Operating Command Line Interface Tools

You can manage and operate the SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) using various command-line tools.

The SAP BTP command line interface (btp CLI) is an alternative to the SAP BTP cockpit for users who prefer working on the command line and/or want to automate operations using scripts.

This tool can be used to perform tasks to work with global accounts on SAP BTP. This includes creating subaccounts and directories but also allows you to get information about your current global account.

The Cloud Foundry command line interface (cf CLI) is used for managing subaccounts in the Cloud Foundry environment, such as creating orgs and spaces, or managing quotas.

Plug-ins can be installed to add further commands. For example, the Multitarget Application plug-in to simplify managing and deploying applications that consist of multiple modules and perform lifecyle operations on them, the Service Fabrik based on B&R plug-in to perform backup and restore operations on service-instances, or the Custom Domain Self-Service plug-in to manage TLS server certificates and client authentication trust for custom domains.

The Kubernetes command line tool kubectl for interacting with Kubernetes clusters enables you to perform various operations on cluster resources using the Kubernetes API. With kubectl, you can deploy applications, manage pods, services, and other resources within your cluster. Additionally, you can inspect the cluster’s state, view logs, and perform checks on resource details. Rather than issuing HTTP requests directly, kubectl simplifies the process by providing a user-friendly interface.

The technical infrastructure of btp CLI consists of a client and a server. The client is installed on your computer, and it interacts with SAP BTP via a server. You connect to this CLI server when you log on to your global account through the btp CLI.

The list shows some of the tasks that the btp CLI enables you to perform:

• Creating subaccounts and directories.

• Managing entitlements of global accounts and subaccounts.

• Managing users and their authorizations in global accounts and subaccounts.

• Subscribing to applications.

• Setting entitlements.

• Automating administrative tasks.

• Working with resources of the SAP Service Manager.

• ...

The btp CLI is the command line interface for all tasks on global account, directory, and subaccount level. Going down the account hierarchy, the last step with btp CLI is creating a Cloud Foundry environment instance, which essentially creates a Cloud Foundry org.

The base call to enter on the command line is btp.

The btp CLI has a command structure, which makes it really convenient to use. A command has to start with the keyword btp, which will call the executable file.

Next, you have to define an action, which could be a create, read, update, and delete (CRUD) operation to, for example, create a subaccount or remove a role collection. Then you need to specify which group or object the action should apply to. This is followed by the object or group's ID.

Finally, there's the option to provide additional parameters to perform more specific configurations, such as setting a password of an SAP HANA Cloud instance.

Prerequisites for administrating and configuring a global account:

• You have downloaded and extracted the command line tools (for details, check the Reference Section).
• You have a user and password for the Global Domain with the appropriate permissions.

First, log in to your global account. For this, you need the URL of the btp CLI server. If you leave this empty, the client will typically propose https://cpcli.cf.eu10.hana.ondemand.com.

It is also necessary to provide the subdomain of the global account you'd like to log in to. The subdomain is shown in the switch global account dialog.

To complete logging in, you'll need to provide your username (typically your e-mail address) and the corresponding password. If the login is successful, the client will store a token on your machine, which is valid for 24 hours, and will be renewed with each request, enabling you to work without interruptions.

if you don't know the Global account subdomain ID by heart, you can easily copy it from the BTP cockpit:

This is the complete syntax to login:

1
btp login --url https://cpcli.cf.eu10.hana.ondemand.com –-subdomain <global-account> --user <user> --password <password>

At some stage, you may require some details about your global account. You can use the btp CLI to get an overview with all the relevant information.

1
btp get accounts/global-account

While using the btp CLI, you can get help for every command. You can consume the online documentation or directly use the help command of the btp CLI. The help command has multiple stages for help. With btp help, you get a general help overview for all commands.

With btp help accounts, you get an overview of all commands regarding account structure. With btp help create accounts/subaccount, you get a fully detailed help for the creation command of subaccounts as shown on the following slide:

Once you select enter, you get a quick Usage help followed by Parameters you could use. In addition, you get a Tips section, which authorization you need to call this command, and a Further documentation link.

You can, of course, use the online documentation instead of the built-in help commands. The information should be identical and supports you to use the btp CLI correctly.

1
btp assign security/role-collection "Global Account Administrator" --to-user <user>

1
btp list accounts/available-region

There are some nice features that could make your life easier. For example, enabling autocomplete, or using the target command to aim to subaccount, directory, or the global account:

Below are some more tips and tricks for using the btp CLI:

• Use btp login --sso to automatically open a browser for single sign-on at the identity provider.

• Use btp enable autocomplete to enable command autocompletion for the specified shell to save keystrokes when entering command actions, group-object combinations, and their parameters.

  Hint: Currently, autocomplete runs in Bash, PowerShell, and Zsh.

• Use btp target for command calls to a subaccount, a directory, or the global account.

  Hint: Use btp get accounts/global-account --show-hierarchy to get ids.

• Use the --format json option to change the output format of a command to JSON to make use of automation.

• The --config option specifies the location of the configuration file.

Use the Cloud Foundry command line interface (cf CLI) for managing subaccounts in the Cloud Foundry environment, such as creating orgs and spaces, or managing quota.

In the following text, Cloud Foundry command line interface will be abbreviated to cf CLI.

The cf CLI has a command structure, which makes it really convenient to use. A command has to start with the keyword cf, which will call the executable file.

Next, you could define a global option. Then you have to define a command, which could be a start, stop, create-space for example. Depending on the command, arguments and commands could follow.

Prerequisites

• You have created at least one subaccount and enabled the Cloud Foundry environment in this subaccount
• Download and install the cf CLI (for details check the Reference Section).

To login to the cf CLI, you need to set the target API endpoint (like api.cf.ap11.hana.ondemand.com). To log on to the Cloud Foundry environment, use the command cf login.

We recommend to use the option --sso. You need a browser within this logon procedure. Otherwise, log on with the user and password associated with your account in the default identity provider, SAP ID service. If you've forgotten this password and this user is associated with your SAP Universal ID user, reset your password.

To log on with a specific identity provider, use the option --origin.

Below you can see an example of log in using the --sso option.

This is the complete syntax to log in:

cf login [-a API_URL] [-u USERNAME] [-p PASSWORD] [-o ORG] [-s SPACE] [--sso | --sso-passcode PASSCODE] [--origin ORIGIN]

After logon, check the org and space that you are working with. Use cf target -o ORGANISATION -s SPACE to select the space you want to work with!

To view the help for the CLI, execute cf --help, which lists the most common CLI commands.

The command cf help -a will list all commands with a short description.

To get help for a specific command, execute cf --help <command> like the btp CLI tool.

The following key features are available:

• Add Organization Members
• Create Spaces
• Add Space Members
• Create Space Quota Plans
• Assign Quota Plans to Spaces
• Change Space Quota Plans
• Delete Spaces

In addition, you can add plug-ins to extend the functionality like:

• Multitarget Application plug-in
• Service Fabric plug-in
• Custom Domain plug-in