Working with the Yandex Cloud CLI and API in Microsoft Windows

Yandex Cloud services provide a variety of interfaces for implementing your projects. Usually, Yandex Cloud services have a web interface in the management console or within their installations, such as Yandex DataLens and Yandex DataSphere. In addition, they have interfaces designed to automate processes: API, CLI, Terraform, and SDKs for different programming languages. You can read more about the provided interfaces in the respective service documentation.

The Yandex Cloud documentation contains step-by-step guides for working with different interfaces. Sample CLI commands and API requests usually use the Bash syntax. You can run them as is in the Linux console, macOS terminal, or WSL in Windows 10 and higher.

If you use Yandex Cloud in Windows with no WSL, sample CLI commands and API requests may run incorrectly. To use the examples provided in the documentation, install the Bash interface on your PC, create a VM to work with Yandex Cloud, or adapt commands to the syntax of the Windows command shell you use. For more information on Windows command shells, see the official Microsoft documentation.

How to run Bash commands in the Windows terminalHow to run Bash commands in the Windows terminal

How to adapt your code to command line shells native for WindowsHow to adapt your code to command line shells native for Windows

If you want to run your Bash code in cmd or PowerShell, bring it to the appropriate format:

1. Replace basic syntax elements.
2. Check the format of equivalent commands.
3. Replace other commands with their equivalents.
4. Check the names of system variables and auxiliary syntax.

Replace basic syntax elementsReplace basic syntax elements

1. Replace the directory separator in file paths: / in Linux and \ in Windows.

2. Replace line break characters. Instead of \, use ^ in cmd and ` in PowerShell.

3. Check out the rules for using all kinds of quotation marks, as they are handled differently in Linux and PowerShell.

4. Check out the syntax for using variables.

   Examples of using variables

   Action	Linux	Windows cmd	PowerShell
   Writing a variable	export VAR="1"	set VAR="1"	$Env:VAR="1"
   Reading a variable	${VAR}	%VAR%	$Env:VAR

Check the format of equivalent commandsCheck the format of equivalent commands

Many commands in cmd and PowerShell have aliases similar to Bash commands. For example, the Set-Location PowerShell command (change to a different directory) will be run if you type cdin the terminal.
If the code execution fails:

1. Check if the Bash command has an equivalent in your terminal. For example, in PowerShell, run:

   alias
   

   This will output a list of all aliases defined in the system settings:

   CommandType     Name                            Version    Source
   -----------     ----                            -------    ------
   Alias           % -> ForEach-Object
   Alias           ? -> Where-Object
   Alias           ac -> Add-Content
   Alias           asnp -> Add-PSSnapin
   Alias           cat -> Get-Content
   Alias           cd -> Set-Location
   Alias           CFS -> ConvertFrom-String       3.1.0.0    Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility
   Alias           chdir -> Set-Location
   Alias           clc -> Clear-Content
   Alias           clear -> Clear-Host
   
   ...
   
   

   For a complete list of aliases, see the alias command output.

2. Make sure the command in your command shell performs the same function as its equivalent Bash command.

3. Check the command format: the alias keys may differ. For example, the ls command has an alias in PowerShell, but the argument keys differ.

Replace other commands with their equivalentsReplace other commands with their equivalents

1. If a command has no alias, find its equivalent.

   List of equivalent commands in Linux, cmd, and PowerShell

   Action	Linux	Windows cmd	Windows PowerShell
   List files in a directory	ls -s	dir	dir, ls, Get-ChildItem
   List files in a directory and sub-directories	ls -R	tree	ls, Get-ChildItem
   Create a file	touch	copy nul >	New-Item
   Rename a file	mv	ren	ren, Rename-Item
   Copy a file	cp	copy	copy, Copy-Item
   Move a file	mv	move	move, Move-Item
   Delete a file	rm	del	del, Remove-Item
   Compare file content	diff	fc	diff, Get-Content, Compare-Object
   Find file strings or object properties	grep	find	Select-String, Where-Object
   Output command help	man <command>	<command> /?	Get-Help <command>
   Output the name of the current directory	pwd	cd	$PWD
   Create directory	mkdir	md	mkdir, New-Item
   Output current date and time	date	time	Get-Date
   Configure file access policies	chown, chmod	attrib	attrib, Set-XFileOwner
   Schedule the command run	cron	at	schtasks, Register-ScheduledJob
   Access a web resource over HTTP	wget	wget	Invoke-WebRequest

2. If a command has no direct equivalent, you can perform the same action using a combination of commands or other methods. For example, to convert a file to Base64 in PowerShell, use the static Convert method: [Convert]::ToBase64String([IO.File]::ReadAllBytes(''<filename>'')).

3. Consider the specifics of your command shell. For example, PowerShell works with objects and their properties rather than text. Therefore, instead of searching by grep, you will need to use the Where-Object PowerShell command in most cases. It handles objects with required property values. To search for a sequence of characters, use the Select-String command.

Check the names of system variables and auxiliary syntaxCheck the names of system variables and auxiliary syntax

1. Check the names of environment variables. For example, instead of the USER environment variable used in Linux, the USERNAME variable is used in Windows.
2. If your code contains comparison, selection, or loop statements, change the syntax to meet the requirements of your command shell. To learn more about the difference between the Bash and PowerShell auxiliary syntax, see Bash vs PowerShell Cheat Sheet.