Command line reference

The command-line interface provides a scripting environment in which you can run commands to manage IBM® Cloud Pak System Software for x86 remotely.

You can also run Python scripts or individual Python commands. The scripting environment is based on Jython, the Java-based implementation of Python. The Jython interpreter implements some of the Python 2.5.1 language. The command-line interface uses the Jython interpreter, along with standard Jython libraries, functions, and classes to help you manage your product.

You can download the command-line interface to any local computer running a supported Windows or Linux® operating system, and then point to where Cloud Pak System Software for x86 is running. For more information on downloading the tool, see the Related tasks section.

The command-line interface communicates with the product over a hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) session. The command-line interface does not cache updates and has only minimal caching for reads. If the computer on which the command-line interface is running loses connectivity to port 443 of Cloud Pak System Software for x86, you can perform only rudimentary operations.

The command-line interface can run in both interactive and batch modes. Each of these methods of passing commands to the command-line interface supports the same Jython scripting language. For more information about running the tool in either batch or interactive mode, see the Related tasks section.