor, then upload the changed dataset back to the mainframe. |
Scripting, to simplify repetitive tasks | Write a shell script that submits a job, waits for the job to complete, then returns the output. |
Scripting, for use in automated pipelines | Add a script to your Jenkins (or other automation tool) pipeline to move artifacts from a mainframe development system to a test system. |
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Issuing your first commandsIssue zowe --help
to display full command help. Append --help
(alias -h
) to any command to see available command actions and options.
To interact with the mainframe, type zowe
followed by a command group, action, and object. Use options to specify your connection details such as password and system name.
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Listing all data sets under an HLQzowe zos-files list data-set "MY.DATASET.*" --host my.company.com --port 123 --user myusername123 --pass mypassword123
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Downloading a partitioned data-set (PDS) member to local filezowe zos-files download data-set "MY.DATA.SET(member)" -f "mylocalfile.txt" --user user123 --pass mypassword123 --host host123
See Command Groups for a list of available functionality.
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Using profilesZowe profiles let you store configuration details such as username, password, host, and port for a mainframe system. Switch between profiles to quickly target different subsystems and avoid typing connection details on every command.
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Profile typesMost command groups require a zosmf-profile
, but some plug-ins add their own profile types. For example, the CICS plug-in has a cics-profile
. The profile type that a command requires is defined in the PROFILE OPTIONS
section of the help response.
Tip: The first zosmf
profile that you create becomes your default profile. If you don't specify any options on a command, the default profile is used. Issue zowe profiles -h
to learn about listing profiles and setting defaults.
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Creating a zosmf profilezowe profiles create zosmf-profile myprofile123 --host host123 --port port123 --user ibmuser --password pass123
Note: The port defaults to 443 if you omit the --port
option. Specify a different port if your host system does not use port 443.
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Using a zosmf profilezowe zos-files download data-set "ibmuser.data.set(member)" -f "myfile.txt" --zosmf-profile myprofile123
For detailed information about issuing commands, using profiles, and storing variables as environment variables, see Defining Zowe CLI connection details.
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Writing scriptsYou can write Zowe CLI scripts to streamline your daily development processes or conduct mainframe actions from an off-platform automation tool such as Jenkins or TravisCI.
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Example:You want to delete a list of temporary datasets. Use Zowe CLI to download the list, loop through the list, and delete each data set using the zowe zos-files delete
command.
#!/bin/bash
set -e
# Obtain the list of temporary project data sets dslist=$(zowe zos-files list dataset "my.project.ds*")
# Delete each data set in the listIFS=$'\n'for ds in $dslistdo echo "Deleting Temporary Project Dataset: $ds" zowe files delete ds "$ds" -fdone
For more information, see Writing scripts to automate mainframe actions.
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Next StepsYou successfully installed Zowe CLI, issued your first commands, and wrote a simple script! Next, you might want to:
Review Command Groups to learn what functionality is available, and explore the in-product help.
Learn about using environment variables to store configuration options.
Integrate your scripts with an automation server like Jenkins.
See what plug-ins are available for the CLI.
Learn about developing for the CLI (contributing to core and developing plug-ins).