Install the cqlsh standalone tool

You can install the CQL shell (cqlsh) standalone tool on any Linux-based platform. This command line shell connects remotely to your DSE database cluster. You don’t need to run cqlsh locally on a cluster node, or use the built-in cqlsh that is included with your DSE installation.

Install Python

CQL shell requires Python.

DataStax recommends version 3.8 to 3.11. Later Python versions aren’t supported by DSE 6.8.

Use earlier versions (2.7, 3.6, or 3.7) only if required to support a legacy deployment running an early patch release of DSE 6.8 where your OS or the included cqlsh binary doesn’t support a recommended Python version.

If you have multiple Python versions installed, run cqlsh in a virtual environment that uses a supported Python version.

To verify your Python version, run python -V.

Early CentOS versions requiring Python 2.7

If you are running DSE 6.8 on an early CentOS version that requires Python 2.7, install it from the Software Collections (SCL) Repository:

  1. Run the following commands:

    sudo yum update
    sudo yum install scl-utils
    sudo yum install centos-release-scl-rh
    sudo yum install python27
    sudo scl enable python27 bash

  2. Check your Python version to confirm that it is 2.7.

  3. Restart the system, or log out and log back in, and then enable python 2.7:

    sudo scl enable python27 bash

    Enabling Python 2.7 in .bash_profile or .bashrc causes the machine to hang because CentOS 6 relies on Python 2.6 for Yum.

Download and run cqlsh

The installation process differs depending on your DSE version.

Versions 6.8.65 and later

To install the standalone CQL shell tool, you need the dse-VERSION-tgz.zip file. These files are available on IBM Fix Central in the DSE fix packs for each DSE version.

Find the DSE fix pack for your current DSE version, and then download the dse-VERSION-tgz.zip file from that fix pack:

  1. Find DSE fix packs on IBM Fix Central:

    1. Go to Fix Central.

    2. In the Product selector field, begin typing IBM DataStax Enterprise, and then select that option from the menu.

    3. In the Release field, select the version that you want to install.

    4. Click Continue.

    5. On the Identify fixes page, click Continue to use the default Browse for fixes option.

    6. On the Select fixes page, select the fix pack (DSE version) you want to install, and then click Continue.

      Depending on the product and version, more fix packs might be available if you set the Platform filter to All, and then click Submit.

    7. If prompted, sign in with your IBMid.

      An IBMid account with MFA enabled is required. If you don’t have one, create an IBMid account. If your organization uses Enterprise Federation (EF) for authentication with corporate credentials, see the IBMid EF documentation.

    8. On the Download options page, select Download using your browser (HTTPS), and then click Continue.

    9. Review the terms and conditions, and then click I agree to activate the download links.

  2. Click the dse-VERSION-tgz.zip link to download the file. For example, dse-6.8.65-tgz.zip.

  3. Change to the directory where you downloaded the file:

    cd DOWNLOAD_DIRECTORY

    Replace DOWNLOAD_DIRECTORY with the path where you downloaded the file.

  4. Unzip the downloaded file:

    unzip dse-VERSION-tgz.zip

    Replace VERSION with the package version that you downloaded, such as 6.8.65.

  5. Change to the unzipped directory:

    cd dse-VERSION-tgz

    Replace VERSION with the package version that you downloaded, such as 6.8.65.

  6. Extract the cqlsh distribution:

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

    Replace VERSION with the package version that you downloaded, such as 6.8.65.

  7. Connect to a cluster by starting the standalone cqlsh tool.

Versions 6.8.64 and earlier

To install the standalone CQL shell tool, you need a cqlsh binary tarball file. These files are available on IBM Fix Central in the DSE fix packs for each DSE version.

Find the DSE fix pack for your current DSE version, and then download the cqlsh binary tarball from that fix pack:

  1. Find DSE fix packs on IBM Fix Central:

    1. Go to Fix Central.

    2. In the Product selector field, begin typing IBM DataStax Enterprise, and then select that option from the menu.

    3. In the Release field, select the version that you want to install.

    4. Click Continue.

    5. On the Identify fixes page, click Continue to use the default Browse for fixes option.

    6. On the Select fixes page, select the fix pack (DSE version) you want to install, and then click Continue.

      Depending on the product and version, more fix packs might be available if you set the Platform filter to All, and then click Submit.

    7. If prompted, sign in with your IBMid.

      An IBMid account with MFA enabled is required. If you don’t have one, create an IBMid account. If your organization uses Enterprise Federation (EF) for authentication with corporate credentials, see the IBMid EF documentation.

    8. On the Download options page, select Download using your browser (HTTPS), and then click Continue.

    9. Review the terms and conditions, and then click I agree to activate the download links.

  2. Click the cqlsh binary tarball link to download the file, for example, cqlsh-6.8.60-bin.tar.gz.

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

    cd DOWNLOAD_DIRECTORY

    Replace DOWNLOAD_DIRECTORY with the path where you downloaded the cqlsh package.

  4. Extract the files:

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

    The files are downloaded and extracted into the current directory.

  5. Connect to a cluster by starting the standalone cqlsh tool.

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