FAQ's on Command Line Interface

Overview

This article provides answers to most frequently asked questions on the CLI app.

FAQ

Where exactly does this app run ?

Jira/Confluence/Bamboo/Bitbucket/Atlassian Command Line Interface (CLI) has 2 components

CLI Connector - This is installed on the server using UPM and provides a specific license validation REST API. It is accessible to CLI client via <base-url>/rest/org.swift.confluence.cli/latest/validatelicense.
CLI Client - This is installed on any system (Windows, Linux, OSX) that has Java 8 or higher. The CLI client runs on this system.

CLI client can be downloaded from Downloads - CLI Clients to the local machine where actions can be run from. Please see the page What is the difference between CLI clients and Run CLI add-ons?

Do clients still require an instance add-on (CLI Connector) be installed ?

Yes (with some exceptions). This has not changed. The Connector add-on provides license enforcement and, in some cases, extended remote interfaces not available from the base Atlassian product.

A few clients are provided at no charge and do not require a connector. They include:

UPM Command Line Interface (CLI)
CSV Command Line Interface (CLI)
Bitbucket Cloud Command Line Interface (CLI) - no charge for a limited time only

Can clients be purchased separately ?

No. Clients are available for no-charge with the purchase of one or more of server or cloud add-ons.

What does an existing Run CLI Actions add-on customer need to do to remain properly licensed ?

Nothing if they do not use clients and only use the integrated support as part of their Atlassian product. Renew your license as normal when maintenance has expired.

If you want to use clients as well as the integrated capabilities, then a additional CLI license will be needed for the CLI Connector. This license change was effective in CLI version 6.x but only enforced when you upgrade your clients to 7.0 or higher. You are entitled to a discounted license (determined on your maintenance expiry date) - contact us at operations@appfire.com when needed.

How can I evaluate the CLI app prior to purchase ?

Obtain a evaluation license for one of the server add-ons listed, install on server, and the download the ACLI client distribution. See CLI Client Installation and Use for more information.

Can ACLI be used to access a server that does not have the Connector add-on installed ?

No for clients. Yes for other Run CLI Action products, however, some extended capabilities may not be available without the CLI Connector installed and licensed. Currently, there is only a handful of exceptions and an error message will indicate the limitation.

Can I continue to use a version of ACLI prior to version 7 ?

Yes. Versions prior to 7.0 can be used under the terms in affect at that time. Links are available in the Related Information section.

Do I need to purchase both the CLI and Run CLI Action add-ons to use both the client and the product specific functions ?

Yes. This has changed for 7.0. The server specific CLI (Connector) add-on and Run CLI Action add-on are independent starting with 6.0.

If I am an official Atlassian Partner or Expert, can I get a special rate ?

Yes. Atlassian recognized partners and members of the Atlassian Experts program can use the ACLI free of charge for development, testing, or demonstration purposes. A purchased license is required when used to support hosted customers or other customer focused use. See Add-ons for Atlassian Experts for more details.

Is CLI available for Atlassian Cloud ?

Yes. Purchase or trial a subscription corresponding to your product and user level for either JIRA, Service Desk, or Confluence Cloud. HipChat Cloud is also supported by the ACLI client and is currently available for a limited time at no charge.

Do I need a license for a Atlassian server licensed as a developer/test system ?

No for all servers except Crucible/FishEye.

Any Atlassian paid add-on automatically provides a developer license associated with your production license. Go to my.atlassian.com, expand the add-on, and look for a link.
We have purposefully allowed the CLI to work with developer licensed servers where the connector is installed but may not have a license. This is to make it easier for administrators and add-on developers.
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide this same support for Crucible/FishEye at this time due to limitations in determining a developer licensed server

How many client users can I have ?

Unlimited. Any number of users can install clients and connect to a server. The requirement is that the server have the CLI Connector component installed and validly licensed.

Which server product should I choose ?

Choose the product specific Command Line Interface (CLI Connector) if you want to use a client to connect to the Atlassian product.

Choose the product specific Run CLI Actions add-on for integrated capabilities like JIRA workflow actions, Confluence macros, Bamboo tasks, or similar integrated product capabilities available with the these add-ons.

Where do I find a CLI Connector on the Marketplace ?

Each of the product specific Command Line Interface (CLI) Marketplace entries represent the CLI Connector (UPM installable). There is a single CLI Client (Windows, Linux, OSX installable) distribution that includes clients for all the specific products.

The following clients do not need a Connector:

UPM Command Line Interface (CLI)

Where do I find the CLI Client on the Marketplace ?

Atlassian Command Line Interface (CLI) provides a client distribution that contains all product specific clients. It is included at no charge with any of the CLI Connectors.

How is it accessing Atlassian application ?

The CLI client uses request/response protocol built on REST API calls provided by Atlassian to perform remote actions against your Confluence and Jira instance.

What permissions does it require ?

Nothing specific to the app. The user's standard Atlassian application permissions determine what the user can or cannot do, just like any other instance access via REST APIs or the user interface.
Just like Confluence REST APIs, the user through which you are executing the action needs to have the required permission to access the instance and perform the requested action. Our app honors the permissions provided by Confluence and if the user does not have specific permission, the user will not be allowed to perform the action using Confluence CLI app as well.

How the CLI authenticates to application ?

The authentication is different between cloud and server versions of Confluence. For server, authentication is based on the username and password provided when running the command from the CLI client or distribution. For cloud, an API token is required. For additional information on authentication, see this document.

Are there any risks, using this app ?

The risks in using this app are no different than performing the same operations via the Atlassian app's user interface. The CLI has only the capabilities that the Atlassian provided API offers. That said, as with any automation tool, we encourage our customers to carefully test their automation in test environments whenever possible. We also suggest using the simulate option to understand in detail what a given command does before using it live.

Can this app be misused beyond the Confluence permission of the users ?

No. The CLI can only perform operations that the user operating the CLI can do via the Atlassian app's user interface. So, while it cannot be misused, it is very powerful and so should be used with care and testing as discussed above.

What can be done, if the above happens ?

The recourse or rollback options are identical to those in the UI. Some options to consider are making backups on data about to be changed or making a plan to revert changes if needed via the CLI. For example, if using the CLI to create new users in bulk, one should have a CLI command ready to remove or disable those users if the results are unexpected.

What do customers like in this app ?

Our customers use the CLI to automate tedious and repetitive tasks so that they can spend their time on more valuable work. Many hours are saved daily by our customers. Some operations in the Atlassian user interface that require many clicks and many screens can be performed in single commands.

How easy is this app to learn ?

The CLI is a very powerful tool with over 200 actions available for Confluence. This can sometimes be a challenging learning curve until one understands the consistent patterns to the commands. Once that is understood, then creating commands becomes steadily easier.

What are the support platforms for CLI app ?

Our support team actively monitors the Atlassian Community and our own CLI Questions forum in order to guide new users. We respond quickly and thoroughly to all support questions as well.

We are setting up a few functional and performance test cases. Do you have any to test ?

Check our below How To section of the Atlassian application CLI documentation for numerous examples of complex and high-volume operations that you may use as test cases.

How To articles for Confluence Command Line Interface

How To articles for Jira Command Line Interface

How To articles for Bamboo Command Line Interface

How To articles for Bitbucket Command Line Interface