Skip to main content
Version: v2.7.x LTS

Initializing team configuration

Initializing team configuration

Team configurations can be applied globally and per project, depending on the development project. See Team configurations for more information.

Use one of the following methods to initialize global team configuration. These instructions show how to create a configuration file that you can later open in a text editor or IDE (such as Visual Studio Code) to add or modify profiles.

Note: If API Mediation Layer is running on your site, Connecting profiles to API Mediation Layer is the recommended method to use to initialize team configuration.

Creating a global team configuration file​

  1. Issue the following command:

    zowe config init --global-config
  2. Respond to subsequent prompts with a username and password for a mainframe service such as z/OSMF.

    The zowe config init command ensures that your credentials are stored securely on your computer by default.

    When the credentials are received, the zowe.config.json team configuration file is added to the local .zowe directory. Use a text editor or IDE to add or modify connection details for your mainframe services.

    Note: Run the zowe config init --global-config command again after installing a new plug-in to add the plug-in profile to the global configuration file. See Creating team plug-in profiles for information.

  3. (Optional) Issue a Zowe CLI command to test access to z/OSMF.

    For example, list all data sets under your user ID by entering your information in the following example command:

    zowe zos-files list data-set "IBMUSER.*"

    A list of data sets is returned, indicating Zowe CLI is successfully configured to access a z/OSMF instance.

    If the CLI returns an error message, verify that you have access to the target system. Examine the configuration files in a text editor to check that the entered information is correct.

Important: After the configuration file is in place (by using either the zowe config init command or a file provided by a system administrator), the zowe profiles commands used in Zowe v1 no longer function. Zowe CLI returns errors when deprecated profile commands are issued.

Creating team plug-in profiles​

After the zowe.config.json team configuration file is created and new plug-ins are installed, run the zowe config init (or zowe config auto-init, if using the API ML) command again to add the plug-in profiles to the configuration file.

  1. Install a new plug-in.

    For example, run the following command to install the IBM CICS Plug-in:

    zowe plugins install @zowe/cics-for-zowe-cli

    Note: If the zowe.config.json file has not yet been created in the .zowe directory, see Creating a global team configuration file.

  2. Run the zowe config init --global-config or zowe config auto-init --global-config command.

    This adds a plug-in profile to the configuration file in the .zowe home directory.

  3. Open the zowe.config.json file and confirm the plug-in profile is included.

    In the example from Step 1, the profile information displays similarly to the example below:

    "cics": {
    "type": "cics",
    "properties": {
    "port": 123
    },
    "secure": []
    }

    The plug-in profile has been successfully added to the zowe.config.json file in the .zowe home directory.

    Note: To add plug-in profiles to a configuration file in the current working directory, enter the base command without the --global-config option: zowe config init.

Connecting profiles to API Mediation Layer​

If you are using the API Mediation Layer, set up the zowe.config.json file to automatically access the services that are registered to the API ML and support Single Sign-On.

  1. Run the following command:

    zowe config auto-init --global-config
  2. Respond to subsequent CLI prompts with the following information:

    • The host name and port to your API ML instance.

    • Your username and password.

    A default profile is added to the configuration file in the .zowe home directory.

Note: To add a profile to a configuration file in the current working directory, enter the base command without the --global-config option: zowe config init.

Using Certificates:

If using certificates to authenticate, specify the details for the certificates by modifying the following example command:

zowe auth login apiml --cert-file "/path/to/cert/file" --cert-key-file "/path/to/cert/key/file"