docs/content/code-security/codeql-cli/getting-started-with-the-codeql-cli/setting-up-the-codeql-cli.md

title, intro, product, versions, topics, redirect_from

title	intro	product	versions	topics	redirect_from
Setting up the CodeQL CLI	To get started with the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %}, you need to download and set up the CLI so that it can access the tools and libraries required to create and analyze databases.	{% data reusables.gated-features.codeql %}	fpt ghes ghae ghec * * * *	Advanced Security Code scanning CodeQL	/code-security/codeql-cli/using-the-codeql-cli/getting-started-with-the-codeql-cli /code-security/secure-coding/running-codeql-cli-in-your-ci-system /code-security/secure-coding/using-codeql-code-scanning-with-your-existing-ci-system/running-codeql-cli-in-your-ci-system /code-security/secure-coding/using-codeql-code-scanning-with-your-existing-ci-system/installing-codeql-cli-in-your-ci-system /code-security/code-scanning/using-codeql-code-scanning-with-your-existing-ci-system/installing-codeql-cli-in-your-ci-system

Setting up the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %}

{% data reusables.code-scanning.codeql-cli-version-ghes %}

To run {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} commands, you need to set up the CLI so that it can access the tools, queries, and libraries required to create and analyze databases.

The {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} can be set up to support many different use cases and directory structures. To get started quickly, we recommend adopting a relatively simple setup, as outlined in the steps below.

If you plan to use the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} for security research or to test or contribute queries, you may want a more advanced setup of {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %}. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."

If you are setting up the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} in your CI system, you need to make the full contents of the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} bundle available to every CI server that you want to run {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} {% data variables.product.prodname_code_scanning %} analysis on. For example, you might configure each server to copy the bundle from a central, internal location and extract it. Alternatively, you could use the REST API to get the bundle directly from {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}, ensuring that you benefit from the latest improvements to queries. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE" in the REST API documentation.

If you are using macOS on Apple Silicon (for example, Apple M1), ensure that the Xcode command-line developer tools and Rosetta 2 are installed.

{% note %}

Note: The {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} is currently not compatible with non-glibc Linux distributions such as (muslc-based) Alpine Linux.

{% endnote %}

1. Download the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} zip package

{% data reusables.codeql-cli.download-codeql-cli-zip %}

You should always use the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} bundle as this ensures compatibility and also gives much better performance than a separate download of the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} and checkout of the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} queries. If you will only be running the CLI on one specific platform, download the appropriate codeql-bundle-PLATFORM.tar.gz file. Alternatively, you can download codeql-bundle.tar.gz, which contains the CLI for all supported platforms.

{% data reusables.code-scanning.beta-codeql-packs-cli %}

Download information for macOS "Catalina" (or newer) users

{% data reusables.codeql-cli.download-info-macos-catalina-or-newer %}

2. Extract the zip archive

For Linux, Windows, and macOS users (version 10.14 "Mojave", and earlier) simply extract the zip archive.

Extraction information for macOS "Catalina" (or newer) users

{% data reusables.codeql-cli.extraction-info-macos-catalina-or-newer %}

3. Launch codeql

{% data reusables.codeql-cli.launch-codeql %}

{% note %}

Note: If you add codeql to your PATH, it can be accessed by {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} for {% data variables.product.prodname_vscode %} to compile and run queries. For more information about configuring {% data variables.product.prodname_vscode_shortname %} to access the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %}, see "Setting up {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} in {% data variables.product.prodname_vscode %}."

{% endnote %}

Testing the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} configuration

After you extract the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} bundle, you can run the following command to verify that the CLI is correctly configured to create and analyze databases:

• codeql resolve qlpacks if /<extraction-root>/codeql is on the PATH.
• /<extraction-root>/codeql/codeql resolve qlpacks otherwise.

You should see output similar to the extract below, if successful:

codeql/cpp-all (/<extraction-root>/qlpacks/codeql/cpp-all/<version>)
codeql/cpp-examples (/<extraction-root>/qlpacks/codeql/cpp-examples/<version>)
codeql/cpp-queries (/<extraction-root>/qlpacks/codeql/cpp-queries/<version>)
codeql/csharp-all (/<extraction-root>/qlpacks/codeql/charp-all/<version>)
codeql/csharp-examples (/<extraction-root>/qlpacks/codeql/charp-examples/<version>)
codeql/csharp-queries (/<extraction-root>/qlpacks/codeql/charp-queries/<version>)
codeql/java-all (/<extraction-root>/qlpacks/codeql/java-all/<version>)
codeql/java-examples (/<extraction-root>/qlpacks/codeql/java-examples/<version>)
codeql/java-queries (/<extraction-root>/qlpacks/codeql/java-queries/<version>)
codeql/javascript-all (/<extraction-root>/qlpacks/codeql/javascript-all/<version>)
codeql/javascript-examples (/<extraction-root>/qlpacks/codeql/javascript-examples/<version>)
codeql/javascript-queries (/<extraction-root>/qlpacks/codeql/javascript-queries/<version>)
codeql/python-all (/<extraction-root>/qlpacks/codeql/python-all/<version>)
codeql/python-examples (/<extraction-root>/qlpacks/codeql/python-examples/<version>)
codeql/python-queries (/<extraction-root>/qlpacks/codeql/python-queries/<version>)
codeql/ruby-all (/<extraction-root>/qlpacks/codeql/ruby-all/<version>)
codeql/ruby-examples (/<extraction-root>/qlpacks/codeql/ruby-examples/<version>)
codeql/ruby-queries (/<extraction-root>/qlpacks/codeql/ruby-queries/<version>)
...

You should check that the output contains the expected languages and also that the directory location for the qlpack files is correct. The location should be within the extracted {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} bundle, shown in the earlier example as <extraction root>. If the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} is unable to locate the qlpacks for the expected languages, check that you downloaded the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} bundle and not a standalone copy of the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %}.

You can also run codeql resolve languages to show which languages are available for database creation. This will list the languages supported by default in your {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} package.

{% ifversion codeql-packs %} Optionally, you can download some CodeQL packs containing pre-compiled queries you would like to run. For more information, see "AUTOTITLE."

{% endif %}

Next steps

To learn how to prepare your code to be analyzed by the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %}, see "AUTOTITLE."