--- title: "Using the VAST CLI" slug: "using-the-vast-cli" tags: ["5.5"] updated: 2026-10-28T01:51:33Z published: 2026-10-28T01:51:33Z canonical: "docs.vastdata.com/using-the-vast-cli" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vastdata.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Using the VAST CLI ## About the VAST CLI The VAST CLI is a command-line interface for administering and monitoring the VAST Cluster. It can be accessed over a local network connection to VAST Cluster CNodes. ## Connecting to the VAST CLI 1. Ensure that your PC is connected to the same network as VAST Cluster CNodes. 2. Establish a Secure Shell (SSH) connection to any CNode in the cluster. For a first-time connection, you can use the management VIP that you provided during installation. This is the IP used to connect to the VAST Cluster management server. > [!TIP] > Tip > > If you are connecting from another node of the same cluster, you can specify the node name instead of the node IP. The node name is shown in the Name column of the CNodes or DNodes page in VAST Web UI and in the `Name` field in VAST CLI `cnode list` or `dnode list` command output. You are prompted to log into the CNode. 3. For first-time login, use the OS (Linux) user credentials for the CNode. Refer to [Managing VAST Cluster Passwords](/docs-5-5/docs/managing-vast-cluster-passwords) for the OS (Linux) user credentials. The VAST OS prompt is displayed. 4. At the VAST OS prompt, run the `vcli` command to access the CLI. To run VAST CLI for the first time and log in with the factory default VMS user account: ```plaintext vcli -u admin -p 123456 ``` > [!TIP] > Tip > > For more command options, see [VAST CLI Running Options](/docs-5-5/docs/using-the-vast-cli#vast-cli-running-options). > [!NOTE] > Note > > VAST Cluster has one factory default VMS user account. You cannot delete the factory default VMS user account or reduce its permissions. After first-time login, you can change the password for the default VMS user, create additional VMS users, and/or configure role-based access. For more information, see [Provisioning VMS Access](/docs-5-5/docs/provisioning-vms-access). The CLI welcome text and prompt appear. ```plaintext Welcome to VAST Management CLI!!! Type help or ? to see a list of commands vcli: admin> ``` ## VAST CLI Command Syntax The VAST CLI commands follow this naming and syntax convention: ```plaintext -- -- ... -- ``` The ** part of the command name is a type of object, such as a cluster, a user, or a virtual IP address. The ** part of the command name is an action to perform, such as *list* to display objects of the specified type, or *create* to create a new object of the specified type. For example, the command `vip` with the subcommand `list` displays virtual IPs. The optional argument `cnode-name` can filter the list by a specific CNode. So, to display all virtual IPs of the CNode named *cnode-1,* the command `vip`, is entered with the subcommand `list`, and the optional argument `cnode-name` is specified with the value `cnode-1`: ```plaintext vip list --cnode-name cnode-1 +-----------+--------------+---------+------------+ | VIP-Pool  | Virtual-IP   | CNode   | Cluster    | +-----------+--------------+---------+------------+ | vippool-2 | 172.21.11.11 | cnode-1 | my-cluster | | vippool-2 | 172.21.11.12 | cnode-1 | my-cluster | | vippool-2 | 172.21.11.14 | cnode-1 | my-cluster | | vippool-2 | 172.21.11.16 | cnode-1 | my-cluster | | vippool-2 | 172.21.11.6  | cnode-1 | my-cluster | +-----------+--------------+---------+------------+ ``` This guide refers to commands in the format * *. ## Getting Syntax Help To see syntax information for a given command, display its help message by entering the command name at the prompt, followed by *-h* or *--help*. The help message indicates supported arguments. For example, to display arguments for the command `view create` , run `view create --help`: ```plaintext vcli: admin> view create --help optional arguments:  -h, --help            show this help message and exit  --cluster-id  --path  --alias  --policy-id  --qos-policy-id  --create-dir <...> ``` For help entering a valid value for an argument, type a space after the argument to reveal a generic value format, an array of possible values, or an example. For example: ![value_help.png](https://cdn.us.document360.io/89b91113-5dc6-49db-86ec-57b16dc8ce56/Images/Documentation/img-d677dec61a47298a22b89e55633232c1(9).png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-08T09%3A05%3A33Z&se=2026-11-08T10%3A05%3A33Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=KXdBO0WrCDhLr3%2Fybpuckkm7yAkSJxADsnvzMAhrw5I%3D) ## VAST CLI Running Options There are three ways you can run VAST CLI commands: - Open the command line prompt in the shell and run commands interactively (default). - Run a single command non-interactively. - Run a batch of commands saved to a file. ```plaintext vcli [-h | --help]     [-c | --command ]     [-b | --batch-file ]     [-u | --user ]     [-p | --password ]     [-d | --debug] ``` | Option | Description | | --- | --- | | `-h, --help` | Shows the help text. | | `-c <command> \| --command <command>` | Runs a single command, non-interactively. `<command>` is the full command string of the command you want to run. For example, to run the command `ldap list`, enter `vcli -c ldap list`. | | `[-b <batch file> \| --batch-file <batch file>]` | Runs a batch of commands. The commands must be saved to a file and stored under the `/vast/deploy/` path. `<batch file>` is the name of the file. | | `-u <user> \| --user <user>` | Specifies user name for login. If you omit it, you'll be prompted for your user name after you run the command. | | `-p <password> \| --password <password>` | Specifies password for login. If you omit it, you'll be prompted for your password after you run the command. | | `-d \| --debug` | Enters debug mode. | ## VAST CLI Commands For command reference pages, see [VAST Cluster 5.5 CLI Command Reference](/docs-5-5/docs/vast-cluster-5-5-cli-command-reference).