cqlsh

cqlsh is a command-line interface for interacting with Apache Cassandra using the Cassandra Query Language (CQL). It is shipped with Cassandra distributions and provides an interactive shell for issuing CQL statements, inspecting schema, and performing data operations against a Cassandra cluster.

Connection to a cluster is established over the CQL native transport, typically on port 9042. The user can specify a hostname and port to connect to, and may supply authentication credentials if the cluster requires them.

The shell accepts standard CQL statements such as SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE, and supports keyspace and table management through statements like CREATE KEYSPACE, USE, DESCRIBE KEYSPACE, and DESCRIBE TABLE. It includes help and descriptive output, supports the COPY command for bulk import and export of CSV data, and presents results in a tabular format.

cqlsh is intended for interactive data exploration, debugging, and basic administration tasks performed against a running cluster. It is not a comprehensive cluster management tool; for advanced administration, other tools and drivers are used alongside Cassandra.

The exact features and Python dependencies of cqlsh can vary by Cassandra version. Users should consult the documentation for their version to confirm Python support and any version-specific caveats.