---
title: "VAST Database CLI Quick Start Guide"
slug: "vast-database-cli-quick-start-guide"
tags: ["5.5"]
updated: 2026-10-27T23:00:54Z
published: 2026-10-27T23:00:54Z
canonical: "docs.vastdata.com/vast-database-cli-quick-start-guide"
---

> ## 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.

# VAST Database CLI Quick Start Guide

Follow the steps below to get started using VAST Database CLI. Use the CLI to access the VAST Catalog and Audit Log tables in the VAST Database.

- [System Requirements](/docs-5-5/docs/vast-database-cli-quick-start-guide#system-requirements)
- [Obtain Access Credentials](/docs-5-5/docs/vast-database-cli-quick-start-guide#obtain-access-credentials)
- [Install](/docs-5-5/docs/vast-database-cli-quick-start-guide#install)
- [Configure](/docs-5-5/docs/vast-database-cli-quick-start-guide#configure)
- [Getting Help](/docs-5-5/docs/vast-database-cli-quick-start-guide#getting-help)

## System Requirements

- Unix system
- Docker installed
- Network access to VAST Cluster

## Obtain Access Credentials

Obtain the following from your VMS administrator:

- S3 access key pair
- Host IP(s). This should be one or more IPs belonging to one of the cluster's VIP pools.

## Install

1. Download the image from the Docker repository:

```plaintext
docker pull vastdataorg/vast-db-cli:<version>
```

where <version> is the VAST CLI version.

> [!NOTE]
> Note
> 
> If you cannot pull from Docker, you can download a tar file with the image instead. See [here](https://support.vastdata.com/hc/en-us/articles/8515894787356-Downloading-and-installing-BC-CLI) for details.
2. Download `vast-db-cli` from the [VAST DB CLI repository](https://github.com/vast-data/bc-cli).
3. Do one of the following:

  - Move `vast-db-cli` into the `bin/` directory.
  - Make `vast-db-cli` executable: `chmod +x vast-db-cli`
4. Execute the script.

The VAST Database CLI is now installed.

## Configure

To start using the VAST Database CLI, run the `vast-db-cli configure` command:

```plaintext
$ vast-db-cli configure
    Access Key: <access-key>
    Secret Access Key: <secret-key>
    Host IP: <Host IPs>
    Port: 80
```

Specify `&lt;Host IPs&gt;` as a one or more IP addresses, separated by commas.

VAST Database CLI is now installed and configured.

## Getting Help

For information about how to use the VAST Database CLI, run the following command:

```plaintext
$ vast-db-cli --help
```

## VAST Database CLI Commands

Use this syntax for the `vast-db-cli`:

```plaintext
vast-db-cli <VAST-database-table> command [--<options>]
```

where `&lt;VAST-database-table&gt; `is the table in the database. This can be `audit-log `for the Audit Log, or `catalog `for the Catalog.

These commands apply for the Catalog:

| Command | Description | Usage |
| --- | --- | --- |
| catalog query | Run queries on the VAST Catalog | vast-db-cli catalog query --path=/project/myProject |
| catalog snapshots | List snapshots of the VAST Catalog | vast-db-cli catalog snapshots |
| catalog columns | List the columns of the VAST Catalog | vast-db-cli catalog columns --list |