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

  • An IBMid.

    • If you are an existing IBM customer with an IBMid, you can continue to use your established account.

    • If you don’t have an IBMid, you can create one.

    • If your company uses Enterprise Federation (EF) for authentication with corporate credentials, see the EF documentation.

  • Python 2.7 or 3.6 through 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. Download the cqlsh binary tarball file for DataStax Enterprise 6.8 from Fix Central:

    1. Sign in to Fix Central.

    2. In the Product selector field, enter IBM DataStax Enterprise.

    3. Select the DSE version you want to install from the Select from IBM DataStax Enterprise list.

    4. Select All in the Platform list, and then click Continue.

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

    6. Select the fixes (DSE version) you want to install, and then click Continue.

    7. Review the terms and conditions, and then click I agree.

  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.

Next steps

Connect to a cluster by starting the standalone cqlsh tool.

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