setting-up-the-codeql-cli.md

title	Setting up the CodeQL CLI
shortTitle	Set up the CodeQL CLI
intro	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.
product	{% data reusables.gated-features.codeql %}
versions	fpt ghes ghec * * *
redirect_from	/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 /code-security/codeql-cli/getting-started-with-the-codeql-cli/setting-up-the-codeql-cli /code-security/how-tos/scan-code-for-vulnerabilities/scan-from-the-command-line/setting-up-the-codeql-cli
contentType	how-tos
category	Customize vulnerability detection with CodeQL

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 {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} so that it can access the tools, queries, and libraries required to create and analyze databases.

The {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} supports a range of use cases and directory structures. This article walks through a simple setup that works for most users and environments.

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

Before you begin

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

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

1. Download the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} tar archive

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

2. Extract the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} tar archive

Extract the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} tar archive to a directory of your choosing.

Optional: Make the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} available in your CI system

If you plan to run {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} {% data variables.product.prodname_code_scanning %} analysis in a CI system, ensure that the full contents of the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} bundle are available to every CI server that will run analysis.

For example, you can:

• Copy the bundle from a central internal location and extract it on each server, or
• Use the REST API to download the bundle directly from {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}, ensuring that you receive the latest improvements to queries. For more information, see AUTOTITLE.

3. Launch codeql

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

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 AUTOTITLE.

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

If successful, you should see output similar to the extract below:

Searching directories specified by `--additional-packs`. All directories have equal priority.
  Searching in:
    No packs were found at this location.
Searching directories specified by `--search-path`. Directories are searched in order.
Searching the root of the CodeQL distribution.
  Searching in:
      <extraction root>
    The following packs were found:
      codeql/java-all@<version>: (library) <extraction root>/qlpacks/codeql/javat-all/<version>/qlpack.yml
      codeql/java-queries@<version>: (query) <extraction root>/qlpacks/codeql/java-queries/<version>/qlpack.yml
      codeql/javascript-all@<version>: (library) <extraction root>/qlpacks/codeql/javascript-all/<version>/qlpack.yml
      codeql/javascript-queries@<version>: (query) <extraction root>/qlpacks/codeql/javascript-queries/<version>/qlpack.yml
      codeql/swift-all@<version>: (library) <extraction root>/qlpacks/codeql/swift-all/<version>/qlpack.yml
      codeql/swift-queries@<version>: (query) <extraction root>/qlpacks/codeql/swift-queries/<version>/qlpack.yml
...

The results have been truncated for brevity. The actual results will be longer and more detailed.

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.

Optionally, you can download some CodeQL packs containing pre-compiled queries you would like to run. For more information, see AUTOTITLE.

The codeql resolve packs command is useful for diagnosing problems when the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} is unable to locate query packs that you expect to be available for analysis.

[!NOTE] The codeql resolve packs command is available in the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} versions 2.19.0 and later. For earlier versions of the CLI, you should run the codeql resolve qlpacks command, which produces similar, but less detailed output.

Next steps

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