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Introduction

The pan-scm-cli is a command-line interface for managing Palo Alto Networks Strata Cloud Manager (SCM) configurations directly from your terminal.

Overview

The CLI provides a consistent and intuitive way to:

  • Create, update, and delete SCM configuration objects with simple commands
  • Bulk import configurations from YAML files for efficient batch processing
  • Back up existing configurations for migration or disaster recovery
  • Validate input before applying changes to your environment
  • Preview changes with dry run mode before committing

Why Use pan-scm-cli?

Manually managing configurations in the SCM web interface can be time-consuming and error-prone. The CLI streamlines these tasks, ensuring consistency and efficiency. It is especially valuable for:

  • Bulk Operations: Apply hundreds of configuration changes that would be tedious in the web interface
  • Automation Workflows: Integrate SCM management into CI/CD pipelines and scripts
  • Multi-Environment Consistency: Apply the same configurations across multiple tenants using contexts
  • Auditability: Track configuration changes through version-controlled YAML files

Key Features

  • Consistent Command Structure: Standardized scm <action> <category> <resource> pattern for easy learning
  • Resource Management: Create, update, delete, and list SCM objects using simple commands
  • Bulk Operations: Apply configurations from YAML files for efficient batch processing
  • Validated Input: Built-in Pydantic validation ensures configurations are properly formatted
  • Error Handling: Clear error messages to help identify and resolve issues
  • Dry Run Mode: Preview changes before applying them to your environment
  • Mock Mode: Test commands without connecting to the SCM API

Command Structure

Commands in pan-scm-cli follow a consistent structure:

scm <action> <category> <resource> [options]

Where:

  • <action>: The operation to perform (set, delete, load, show, backup)
  • <category>: The category of resource (object, network, security, sase)
  • <resource>: The specific resource type (address, address-group, security-zone, etc.)
  • [options]: Resource-specific parameters and global options

Who Should Use This CLI?

  • Network Engineers looking to automate configuration tasks
  • Security Professionals managing SCM deployments
  • DevOps Teams integrating SCM into deployment workflows
  • Automation Engineers building scripts that interact with SCM

Getting Help

  • Documentation: Explore the CLI Reference for detailed command information
  • GitHub Repository: Visit the pan-scm-cli GitHub repository for source code and issue tracking
  • Help Command: Use scm --help or scm <command> --help for command-specific assistance

Next Steps

Proceed to the Installation Guide to install pan-scm-cli, then follow the Getting Started Guide to begin managing your SCM configurations.