CQL console

The Cassandra Query Language SHell (CQLSH) is a command line shell for interacting with your database through Cassandra Query Language (CQL). This tool provides a useful interface for accessing the database and issuing CQL commands.

Embedded Astra DB CQL shell

Each DataStax Astra DB database includes an embedded CQL shell instance. In Astra Portal, navigate to your database and click the CQL Console tab to open a CQLSH instance that is connected to your database. Issue CQL commands directly to your Astra DB database without navigating outside of your browser.

To see the CQL console in a full browser window, use this URL format:

database_id-region.apps.astra.datastax.com/cqlsh

For example, 2f0c6j8b-9790-4276-a16c-0cd7b055344a-us-east1.apps.astra.datastax.com/cqlsh

Once you open the CQL shell in Astra, you will automatically be signed in and connected to your database.

Results

You can now run CQL commands in your embedded CQL shell.

Alternatively, you can connect to your Astra DB database using the standalone version of CQLSH.

Standalone CQL shell

Instead of using the native CQL shell that is included in DataStax Enterprise (DSE), the standalone CQLSH client is a separate, lightweight tool you can use to interact with your database.

Each DataStax Astra DB database includes an embedded CQL shell instance. In Astra Portal, navigate to your database and click the CQL Console tab to open a CQLSH instance that is connected to your database.

Prerequisites

Download CQLSH. Choose the version for Astra DB.
Create an Astra DB database.
Python version with TLS Support. A minimum of 2.7.12. More details here.

Working with secure connect bundle

Downloading secure connect bundle

To get the necessary security credentials and certificates for connecting drivers to your Astra DB database, you’ll need to download the secure connect bundle from the DataStax Astra Portal.

Open your Astra Portal and select your database.
On the Overview page, select Connect.
In the Database Essentials section, click Get Bundle.
In the Secure Connect Bundle Download dialog box, use the Select a region dropdown menu to select the region for which you want to download the bundle. If you have multiple regions, you can download a bundle for each region.

After selecting a region, various options for downloading the bundle appear. To download the bundle to your local computer, click Download Secure Bundle.

The secure connect bundle downloads as a ZIP file named secure-connect-<database_name>.zip.

Expiration of download link

For added security, the download link for the secure connect bundle expires after five minutes. Once the download link expires, you’ll need to repeat the steps above to regenerate a new download link.

Note that the secure connect bundle itself never expires.

Sharing secure connect bundle

Although teammates can access your Astra DB database, it doesn’t display in their list of available databases under My Databases in Astra Portal.

After you create an Astra DB database, you can grant access to other members of your team by providing them with the database credentials and connection details for your database.

Be careful when sharing connection details. Providing this information to another user grants them access to your Astra DB database and ownership capabilities, such as making modifications to the database.

For security, delete downloaded connection credentials after sending them to your teammate.

Secure connect bundle contents

The Secure Connect Bundle (SCB) contains the following files:

File Contents

File	Contents
`ca.crt`	DataStax’s Certificate Authority public certificate
`cert`	A certificate, unique to the specific SCB
`key`	A private key, unique to the specific SCB
`cert.pfx`	A PFX formatted archive containing the certificate and the private key
`config.json`	A configuration file with information on how to securely connect to the Astra DB instance associated with the SCB
`cqlshrc`	A CQLSH profile containing CQL shell session settings
`identity.jks`	A Java keystore file containing the aforementioned cert & key files
`trustStore.jks`	A Java keystore file containing the aforementioned ca.crt

ca.crt

DataStax’s Certificate Authority public certificate

cert

A certificate, unique to the specific SCB

key

A private key, unique to the specific SCB

cert.pfx

A PFX formatted archive containing the certificate and the private key

config.json

A configuration file with information on how to securely connect to the Astra DB instance associated with the SCB

cqlshrc

A CQLSH profile containing CQL shell session settings

identity.jks

A Java keystore file containing the aforementioned cert & key files

trustStore.jks

A Java keystore file containing the aforementioned ca.crt

Alternatively, have a teammate provide access to their Astra database.

Procedure

Change to the directory where you downloaded the CQLSH tarball and then extract it:

$ cd /<download_directory>
$ tar -xvf cqlsh-astra-<date>-bin.tar.gz

date - The date that the tarball was released, such as 20210304.

From the directory where you extracted the CQLSH tarball, run the cqlsh script from the command line:

$ cd /cqlsh-astra
$ ./bin/cqlsh -u **clientID** -p **clientSecret** -b /path/to/secure-connect**database_name**.zip

Use the -b option to specify the location of the secure connect bundle that you downloaded for your database. Pass the Client Id and Client Secret for your database role using the -u and -p options. For more, see Manage application tokens.

username - Client ID for the database role.
password - Client secret for the specified Client ID.
database_name - Name of the Astra DB database to which you want to connect. Include the absolute path to the secure connect bundle for the database, such as /Users/myuser/Downloads/secure-connect-database123.zip.

Configure the cqlshrc file If you do not want to pass the secure connect bundle on the command line every time, set up the location in your cqlshrc file.

In the [authentication] section of the cqlshrc file in ~/.cassandra, include the Client ID and Client Secret from your application token. Configure the [connection] section of the cqlshrc file in ~/.cassandra to include the path to your secure connect bundle.

[authentication]
username = clientID
password = clientSecret

[connection]
secure_connect_bundle = **/path/to/**secure-connect-**database_name**.zip

Results

You are connected directly to your database using CQLSH.

[cqlsh 6.8.0 | DSE 6.8.0.77 | CQL spec 3.4.5 | DSE protocol v2]
Use HELP for help.
username@cqlsh>

Switch to your KEYSPACE, where you can issue CQL commands to create tables, insert data, and manage database resources:

USE keyspace_name;

An alternative way to connect to the CQL shell is to use the Astra CLI. This option downloads and configures CQL shell for you, including downloading Secure Connect Bundle and setting up the token to the Astra account. For more on installing and getting started, see Astra CLI documentation.

Astra Vector Search and CQL

Vector Search uses data to be compared by similarity within a database, even if it is not explicitly defined by a connection. After creating your Astra DB database, you will see a green notification appears at the top of your screen.

Connect to your database using CQLSH

In your database with the Vector Search dashboard, select the CQL Console to open a CQLSH instance that is connected to your database.

Alternatively, you can connect to your database by downloading the standalone version of CQLSH and selecting the DataStax Astra with support for Vector Type version. For more, see connecting CQL console.