Using the QCS CLI

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Using the QCS CLI

The QCS CLI is a tool for interacting with QCS from the command line.
This guide refers to the new QCS CLI, made for working with pyQuil v3. If you're using pyQuil v2, refer to Using the Legacy QCS CLI.
Installation
If you're using QCS via your provisioned JupyterLab IDE, qcs is already installed for you. Otherwise, follow the steps below to install it locally.
macOS / Linux
Run the following in a terminal to download and install the CLI:
macOS
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curl -s "https://qcs-cli.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/latest/osx/install" | bash
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Linux
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curl -s "https://qcs-cli.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/latest/linux/install" | bash
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Next, add the following to the appropriate startup script for your shell environment ($HOME/.bashrc or $HOME/.zshrc, for instance), to ensure the qcs command is available to every terminal session:
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export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/.qcs/bin
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Windows
We don't currently have installation scripts for Windows. We recommend running the Linux instructions above in the Windows Subsystem for Linux.
Configuring Credentials
To run many commands, the CLI will need to know your QCS credentials. To add them to the CLI, run the following:
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qcs secrets add-credentials default --auth-server-name default
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Once that completes, check that the following command executes successfully (requires a QCS account and access to a web browser):
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qcs api auth-get-user
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Staying Up-to-Date
The qcs version command displays the version of your current installation:
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qcs version
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You can check the latest available version with the latest subcommand:
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qcs version latest
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To update to the latest available version, use the update subcommand:
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qcs version update
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Making a QPU Reservation
To make a reservation against a QPU, use the qcs tools reserve command, as described in our guide Reserving Time on a QPU.
Going Further
This guide touched on only the most commonly-used commands. For details on all available QCS CLI commands and configuration options, see the QCS CLI Reference.

Reserving Time on a QPU

Using the Legacy QCS CLI

Last modified 4mo ago

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Contents

Installation

macOS / Linux

Windows

Configuring Credentials

Staying Up-to-Date

Making a QPU Reservation

Going Further