Starting cqlsh

Launch the cqlsh utility with the default settings.

Execute the cqlsh Python script to start the CQL shell. The CQL shell is a Python-based command line interface for running CQL commands interactively. The CQL shell supports tab completion. The cqlsh command run in either Python 2 or 3.

To connect to a security-enabled cluster, see Providing Kerberos credentials when starting CQL shell .

Tip: For a complete list, see cqlsh (startup options).

Procedure

Navigate to the DataStax Enterprise installation directory and locate the bin directory that contains cqlsh.
Start cqlsh on the Mac OSX, for example.
```
cqlsh
```
If you use security features, provide a user name and password.
Print the help menu for cqlsh.
```
cqlsh --help
```
Optionally, specify the IP address and port to start cqlsh on a different node.
```
cqlsh 100.0.0.75 9042
```
Note: You can use tab completion to see hints about how to complete a cqlsh command. Some platforms, such as Mac OSX, do not ship with tab completion installed. Use easy_install to install tab completion capabilities on Mac OSX:
```
easy_install readline
```