Install the cqlsh standalone tool

Install the Cassandra Query Language shell (cqlsh) standalone tool using a binary tarball on any Linux-based platform to use cqlsh remotely on a DataStax database cluster.

This command line shell connects remotely to a DataStax database cluster. You do not need to run cqlsh locally on a cluster node.

Prerequisites

The cqlsh utility for DataStax Enterprise 6.8 requires Python 2.7 or Python 3.6 through 3.11. DataStax recommends using Python 3.11.

cqlsh does not support Python 3.12 and later. To use cqlsh, either downgrade to a supported Python version, or run it in a virtual environment that uses a supported version.

Procedure

  1. To download the cqlsh binary tarball file from the DataStax Downloads page, do the following:

    • Select the CQLSH Terms checkbox.

    • Select DataStax Enterprise 6.8 from the Version menu and click Download.

      By downloading this DataStax product, you agree to the terms of the DataStax EULA.

  2. Change to the directory where you downloaded the cqlsh package:

    cd /DOWNLOAD_DIRECTORY
  3. Extract the files:

    tar -xzvf cqlsh-VERSION-bin.tar.gz

    Replace VERSION with the package version that you downloaded, such as 6.8.59.

    The files are downloaded and extracted into the current directory.

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