Command Line Interface for IBM Aspera products

Introduction

Overview

The IBM Aspera Command Line Interface (ascli) is an enterprise-grade tool that provides comprehensive command-line access to IBM Aspera's suite of high-speed file transfer products and services. Designed for automation, scripting, and integration scenarios, ascli enables organizations to leverage Aspera's FASP technology within their existing workflows and DevOps pipelines.

Key Features

Multi-Product Integration : Unified interface supporting Aspera on Cloud, Faspex (v4 and v5), Shares, Node API, Console, Orchestrator, and High-Speed Transfer Server (HSTS).

Flexible Authentication : Support for OAuth 2.0, JWT, Basic Authentication, and SSH key-based authentication across different Aspera products.

Transfer Automation : High-speed FASP transfers with multiple agent support (Direct, Connect, Node, HTTP Gateway, Transfer Daemon).

Configuration Management : Persistent configuration presets, environment variables, and flexible option handling for streamlined operations.

Developer Friendly : Comprehensive logging, debugging capabilities, and API exploration tools for development and troubleshooting.

Target Audience

This manual is intended for:

• System Administrators managing Aspera infrastructure
• DevOps Engineers integrating Aspera into CI/CD pipelines
• Developers building automation scripts and workflows
• IT Professionals performing file transfer operations

Document Structure

This manual is organized into the following sections:

1. Quick Start - Getting started with basic operations
2. Installation - Setup procedures for various platforms
3. Command Line Interface - Syntax, options, and usage patterns
4. Plugins - Product-specific operations and examples
5. Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions
6. Reference - Technical specifications and advanced topics

When to use and when not to use

ascli is designed for command-line interaction with IBM Aspera products, enabling users to execute remote commands and perform high-performance file transfers. It supports both interactive terminal operations (for example, maintenance tasks on VT100-compatible terminals) and scripting use cases (for example, batch jobs via shell scripts or cron).

Internally, ascli integrates several components:

• A configuration file (config.yaml) for persistent settings
• Advanced command-line options (see Extended Value)
• REST API calls, including OAuth (like curl)
• Aspera’s ascp for high-speed file transfers

For programmatic integration with languages such as C/C++, Go, Python, NodeJS, and others, it is recommended to use the Aspera APIs directly. These include:

• REST APIs for products like Aspera on Cloud (AoC), Faspex, and Node
• The Transfer Daemon with gRPC interfaces and language-specific stubs (C/C++, Python, .NET/C#, Java, Go, Ruby, Rust, etc.)

These APIs are generally more suitable for long-term development and maintenance. Example implementations can be found at: https://github.com/laurent-martin/aspera-api-examples.

For scripting and ad hoc command-line tasks, ascli is ideal. It is developer-friendly and well-suited for quickly testing and learning Aspera APIs (see Logging, Debugging).

CLI landscape overview: ascp

ascp is the low-level command-line utility that implements the FASP protocol and is used for actual data transfers. Every Aspera transfer involves an ascp process on both the client and server sides. While ascp can be used directly, it is limited to basic send/receive operations and lacks features like configuration management, automatic resume, and remote file listing. ascli provides a higher-level interface that encompasses all ascp capabilities and adds significant usability improvements.

To use ascp directly as a command line, refer to the IBM Aspera documentation of either Desktop Client, Endpoint or Transfer Server - each of which includes a dedicated section on ascp.

Using ascli with the server plugin instead of raw ascp provides several advantages:

• Automatic resume on error
• Configuration file support
• Choice of transfer agents
• Built-in multi-session support

All ascp options are supported, either through transfer spec parameters (listed with config ascp spec), or by passing ascp arguments directly when using the direct agent (via ascp_args in option transfer_info).

Notations, Shell, Examples

Examples of command-line operations are shown using a shell such as: bash (Linux) or zsh (macOS). Using Windows PowerShell or cmd is also possible.

Command line examples listed in sections titled Tested commands for _plugin_name_ are verified during version validation.

Command line arguments formatted as <NAME> in examples represent user-provided values, not fixed value commands.

ascli is an API Client toward the remote Aspera application Server (Faspex, HSTS, etc.)

Some commands will start an Aspera transfer (e.g. upload). The transfer is not implemented directly in ascli; rather, ascli uses one of the external Aspera Transfer Clients called Transfer Agents.

Quick Start

This section walks you through your first interaction with ascli on Linux.

Prerequisites

• Get the ascli binary for Linux (.tgz) in the release section of the GitHub repository.

• Decompress the archive to get the executable:

mkdir -p $HOME/bin
tar zxvf ascli.4.27.0.pre.linux-x86_64.tgz
mv ascli.4.27.0.pre.linux-x86_64 $HOME/bin/ascli
export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin

• Once installed, confirm ascli is accessible by checking its version:

ascli -v

4.27.0.pre

• Install the latest Aspera transfer runtime, as it is not included in the ascli package:

ascli config transferd install

Option A - Test with the Aspera Demo Server

• Run the following command to initialize the demo environment:

ascli config initdemo

• Check the configuration:

ascli config preset overview

• Browse the remote file system:

ascli server browse /

╭────────────┬──────┬───────────┬───────┬───────────────────────────┬───────────────────────╮
│ zmode      │ zuid │ zgid      │ size  │ mtime                     │ name                  │
╞════════════╪══════╪═══════════╪═══════╪═══════════════════════════╪═══════════════════════╡
│ dr-xr-xr-x │ xfer │ demousers │ 4096  │ 2014-11-05 16:01:56 +0100 │ aspera-test-dir-large │
│ drwxrwxr-x │ xfer │ demousers │ 94208 │ 2025-03-31 11:27:33 +0200 │ Upload                │
│ dr-xr-xr-x │ xfer │ demousers │ 4096  │ 2014-11-05 16:01:56 +0100 │ aspera-test-dir-small │
│ dr-xr-xr-x │ xfer │ demousers │ 4096  │ 2014-11-05 16:01:56 +0100 │ aspera-test-dir-tiny  │
╰────────────┴──────┴───────────┴───────┴───────────────────────────┴───────────────────────╯

• Download a file:

ascli server download /aspera-test-dir-small/10MB.1

Time: 00:00:02 ====================================== 100% 100 Mbps Time: 00:00:00
complete

Option B - Connecting to Your Own HSTS

To use ascli with a server of your own, it's recommended to save its connection details as an Option Preset. This avoids repeating credentials on every command. The steps below create a preset, set it as the default for the server plugin, browse a remote directory, and download a file:

• Create a preset with your server's connection details:

ascli config preset update <SERVER_PRESET_NAME> --url=ssh://demo.asperasoft.com:33001 --username=aspera --password=demoaspera

Updated: <SERVER_PRESET_NAME>
Saving config file.

• Set the preset as the default for the server plugin:

ascli config preset set default server <SERVER_PRESET_NAME>

Updated: default: server <- <SERVER_PRESET_NAME>
Saving config file.

• Once your preset is set, follow the same browse and download steps as in Option A.

Option C — Test with Aspera on Cloud

If you'd prefer to test against Aspera on Cloud, skip ahead to the AoC Wizard section.

Leveraging AI Assistance

You can significantly accelerate your workflow by using an AI assistant to generate and troubleshoot commands for ascli. For the best results, provide the AI with the most recent documentation as context.

Recommended Workflow:

• Contextualize: Download the project manual (this manual in Markdown format, docs/README.md) from the GitHub repository.

• Upload: Attach the file to your AI assistant's prompt to ensure it uses specific, up-to-date syntax.

• Inquire: Use a detailed prompt that specifies your requirements and environment.

Example Prompt:

Strictly using only the attached manual for ascli for that version.
Generate a command to send a package via Aspera on Cloud using the Bash shell.
Set a custom title and note.
Define specific recipients.
Cap the transfer speed at 300Mbps.

By providing the documentation as a direct reference, you reduce "hallucinations" and receive accurate, executable commands in seconds.

Next Steps

• Learn the CLI: Read Command Line Interface to understand configuration, options, and commands.

• Explore plugins: Jump to the section for the product you're working with — Aspera on Cloud, Faspex, and more — under Application Plugins.

Installation

There are several ways to install ascli:

• Using a Ruby environment directly on the host operating system (Linux, macOS, Windows).

  This is the most general method. It consists of installing:

  • The Ruby language,
  • The aspera-cli Ruby gem,
  • Aspera Transfer Daemon (ascp).

• As a single file executable

  This method is simple, but only a limited number of platforms are supported.

• As a container (docker, podman, singularity).

The following sections describe the various installation methods.

An internet connection is required during installation. If you do not have internet access, see Installation without internet access.

Single file executable

ascli is available as a single platform-dependent executable in the Releases. This executable includes the Ruby runtime.

Installation

curl -o ascli https://eudemo.asperademo.com/download/aspera-cli/ascli.4.27.0.pre.osx-arm64
chmod a+x ascli
./ascli config transferd install

Linux: GLIBC version

On Linux, you can check your system's GLIBC version on this site: repology.org, or check your GLIBC version with ldd:

ldd --version | head -n1

ldd (GNU libc) 2.34

Check an executable's (e.g. /bin/bash, ascli, ascp) minimum required GLIBC version:

objdump -p /bin/bash | sed -n 's/^.*GLIBC_//p' | sort -V | tail -n1

2.34

The required GLIBC version for ascp can be found in the Release Notes of HSTS or in this page.

Windows: Chocolatey aspera-cli

ascli can be directly installed using Chocolatey.

In a PowerShell as Administrator:

choco install aspera-cli -y

Ruby

A Ruby interpreter is required to run ascli.

Required Ruby version is version: >= 3.1.

Ruby can be installed using any of the following methods: rpm, yum, dnf, rvm, rbenv, brew, Windows installer, ...

In priority, refer to the official Ruby documentation:

• Official Ruby Installation Guide
• Official Ruby Download

For convenience, you may refer to the following sections for a proposed method for specific operating systems.

ascli requires a Ruby version at least under maintenance support. If only an older Ruby version must be used due to system constraints, use an older version of ascli that supports it; refer to rubygems.org.

Windows: Installer

Manual installation:

• Navigate to https://rubyinstaller.org/ → Downloads.
• Download the latest Ruby installer "with devkit". (Msys2 is needed to install some native extensions, such as grpc)
• Execute the installer, which installs by default in: C:\RubyVV-x64 (VV is the version number)
• At the end of the installation procedure, the Msys2 installer is automatically executed, select option 3 (Msys2 and mingw)
• Then install the aspera-cli gem and Aspera Transfer Daemon (see next sections)

Automated installation (with internet access):

The Ruby installer supports silent installation, to see the options, execute it with /help, or refer to the Ruby Installer FAQ

Download the Ruby installer executable from https://rubyinstaller.org/downloads/ and then install:

rubyinstaller-devkit-3.2.2-1-x64.exe /silent /currentuser /noicons /dir=C:\aspera-cli

Windows: Chocolatey

If you use Chocolatey, then install Ruby with:

choco install ruby

macOS: brew

If you use Homebrew, then install Ruby with:

brew install ruby

This installs a recent Ruby suitable for ascli.

To add Ruby to your PATH on Apple Silicon, add the following lines to your shell configuration file (i.e. ~/.zshrc if you are using zsh, or ~/.bash_profile for bash):

PATH="$(brew --prefix ruby)/bin:$($(brew --prefix ruby)/bin/gem env gemdir)/bin:$PATH"

Linux: Package

If your Linux distribution provides a standard Ruby package, you can use it provided that the version is supported.

Example: RHEL 8+, Rocky Linux 8+: with extensions to compile native gems:

• Check available Ruby versions:

  dnf module list ruby
  

• If Ruby was already installed with an older version, remove it:

  dnf module -y reset ruby
  

• Install packages needed to build native gems:

  dnf install -y make automake gcc gcc-c++ kernel-devel
  

• Enable the Ruby version you selected:

  dnf module -y enable ruby:3.2
  
  dnf install -y ruby-devel
  

Example: Ubuntu

apt-get install -y ruby-full

Other examples:

yum install -y ruby ruby-devel rubygems ruby-json

apt install -y ruby ruby-dev rubygems ruby-json

One can remove all installed gems, for example to start fresh:

ls $(gem env gemdir)/gems/|sed -e 's/-[^-]*$//'|sort -u|xargs gem uninstall -axI
rm -f Gemfile.lock

Unix-like: RVM: Single user installation (not root)

Install rvm. Follow https://rvm.io/.

Execute the shell/curl command. As regular user, it installs in the user's home: ~/.rvm.

\curl -sSL https://get.rvm.io | bash -s stable

Follow on-screen instructions to install keys, and then re-execute the command.

Upon RVM installation, open a new terminal or initialize with:

source ~/.rvm/scripts/rvm

It is advised to use one of the precompiled Ruby versions; you can list them with:

rvm list --remote

Install the chosen pre-compiled Ruby version:

rvm install 3.2.2

Ruby is now installed for the user, go to Gem installation.

Alternatively RVM can be installed system-wide, for this execute as root. It then installs by default in /usr/local/rvm for all users and creates /etc/profile.d/rvm.sh. One can install in another location with:

curl -sSL https://get.rvm.io | bash -s -- --path /usr/local

As root, make sure this will not collide with other applications using Ruby (e.g. Faspex). If so, one can rename the environment script so that it is not loaded by default:

mv /etc/profile.d/rvm.sh /etc/profile.d/rvm.sh.ok

To activate Ruby (and ascli) later, source it:

source /etc/profile.d/rvm.sh.ok

rvm version

On macOS, one way to force use of OpenSSL 3.0 is:

RUBY_CONFIGURE_OPTS="--with-openssl-dir=$(brew --prefix openssl@3.0)" rvm install 3.4.0

Unix-like: rbenv

If you don't have root access, you can install Ruby in your home directory using rbenv, see rbenv-installer:

curl -fsSL https://github.com/rbenv/rbenv-installer/raw/HEAD/bin/rbenv-installer | bash

Then open a new terminal, or source the shell initialization script:

source ~/.bashrc

Then install Ruby:

rbenv install 3.2.2

Other Unixes (AIX)

Ruby is sometimes made available as an installable package through third party providers. For example for AIX, one can look at:

https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/aix-toolbox-open-source-software-downloads-alpha#R

If your Unix does not provide a pre-built Ruby, you can get it using one of those methods.

For instance to build from source and install in /opt/ruby :

wget https://cache.ruby-lang.org/pub/ruby/x.y/ruby-x.y.z.tar.gz

gzip -d ruby-x.y.z.tar.gz

tar xvf ruby-x.y.z.tar

cd ruby-x.y.z

./configure --prefix=/opt/ruby

make ruby.imp

make

make install

JRuby

ascli can also run with the JRuby interpreter. All that is needed is a JVM (Java Virtual Machine) on your system (java). The JRuby package comes pre-compiled and does not require compilation of native extensions. Use a version of JRuby compatible with Ruby version supported by ascli. See the Wikipedia page to match JRuby and Ruby versions. Choose the latest version from:

https://www.jruby.org/download

Example: Start ascli with JRuby and reduce startup time:

export JRUBY_OPTS=--dev
ascli -v

or

JRUBY_OPTS=--dev ascli -v

Optional gems

Some additional gems are required for either development or specific runtime features. For JRuby, some replacement gems are proposed, or are not available at all. Those are not installed as part of dependencies because they involve compilation of native code but concern less-used features.

See Gemfile:

name	version	comment
rake	~> 13.0
debug	~> 1.11	(no jruby)
grpc-tools	~> 1.67
reek	~> 6.5.0
rspec	~> 3.0
rubocop	~> 1.75
rubocop-ast	~> 1.4
rubocop-performance	~> 1.10	(no jruby)
rubocop-shopify	~> 2.0
simplecov	~> 0.22
solargraph	~> 0.48	(no jruby)
grpc	~> 1.71	(no jruby) for Aspera Transfer Daemon
symmetric-encryption	~> 4.6	for encrypted hash file secrets
bigdecimal	~> 3.1	if RUBY_VERSION >= '3.4' for symmetric-encryption ?
base64	~> 0.3	if RUBY_VERSION >= '3.4' remove from standard gems
sqlite3	~> 2.7	(no jruby) for async DB
jdbc-sqlite3	~> 3.46	(jruby) for async DB
sequel	~> 5.96	(jruby) for async DB
ed25519	~> 1.4	(no jruby) for ed25519 and OpenSSH file format
bcrypt_pbkdf	~> 1.1	(no jruby) for ed25519 and OpenSSH file format
syslog	~> 0.3	(no jruby) for logger=syslog
rmagick	~> 6.1	(no jruby) for terminal view

Install like this:

gem install rake -v '~> 13.0'
gem install debug -v '~> 1.11'
gem install grpc-tools -v '~> 1.67'
gem install reek -v '~> 6.5.0'
gem install rspec -v '~> 3.0'
gem install rubocop -v '~> 1.75'
gem install rubocop-ast -v '~> 1.4'
gem install rubocop-performance -v '~> 1.10'
gem install rubocop-shopify -v '~> 2.0'
gem install simplecov -v '~> 0.22'
gem install solargraph -v '~> 0.48'
gem install grpc -v '~> 1.71'
gem install symmetric-encryption -v '~> 4.6'
gem install bigdecimal -v '~> 3.1'
gem install base64 -v '~> 0.3'
gem install sqlite3 -v '~> 2.7'
gem install jdbc-sqlite3 -v '~> 3.46'
gem install sequel -v '~> 5.96'
gem install ed25519 -v '~> 1.4'
gem install bcrypt_pbkdf -v '~> 1.1'
gem install syslog -v '~> 0.3'
gem install rmagick -v '~> 6.1'

Ruby gem: aspera-cli

Once you have Ruby and rights to install gems, install the aspera-cli gem and its dependencies:

gem install aspera-cli --pre

To upgrade to the latest version:

gem update aspera-cli

During execution, ascli checks weekly whether a new version is available and notifies the user via a WARN log entry. To deactivate this feature, globally set the option version_check_days to 0, or specify a different period in days.

To check if a new version is available (independently of version_check_days):

ascli config check_update

Gem installation with signature verification

The gem is signed with a private key, and the public certificate is available in the GitHub repository (certs/aspera-cli-public-cert.pem). When installing the gem, the signature may optionally be verified.

For secure installation, one can install the gem with the public key:

Import the verification certificate:

gem cert --add <(curl -Ls https://raw.githubusercontent.com/IBM/aspera-cli/main/certs/aspera-cli-public-cert.pem)

The user installs the gem with HighSecurity or MediumSecurity: this will succeed only if the gem is trusted:

gem install -P MediumSecurity aspera-cli

Beta release of gem

Beta version of gem can be found here: https://ibm.biz/aspera-cli-beta

On Linux/macOS, install in a terminal:

curl -sLo aspera-cli-beta.gem https://ibm.biz/aspera-cli-beta
gem install aspera-cli-beta.gem

On Windows, download the link, that saves the file: aspera-cli-beta.gem, then install with gem install aspera-cli-beta.gem.

FASP Protocol: ascp

File transfers are primarily performed using the FASP protocol via the ascp utility.

To execute an Aspera transfer, only two additional files are required; both are included with the Aspera Transfer Daemon:

• ascp - the transfer executable

• aspera-license - the license file (located in the same directory as ascp or in ../etc)

These components can be installed either by installing the Aspera transfer software or by running the ascli command.

Installation of ascp through transferd

The easiest option to install ascp is through the use of the IBM Aspera Transfer Daemon (transferd). Install it using ascli (for the current platform) with:

ascli config transferd install

The installation of the transfer binaries follows those steps:

• Select the SDK package to use. Check the sdk_url option:
  • If the value is not the default value (DEF), it directly specifies the archive URL to download.
  • If the value is DEF, ascli downloads the YAML file from the URL specified by the locations_url option (default: https://ibm.biz/sdk_location).
    • This YAML file lists supported architectures (OS, CPU) and Aspera Transfer Daemon versions with their associated package URLs.
    • If an additional positional parameter is provided, it specifies the SDK version to use; otherwise the latest version is selected.
    • The package URL matching the current system architecture is then used.
• Extract the archive
  • By default, the archive is extracted to $HOME/.aspera/sdk.
  • The destination folder can be changed by setting the sdk_folder option.

Option	Default	Description
sdk_url	DEF	URL to download the Aspera Transfer Daemon archive. DEF means: select from available archives.
locations_url	https://ibm.biz/sdk_location	URL to get download URLs of Aspera Transfer Daemon from IBM official repository.
sdk_folder	$HOME/.aspera/sdk	Folder where the SDK archive is extracted.

Available Transfer Daemon versions available from locations_url can be listed with: ascli config transferd list

To install a specific version, e.g. 1.1.3:

ascli config transferd install 1.1.3

To get the download URL for a specific platform and version:

ascli config transferd list --select=@json:'{"platform":"osx-arm64","version":"1.1.3"}' --fields=url

To download it, pipe to config download:

ascli config transferd list --select=@json:'{"platform":"osx-arm64","version":"1.1.3"}' --fields=url | ascli config download @stdin:

If installation from a local file is preferred (air-gapped installation) instead of fetching from internet: one can specify the location of the SDK file with option sdk_url:

ascli config transferd install --sdk-url=file:///macos-arm64-1.1.3-c6c7a2a.zip

The format is: file:///<PATH>, where <PATH> can be either a relative path (not starting with /), or an absolute path.

Supported platforms are listed in the Release Notes and archives can be downloaded from Downloads.

Installation of ascp through other component

If the embedded method is not used, the following packages are also suitable:

• IBM Aspera Connect Client (Free)
• IBM Aspera Desktop Client (Free)
• IBM Aspera for Desktop (Free)
• IBM Aspera High Speed Transfer Server (Licensed)
• IBM Aspera High Speed Transfer Endpoint (Licensed)

For instance, Aspera Connect Client can be installed by visiting the page: https://www.ibm.com/aspera/connect/.

ascli will detect most of Aspera transfer products in standard locations and use the first one found by default. See FASP for details on how to select a client or set path to the FASP protocol.

Several methods are provided to start a transfer. Use of a local client (direct transfer agent) is one of them, but other methods are available. See Transfer Agents

Installation in an air-gapped environment

Gem files and dependencies

Necessary gems can be packed in a tar.gz like this:

mkdir temp_folder
gem install aspera-cli:4.27.0.pre --no-document --install-dir temp_folder
find temp_folder
mv temp_folder/cache aspera-cli-4.27.0.pre-gems
rm -fr temp_folder
tar zcvf aspera-cli-4.27.0.pre-gems aspera-cli-4.27.0.pre-gems.tgz

Unix-like

A method to build one is provided here:

The procedure:

• Follow the non-root installation procedure with RVM, including gem

• Archive (zip, tar) the main RVM folder (includes ascli):

cd $HOME && tar zcvf rvm-ascli.tgz .rvm

• Download the Transfer Daemon archive for the selected architecture, follow Install ascp

• Transfer those 2 files to the target system

• On target system

cd $HOME

tar zxvf rvm-ascli.tgz

source ~/.rvm/scripts/rvm

ascli config transferd install --sdk-url=file:///[SDK archive file path]

• Add those lines to shell environment (.profile)

source ~/.rvm/scripts/rvm

Windows

Installation without network:

It is essentially the same procedure as the internet-connected Windows installation, but instead of downloading files from the internet, copy them from a machine with internet access and install from those archives:

• Download the Ruby installer from https://rubyinstaller.org/downloads/

  v=$(curl -s https://rubyinstaller.org/downloads/ | sed -nEe 's|.*(https://.*/releases/download/.*exe).*|\1|p' | head -n 1)
  curl -o ${v##*/} $v
  

• Create an archive with necessary gems like in previous section

• Download the Transfer Daemon following: Install ascp

• Create a Zip with all those files and transfer to the target system.

Then, on the target system:

• Unzip the archive
• Execute the installer:

rubyinstaller-devkit-3.2.2-1-x64.exe /silent /currentuser /noicons /dir=C:\aspera-cli

• Install the gems: Extract the gem archive and then:

gem install --force --local *.gem

• Install the Aspera Transfer Daemon SDK

ascli config transferd install --sdk-url=file:///sdk.zip

Container

The container image is: docker.io/martinlaurent/ascli. The container contains: Ruby, ascli and the Aspera Transfer Daemon. To use the container, ensure that you have podman (or docker) installed.

podman --version

Container: Quick start

Want to start quickly? With an interactive shell?

Execute this:

podman run --rm --tty --interactive --entrypoint bash docker.io/martinlaurent/ascli:latest

Then, execute individual ascli commands such as:

ascli config init
ascli config preset overview
ascli config ascp info
ascli server ls /

That is simple, but there are limitations:

• Everything happens in the container
• Any generated file in the container will be lost on container (shell) exit. Including configuration files and downloaded files.
• No possibility to upload files located on the host system

Container: Details

The container image is built from this Dockerfile. The entry point is ascli and the default command is help.

The container can be executed for individual commands like this: (add ascli commands and options at the end of the command line, e.g. -v to display the version)

podman run --rm --tty --interactive docker.io/martinlaurent/ascli:latest

For more convenience, you may define a shell alias:

alias ascli='podman run --rm --tty --interactive docker.io/martinlaurent/ascli:latest'

Then, you can execute the container like a local command:

ascli -v

4.27.0.pre

In order to keep persistency of configuration on the host, you should specify your user's configuration folder as a volume for the container. To enable write access, a possibility is to run as root in the container (and set the default configuration folder to /home/cliuser/.aspera/ascli). Add options:

--user root --env ASCLI_HOME=/home/cliuser/.aspera/ascli --volume $HOME/.aspera/ascli:/home/cliuser/.aspera/ascli

As shown in the quick start, if you prefer to keep a running container with a shell and ascli available, you can change the entry point, add option:

--entrypoint bash

You may also probably want that files downloaded in the container are directed to the host. For example, files transferred with ascli through folder /xferfiles (right hand side) would be available on host in $HOME/xferdir. In this case you also need to specify the shared transfer folder as a volume:

--volume $HOME/xferdir:/xferfiles

And if you want all the above, simply use all the options:

alias asclish="podman run --rm --tty --interactive --user root --env ASCLI_HOME=/home/cliuser/.aspera/ascli --volume $HOME/.aspera/ascli:/home/cliuser/.aspera/ascli --volume $HOME/xferdir:/xferfiles --entrypoint bash docker.io/martinlaurent/ascli:latest"

export xferdir=$HOME/xferdir
mkdir -p $xferdir
chmod -R 777 $xferdir
mkdir -p $HOME/.aspera/ascli
asclish

Container: Sample start script

A convenience sample script is also provided: download the script dascli from the GIT repo :

Some environment variables can be set for this script to adapt its behavior:

env var	Description	Default	Example
ASCLI_HOME	Configuration folder (persistency)	$HOME/.aspera/ascli	$HOME/.ascli_config
docker_args	Additional options to podman	<empty>	--volume /Users:/Users
image	Container image name	docker.io/martinlaurent/ascli	n/a
version	Container image version	Latest	4.8.0.pre

The wrapping script maps the folder $ASCLI_HOME on host to /home/cliuser/.aspera/ascli in the container. (value expected in the container). This allows having persistent configuration on the host.

To add local storage as a volume, you can use the env var docker_args:

Example of use:

curl -o ascli https://raw.githubusercontent.com/IBM/aspera-cli/main/container/dascli
chmod a+x ascli
export xferdir=$HOME/xferdir
mkdir -p $xferdir
chmod -R 777 $xferdir
export docker_args="--volume $xferdir:/xferfiles"

./ascli config init

echo 'Local file to transfer' > $xferdir/samplefile.txt
./ascli server upload /xferfiles/samplefile.txt --to-folder=/Upload

Container: Offline installation

• First create the image archive:

podman pull docker.io/martinlaurent/ascli
podman save docker.io/martinlaurent/ascli|gzip>ascli_image_latest.tar.gz

• Then, on air-gapped system:

podman load -i ascli_image_latest.tar.gz

Container: aspera.conf

ascp's configuration file aspera.conf is located in the container at: /ibm_aspera/aspera.conf (see Dockerfile). As the container is immutable, it is not recommended modifying this file. If one wants to change the content, it is possible to tell ascp to use another file using ascp option -f, e.g. by locating it on the host folder $HOME/.aspera/ascli mapped to the container folder /home/cliuser/.aspera/ascli:

echo '<CONF/>' > $HOME/.aspera/ascli/aspera.conf

Then, tell ascp to use that other configuration file:

--transfer-info=@json:'{"ascp_args":["-f","/home/cliuser/.aspera/ascli/aspera.conf"]}'

Container: Singularity

Singularity is another type of use of container.

On Linux install:

dnf install singularity-ce

Build an image like this:

singularity build ascli.sif docker://docker.io/martinlaurent/ascli

Then, start ascli like this:

singularity run ascli.sif

Or get a shell with access to ascli like this:

singularity shell ascli.sif

SSL library

ascli uses the Ruby openssl gem which uses by default the system's openssl library and its CA certificate bundle.

To display the version of OpenSSL used in ascli:

ascli config echo @ruby:OpenSSL::OPENSSL_VERSION --format=text

It is possible to specify to use another SSL library or version by executing:

gem install openssl -- --with-openssl-dir=[openssl library folder]

Where [openssl library folder] is the path to the folder containing the lib and include folders of the openssl library.

For example, on macOS, to use the openssl@3 library installed with brew:

openssl version -e|sed -n 's|ENGINESDIR: "\(.*\)/lib[^/]*/.*|\1|p'

/opt/homebrew/Cellar/openssl@3/3.3.0

Then install the openssl gem with:

gem install openssl -- --with-openssl-dir=$(openssl version -e|sed -n 's|ENGINESDIR: "\(.*\)/lib[^/]*/.*|\1|p')

SSL CA certificate bundle

SSL certificates are validated using a certificate store. By default, it is the one of the system's openssl library.

To display trusted certificate store locations:

ascli --show-config --fields=cert_stores

Certificates are checked against the Ruby default certificate store OpenSSL::X509::DEFAULT_CERT_FILE and OpenSSL::X509::DEFAULT_CERT_DIR, which are typically the ones of openssl on Unix-like systems (Linux, macOS, etc.). Ruby's default values can be overridden using env vars: SSL_CERT_FILE and SSL_CERT_DIR.

One can display those default values:

ascli config echo @ruby:OpenSSL::X509::DEFAULT_CERT_DIR --format=text
ascli config echo @ruby:OpenSSL::X509::DEFAULT_CERT_FILE --format=text

In order to get certificate validation, the CA certificate bundle must be up-to-date. Check this repository on how to update the system's CA certificate bundle: https://github.com/millermatt/osca.

For example on RHEL/Rocky Linux:

dnf install -y ca-certificates
update-ca-trust extract

The SSL CA certificate bundle can be specified using the cert_stores option, which accepts a list of files or directories. By default, Ruby’s system certificate store is used.

When cert_stores is provided:

• It overrides the default locations, which can still be included explicitly using the special value DEF.
• The option accepts either a String (single path) or an Array (multiple paths).
• Each use of the option appends to the list of search paths incrementally.
• If a directory is specified, all files within that directory are automatically included.

For example, on Linux to force the use the system's certificate store:

--cert-stores=$(openssl version -d|cut -f2 -d'"')/cert.pem

ascp also needs to validate certificates when using WSS for transfer TCP part (instead of SSH).

By default,ascp uses a hard coded root location OPENSSLDIR. Original ascp's hard-coded locations can be found using:

ascli config ascp info --fields=openssldir

For example, on macOS: /Library/Aspera/ssl. Then trusted certificates are taken from [OPENSSLDIR]/cert.pem and files in [OPENSSLDIR]/certs. ascli overrides the default hard coded location used by ascp for WSS and uses the same locations as specified in cert_stores (using the -i option of ascp).

To update trusted root certificates for ascli: Display the trusted certificate store locations used by ascli. Typically done by updating the system's root certificate store.

An up-to-date version of the certificate bundle can also be retrieved with:

ascli config echo @uri:https://curl.haxx.se/ca/cacert.pem --format=text

To download that certificate store:

ascli config echo @uri:https://curl.haxx.se/ca/cacert.pem --format=text --output=/tmp/cacert.pem

Then, use this store by setting the option cert_stores (or env var SSL_CERT_FILE).

To trust a specific certificate (e.g. self-signed), provided that the CN is correct, save the certificate chain to a file:

ascli config remote_certificate chain https://localhost:9092 --insecure=yes --output=<SERVER_PRESET_NAME>.pem

Then, use this file as certificate store (e.g. here, Node API):

ascli config echo @uri:https://localhost:9092/ping --cert-stores=<SERVER_PRESET_NAME>.pem

Command Line Interface

The command line tool is: ascli

The aspera-cli gem provides a command line interface (CLI) which interacts with Aspera Products (mostly using REST APIs):

• IBM Aspera High Speed Transfer Server (FASP and Node)
• IBM Aspera on Cloud (including ATS)
• IBM Aspera Faspex
• IBM Aspera Shares
• IBM Aspera Console
• IBM Aspera Orchestrator
• And more...

ascli provides the following features:

• Commands to Aspera server products (on-premise and SaaS)
• Any command line options (products URL, credentials or any option) can be provided on command line, in configuration file, in env var, in files, ...
• Commands, Options, and Option values shortcuts
• FASP Transfer Agents can be: local ascp, or Connect Client, or any transfer node
• Transfer parameters can be altered by modification of transfer-spec, this includes requiring multi-session
• Allows transfers from products to products, essentially at node level (using the node transfer agent)
• faspstream creation (using Node API)
• Watchfolder creation (using Node API)
• Additional command plugins can be written by the user
• Download of Faspex and Aspera on Cloud "external" links
• Legacy SSH based FASP transfers and remote commands (ascmd)

Basic usage is displayed by executing:

ascli -h

See Usage.

Command Line Arguments

Command line arguments are the units of command line typically separated by spaces (the argv of C).

ascli handles the following types of command line arguments:

• Options: absolute position is not important, but order is important, as a given option may be provided several times
• Plugins e.g. config, on first position
• Resource Types e.g. users
• Verbs e.g. create, to act on those resources or plugins.
• Identifiers e.g. 123, uniquely identifying a resource
• Command Parameters arguments, e.g. creation data, can be an Extended Value.

Command line arguments that are not options are referred to as Positional Arguments.

For example:

ascli plugin command verb --option-name=VAL1 VAL2

• Positional Arguments: plugin command verb VAL2
• one Option: option_name and its value: VAL1

Enumeration values (positional arguments and option names/values) support prefix matching. See Enumerations for details. For example ascli config pre ov --for=c is the same as ascli config preset overview --format=csv.

The value of Options and Command Parameters is evaluated with the Extended Value syntax.

Positional Arguments

When options (beginning with --) are removed from the command line, the remaining arguments are Positional Arguments with a significant, pre-defined order.

Plugins, Resource Types and Verbs are Enumerations.

Identifiers and Command Parameters are open values, but a given type is expected, either a simple String or an Extended Value.

The general structure of positional arguments is:

ascli <PLUGIN> <RESOURCE> <COMMAND> [<ID>] [<PARAMETERS>]

If a sub-resource is used:

ascli <PLUGIN> <RESOURCE1> <SUB_RESOURCE> [<ID>1] <COMMAND2> [<ID2>] [<PARAMETERS>]

Example:

ascli config ascp info

• ascli is the executable executed by the shell
• config is the name of the plugin to be used
• ascp is the name of the resource (singleton, so no identifier is provided)
• info is the verb to be performed (action on selected resource)

Resource types

They identify a type of resource accessible in a given context. A resource type can be a singleton, or have multiple instances (identified by their identifier). A plugin is a kind of resource type singleton. A resource type can also be a grouping of other resource types, for example admin or files, like a singleton.

Verbs

Standard resource Verbs are: create, show, list, modify, delete. Some entities also support additional verbs. When such additional commands relate to a resource also accessible in another context, they are placed under the do command. For example, subcommands appear after the resource identifier, e.g. ascli aoc admin node do <NODE_ID> browse /: browse is a subcommand of node.

Typically, the create verb takes a resource creation data as a parameter. show, modify and delete take an identifier, unless manipulating a singleton. list typically uses the query, select options. list and show typically use the fields option.

Identifiers

Identifiers uniquely identify a resource. They are typically located just after a verb, itself placed after the resource type. Some resources accept selection using other unique identifier, other than the native identifier (typically: id), using the percent selector.

Percent selector

Some resources provide the following capability: If the resource can also be uniquely identified by a name, then the name can be used instead of the identifier, using the percent selector. For example, if the name of the user is john and a field for this resource named name has a value john:

ascli aoc admin user show %name:john

The percent selector allows identification of a resource by another unique identifier other than the native identifier (typically: id).

Syntax: %<FIELD>:<VALUE>

When a command is executed on a resource, the resource is identified by a unique identifier that follows the command. For example, in the following command, <USER_ID> is the user's identifier:

ascli aoc admin user show <USER_ID>

Command Parameters

Command Parameters are typically mandatory values for a command, such as resource creation data.

If a Command Parameter begins with -, then either use the @val: syntax (see Extended Value), or use the -- separator (see below).

A few Command Parameters are optional, they are always located at the end of the command line.

Enumerations

Enumerations are arguments that must match a value from a predefined list in a given context.

The following are enumerations:

• Plugins, Resource Types, and Verbs (positional arguments)
• Option names (e.g., --log-level)
• Some option values (e.g., debug for --log-level)

Prefix matching: You can use a unique prefix instead of the full value, provided it uniquely identifies the value in that context.

Examples:

• Positional: ascli config pre ov --for=c → ascli config preset overview --format=csv
• Option name: --log-l=debug → --log-level=debug
• Option value: --format=c → --format=csv

Error handling: If an invalid or missing enumeration value is provided, an error message displays the list of valid values for that context.

Dot-path Notation

ascli uses a unified dot-path notation in several places on the command line and in output. Understanding this concept once makes it immediately usable everywhere it appears.

Dot-path notation is used in four distinct places in ascli:

Surface	Syntax	in/out	read/write
Option names	--opt.key.sub=value	Input	write
Positional arguments	@: key.sub=value ... [END]	Input	write
Extended value @preset:	@preset:key.sub	Input	read
Output field names	--fields=key.sub	Output	read

A dot-path is a String where segments are separated by . (dot), each segment designating a key in a nested structure:

• A string segment designates a key in a Hash (associative array).
• An integer segment designates an index in an Array.

For example, the path a.b.0 means: key a → key b → first element of an array.

When a value is assigned to the path (write with =), it is automatically converted to the simplest matching type: Boolean, Integer, Float, or String.

Example: dot-path to JSON output

ascli config echo @: a.b=1 a.c=2 a.d.0=hello a.d.1=world --format=json

{"a":{"b":1,"c":2,"d":["hello","world"]}}

Example: JSON to dot-path output

ascli config echo @json:'{"a":{"b":1,"c":2,"d":["hello","world"]}}'

╭───────┬───────╮
│ field │ value │
╞═══════╪═══════╡
│ a.b   │ 1     │
│ a.c   │ 2     │
│ a.d   │ hello │
│       │ world │
╰───────┴───────╯

Positional Arguments with Dot-path

The @: syntax is a specialized argument type used for in-place definition of nested data structures. It allows you to construct complex parameters (Hashes and Arrays) directly from the command line, serving as a readable alternative to providing a single, serialized JSON string.

Usage and Syntax:

The general syntax for this argument is:

@: <DOT_PATH>=<VALUE> [<DOT_PATH>=<VALUE>] ... [END]

• @:: The prefix that initiates the collection of dot-path assignments into a single data structure.

• <DOT_PATH>=<VALUE>: An assignment using the standard dot-path notation. Multiple assignments can be provided in sequence to build a complex object.

• END: An optional marker that terminates the @: parsing session.

  • Without END: All remaining positional arguments are consumed and interpreted as part of the nested structure, as if END were the last argument on the command line.

  • With END: Only arguments between @: and END are used for the structure. Any arguments following END are treated as separate, subsequent positional parameters for the command.

  • If another value than END is preferred, then specify: @:<MARKER> and use @:<MARKER> as replacement for END.

Example: Sending a package with a file list using @: for package information.

ascli aoc packages send @: name="<TITLE>" recipients.0=user@example.com END file1.dat file2.dat

Options

Command-line options, such as --log-level=debug, follow these conventions:

• Prefix: All options begin with --.
• Naming: Option names on command line use lowercase letters and hyphens (-) as word separators. Option name in config file use underscores (_) as word separators. Example: --log-level=debug is log_level in config file.
• Values: An option’s value is assigned using = (e.g., --log-level=debug).
• Prefix Usage: Options support prefix matching (see Enumerations), though full names are recommended.
• Optionality: Most options are optional; they either have a default value or do not require one.
• Order: Options can appear in any position on the command line, but their order may affect processing.

Exceptions and Special Cases:

• Short Forms

  Some options have short forms. For example, -Ptoto is equivalent to --preset=toto. See the manual or -h for details.

• Flags

  Certain options are flags and do not require a value (e.g., -N).

• Option Terminator

  The special option -- ends option parsing. All subsequent arguments, including those starting with -, are treated as positional arguments.

• dot-path notation

• Cumulative Hashes

  When an option of type Hash is set, the value is deep-merged to an existing or default value. Setting to @none: is equivalent to setting to @json:{}, i.e. an empty Hash. This can be used to start from an empty value, and not use the existing default value.

Example:

ascli config echo -- --sample

"--sample"

Options may have a (hard coded) default value.

Options can be placed anywhere on command line and are evaluated in order. Usually the last value evaluated overrides previous values, but some options are cumulative, e.g. ts.

Options are typically optional: to change the default behavior. But some are mandatory, so they can be placed in a configuration file, for example: connection information.

The value for any options can come from the following locations (in this order, last value evaluated overrides previous value):

• Configuration file
• Environment variable
• Command line

Environment variable starting with prefix: ASCLI_ are taken as option values, e.g. ASCLI_OPTION_NAME is for --option-name.

Option show_config dry runs the configuration, and then returns currently set values for options.

ascli --show-config outputs global options only, and ascli [plugin] --show-config outputs global and plugin default options. In addition, option --show-config can be added at the end of any full command line, this displays the options that would be used for the command.

A command line argument is typically designed as option if:

• It is optional, or
• It is a mandatory parameter with a default value that would benefit from being set persistently (i.e. in a configuration file or environment variable, e.g. URL and credentials).

Interactive Input

Some options and Command Parameters are mandatory and other optional. By default, ascli prompts for missing mandatory options or Command Parameters during interactive execution.

The behavior can be controlled with:

• --interactive=<yes|no> (default=yes if STDIN is a terminal, else no)
  • yes: missing mandatory parameters/arguments are asked to the user
  • no: missing mandatory parameters/arguments raise an error message
• --ask-options=<yes|no> (default=no)
  • optional parameters/arguments are asked to user

Output

Command execution will result in output (terminal, stdout/stderr). The information displayed depends on the action.

To redirect results to a file, use option output.

Types of output data

Depending on action, the output will contain:

Result Type	Description
single_object	Displayed as a 2 dimensional table: one line per field, first column is field name, and second is field value. Nested hashes are collapsed.
object_list	Displayed as a 2 dimensional table: one line per item, one column per field.
value_list	A table with one column.
empty	nothing
status	A message.
other_struct	A complex structure that cannot be displayed as an array.

Enhanced display of special values

Special values are highlighted as follows in format=table:

Value	Display
nil	<null>
empty String	<empty string>
empty Array	<empty list>
empty Hash	<empty dict>

Example:

ascli config echo @json:'{"ni":null,"es":"","ea":[],"eh":{}}'

╭───────┬────────────────╮
│ field │ value          │
╞═══════╪════════════════╡
│ ni    │ <null>         │
│ es    │ <empty string> │
│ ea    │ <empty list>   │
│ eh    │ <empty dict>   │
╰───────┴────────────────╯

Option: format

The style of output can be set using the format option:

format	Output formatting
table	Text table (default)
text	Value as String
ruby	Ruby code
json	JSON code
jsonpp	JSON pretty printed
yaml	YAML
csv	Comma Separated Values
image	URL or data for a picture/video
nagios	Suitable for Nagios

By default, result of type single_object and object_list are displayed using format table.

Option: table_style

The way format: table and csv are generated can be customized with option: table_style which expects a Hash.

For format=table, options are the ones described in gem terminal-table.

For example, to display a table with thick Unicode borders:

ascli config preset over --table-style=@ruby:'{border: :unicode_thick_edge}'

By default, if the terminal is detected to support Unicode, then border=unicode_round is used.

A special parameter is defined: str_lst_sep (String), default is \n. It defines how list of strings are displayed. Alternatively, set to ,.

For format=csv, options are described in gem csv.

For example, to display a CSV with headers and quotes:

ascli config echo @json:'[{"name":"foo","id":1},{"name":"bar","id":8}]' --format=csv --table=@json:'{"headers":true,"force_quotes":true}'

Option: flat_hash: Single level Hash

This option controls how object fields are displayed for complex objects.

Effective only when format is table to display single_object or object_list.

If value is no, then object's field names are only the first level keys of the Hash result and values that are Hash are displayed as such in Ruby syntax.

If value is yes (default), then objects are "flattened" using dot-path notation with a variation:

• Final arrays are displayed as comma separated list of values
• Array of Hash with only name keys are displayed as comma separated list of values
• Array of Hash with only name and value keys are displayed like a Hash with value of name as key.

Example: Result of command is a list of objects with a single object:

ascli config echo @json:'{"A":"a","B":[{"name":"B1","value":"b1"},{"name":"B2","value":"b2"}],"C":[{"C1":"c1"},{"C2":"c2"}],"D":{"D1":"d1","D2":"d2"}}'

╭────────┬───────╮
│ field  │ value │
╞════════╪═══════╡
│ A      │ a     │
│ B.B1   │ b1    │
│ B.B2   │ b2    │
│ C.0.C1 │ c1    │
│ C.1.C2 │ c2    │
│ D.D1   │ d1    │
│ D.D2   │ d2    │
╰────────┴───────╯

For the same command, adding option --flat=no:

╭───────┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ field │ value                                                                  │
╞═══════╪════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╡
│ A     │ a                                                                      │
│ B     │ [{"name" => "B1", "value" => "b1"}, {"name" => "B2", "value" => "b2"}] │
│ C     │ [{"C1" => "c1"}, {"C2" => "c2"}]                                       │
│ D     │ {"D1" => "d1", "D2" => "d2"}                                           │
╰───────┴────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

Option: multi_single

This option controls how result fields are displayed as columns or lines, when option format is set to table. Default is no. There are two types of results that are affected by this option:

Result	Description
single_object	A single item with multiple fields.
object_list	A list of items, each with multiple fields.

An item (object) is displayed in one of those 2 ways:

Display	rows	columns
Simple	Fields	field and value
Transposed	Items	Fields

The display of result is as follows:

Result	no	yes	single
single_object	Simple	Simple	Simple
object_list	Transposed	Simple (Multiple objects)	Simple if 1 object. transposed if 2+ objects.

This parameter can be set as a global default with:

ascli config preset set GLOBAL multi_single single

Examples:

Simulate a result by executing this command:

ascli config echo @json:'<JSON_VALUE>' --multi-single=<no|yes|single>

Example 1: A list of one object

[{"user":{"id":1,"name":"toto"},"project":"blash"}]

Display with no (Transposed):

╭─────────┬───────────┬─────────╮
│ user.id │ user.name │ project │
╞═════════╪═══════════╪═════════╡
│ 1       │ toto      │ blash   │
╰─────────┴───────────┴─────────╯

Display with yes and single (Simple):

╭───────────┬───────╮
│ field     │ value │
╞═══════════╪═══════╡
│ user.id   │ 1     │
│ user.name │ toto  │
│ project   │ blash │
╰───────────┴───────╯

Example 2: A list of two objects:

[{"id":1,"speed":111},{"id":"2","speed":222}]

Display with no and single (Transposed):

╭────┬───────╮
│ id │ speed │
╞════╪═══════╡
│ 1  │ 111   │
│ 2  │ 222   │
╰────┴───────╯

Display with yes (multiple Simple):

╭───────┬───────╮
│ field │ value │
╞═══════╪═══════╡
│ id    │ 1     │
│ speed │ 111   │
╰───────┴───────╯
╭───────┬───────╮
│ field │ value │
╞═══════╪═══════╡
│ id    │ 2     │
│ speed │ 222   │
╰───────┴───────╯

Option: display: Verbosity of output

Output messages are categorized in 3 types:

• info output contains additional information, such as the number of elements in a table
• data output contains the actual output of the command (object, or list of objects)
• error output contains error messages

The option display controls the level of output:

• info displays all messages: info, data, and error
• data display data and error messages
• error display only error messages.

Option: show_secrets: Hide or show secrets in results

• If value is no (default), then secrets are redacted from command results.
• If value is yes, then secrets shown in clear in results.
• If display is data, secrets are included to allow piping results.

Option: fields: Selection of output object fields

Depending on the command, results may include by default all fields, or only some selected fields. It is possible to define specific columns to be displayed, by setting the fields option.

The fields option is a list that can be either a comma-separated list or an Extended Value Array.

Individual elements of the list can be:

• property: add property to the current list
• -property: remove property from the current list
• DEF: default list of fields (that's the default, when not set)
• ALL: all fields
• A Ruby RegEx: using @ruby:'/.../', or @re:... add those matching to the list

To display a property inside a complex structure (Hash, Array) use dot-path notation.

Examples:

• a,b,c: the list of attributes specified as a comma-separated list (overrides the default)
• @list:,a,b,c: Array Extended Value: same as above
• @json:'["a","b","c"]': Array Extended Value: same as above
• b,DEF,-a: default property list, remove a and add b in first position
• @ruby:'/^server/': Display all fields whose name begins with server

Option: select

Table output (object_list) can be filtered using option select. This option is either a Hash or Proc. The Proc takes as argument a line (Hash) in the table and is a Ruby lambda expression that shall return true to select or false to remove an entry.

Example:

ascli aoc admin user list --fields=name,email,ats_admin --query=@json:'{"sort":"name"}' --select=@json:'{"ats_admin":true}'

╭────────────────┬─────────────────────┬───────────╮
│ name           │ email               │ ats_admin │
╞════════════════╪═════════════════════╪═══════════╡
│ John Curtis    │ john@example.com    │ true      │
│ Laurent Martin │ laurent@example.com │ true      │
╰────────────────┴─────────────────────┴───────────╯

In the above example, the same result is obtained with option:

--select=@ruby:'->(i){i["ats_admin"]}'

Option select applies the filter after a possible "flattening" with option: flat_hash.

Extended Value Syntax

Most options and arguments are specified by a simple string (e.g. username or url). Sometimes it is convenient to read a value from a file: for example read the PEM value of a private key, or a list of files. Some options expect a more complex value such as Hash or Array.

The Extended Value Syntax allows specifying such values and even reading values from other sources than the command line itself.

Syntax and Decoders

The syntax is:

<0 or more decoders><some text value or nothing>

Decoders act like a function with its parameter on right-hand side and are recognized by the prefix: @ and suffix :

@<NAME>:

Available Decoders

The following decoders are supported:

Decoder	Parameter	Returns	Description
base64	String	String	Decode a base64 encoded string.
csvt	String	Array	Decode a titled CSV value.
env	String	String	Read from a named env var name. e.g. --password=@env:MYPASSVAR
file	String	String	Read value from specified file (prefix ~/ is replaced with the user's home folder). e.g. --key=@file:~/.ssh/mykey
json	String	Any	Decode JSON values. Convenient to provide complex structures.
lines	String	Array	Split a string in multiple lines and return an Array.
list	String	Array	Split a string in multiple items taking first character as separator and return an Array.
none	None	Nil	A null value.
path	String	String	Performs path expansion on specified path (prefix ~/ is replaced with the user's home folder). e.g. --config-file=@path:~/sample_config.yml
preset	String	Hash	Get value from configuration file using dot-path notation.
extend	String	String	Evaluates embedded Extended Value syntax in string.
re	String	Regexp	Ruby Regular Expression (short for @ruby:/.../)
ruby	String	Any	Execute specified Ruby code.
s	Any	String	Converts argument to String.
secret	String	String	Ask password interactively (hides input). Argument is the prompt.
stdin	String	String	Read from stdin in text mode. Argument: <empty>, bin or chomp.
uri	String	String	Read value from specified URL. e.g. --fpac=@uri:http://serv/f.pac
val	String	String	Prevent decoders on the right to be decoded. e.g. --key=@val:@file:foo sets the option key to value @file:foo.
yaml	String	Any	Decode YAML.
zlib	String	String	Decompress data using zlib.
<empty>	None	Any	The empty modifier, resulting as argument @:, parses remaining positional arguments as a Hash or Array using dot-path notation. Use END to stop collection when further positional arguments must follow.

Chaining rule: When multiple decoders are combined, they are applied right-to-left: the rightmost decoder runs first on the literal string, and each decoder to its left receives the output of the one to its right.

To display the result of an Extended Value, use the config echo command.

The extend decoder is useful to evaluate embedded Extended Value syntax in a string. It expects a @ to close the embedded Extended Value syntax.

Option parser allows definition of a default parser when the positional parameter or option expects a Hash or Array. For example, with --parser=json, the parameter {} will be parsed as an empty JSON Hash, even without prefix @json:.

Common Usage Examples

Example: Create a Hash value with the convenient @json: decoder:

ascli config echo @json:'{"key1":"value1","key2":"value2"}'

Example: read the content of the specified file, then, base64 decode, then unzip:

ascli config echo @zlib:@base64:@file:myfile.dat

Example: Create a Hash value with one key and the value is read from a file:

ascli config echo @ruby:'{"token_verification_key"=>File.read("mykey.txt")}'

Example: read a CSV file and create an Array of Hash for bulk provisioning:

cat test.csv

name,email
lolo,laurent@example.com
toto,titi@tutu.tata

ascli config echo @csvt:@file:test.csv

╭──────┬─────────────────────╮
│ name │ email               │
╞══════╪═════════════════════╡
│ lolo │ laurent@example.com │
│ toto │ titi@tutu.tata      │
╰──────┴─────────────────────╯

Example: create a Hash with values coming from a preset named config

ascli config echo @json:@extend:'{"hello":true,"version":"@preset:config.version@"}'

╭─────────┬────────╮
│ field   │ value  │
╞═════════╪════════╡
│ hello   │ true   │
│ version │ 4.21.1 │
╰─────────┴────────╯

Example: Create a Hash from YAML provided as shell Here document:

ascli config echo @yaml:@stdin: --format=json<<EOF
key1: value1
key2:
- item1
- item2
key3:
  key4: value4
  key5: value5
EOF

{"key1":"value1","key2":["item1","item2"],"key3":{"key4":"value4","key5":"value5"}}

Schema Discovery with help

Any option or Command Parameter that expects a Hash value accepts the special value help. Instead of performing the action, ascli displays the schema of the expected Hash as a table (field name, type, description), then exits with an error.

When a mandatory Hash argument is missing, ascli automatically hints to use help:

ascli aoc packages send

ERRR Missing argument: parameters for send (Hash)
HINT Give `help` as argument to retrieve the schema of the missing argument.

Following the hint and passing help as the argument displays the schema:

ascli aoc packages send help

INFO Schema: argument: parameters for send (Hash)
+------------------------------------------------+---------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| name                                           | type    | description                                                                                                             |
+------------------------------------------------+---------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| bcc_recipients                                 | array   | <empty string>                                                                                                          |
| bcc_recipients[].id                            | string  | The ID of the recipient.                                                                                                |
| bcc_recipients[].type                          | string  | The entity type of the recipient.                                                                                       |
|                                                |         | Allowed values: user, group.                                                                                            |
| name                                           | string  | Package name. Required for POST. Optional for PUT.                                                                      |
| note                                           | string  | The sender's message to recipients to include with the package. Maximum characters: 65535.                              |
| recipients                                     | array   | <empty string>                                                                                                          |
| recipients[].id                                | string  | The ID of the recipient.                                                                                                |
| recipients[].type                              | string  | The entity type of the recipient.                                                                                       |
|                                                |         | Allowed values: user, group.                                                                                            |
...
+------------------------------------------------+---------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

The same applies to options: display the schema of the transfer-spec option ts:

ascli --ts=help

INFO Schema: option: ts
╭────────────────────────────────┬─────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ name                           │ type    │ description                                                                                                              │
╞════════════════════════════════╪═════════╪══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╡
│ apply_local_docroot            │ boolean │ Apply local docroot to source paths.                                                                                     │
│                                │         │ (A, T)                                                                                                                   │
│ authentication                 │ string  │ Set to token for SSH bypass keys, else password asked if not provided.                                                   │
│                                │         │ (C)                                                                                                                      │
│ cipher                         │ string  │ In transit encryption algorithms.                                                                                        │
│                                │         │ Allowed values: none, aes-128, aes-192, aes-256, aes-128-cfb, aes-192-cfb, aes-256-cfb, aes-128-gcm, aes-192-gcm,        │
│                                │         │ aes-256-gcm.                                                                                                             │
│                                │         │ Default: none.                                                                                                           │
...
╰────────────────────────────────┴─────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

This works for any Hash option or positional parameter that has a defined schema.

Testing Extended Value

In case of doubt of argument values after parsing, one can test using command config echo. config echo takes exactly one argument which can use the Extended Value syntax. Unprocessed command line arguments are shown in the error message.

Example: The shell parses three arguments (as String: 1, 2 and 3), so the additional two arguments are not processed by the echo command.

ascli config echo 1 2 3

"1"
ERROR: Argument: unprocessed values: ["2", "3"]

config echo displays the value of the first argument using the current output format.

In the following examples (using a POSIX shell, such as bash), several equivalent commands are provided. For all examples, most special character handling is not specific to ascli: It depends on the underlying syntax: shell, JSON, etc. Depending on the case, a different format option is used to display the actual value.

For example, in the simple string Hello World, the space character is special for the shell, so it must be escaped so that a single value is represented.

Double quotes are processed by the shell to create a single string argument. For POSIX shells, single quotes can also be used in this case, or protect the special character (space) with a backslash.

ascli config echo "Hello World" --format=text
ascli config echo 'Hello World' --format=text
ascli config echo Hello\ World --format=text

Hello World

Main, configuration and Persistency Folder

ascli looks for configuration and persistency files (token cache, file lists, persistency files) in the folder specified using option home. The default value is [User's home folder]/.aspera/ascli.

The configuration folder can be displayed using :

ascli config folder

/Users/kenji/.aspera/ascli

ascli --show-config --fields=home

Example (Windows):

set ASCLI_HOME=C:\Users\Kenji\.aspera\ascli

ascli config folder

C:\Users\Kenji\.aspera\ascli

When OAuth is used (AoC, Faspex5) ascli keeps a cache of generated bearer tokens in folder persist_store located in the configuration folder by default. Option cache_tokens (yes/no) allows controlling if OAuth tokens are cached on file system, or generated for each request. The command config tokens flush clears that cache. Tokens are kept on disk for a maximum of 30 minutes (TOKEN_CACHE_EXPIRY_SEC) and garbage collected after that. When a token has expired, then a new token is generated, either using a refresh_token if it is available, or by the default method.

Configuration file

On the first execution of ascli, an empty configuration file is created in the configuration folder (ascli config folder). There is no mandatory information required in this file. The use of it is optional as any option can be provided on the command line.

Although the file is a standard YAML file, ascli provides commands to read and modify it using the config command.

All options for ascli can be set on command line, or by env vars, or using Option Preset in the configuration file.

A configuration file provides a way to define default values, especially for authentication options, thus avoiding having to always specify those options on the command line.

The default configuration file is: $HOME/.aspera/ascli/config.yaml (this can be overridden with option config_file).

The configuration file is a catalog of named lists of options, called: Option Preset. Then, instead of specifying some common options on the command line (e.g. address, credentials), it is possible to invoke the ones of an Option Preset (e.g. <PRESET_NAME>) using the option preset: --preset=<PRESET_NAME> or its shortcut: -P<PRESET_NAME>.

Format of configuration file

The configuration file is a Hash in a YAML file.

Example:

config:
  version: 0.3.7
default:
  config: cli_default
  server: demo_server
cli_default:
  interactive: no
demo_server:
  url: ssh://demo.asperasoft.com:33001
  username: asperaweb
  password: <PASSWORD>

We can see here:

• The configuration was created with ascli version 0.3.7
• The default Option Preset to load for server plugin is: demo_server
• The Option Preset demo_server defines some options: the URL and credentials
• The default Option Preset to load in any case is: cli_default

Two Option Presets are reserved:

• config contains a single value: version showing the version used to create the configuration file. It is used to check compatibility.
• default is reserved to define the default Option Preset name used for known plugins.

The user may create as many Option Preset as needed. For instance, a particular Option Preset can be created for a particular application instance and contain URL and credentials.

Values in the configuration also follow the Extended Value syntax.

Example:

ascli config preset set <AOC_ORG> private_key @val:@file:"$HOME/.aspera/ascli/<PKEY_NAME>"

This creates the Option Preset:

<AOC_ORG>:
  private_key: "@file:/Users/laurent/.aspera/ascli/<PKEY_NAME>"

So, the key file will be read only at execution time, but not be embedded in the configuration file.

Option Preset

An Option Preset is a collection of options and their associated values in a named section in the configuration file.

A named Option Preset can be modified directly using ascli, which will update the configuration file:

ascli config preset <set|delete|show|initialize|update> <PRESET_NAME>

The command initialize allows setting several options at once, but it deletes an existing configuration instead of updating it, and expects a Hash Extended Value.

ascli config preset initialize demo_server @json:'{"url":"ssh://demo.asperasoft.com:33001","username":"asperaweb","password":"<PASSWORD>","ts":{"precalculate_job_size":true}}'

One can also use positional arguments with dot-path:

ascli config preset initialize demo_server @: url=ssh://demo.asperasoft.com:33001 username=asperaweb password=<PASSWORD> ts.precalculate_job_size=true

The command update allows the easy creation of Option Preset by simply providing the options in their command line format, e.g.:

ascli config preset update demo_server --url=ssh://demo.asperasoft.com:33001 --username=asperaweb --password=<PASSWORD> --ts=@json:'{"precalculate_job_size":true}'

This creates an Option Preset demo_server with all provided options.

The command set allows setting individual options in an Option Preset:

ascli config preset set <PRESET_NAME> <PARAMETER_NAME> <PARAMETER_VALUE>

Example:

ascli config preset set demo_server password <PASSWORD>

A full terminal based overview of the configuration can be displayed using:

ascli config preset over

A list of Option Preset can be displayed using:

ascli config preset list

A good practice is to not manually edit the configuration file and use modification commands instead. If necessary, the configuration file can be opened in a text editor with:

ascli config open

The former format for commands is still supported:

ascli config preset set|delete|show|initialize|update <NAME>
ascli config preset over
ascli config preset list

It is possible to load an Option Preset from within another Option Preset using the preset option. For example if pcommon is a preset with common options, and pspecific is a preset with specific options, then pspecific can load pcommon using:

ascli config preset set pspecific preset pcommon

When pspecific is loaded, then cumulative option preset will be set, and it will also load pcommon.

Special Option Preset: config

This preset name is reserved and contains a single key: version. This is the version of ascli which created the file.

Special Option Preset: default

This preset name is reserved and contains an array of key-value, where the key is the name of a plugin, and the value is the name of another preset. Usually, Option presets are used to contain pre-defined options and values, but this preset contains names of presets to be used by default for plugins.

When a plugin is invoked, the preset associated with the name of the plugin is loaded, unless the option --no-default (or -N) is used.

Operations on this preset are done using regular config operations:

ascli config preset set default _plugin_name_ _default_preset_for_plugin_

ascli config preset get default _plugin_name_

"_default_preset_for_plugin_"

Invalid Filename Characters

Some commands of ascli may create files or folders based on input that may contain invalid characters for the local file system. The option invalid_characters allows specifying a replacement character for a list of characters that are invalid in filenames on the local file system and replaces them with the specified character.

The first character specifies the replacement character, and the following characters are the invalid ones. This is used when a folder or file is created from a value that potentially contains invalid characters. For example, using the option package_folder, a package name may contain characters not allowed, such as /. The default value is _<>:"/\|?*, corresponding to replacement character _ and characters not allowed on Windows.

Temporary files

Some temporary files may be needed during runtime. The temporary folder may be specified with option: temp_folder. Temporary files are deleted at the end of execution unless option: clean_temp is set to no. By default, (@sys), the temporary folder is the system's temporary folder for the current user (Ruby Etc.systmpdir). A special value of @env will set the folder to Ruby Dir.tmpdir which uses regular env var to set the temp folder.

Plugin: config: Configuration

Plugin config provides general commands for ascli:

• Option Preset operations (configuration file)
• wizard
• vault
• ascp
• transferd

The default preset for config is read for any plugin invocation, this allows setting global options, such as --log-level or --interactive. When ascli starts, it looks for the default Option Preset and checks the value for config. If set, it loads the options independently of the plugin used.

Show current default (global) Option Preset (config plugin):

ascli config preset get default config

global_common_defaults

Set a global parameter:

ascli config preset set GLOBAL version_check_days 0

If the default global Option Preset is not set, and you want to use a different name:

ascli config preset set default config <GLOBAL_OPTIONS_NAME>

ascli config preset set GLOBAL version_check_days 0

Tested commands for config

ascp errors
ascp info --sdk-folder=sdk_test_dir
ascp install
ascp install --sdk-folder=sdk_test_dir
ascp install 1.1.3
ascp products list
ascp schema --format=jsonpp
ascp show
ascp spec
check_update
coffee
coffee --log-level=trace2 --log-format=caller
coffee --ui=text
coffee --ui=text --image=@json:'{"text":true,"double":false}'
coffee --ui=text --image=@json:'{"text":true}'
detect app.example.com
detect https://faspex5.example.com/path
detect https://faspex5.example.com/path faspex5
detect https://node.example.com/path
detect https://server.example.com/path
detect https://shares.example.com/path shares
detect https://tst.example.com/path faspio
detect https://tst.example.com/path httpgw
detect my_org aoc
doc
doc transfer-parameters
echo '<svg viewBox="0 0 100 100" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><circle cx="50" cy="50" r="50" fill="#069"/></svg>' --format=image --image.text=true
echo -- --special-string
echo @base64:SGVsbG8gV29ybGQK
echo @csvt:@stdin:
echo @env:USER
echo @json:'[{"user":{"id":1,"name":"foo"},"project":"bar"}]' --multi-single=single
echo @json:'[{"user":{"id":1,"name":"foo"},"project":"bar"}]' --multi-single=yes
echo @lines:@stdin:
echo @list:,1,2,3
echo @secret:
echo @stdin:bin
echo @uri:/etc/hosts
echo @uri:file:/etc/hosts
echo @uri:http://ifconfig.me
echo @uri:https://ifconfig.me
echo @uri:https://ifconfig.me/ip --cert-stores=@ruby:[OpenSSL::X509::DEFAULT_CERT_DIR,OpenSSL::X509::DEFAULT_CERT_FILE] --http-options.ssl_options=@list:,CIPHER_SERVER_PREFERENCE,-NETSCAPE_CA_DN_BUG --insecure=yes
echo @vault:my_preset.password
echo @zlib:@stdin:
echo hello
email_test --notify-to=my_email_external
file
file --log-level=debug --log-format=@ruby:'->(s, d, p, m){"#{d.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")} - #{p} - #{s} - #{m}\n"}'
file --log-level=debug --log-format=default
file --log-level=debug --log-format=standard
file --log-level=debug --logger=syslog
folder
gem name
gem path
gem version
genkey my_key
genkey my_key 4096
image https://eudemo.asperademo.com/wallpaper.jpg
initdemo
open
plugins create my_command .
plugins list
preset delete conf_name
preset initialize conf_name @json:'{"p1":"v1","p2":"v2"}'
preset list
preset overview
preset set GLOBAL sdk_folder 'product:IBM Aspera Connect'
preset set GLOBAL vault @: type=file file=/secure/vault_file
preset set GLOBAL vault_password _simple_one_
preset set GLOBAL version_check_days 0
preset set conf_name param value
preset set default shares conf_name
preset show conf_name
preset unset conf_name param
preset update conf_name --p1=v1 --p2=v2
proxy_check --fpac=@file:proxy.pac https://eudemo.asperademo.com --proxy-credentials=@list:,user,pass
pubkey @file:my_key
remote_certificate chain https://node.example.com/path
remote_certificate name https://node.example.com/path
remote_certificate only https://node.example.com/path
smtp_settings
sync spec
tokens flush
tokens list
transferd install
transferd list
vault create @: label=my_label password=my_password_here 'description=my secret'
vault delete foo --vault.type=system
vault delete my_label
vault info
vault list
vault show my_label
wizard https://console.example.com/path console
wizard https://faspex4.example.com/path faspex --username=test --password=test
wizard https://faspex5.example.com/path faspex5 --key-path=my_private_key
wizard https://node.example.com/path node --username=test --password=test
wizard https://orch.example.com/path orchestrator --username=test --password=test
wizard https://server.example.com/path server --username=my_username --password=my_password
wizard https://shares.example.com/path shares --username=test --password=test
wizard https://tst.example.com/path faspio --username=my_username --password=my_password
wizard my_org aoc --key-path=my_private_key --username=my_user_email --use-generic-client=yes
wizard my_org aoc mypreset --key-path=my_private_key --username=my_user_email

Evaluation order of options

Some options are global, some options are available only for some plugins. (the plugin is the first level command).

Options are loaded using this algorithm:

• If option --no-default (or -N) is specified, then no default value is loaded for the plugin
• Else it looks for the name of the plugin as key in section default, the value is the name of the default Option Preset for it, and loads it.
• If option --preset=<NAME> is specified (or -P<NAME>), this reads the Option Preset specified from the configuration file by name.
• If option --preset=<EXTENDED_VALUE_HASH>, it uses it as options values (Hash of option/value pairs).
• Environment variables are evaluated.
• Command line options are evaluated.

Options are evaluated in the order of command line.

To avoid loading the default Option Preset for a plugin, use: -N

On command line, words in option names are separated by a dash (-). In configuration file, separator is an underscore. For example, --xxx-yyy on command line gives xxx_yyy in configuration file.

The main plugin name is config, so it is possible to define a default Option Preset for the main plugin with:

ascli config preset set cli_default interactive no

ascli config preset set default config cli_default

An Option Preset value can be removed with unset:

ascli config preset unset cli_default interactive

Example: Define options using command line:

ascli -N --url=_url_here_ --password=<PASSWORD> --username=_name_here_ node --show-config

Example: Define options using a Hash:

ascli -N --preset=@json:'{"url":"_url_here_","password":"<PASSWORD>","username":"_name_here_"}' node --show-config

Wizard

The wizard is a command that asks the user for information and creates an Option Preset with the provided information for a given application.

It takes three optional arguments:

#	Parameter description	If not provided, ascli
1	URL or hostname of the application	ask for it.
2	The plugin name to limit search to	tries to detect known plugins from the URL
3	The preset name to save in config file	generates a unique preset name

Options are also available for the wizard:

Option	Value	Description
default	[yes]/no	Set as default configuration for specified plugin.
override	yes/[no]	Override existing default preset name for the plugin, if it exists.
key_path	path	Path to private key for JWT.

Other plugin-specific options can be provided to the wizard, such as --username, etc. They will be added to the Option Preset created by the wizard.

The simplest invocation is:

ascli config wizard

If the application requires a private key, the user can either provide the path to it with option key_path. The user is told where to place the associated public key PEM in the application.

Example of configuration for a plugin

For Faspex, Shares, Node (including ATS, Aspera Transfer Service), Console, only username/password and URL are required (either on command line, or from configuration file). Those can be usually provided on the command line:

ascli shares repo browse / --url=https://10.25.0.6 --username=john --password=<PASSWORD>

This can also be provisioned in a configuration file:

• Build Option Preset

ascli config preset set shares06 url https://10.25.0.6
ascli config preset set shares06 username john
ascli config preset set shares06 password <PASSWORD>

This can also be done with one single command:

ascli config preset init shares06 @json:'{"url":"https://10.25.0.6","username":"john","password":"<PASSWORD>"}'

or

ascli config preset update shares06 --url=https://10.25.0.6 --username=john --password=<PASSWORD>

• Define this Option Preset as the default Option Preset for the specified plugin (shares)

ascli config preset set default shares shares06

• Display the content of configuration file in table format

ascli config preset overview

• Execute a command on the Shares' application using default options

ascli shares repo browse /

Secret Vault

Secrets, e.g. passwords, keys, are needed when connecting to applications. Those secrets are usually provided as command options, on command line, env vars, files etc.

For security reasons, those secrets shall not be exposed in clear, either:

• On terminal during input
• In logs
• In command output

Instead, they shall be hidden (logs, output) or encrypted (configuration).

Terminal output (command result) secret removal is controlled by option show_secrets (default: no). Log secret removal is controlled by option log_secrets (default: no). Mandatory command line options can be requested interactively (e.g. password) using option interactive. It is possible to use Extended Value @secret:[name] to ask for a secret interactively. It is also possible to enter an option as an environment variable, e.g. ASCLI_PASSWORD for option password and read the env var like this:

read -s ASCLI_PASSWORD
export ASCLI_PASSWORD

Another possibility is to retrieve values from a secret vault.

The vault is used with options vault and vault_password.

vault shall be a Hash describing the vault:

{"type":"system","name":"ascli"}

vault_password specifies the password for the vault.

Although it can be specified on command line, for security reason you should avoid exposing the secret. For example, it can be securely specified on command line like this:

read -s ASCLI_VAULT_PASSWORD
export ASCLI_VAULT_PASSWORD

Vault: IBM HashiCorp Vault

https://developer.hashicorp.com/vault

Quick start macOS:

brew tap hashicorp/tap
brew install hashicorp/tap/vault
vault server -dev -dev-root-token-id=dev-only-token

Parameter	Example	Description
type	vault	The type of the vault
url	http://127.0.0.1:8200	The URL of the vault
token	dev-only-token	The token for the vault. By default uses parameter vault_password

--vault=@json:'{"type":"vault","url":"http://127.0.0.1:8200"}' --vault_password=dev-only-token

Vault: System keychain

It is possible to manage secrets in macOS keychain (only read supported currently).

Parameter	Example	Description
type	system	The type of the vault.
name	ascli	The name of the keychain to use.

--vault=@json:'{"type":"system","name":"ascli"}'

Vault: Encrypted file

It is possible to store and use secrets encrypted in a file using option vault set to:

{"type":"file","name":"vault.bin"}

Parameter	Example	Description
type	file	The type of the vault.
name	vault.bin	File path, absolute, or relative to the configuration folder ASCLI_HOME.

Vault: Operations

For this use the config vault command.

Then secrets can be manipulated using commands:

• create
• show
• list
• delete

ascli config vault create @json:'{"label":"<NAME>","password":"<PASSWORD>","description":"for this account"}'

Configuration Finder

When a secret is needed by a sub command, the command can search for existing configurations in the configuration file by setting option secret to the special value PRESET.

The lookup is done by comparing the service URL and username (or access key).

Securing passwords and secrets

A password can be saved in clear in an Option Preset together with other account information (URL, username, etc.). Example:

ascli config preset update <PRESET_NAME> --url=... --username=... --password=...

For a more secure storage one can do:

ascli config preset update <PRESET_NAME> --url=... --username=... --password=@val:@vault:<VAULT_LABEL>.password

ascli config vault create @json:'{"label":"<VAULT_LABEL>","password":"<PASSWORD>"}'

Private Key

Some Aspera applications allow the user to be authenticated using Public Key Cryptography:

• for SSH: Server
• for OAuth JWT: AoC, Faspex5, Faspex, Shares

It consists in using a pair of associated keys: a private key and a public key. The same pair can be used for multiple applications. The file containing the private key (key pair) can optionally be protected by a passphrase. If the key is protected by a passphrase, then it will be prompted when used. Some plugins support option passphrase.

By default, ascli does not support ed25519 type, nor OpenSSH encoded keys. See section: Private key type ed25519. It requires PEM encoded keys. To support ed25519 and OpenSSH format (default on modern Linux), install those gems:

gem install ed25519 bcrypt_pbkdf

The following sample commands use the shell variable KEY_PAIR_PATH. Set it to the desired safe location of the private key. Typically, located in folder $HOME/.ssh or $HOME/.aspera/ascli. For example:

KEY_PAIR_PATH=~/.aspera/ascli/<PKEY_NAME>

Several methods can be used to generate a key pair.

The format expected for keys is PEM.

If another format is used, such as DER, it can be converted to PEM, e.g. using openssl.

ascli for key generation

The generated key is of type RSA, by default: 4096 bit. For convenience, the public key is also extracted with extension .pub. Files are PEM encoded. The key is not passphrase protected.

ascli config genkey ${KEY_PAIR_PATH} 4096

To display the public key of a private key:

ascli config pubkey @file:${KEY_PAIR_PATH}

ssh-keygen

Both private and public keys are generated, option -N is for passphrase.

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -m PEM -N '' -f ${KEY_PAIR_PATH}

openssl

To generate a key pair with a passphrase the following can be used on any system:

openssl genrsa -passout pass:_passphrase_here_ -out ${KEY_PAIR_PATH} 4096
openssl rsa -pubout -in ${KEY_PAIR_PATH} -out ${KEY_PAIR_PATH}.pub

openssl is sometimes compiled to support option -nodes (no DES, i.e. no passphrase, e.g. on macOS). In that case, add option -nodes instead of -passout pass:_passphrase_here_ to generate a key without passphrase.

If option -nodes is not available, the passphrase can be removed using this method:

openssl rsa -passin pass:_passphrase_here_ -in ${KEY_PAIR_PATH} -out ${KEY_PAIR_PATH}.no_des
mv ${KEY_PAIR_PATH}.no_des ${KEY_PAIR_PATH}

To change (or add) the passphrase for a key do:

openssl rsa -des3 -in ${KEY_PAIR_PATH} -out ${KEY_PAIR_PATH}.with_des
mv ${KEY_PAIR_PATH}.with_des ${KEY_PAIR_PATH}

Using an application to generate a key pair

Many applications are available, including on the internet, to generate key pairs. For example: https://cryptotools.net/rsagen

Web service

Some plugins start a local web server. This server can serve HTTP or HTTPS (with certificate):

The following parameters are supported:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
url	String	http://localhost:8080	Base URL on which requests are listened, a path can be provided.
cert	String	-	(HTTPS) Path to certificate file (with ext. .pfx or .p12 for PKCS12).
key	String	-	(HTTPS) Path to private key file (PEM), or passphrase for PKCS12.
chain	String	-	(HTTPS) Path to certificate chain (PEM only).

Parameter url (base URL) defines:

• If http or https is used
• The local port number (default 443 for HTTPS, 80 for HTTP)
• The base path, i.e. the path under which requests are received, if a reverse proxy is used this can be used to route.

Image and video thumbnails

ascli can display thumbnails for images and videos in the terminal, using iTerm2 inline image protocol or through colorized text.

This feature can be used:

• In the thumbnail command of node when using gen4/access key API.
• When using the show command of preview plugin.
• coffee and image commands of config plugin.
• Any displayed value which is a URL to image can be displayed with option format set to image

The following options can be specified in the image option:

Option	Type	Description
reserve	Integer	Lines reserved to display a status. Default: 3
text	Bool	Display text instead of image (iTerm). Default: false
double	Bool	Display double text resolution (half characters). Default: true
font_ratio	Float	Font height/width ratio in terminal. Default: 2.3

Examples:

• Display image as colorized text (requires rmagick)

ascli config image https://eudemo.asperademo.com/wallpaper.jpg --ui=text --image.text=true

• Display image from byte stream as image in terminal (requires iTerm2-compatible terminal)

curl -so - https://eudemo.asperademo.com/wallpaper.jpg | ascli config image @stdin:bin

• Display image from file (requires iTerm2-compatible terminal)

ascli config image @stdin:bin < A-team.jpg

Graphical Interactions: Browser and Text Editor

Some actions may require the use of a graphical tool:

• A browser for Aspera on Cloud authentication (web auth method)
• A text editor for configuration file edition

By default, ascli assumes that a graphical environment is available on Windows, and on other systems, rely on the presence of the DISPLAY environment variable. It is also possible to force the graphical mode with option ui :

• --ui=graphical forces a graphical environment, a browser will be opened for URLs or a text editor for file edition.
• --ui=text forces a text environment, the URL or file path to open is displayed on terminal.

Logging, Debugging

The gem is equipped with traces, mainly for debugging and learning APIs. The following options control logging:

Option	Values	Description
logger	stdout stderr syslog	Type of output. Default: stderr
log_level	trace2 trace1 debug info warn error	Minimum level displayed. Default: warn
log_secrets	yes no	Show or hide secrets in logs. Default: no (Hide)
log_format	standard default caller Proc	The name of a formatter or a lambda function that formats the log (see below). Default: default Alternative: standard

Option logger defines the destination of logs.

log_level and log_secrets

To increase debug level, use option log_level (e.g. using command line --log-level=xx, env var ASCLI_LOG_LEVEL, or an Option Preset).

By default, passwords and secrets are redacted from logs. Set option log_secrets to yes to include secrets in logs.

log_format

Option log_format support a few pre-defined formatters or a custom one using @ruby:. A custom formatter is a lambda that takes 4 arguments; see Ruby Formatter: severity, time, progname, msg. The default formatter is:

->(s, _d, _p, m){"#{s[0..2]}#{s[-1]} #{m}\n"}

Available formatters for log_format:

Name	Description
default	Default formatter: Colorized 4-letters level followed by message on the same line.
caller	Colorized 4-letters level followed by caller, and then on next line: message.
standard	Standard Ruby formatter.
Proc	Custom lambda.

Logging examples

• Display debugging log on stdout:

ascli config pre over --log-level=debug --logger=stdout

• Log errors to syslog:

ascli config pre over --log-level=error --logger=syslog

Learning Aspera Product APIs (REST)

ascli uses mainly REST APIs to interact with Aspera applications.

To get traces of execution, with dump of API calls, use argument: --log-level=debug.

To display HTTP/S traffic set option log_level to trace2: --log-level=trace2. It will display the exact content of HTTP requests and responses.

HTTP socket parameters

To ignore SSL certificate for any address/port, use option: insecure, i.e. --insecure=yes. To ignore SSL certificate for a list of specific address/port, use option ignore_certificate, set to an Array of URL for which certificate will be ignored (only the address and port are matched), e.g. --ignore-certificate=@list:,https://127.0.0.1:9092

Ignoring a certificate is not recommended. It is preferable to add the certificate to the trusted store. When certificate validation is skipped, a warning is displayed. To disable this warning, set the option warn_insecure to no.

HTTP connection parameters (not ascp WSS) can be adjusted using option http_options:

Parameter	Type	Default	Handler
read_timeout	Integer	60	Ruby
write_timeout	Integer	60	Ruby
open_timeout	Integer	60	Ruby
keep_alive_timeout	Integer	2	Ruby
ssl_options	Array	See below	Ruby
user_agent	Integer	ascli	Rest class
download_partial_suffix	Integer	.http_partial	Rest class
retry_on_error	Bool	false	Rest class
retry_on_timeout	Bool	true	Rest class
retry_on_unavailable	Bool	true	Rest class
retry_max	Integer	1	Rest class
retry_sleep	Integer	4	Rest class
token_cache_max_age	Integer	1800	OAuth class
token_refresh_threshold	Integer	120	OAuth class

Time values are set in seconds and can be of type either Integer or Float. Default values are the ones of Ruby: For a full list, refer to the Ruby library: Net::HTTP.

Like any other option, those can be set either on command line, or in configuration file, either in a global preset or server-specific one.

Example:

ascli aoc admin package list --http-options=@json:'{"read_timeout":10.0}'

The option ssl_options corresponds to a list of options as listed in man SSL_CTX_set_options. The default initial value is the default of Ruby as specified in openssl/ssl.rb. Each option can be specified as a String with the same name as in the OpenSSL library by removing the prefix: SSL_OP_, or an Integer (e.g. 0 resets to no option). If the name appears in the list, the option is set. If the name appears in the list prefixed with a hyphen (-), the option is cleared. For example to enable option SSL_OP_CIPHER_SERVER_PREFERENCE, add it to the list as CIPHER_SERVER_PREFERENCE. To disable option SSL_OP_SAFARI_ECDHE_ECDSA_BUG, add it as -SAFARI_ECDHE_ECDSA_BUG.

Example:

{"ssl_options":["CIPHER_SERVER_PREFERENCE","-SAFARI_ECDHE_ECDSA_BUG"]}

Proxy

There are several types of network connections, each of them use a different mechanism to define a (forward) proxy:

• REST calls (APIs) and HTTP Gateway
• ascp WSS and Legacy Aspera HTTP/S Fallback
• ascp SSH and UDP (Aspera FASP)

See the following sections.

Proxy for REST and HTTP Gateway

REST API calls and transfers based on HTTP Gateway both use Ruby's Net::HTTP class. See Ruby find proxy.

When Ruby HTTP is used, there are two possibilities to define an HTTP proxy to be used.

The http_proxy environment variable (lower case) can be set to the URL of the proxy (with optional credentials). Syntax is: (http|https)://[user:password@]host:port. For example, http://myproxy.org.net:3128.

Credentials for proxy are optional but can also be specified:

export http_proxy=http://<USERNAME>:<PASSWORD>@proxy.example.com:3128

Option http_proxy does the same (set env var) but on command line:

ascli --http-proxy=http://<USERNAME>:<PASSWORD>@host:port ...

Alternatively, the fpac option (function for proxy auto config) can be set to a Proxy Auto Configuration (PAC) JavaScript value.

Note that proxy credentials are not supported in PAC files.

To read the script from a URL (http:, https: and file:), use prefix: @uri:. A minimal script can be specified to define the use of a local proxy:

ascli --fpac='function FindProxyForURL(url, host){return "PROXY localhost:3128"}' ...

The result of a PAC file can be tested with command: config proxy_check. Example, using command line option:

ascli config proxy_check --fpac='function FindProxyForURL(url, host) {return "PROXY proxy.example.com:3128;DIRECT";}' http://example.com

PROXY proxy.example.com:3128;DIRECT

ascli config proxy_check --fpac=@file:./proxy.pac http://www.example.com

PROXY proxy.example.com:8080

ascli config proxy_check --fpac=@uri:http://server/proxy.pac http://www.example.com

PROXY proxy.example.com:8080

If the proxy found with the PAC requires credentials, then use option proxy_credentials with username and password provided as an Array:

ascli --proxy-credentials=@json:'["__username_here__","__password_here__"]' ...

ascli --proxy-credentials=@list::__username_here__:__password_here__ ...

Proxy for Legacy Aspera HTTP/S Fallback

Only supported with the direct agent: To specify a proxy for legacy HTTP fallback, use ascp native option -x and ascp_args: --transfer-info=@json:'{"ascp_args":["-x","url_here"]}'.

FASP proxy (forward) for transfers

To specify a FASP proxy (forward), set the transfer-spec parameter: proxy (only supported with the direct agent).

For example, for an Aspera forward proxy not encrypted (HTTP) without authentication running on port 9091, the option would be:

--ts=@json:'{"proxy":"dnat://proxy.example.org:9091"}'

Or, alternatively, (prefer transfer spec like above, generally):

--transfer-info=@json:'{"ascp_args":["--proxy","dnat://proxy.example.org:9091"]}'

FASP configuration

ascli uses one of the transfer agents to execute transfers.

By default, it uses the direct agent, which is basically a local ascp. Nevertheless, ascli does not come with ascp installed. This is the reason why it is advised to install the Aspera Transfer Daemon during installation (ascli config transferd install).

By default, ascli uses the ascp binary found in well known locations, i.e. typical Aspera product installation paths.

The config plugin allows finding and specifying the location of ascp. It provides the following commands for ascp sub-command:

• show : shows the path of ascp used
• use : specify the ascp path to use
• products : list Aspera transfer products available locally
• connect : list and download connect client versions available on the internet

Selection of ascp location for direct agent

Option: sdk_folder is used to specify the location of ascp. The default value is: product:FIRST. By default, ascli uses any found local product with ascp, including Transfer Daemon (SDK).

To override and use an alternate ascp path use option sdk_folder (--sdk-folder=)

For a permanent change, set a global default. For example, <INSTALL_DIR> could be ~/my_install_dir on Linux, or C:\Users\admin\.aspera\ascli\sdk on Windows.

Using a POSIX shell:

ascli config preset set GLOBAL sdk_folder <INSTALL_DIR>

ascp version: 4.0.0.182279
Updated: global_common_defaults: sdk_folder <- <INSTALL_DIR>
Saved to default global preset global_common_defaults

If the path has spaces, read section: Shell and Command line parsing.

A special value product:<PRODUCT_NAME> can be used for option sdk_folder. It specifies to use ascp from the given product name. A special value for product name is FIRST, which means: use the first product found in the internal list.

Locally installed Aspera products can be listed with:

ascli config ascp products list

╭───────────────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────╮
│ name                                  │ app_root                             │
╞═══════════════════════════════════════╪══════════════════════════════════════╡
│ IBM Aspera Transfer SDK               │ /Users/laurent/.aspera/sdk           │
│ IBM Aspera for Desktop                │ /Applications/IBM Aspera.app         │
│ IBM Aspera Connect                    │ /Applications/IBM Aspera Connect.app │
│ IBM Aspera High-Speed Transfer Server │ /Library/Aspera                      │
╰───────────────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────╯

To permanently use the ascp of a product:

ascli config preset set GLOBAL sdk_folder 'product:IBM Aspera Connect'
Updated: default: config <- global_common_defaults
Updated: global_common_defaults: sdk_folder <- product:IBM Aspera Connect
Saving config file.

To show the path of currently used ascp:

ascli config ascp show

/Users/laurent/.aspera/sdk/ascp

ascli config ascp info

╭─────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ field   │ value                                            │
╞═════════╪══════════════════════════════════════════════════╡
│ ascp    │ /Users/john/.aspera/sdk/ascp                     │
...
╰─────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

Transfer Clients: Agents

Some actions on Aspera Applications lead to file transfers (upload and download) using the FASP protocol (ascp). Transfers will be executed by a transfer client, here called Transfer Agent.

The following agents are supported and selected with option transfer:

transfer	location	Description of agent
direct	local	direct execution of ascp
transferd	local	Aspera Transfer Daemon
connect	local	Aspera Connect Client
desktop	local	Aspera for Desktop
node	remote	Aspera Transfer Node
httpgw	remote	Aspera HTTP Gateway

All above agents (including direct) receive transfer parameters as a transfer-spec. Parameters in transfer-spec can be modified with option ts.

Specific options for agents are provided with option transfer_info.

Agent: Direct

The direct agent directly executes a local ascp in ascli. This is the default agent for ascli (option --transfer=direct). ascli will locally search installed Aspera products, including SDK, and use ascp from that component. See FASP.

Agent: Direct: transfer_info

The transfer_info option accepts the following optional parameters to control multi-session, Web Socket Session, Resume policy and add any argument to ascp:

Field	Type	Description
ascp_args	array	List of native ascp command-line arguments. Default: [].
client_ssh_key	string	SSH key type to use for token-based transfers. Allowed values: rsa, dsa_rsa, per_client. Default: rsa.
monitor	boolean	Enable use of the ascp management port for transfer monitoring. Default: true.
multi_incr_udp	boolean	Multi session - Increment UDP port for each session. If true, each session uses a different UDP port starting at fasp_port (default: 33001). If false, all sessions use the same fasp_port (or ascp default). Default: true.
quiet	boolean	Suppress the ascp progress bar display. Default: false.
resume.iter_max	integer	Maximum number of retry attempts on error. Default: 7.
resume.sleep_factor	integer	Multiplier applied to sleep duration between consecutive retry attempts. Default: 2.
resume.sleep_initial	integer	Initial sleep duration (in seconds) before first retry. Default: 2.
resume.sleep_max	integer	Maximum sleep duration (in seconds) between retry attempts. Default: 60.
resume	object	Configuration for automatic transfer resume on interruption.
spawn_delay_sec	number	Multi session - Delay (in seconds) between starting each ascp session. Default: 2.
spawn_timeout_sec	number	Multi session - Maximum time (in seconds) to verify that ascp is running. Default: 3.
trusted_certs	array	List of trusted certificate repositories.
wss	boolean	Enable Web Socket Session when available. Default: true.

In case of transfer interruption, the agent will resume a transfer up to iter_max time. Sleep between iterations is given by the following formula where iter_index is the current iteration index, starting at 0:

max( sleep_max, sleep_initial * sleep_factor ^ iter_index )

To display the native progress bar of ascp, use:

--progress-bar=no --transfer-info=@json:'{"quiet":false}'`

To skip usage of management port (which disables custom progress bar), set option monitor to false. In that, use the native progress bar:

--transfer-info=@json:'{"monitor":false,"quiet":false}'`

By default, Ruby's root CA store is used to validate any HTTPS endpoint used by ascp (e.g. WSS). In order to use a custom certificate store, use the trusted_certs option of direct agent's option transfer_info. To use ascp's default, use option:

--transfer-info=@json:'{"trusted_certs":null}'`.

Some transfer errors are considered retry-able (e.g. timeout) and some other not (e.g. wrong password). The list of known protocol errors and retry level can be listed:

ascli config ascp errors

Examples:

ascli ... --transfer-info=@json:'{"wss":true,"resume":{"iter_max":20}}'
ascli ... --transfer-info=@json:'{"spawn_delay_sec":2.5,"multi_incr_udp":false}'

This can be useful to activate logging using option -L of ascp. For example, to activate debug level 2 for ascp (DD), and display those logs on the terminal (-):

--transfer-info=@json:'{"ascp_args":["-DDL-"]}'

This is useful to debug if a transfer fails.

To store ascp logs in file aspera-scp-transfer.log in a folder, use --transfer-info=@json:'{"ascp_args":["-L","/path/to/folder"]}'.

In addition to standard methods described in section File List, it is possible to specify the list of file using those additional methods:

• Using option transfer_info parameter ascp_args

--sources=@ts --transfer-info=@json:'{"ascp_args":["--file-list","myfilelist"]}'

Agent: Direct: Management messages

By default, ascli gets notification from ascp on its management port. This can be disabled with parameter: monitor=false of transfer_info.

It is also possible to send messages to ascp using this management port. A typical use is to change the target rate of a running transfer.

The communication is done through a JSON file that shall be created in ascli's config folder as displayed with:

ascli config folder

The name of the file shall be: send_<PID>, where <PID> is the process ID of the running ascli.

If there is only one ascli running, one can get the PID like this:

ps -axo pid,command|grep ascli|grep -v grep|cut -f1 -d' '

Example to change the target rate:

echo '{"type":"RATE","Rate":300000}' > ~/.aspera/ascli/send_67470

When ascli detects this file, it uses it during a transfer and then deletes it.

Agent: Direct: aspera.conf: Virtual Links

This agent supports a local configuration file: aspera.conf where Virtual links can be configured:

On a server (HSTS), the following commands can be used to set a global virtual link:

asconfigurator -x 'set_trunk_data;id,1;trunk_name,in;trunk_capacity,100000;trunk_on,true'
asconfigurator -x 'set_trunk_data;id,2;trunk_name,out;trunk_capacity,100000;trunk_on,true'
asconfigurator -x 'set_node_data;transfer_in_bandwidth_aggregate_trunk_id,1'
asconfigurator -x 'set_node_data;transfer_out_bandwidth_aggregate_trunk_id,2'

But this command is not available on clients, so edit the file aspera.conf, you can find the location with: ascli config ascp info --fields=aspera_conf and modify the sections default and trunks like this for a global 100 Mbps virtual link:

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<CONF version="2">
    <default>
        <transfer>
            <in>
                <bandwidth>
                    <aggregate>
                        <trunk_id>1</trunk_id>
                    </aggregate>
                </bandwidth>
            </in>
            <out>
                <bandwidth>
                    <aggregate>
                        <trunk_id>2</trunk_id>
                    </aggregate>
                </bandwidth>
            </out>
        </transfer>
    </default>
    <trunks>
        <trunk>
            <id>1</id>
            <name>in</name>
            <on>true</on>
            <capacity>
                <schedule format="ranges">1000000</schedule>
            </capacity>
        </trunk>
        <trunk>
            <id>2</id>
            <name>out</name>
            <capacity>
                <schedule format="ranges">1000000</schedule>
            </capacity>
            <on>true</on>
        </trunk>
    </trunks>
</CONF>

It is also possible to set a schedule with different time and days, for example for the value of schedule:

start=08 end=19 days=mon,tue,wed,thu capacity=900000;1000000

Agent: Direct: aspera.conf: File name with special characters

By default, ascp replaces file system disallowed characters in transferred file names with _. On Windows, it concerns: * : | < > " ' ?.

Replacing illegal characters in transferred file names is a built-in feature of Aspera transfers. This behavior can be customized with the aspera.conf configuration file. For example, let's assume we want to replace illegal character: | with an underscore _.

1. First, locate the configuration file with:

ascli config ascp info --fields=aspera_conf

Typically, it is located at $HOME/sdk/aspera.conf

1. Edit this file, and add the following line inside the XML section CONF.default.file_system:

        <replace_illegal_chars>_|</replace_illegal_chars>

The result should look like this:

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<CONF version="2">
<default>
    <file_system>
        <resume_suffix>.aspera-ckpt</resume_suffix>
        <partial_file_suffix>.partial</partial_file_suffix>
        <replace_illegal_chars>_|</replace_illegal_chars>
    </file_system>
</default>
</CONF>

1. According to the documentation

The parameter works as follows:

• The first character in the value is the replacement character.
• All other characters listed after it are the illegal ones to be replaced.

So in this example: | will be replaced with _.

If the mounted target file system is Windows but ascli runs on Linux, there are several additional illegal characters you need to handle. In that case, you can set the parameter like this (note that XML special characters such as <, >, " and ' must be escaped properly):

<replace_illegal_chars>_*:|&lt;&gt;&quot;&apos;?</replace_illegal_chars>

In this example:

• _ is the replacement character.
• The list of characters that will be replaced is: *:|<>"'?

So, for example:

• report|final?.txt → report_final_.txt
• data*backup"2025".csv → data_backup_2025_.csv

Agent: Connect Client

By specifying option: --transfer=connect, ascli will start transfers using the locally installed IBM Aspera Connect Client. There are no option for transfer_info.

Agent: Desktop Client

By specifying option: --transfer=desktop, ascli will start transfers using the locally installed IBM Aspera Desktop Client. There are no option for transfer_info.

Agent: Node API

By specifying option: --transfer=node, ascli starts transfers in an Aspera Transfer Server using the Node API, either on a local or remote node. This is especially useful for direct node-to-node transfers.

Parameters provided in option transfer_info are:

Parameter	Type	Description
url	String	URL of the Node API Mandatory
username	String	Node API user or access key Mandatory
password	String	Password, secret or bearer token Mandatory
root_id	String	Root file ID Mandatory only for bearer token

Like any other option, transfer_info can get its value from a pre-configured Option Preset :

--transfer-info=@preset:_name_here_

It can also directly use the Extended Value syntax:

--transfer-info=@json:'{"url":"https://...","username":"_user_here_","password":"<PASSWORD>"}'

If transfer_info is not specified and a default node has been configured (name in node for section default) then this node is used by default.

If the password value begins with Bearer then the username is expected to be an access key and the parameter root_id is mandatory and specifies the file ID of the top folder to use on the node using this access key. It can be either the access key's root file ID, or any authorized file ID underneath it.

Agent: HTTP Gateway

The Aspera HTTP Gateway is a service that allows sending and receiving files using HTTPS.

By specifying option: --transfer=httpgw, ascli will start transfers using the Aspera HTTP Gateway.

Parameters provided in option transfer_info are:

Name	Type	Description
url	String	URL of the HTTP GW Mandatory
upload_chunk_size	Integer	Size in bytes of chunks for upload Default: 64000
api_version	String	Force use of version (v1, v2) Default: v2
synchronous	Bool	Wait for each message acknowledgment Default: false

Example:

ascli faspex package recv 323 --transfer=httpgw --transfer-info=@json:'{"url":"https://asperagw.example.com:9443/aspera/http-gwy"}'

If the application, e.g. AoC or Faspex 5, is configured to use the HTTP Gateway, then ascli will automatically use the gateway URL if --transfer=httpgw is specified, so transfer_info becomes optional.

Agent: Transfer Daemon

Another possibility is to use the Transfer Daemon (transferd). Set option transfer to transferd.

Options for transfer_info are:

Name	Type	Description
url	String	IP address and port listened by the daemon Mandatory Default: :0
start	Bool	Start a new daemon. Default: true
stop	Bool	Stop daemon when exiting ascli Default: true

For example, to use an external, already running transferd, use option:

--transfer-info=@json:'{"url":":55002","start":false,"stop":false}'

The gem grpc is not part of default dependencies, as it requires compilation of a native part. So, to use the Transfer Daemon you should install this gem:

gem install grpc

If the execution complains about incompatible libraries, then force recompilation of the native part:

gem uninstall grpc

gem install grpc --platform ruby

On Windows the compilation may fail for various reasons (3.1.1):

• cannot find -lx64-ucrt-ruby310

  → copy the file [Ruby main dir]\lib\libx64-ucrt-ruby310.dll.a to (remove the dll extension) [Ruby main dir]\lib\libx64-ucrt-ruby310.a

• conflicting types for 'gettimeofday'

  → edit the file [Ruby main dir]/include/ruby-[version]/ruby/win32.h and change the signature of gettimeofday to gettimeofday(struct timeval *, void *), i.e. change struct timezone to void

Transfer Specification

Some commands lead to file transfer (upload/download). All parameters necessary for this transfer are described in a transfer-spec (Transfer Specification), such as:

• Server address
• Transfer username
• Credentials
• File list
• Etc.

ascli builds the transfer-spec internally as a Hash. It is not necessary to provide additional parameters on the command line for a transfer.

It is possible to modify or add any of the supported transfer-spec parameter using the ts option. The ts option accepts a Hash Extended Value containing one or several transfer-spec parameters. Multiple ts options on command line are cumulative, and the Hash value is deeply merged. To remove a (deep) key from transfer spec, set the value to null.

ascli config ascp info --fields=ts --flat-hash=no

It is possible to specify ascp options when the transfer option is set to direct using transfer_info option parameter: ascp_args. Example:

--transfer-info=@json:'{"ascp_args":["-l","100m"]}'

Or an equivalent (using dotted expression):

--transfer-info.ascp_args=@list:' -l 100m'

This is especially useful for ascp command line parameters not supported in the transfer spec.

The use of a transfer-spec instead of ascp command line arguments has the advantage of:

• Common to all Transfer Agent
• Not dependent on command line limitations (special characters...)

Transfer Parameters

All standard transfer-spec parameters can be specified. A transfer-spec can also be saved/overridden in the configuration file.

References:

• Aspera Node API Documentation → /opt/transfers
• Aspera Transfer Daemon Documentation → Guides → API Ref → Transfer Spec V1
• Aspera Connect SDK → search The parameters for starting a transfer.

Parameters can be displayed with commands:

ascli config ascp spec
ascli config ascp spec --select=@json:'{"d":"Y"}' --fields=-d,n,c

A JSON Schema can be generated with command:

ascli config ascp schema --format=jsonpp

An optional parameter can be specified to display the schema for a specific transfer agent:

ascli config ascp schema transferd --format=jsonpp

ascp argument or environment variable is provided in description.

Transfer Specification Reference

ID	Name
A	Direct
C	Connect
D	Desktop
H	Httpgw
N	Node
T	Transferd

Field	Type	Description
apply_local_docroot	boolean	Apply local docroot to source paths. (A, T) (--apply-local-docroot)
authentication	string	Set to token for SSH bypass keys, else password asked if not provided. (C)
cipher_allowed	string	Returned by node API. Valid literals include aes-128 and none. (C) Allowed values: none, aes-128, aes-192, aes-256, aes-128-cfb, aes-192-cfb, aes-256-cfb, aes-128-gcm, aes-192-gcm, aes-256-gcm.
cipher	string	In transit encryption algorithms. Allowed values: none, aes-128, aes-192, aes-256, aes-128-cfb, aes-192-cfb, aes-256-cfb, aes-128-gcm, aes-192-gcm, aes-256-gcm. Default: none. (-c (conversion){enum})
content_protection_password	string	Password for encryption/decryption of transferred assets. (env:ASPERA_SCP_FILEPASS)
content_protection	string	Enable client-side content protection (CSEAR, encryption-at-rest). For uploads, set to encrypt to transfer encrypted files and store them on the server with the extension .aspera-env. (aspera.conf parameter transfer_encryption_content_protection_extension). To download and decrypt encrypted files, set to decrypt content_protection_password must be specified if this option is set. Allowed values: encrypt, decrypt. (--file-crypt={enum})
cookie	string	Metadata for transfer specified by application. (env:ASPERA_SCP_COOKIE)
create_dir	boolean	Create target directory if it doesn't already exist. If all the following conditions are met, then the destination_root specifies a filename instead of destination folder: - create_dir is false - A single source file is given on command line - The target folder specified by destination_root does not exist In all other cases, destination_root specifies a folder, and it is created if it does not already exist. I.e. if any of those conditions is met: - create_dir is true - Multiple source files are provided - List of source files are provided in a file (list or pair), default for Node API and ascli. - The target folder exists (-d)
delete_before_transfer	boolean	Before transfer, delete files that exist at the destination but not at the source. The source and destination arguments must be directories that have matching names. Objects on the destination that have the same name but different type or size as objects on the source are not deleted. (--delete-before-transfer)
delete_source	boolean	Remove transferred source files after transfer success. Equivalent to remove_after_transfer + remove_empty_directories + remove_empty_source_directory. Take precedence over those. (A, N, T)
destination_root_id	string	The file ID of the destination root directory. Required when using Bearer token auth for the destination node. (T)
destination_root	string	Destination root directory.
dgram_size	integer	UDP datagram size in bytes. (-Z {integer})
direction	string	Direction of transfer (on client side). Allowed values: send, receive. (--mode=(conversion){enum})
exclude_newer_than	string	Exclude files, but not directories, from the transfer if they are newer than the specified number of seconds added to the source computer's epoch. e.g. -86400 for newer than a day back. (--exclude-newer-than={string})
exclude_older_than	string	Exclude files, but not directories, from the transfer if they are older than the specified number of seconds added to the source computer's epoch. e.g. -86400 for older than a day back. (--exclude-older-than={string})
fail_bad_filepass	boolean	Fail on bad file decryption passphrase. (A, T) (--fail-bad-filepass)
fasp_port	integer	Specifies fasp (UDP) port. Default: 33001. (-O {integer})
fasp_proxy	object	Proxy for communications between the remote server and the (local) client. (T)
file_checksum	string	Enable checksum reporting for transferred files by specifying the hash to use. (A, N) Allowed values: sha-512, sha-384, sha-256, sha1, md5, none. Default: none. (--file-checksum={enum})
http_fallback_port	integer	Specifies HTTP port when no cipher is used. (-t {integer})
http_fallback	["boolean", "string"]	When true(1), attempts to perform an HTTP transfer if a FASP transfer cannot be performed. (-y (conversion){boolean|string})
https_fallback_port	integer	Specifies HTTPS port when cipher is used. (-t {integer})
icos	object	Configuration parameters for IBM Cloud Object Storage (ICOS). (T)
keepalive	boolean	The session is running in persistent session mode. (A, T) (--keepalive)
lock_min_rate_kbps	boolean	If true, lock the minimum transfer rate to the value set for min_rate_kbps. If false, users can adjust the transfer rate up to the value set for target_rate_cap_kbps. (C, T)
lock_min_rate	boolean	n/a (C)
lock_rate_policy	boolean	If true, lock the rate policy to the default value. (C, T)
lock_target_rate_kbps	boolean	If true, lock the target transfer rate to the default value set for target_rate_kbps. If false, users can adjust the transfer rate up to the value set for target_rate_cap_kbps. (C, T)
lock_target_rate	boolean	n/a (C)
min_rate_cap_kbps	integer	The highest minimum rate that an incoming transfer can request, in kilobits per second. Client minimum rate requests that exceed the minimum rate cap are ignored. The default value of unlimited applies no cap to the minimum rate. (Default: 0) (C, T)
min_rate_kbps	integer	Set the minimum transfer rate in kilobits per second. Default: 0. (-m {integer})
move_after_transfer	string	Move source files to the specified archive-dir directory after they are transferred correctly. Available as of 3.8.0. Details in ascp manual. Requires write permissions on the source. If src_base is specified, files are moved to archive-dir/path-relative-to-srcbase. archive-dir must be in the same file system (or cloud storage account) as the source files being transferred. archive-dir is subject to the same docroot restrictions as source files. move_after_transfer and remove_after_transfer are mutually exclusive options. After files have been moved to the archive, the original source directory structure is left in place. Empty directories are not saved to archive-dir. To remove empty source directories after a successful move operation, also set remove_empty_directories to true. When using remove_empty_directories, empty directory removal examination starts at the srcbase and proceeds down any subdirectories. If no srcbase is used and a file path (as opposed to a directory path) is specified, then only the immediate parent directory is examined and removed if it is empty following the move of the source file. (A, N, T) (--move-after-transfer={string})
multi_session_threshold	integer	Split files across multiple ascp sessions if their size in bytes is greater than or equal to the specified value. (0=no file is split) (A, N, T) (--multi-session-threshold={integer})
multi_session	integer	Use multi-session transfer. max 128. Each participant on one host needs an independent UDP (-O) port. Large files are split between sessions only when transferring with resume_policy=none. (special:-C {integer})
obfuscate_file_names	boolean	HTTP Gateway obfuscates file names when set to true. (H)
overwrite	string	Overwrite files at the destination with source files of the same name based on the policy: - always : Always overwrite the file. - never : Never overwrite the file. If the destination contains partial files that are older or the same as the source files and resume is enabled, the partial files resume transfer. Partial files with checksums or sizes that differ from the source files are not overwritten. - diff : (default) Overwrite the file if it is different from the source, depending on the compare method (default is size). If the destination is object storage, diff has the same effect as always. If resume is not enabled, partial files are overwritten if they are different from the source, otherwise they are skipped. If resume is enabled, only partial files with different sizes or checksums from the source are overwritten; otherwise, files resume. - diff+older : Overwrite the file if it is older and different from the source, depending on the compare method (default is size). If resume is not enabled, partial files are overwritten if they are older and different from the source, otherwise they are skipped. If resume is enabled, only partial files that are different and older than the source are overwritten, otherwise they are resumed. - older : Overwrite the file if its timestamp is older than the source timestamp. If you set an overwrite policy of diff or diff+older, difference is determined by the value set for resume_policy: none : The source and destination files are always considered different and the destination file is always overwritten attributes : The source and destination files are compared based on file attributes sparse_checksum : The source and destination files are compared based on sparse checksums, (currently file size) full_checksum : The source and destination files are compared based on full checksums Allowed values: never, always, diff, older, diff+older. Default: diff. (--overwrite={enum})
password	string	Password for local Windows user when transfer user associated with node API user is not the same as the one running asperanoded. Allows impersonating the transfer user and have access to resources (e.g. network shares). Windows only, node API only. (N)
paths	array	Array of path to the source (required) and a path to the destination (optional).
precalculate_job_size	boolean	Specifies whether to precalculate the job size. (--precalculate-job-size)
preserve_access_time	boolean	Preserve the source-file access timestamps at the destination. Because source access times are updated by the transfer operation, the timestamp that is preserved is the one just before to the transfer. (--preserve-access-time)
preserve_acls	string	Preserve access control lists. (A, T) Allowed values: none, native, metafile. Default: none. (--preserve-acls={enum})
preserve_creation_time	boolean	Preserve source-file creation timestamps at the destination. Only Windows systems retain information about creation time. If the destination is not a Windows computer, this option is ignored. (--preserve-creation-time)
preserve_extended_attrs	string	Preserve the extended attributes. (A, T) Allowed values: none, native, metafile. Default: none. (--preserve-xattrs={enum})
preserve_file_owner_gid	boolean	Preserve the group ID for a file owner. (A, T) (--preserve-file-owner-gid)
preserve_file_owner_uid	boolean	Preserve the user ID for a file owner. (A, T) (--preserve-file-owner-uid)
preserve_modification_time	boolean	Set the modification time, the last time a file or directory was modified (written), of a transferred file to the modification of the source file or directory. Preserve source-file modification timestamps at the destination. (--preserve-modification-time)
preserve_remote_acls	string	Preserve remote access control lists. (A, T) Allowed values: none, native, metafile. Default: none. (--remote-preserve-acls={enum})
preserve_remote_extended_attrs	string	Preserve remote extended attributes. (A, T) Allowed values: none, native, metafile. Default: none. (--remote-preserve-xattrs={enum})
preserve_source_access_time	boolean	Preserve the time logged for when the source file was accessed. (A, T) (--preserve-source-access-time)
preserve_times	boolean	Preserve file timestamps. (A, N, T) (-p {boolean})
proxy	string	Specify the address of the Aspera high-speed proxy server. dnat(s)://[user[:password]@]server:port Default ports for DNAT and DNATS protocols are 9091 and 9092. Password, if specified here, overrides the value of environment variable ASPERA_PROXY_PASS. (A) (--proxy={string})
rate_policy_allowed	string	Specifies most aggressive rate policy that is allowed. Returned by node API. (C) Allowed values: low, fair, high, fixed.
rate_policy	string	The transfer rate policy to use when sharing bandwidth. Allowable values: - high : When sharing bandwidth, transfer at twice the rate of a transfer using a fair policy. - fair : (Default) Share bandwidth equally with other traffic. - low : Use only unused bandwidth. - fixed : Transfer at the target rate, regardless of the actual network capacity. Do not share bandwidth. Aspera recommends that you do not use this setting except under special circumstances, otherwise the destination storage can be damaged. Allowed values: low, fair, high, fixed. (--policy={enum})
remote_access_key	string	The access key ID of the access key that was used to construct the bearer token that is used to authenticate to the remote node. (T)
remote_host	string	IP or fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the remote server. (--host={string})
remote_password	string	SSH session password. (env:ASPERA_SCP_PASS)
remote_user	string	Remote user. Default value is xfer on node or connect. (--user={string})
remove_after_transfer	boolean	Remove SRC files after transfer success. (A, N, T) (--remove-after-transfer)
remove_empty_directories	boolean	Specifies whether to remove empty directories. (A, N, T) (--remove-empty-directories)
remove_empty_source_dir	boolean	Remove empty source subdirectories and remove the source directory itself, if empty. (T)
remove_empty_source_directory	boolean	Remove empty source subdirectories and remove the source directory itself, if empty. (A) (--remove-empty-source-directory)
remove_skipped	boolean	Must also have remove_after_transfer set to true. Defaults to false. If true, skipped files will be removed as well. (A, C, N) (--remove-skipped)
resume_policy	string	If a transfer is interrupted or fails to finish, this policy directs the transfer to resume without retransferring the files. Allowable values: - none : Always re-transfer the entire file. - attrs : Compare file attributes and resume if they match, and re-transfer if they do not. - sparse_csum : Compare file attributes and the sparse file checksums; resume if they match, and re-transfer if they do not. - full_csum : Compare file attributes and the full file checksums; resume if they match, and re-transfer if they do not. Note: transferd uses values: attributes, sparse_checksum, full_checksum. Allowed values: none, attrs, sparse_csum, full_csum. Default: faspmgr:none;other:sparse_csum. (-k (conversion){enum})
retry_duration	["integer", "string"]	Specifies how long to wait before retrying transfer (e.g. 5min). (T)
save_before_overwrite	boolean	If a transfer would result in an existing file . being overwritten, move that file to .yyyy.mm.dd.hh.mm.ss.index. (where index is set to 1 at the beginning of each new second and incremented for each file saved in this manner during the same second) in the same directory before writing the new file. File attributes are maintained in the renamed file. (A, N, T) (--save-before-overwrite)
skip_duplicate_check	boolean	Don't check for duplicate files at the destination. (A, T) (--skip-dir-traversal-dupes)
skip_special_files	boolean	All assets other than files, directories and symbolic links are considered special. A transfer will fail if the user attempts to transfer special assets. If true, ascp skips special assets and proceeds with the transfer of all other assets. (A, T) (--skip-special-files)
source_root_id	string	The file ID of the source root directory. Required when using Bearer token auth for the source node. (N, T)
source_root	string	Path to be prepended to each source path. This is either a conventional path or it can be a URI but only if there is no root defined. (--source-prefix64=(conversion){string})
src_base64	string	The folder name below which the directory structure is preserved (base64 encoded). (A, T) (--src-base64={string})
src_base	string	Specify the prefix to be stripped off from each source object. The remaining portion of the source path is kept intact at the destination. Special care must be taken when used with cloud storage. (A, N, T) (--src-base64=(conversion){string})
ssh_args	array	Add arguments to the command-line arguments passed to the external ssh program (implies -SSH). The arguments are inserted before any key file(s) supplied to ascp and before the user/host arguments. (A, T) (special:--ssh-arg={array})
ssh_port	integer	Specifies SSH (TCP) port. Default: direct:22, other:33001. (-P {integer})
ssh_private_key_passphrase	string	The passphrase associated with the transfer user's SSH private key. Available as of 3.7.2. (A, T) (env:ASPERA_SCP_PASS)
ssh_private_key_path	string	Path to private key for SSH. (A, T) (-i {string})
ssh_private_key	string	Private key used for SSH authentication. Shall look like: -----BEGIN RSA PRIV4TE KEY-----\nMII... Note the JSON encoding: \n for newlines. (A, T) (env:ASPERA_SCP_KEY)
sshfp	string	Check it against server SSH host key fingerprint. (--check-sshfp={string})
symlink_policy	string	Handle source side symbolic links. Refer to HSTS manual for more details. - follow: Follow a symbolic link and transfer the contents of the linked file or directory when the link target is in the user's docroot. - copy: Copy only the symbolic link. If a file with the same name exists at the destination, the symbolic link does not replace the file. - skip: Skip-symbolic links. The link or the file to which it points are not transferred. - copy+force: Copy only the symbolic link. If a file with the same name exists at the destination, the symbolic link replaces the file. If the file of the same name at the destination is a symbolic link to a directory, it is not replaced. Allowed values: follow, copy, copy+force, skip. Default: follow. (--symbolic-links={enum})
tags64	string	Base64 string for tags. (A, T) (--tags64={string})
tags	object	Metadata for transfer as JSON. Key aspera is reserved. Key aspera.xfer_retry specifies a "retry timeout" but is not actually used for node API initiated transfers. (--tags64=(conversion){object})
target_rate_cap_kbps	integer	Maximum target rate for incoming transfers, in kilobits per second. Returned by upload/download_setup node API. (C, T)
target_rate_kbps	integer	Specifies desired speed for the transfer. (-l {integer})
title	string	Title of the transfer. (C, N, T)
token	string	Authorization token. Type is Bearer, Basic or ATM. (env:ASPERA_SCP_TOKEN)
use_ascp4	boolean	Specify version of protocol. ascp4 will be deprecated. (A, N, T) Default: false.
use_system_ssh	boolean	Use an external ssh program instead of the built-in libssh2 implementation to establish the connection to the remote host. The desired ssh program must be in the environment's PATH. To enable debugging of the ssh process, supply -DD and --ssh-arg=-vv arguments to ascp. (A, T) (-SSH)
wss_enabled	boolean	Server has Web Socket service enabled. (special:--ws-connect)
wss_port	integer	TCP port used for Web Socket service feed.
xfer_max_retries	integer	Maximum number of retries, for node API initiated transfers. Shall not exceed aspera.conf parameter transfer_manager_max_retries (default 3). (N)

Destination folder for transfers

The destination folder is set by ascli by default to:

• . for downloads
• / for uploads

It is specified by the transfer-spec parameter destination_root. As such, it can be modified with option: --ts=@json:'{"destination_root":"<PATH>"}'. The option to_folder provides an equivalent and convenient way to change this parameter: --to-folder=<PATH>.

List of files for transfers

When uploading, downloading or sending files, the user must specify the list of files to transfer.

By default, the list of files to transfer is simply provided on the command line.

The list of (source) files to transfer is specified by (Extended Value) option sources (default: @args). The list is either simply the list of source files, or a combined source/destination list (see below) depending on value of option src_type (default: list).

In ascli, all transfer parameters, including file list, are provided to the transfer agent in a transfer-spec so that execution of a transfer is independent of the transfer agent (direct, connect, node, transfer daemon...). So, eventually, the list of files to transfer is provided to the transfer agent using the transfer-spec field: "paths" which is a list (array) of pairs of "source" (mandatory) and "destination" (optional). The sources and src_type options provide convenient ways to populate the transfer spec with the source file list.

Possible values for option sources are:

• @args : (default) the list of files (or file pair) is directly provided on the command line (after commands): unused arguments (not starting with -) are considered as source files. So, by default, the list of files to transfer will be simply specified on the command line.

Example:

ascli server upload ~/first.file secondfile

This is the same as (with default values):

ascli server upload --sources=@args --src-type=list ~/mysample.file secondfile

• An Extended Value with type Array of String

Examples:

• Using Extended Value

  Create the file list:

  echo ~/mysample.file > myfilelist.txt
  echo secondfile >> myfilelist.txt
  

  Use the file list: one path per line:

  --sources=@lines:@file:myfilelist.txt
  

• Using JSON array

  --sources=@json:'["file1","file2"]'
  

• Using STDIN, one path per line

  --sources=@lines:@stdin:
  

• Using Ruby code (one path per line in file)

  --sources=@ruby:'File.read("myfilelist.txt").split("\n")'
  

• @ts : the user provides the list of files directly in the paths field of transfer spec (option ts). Examples:

  • Using transfer spec

  --sources=@ts --ts=@json:'{"paths":[{"source":"file1"},{"source":"file2"}]}'
  

The option src_type allows specifying if the list specified in option sources is a simple file list or if it is a file pair list.

Supported values for src_type are:

• list : (default) the path of destination is the same as source and each entry is a source file path
• pair : the first element is the first source, the second element is the first destination, and so on.

Example: Source file 200KB.1 is renamed sample1 on destination:

ascli server upload --src-type=pair ~/Documents/Samples/200KB.1 /Upload/sample1

Source directory structure on destination

This section is not specific to ascli it is ascp behavior.

The transfer destination is normally expected to designate a destination folder.

But there is one exception: The destination specifies the new item name when the following are met:

• There is a single source item (file or folder)
• Transfer spec create_dir is not set to true (ascp option -d not provided)
• Destination is not an existing folder
• The dirname of destination is an existing folder

For this reason it is recommended to set create_dir to true for consistent behavior between single and multiple items transfer, this is the default in ascli.

If a simple source file list is provided (no destination in paths, i.e. no file_pair_list provided), the destination folder is used as destination folder for each source file, and source file folder names are not preserved.

The inner structure of source items that are folder is preserved on destination.

A leading / on destination is ignored (relative to docroot) unless docroot is not set (relative to home).

In the following table source folder d3 contains 2 files: f1 and d4/f2.

Source files	Destination	Folders on Dest.	create_dir	Destination Files
f1	d/f	-	false	Error: d does not exist.
f1	d/f	d	false	d/f (renamed)
f1	d/f/.	d	false	d/f (renamed)
f1	d/f	d/f	false	d/f/f1
f1 f2	d	d	false	d/f1 d/f2
d3	d	-	false	d/f1 d/f2 (renamed)
f1	d	-	true	d/f1
f1 f2	d	-	true	d/f1 d/f2
d1/f1 d2/f2	d	-	true	d/f1 d/f2
d3	d	-	true	d/d3/f1 d/d3/d4/f2

If a file pair list is provided, then it is possible to rename or specify a different destination folder for each source (relative to the destination).

If transfer spec has a src_base, it has the side effect that the simple source file list is considered as a file pair list, and so the lower structure of source folders is preserved on destination.

Source files	Destination	src_base	Destination Files
d1/d2/f2 d1/d3/f3	d	d1	d/d2/f2 d/d3/f3

Advanced Example: Send files ./file1 and ./folder2/files2 to server (e.g. /Upload) and keep the original file names and folders, i.e. send file1 to /Upload/file1 and files2 to /Upload/folder2/files2.

• If files are specified as ./file1 ./folder2/files2,

  then destination will be: /Upload/file1 /Upload/files2

• One possibility is to specify a file pair list: --src-type=pair file1 file1 folder2/files2 folder2/files2

• Another possibility is to specify a source base: --src-base=$PWD $PWD/file1 $PWD/folder2/files2

  (note that . cannot be used as source base)

• Similarly, create a temporary soft link (Linux): ln -s . tmp_base and use --src-base=tmp_base tmp_base/file1 tmp_base/folder2/files2

• One can also similarly use --sources=@ts and specify the list of files in the paths field of transfer spec with both source and destination for each file.

Multi-session transfer

Multi session, i.e. starting a transfer of a file set using multiple sessions (one ascp process per session) is supported on direct and node agents, not yet on connect.

• --transfer=node

--ts=@json:'{"multi_session":10,"multi_session_threshold":1}'

Multi-session is directly supported by the node daemon.

• --transfer=direct

--ts=@json:'{"multi_session":5,"multi_session_threshold":1,"resume_policy":"none"}'

ascli starts multiple ascp for Multi-session using direct agent.

When multi-session is used, one separate UDP port is used per session (refer to ascp manual page).

Content protection

Content protection (Client-Side Encryption at REST, CSEAR)) ensures that files remain encrypted while stored on the server. With CSEAR, the client encrypts files during upload and decrypts files during download, using a passphrase known only to the users sharing the files.

• Upload: Files are encrypted on the client side before being sent to the server.
• Download: Files are decrypted on the client side as they are retrieved from the server.

At all times, files remain encrypted on the server; encryption and decryption occur exclusively on the client side.

Activating CSEAR consists in using transfer spec parameters:

• content_protection : activate encryption (encrypt for upload) or decryption (decrypt for download)
• content_protection_password : the passphrase to be used.

Example: parameter to download a Faspex package and decrypt on the fly

--ts=@json:'{"content_protection":"decrypt","content_protection_password":"<PASSWORD>"}'

Transfer Spec Examples

• Change target rate

--ts=@json:'{"target_rate_kbps":500000}'

• Override the FASP SSH port to a specific TCP port:

--ts=@json:'{"ssh_port":33002}'

• Force HTTP fallback mode:

--ts=@json:'{"http_fallback":"force"}'

• Activate progress when not activated by default on server

--ts=@json:'{"precalculate_job_size":true}'

Transfer progress bar

File transfer operations are monitored, and a progress bar is displayed on the terminal if option progress_bar (Bool) is set to yes (default if the output is a terminal).

The same progress bar is used for any type of transfer, using ascp, server to server, using HTTPS, etc.

Scheduler

ascli does not include a built-in scheduler. Automated execution should therefore rely on operating system facilities.

Two common execution modes are supported:

• Scheduled execution – run ascli commands periodically.

• Daemon/service mode – run ascli continuously as a server.

Wrapping script

Before configuring scheduling or services, it is often useful to create a wrapper script that prepares the environment and optionally enforces execution limits.

This script may:

• configure environment variables (PATH, Ruby, etc.)

• enforce a maximum runtime

• centralize command options

Example (Linux)

#!/bin/bash
# Load the Ruby environment if required
# Forward arguments to ascli and ensure it does not exceed 30 min execution
exec timeout 30m ascli "${@}"

Save as:

/home/xfer/bin/ascli_tool

and make it executable.

Windows: Scheduler

Windows provides the Task Scheduler.

Tasks can be configured using:

• schtasks.exe

• PowerShell function scheduletasks

• taskschd.msc (UI)

By default, Windows Task Scheduler prevents overlapping executions.

Linux: systemd Timer

Most modern Linux distributions use systemd which provides scheduling via timer units. Define a name for the server, for example: ascli_job as <NAME> below.

1. Create the service

   /etc/systemd/system/<NAME>.service

   [Unit]
   Description=Run ascli preview scan
   
   [Service]
   Type=oneshot
   ExecStart=/home/xfer/bin/ascli_tool preview scan --logger=syslog --display=error
   User=xfer
   Group=xfer
   

2. Create the timer (same base name)

   /etc/systemd/system/<NAME>.timer

   [Unit]
   Description=Hourly execution of <NAME>
   
   [Timer]
   OnCalendar=hourly
   AccuracySec=1min
   Persistent=true
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy=timers.target
   

3. Enable the timer

   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   sudo systemctl enable --now <NAME>.timer
   

Check status:

systemctl status <NAME>.timer

systemctl list-timers | grep <NAME>

Run service once to test:

sudo systemctl start <NAME>.service

Linux: cron Scheduler

Unix-like systems also provide cron.

Example of crontab for user xfer.

crontab<<EOF
0    * * * *  /home/xfer/bin/ascli_tool preview scan --logger=syslog --display=error
2-59 * * * *  /home/xfer/bin/ascli_tool preview trev --logger=syslog --display=error
EOF

Linux also provides anacron for daily or hourly jobs that must run even if the system was previously offline.

Running as system service (Daemon mode)

Some commands run continuously (for example, listening on a network port). In this case it is recommended to run ascli as a system service.

On Linux this is typically done using systemd.

For example, below <NAME> is ascli_svc.

A wrapping script, again, is convenient: /usr/local/bin/start_<NAME>.sh:

Service definition at /etc/systemd/system/<NAME>.service:

[Unit]
Description=My ascli daemon
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/start_<NAME>.sh
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=15
User=xfer
# Optional, specify a working directory
# WorkingDirectory=/path/to/working/dir
# Optional, redirect output
StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now <NAME>.service
systemctl status <NAME>.service
journalctl -u <NAME>.service

Preventing Concurrent Execution

When running scheduled jobs, it may be necessary to ensure that only one instance of ascli runs at a time.

This avoids situations such as:

• multiple instances accumulating and overloading the system

• duplicate transfers

• duplicate preview outputs

Option: lock_port

ascli provides a built-in locking mechanism via the lock_port option.

• lock_port prevents concurrent executions of the same command.

• If another instance is already running and holding the specified port, the new execution exits immediately.

Under the hood, this works by opening a local TCP server port. If the port is already in use, the process fails, effectively acting as a local lock. The lock is released automatically when the process exits.

Example: Test ascli locking by running this command in two separate terminals within 30 seconds:

ascli config echo @ruby:'sleep 30' --lock-port=12345

• The first instance will sleep for 30 seconds.

• The second instance will exit immediately with:

WARN -- : Another instance is already running (Address already in use - bind(2) for "127.0.0.1" port 12345).

OS-based concurrency protection

Operating system schedulers also provide protection against overlapping runs.

• Windows Task Scheduler prevents concurrent runs by default.
• Linux cron can leverage flock to achieve the same effect:

/usr/bin/flock -w 0 /var/cron.lock ascli ...

• systemd avoids overlaps when scheduling a Type=oneshot service.

[Unit]
Description=My ascli daemon
...

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/start_<NAME>.sh
Type=oneshot
RemainAfterExit=yes
...

"Provençal"

ascp, the underlying executable implementing Aspera file transfer using FASP, has a capability to not only access the local file system (using system's open,read,write,close primitives), but also to do the same operations on other data storage such as S3, Hadoop and others. This mechanism is called PVCL (from Provençal, a restaurant located in Sophia Antipolis). Several PVCL adapters are available, one is embedded in ascp, the others are provided in shared libraries and must be activated.

The list of supported PVCL adapters can be retrieved with command:

ascli config ascp info --fields=@re:'^pvcl'

process v1
shares v1
noded v1
faux v1
file v1
stdio v1
stdio-tar v1

Here we can see the adapters: process, shares, noded, faux, file, stdio, stdio-tar.

Those adapters can be used wherever a file path is used in ascp including configuration. They act as a pseudo drive.

The simplified format is:

<ADAPTER>:///<SUB_FILE_PATH>?<ARG1>=<VAL1>&...

One of the adapters, used in this manual, for testing, is faux. It is a pseudo file system allowing generation of file data without actual storage (on source or destination).

Other PVCL modules exist and are implemented in shared libraries. Those libraries are available only on HSTS. In order to activate a PVCL library, place the corresponding shared library in the same folder as ascp.

Example:

cp /opt/aspera/lib/pvcl/libpvcl_cloud.so $(ascli conf ascp info --fields=root)

Then check available modules as shown previously (ascp info).

faux: for testing

This adapter can be used to simulate a file or a directory. This is a feature of ascp, not ascli. The following is an extract of the man page of ascp.

To discard data at the destination, the destination argument is set to faux://.

To send uninitialized data in place of an actual source file, the source file is replaced with an argument of the form:

faux:///filename?filesize

where:

• filename is the name that will be assigned to the file on the destination
• filesize is the number of bytes that will be sent (in decimal).

For all sizes, a suffix can be added (case-insensitive) to the size: k, m, g, t, p, e (values are power of 2, e.g. 1M is 2²⁰, i.e. 1 mebibyte, not megabyte). The maximum allowed value is 8*2⁶⁰. Very large faux file sizes (petabyte range and above) will likely fail due to lack of destination storage unless destination is faux://.

To send uninitialized data in place of a source directory, the source argument is replaced with an argument of the form:

faux:///dirname?<ARG1>=<VAL1>&...

where:

• dirname is the folder name and can contain / to specify a subfolder.
• Supported arguments are:

Name	Type	Description
count	int	Number of files Mandatory
file	string	Basename for files Default: file
size	int	Size of first file. Default: 0
inc	int	Increment applied to determine next file size Default: 0
seq	enum	Sequence in determining next file size Values: random, sequential Default: sequential
buf_init	enum	How source data is initialized Option none is not allowed for downloads. Values:none, zero, random Default:zero

The sequence parameter is applied as follows:

• If seq is random then each file size is:

  • size +/- (inc * rand())
  • Where rand is a random number between 0 and 1
  • Note that file size must not be negative, inc will be set to size if it is greater than size
  • Similarly, overall file size must be less than 8*2⁶⁰. If size + inc is greater, inc will be reduced to limit size + inc to 7*2⁶⁰.

• If seq is sequential then each file size is:

  • size + ((file_index - 1) * inc)
  • Where first file is index 1
  • So file1 is size bytes, file2 is size + inc bytes, file3 is size + inc * 2 bytes, etc.
  • As with random, inc will be adjusted if size + (count * inc) is not less than 8*2⁶⁰.

Filenames generated are of the form: <FILE>_<00000 ... count>_<FILESIZE>

Examples:

• Upload 20 gibibyte of random data to file myfile to directory /Upload

ascli server upload faux:///myfile\?20g --to-folder=/Upload

• Upload a file /tmp/sample but do not save results to disk (no docroot on destination)

ascli server upload /tmp/sample --to-folder=faux://

• Upload a faux directory mydir containing 1 million files, sequentially with sizes ranging from 0 to 2 Mebibyte - 2 bytes, with the base name of each file being testfile to /Upload

ascli server upload "faux:///mydir?file=testfile&count=1m&size=0&inc=2&seq=sequential" --to-folder=/Upload

• Upload a faux directory mydir containing 1000 files, of size 1 byte, with the base name of each file being testfile to /Upload

ascli server upload "faux:///mydir?file=testfile&count=1000&size=1" --to-folder=/Upload

Usage

ascli -h
NAME
        ascli -- a command line tool for Aspera Applications (v4.27.0.pre)

SYNOPSIS
        ascli COMMANDS [OPTIONS] [ARGS]

DESCRIPTION
        Use Aspera application to perform operations on command line.
        Documentation and examples: https://rubygems.org/gems/aspera-cli
        execute: ascli conf doc
        or visit: https://ibm.biz/ascli-doc
        source repo: https://github.com/IBM/aspera-cli

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
        Any option can be set as an environment variable, refer to the manual

COMMANDS
        To list first level commands, execute: ascli
        Note that commands can be written shortened (provided it is unique).

OPTIONS
        Options begin with a '-' (minus), and value is provided on command line.
        Special values are supported beginning with special prefix @pfx:, where pfx is one of:
        val, base64, csvt, env, file, uri, json, lines, list, none, path, re, ruby, s, secret, stdin, yaml, zlib, extend, preset, vault, 
        Dates format is 'DD-MM-YY HH:MM:SS', or 'now' or '-<num>h'

ARGS
        Some commands require mandatory arguments, e.g. a path.

OPTIONS: global
        --interactive=ENUM           Use interactive input of missing params: [no], yes
        --ask-options=ENUM           Ask even optional options: [no], yes
        --display=ENUM               Output only some information: [data], error, info
        --format=ENUM                Output format: csv, image, json, jsonpp, nagios, ruby, [table], text, yaml
        --output=VALUE               Destination for results
        --fields=VALUE               Comma separated list of: fields, or ALL, or DEF (Array, Regexp, Proc)
        --select=VALUE               Select only some items in lists: column, value (Hash, Proc)
        --table-style=VALUE          (Table) Display style (Hash)
        --flat-hash=ENUM             (Table) Display deep values as additional keys: no, [yes]
        --multi-single=ENUM          (Table) Control how object list is displayed as single table, or multiple objects: [no], single, yes
        --show-secrets=ENUM          Show secrets on command output: [no], yes
        --image=VALUE                Options for image display (Hash)
    -h, --help                       Show this message
        --show-config                Display parameters used for the provided action
    -v, --version                    Display version
        --ui=ENUM                    Method to start browser: graphical, [text]
        --invalid-characters=VALUE   Replacement character and invalid filename characters
        --log-level=ENUM             Log level: debug, error, fatal, [info], trace1, trace2, unknown, warn
        --log-format=VALUE           Log formatter (Proc, Logger::Formatter)
        --logger=ENUM                Logging method: [stderr], stdout, syslog
        --lock-port=VALUE            Prevent dual execution of a command, e.g. in cron (Integer)
        --once-only=ENUM             Process only new items (some commands): [no], yes
        --log-secrets=ENUM           Show passwords in logs: [no], yes
        --clean-temp=ENUM            Cleanup temporary files on exit: no, [yes]
        --temp-folder=VALUE          Temporary folder
        --pid-file=VALUE             Write process identifier to file, delete on exit
        --parser=ENUM                Default parser for structured parameters and options: json, none, ruby, yaml
        --home=VALUE                 Home folder for tool
        --config-file=VALUE          Path to YAML file with preset configuration
        --secret=VALUE               Secret for access keys
        --vault=VALUE                Vault for secrets (Hash)
        --vault-password=VALUE       Vault password
        --query=VALUE                Additional filter for for some commands (list/delete) (Hash, Array)
        --bulk=ENUM                  Bulk operation (only some): [no], yes
        --bfail=ENUM                 Bulk operation error handling: no, [yes]
    -N, --no-default                 Do not load default configuration for plugin
    -P, --presetVALUE                Load the named option preset from current config file
        --version-check-days=VALUE   Period in days to check new version (zero to disable) (Integer)
        --plugin-folder=VALUE        Folder where to find additional plugins
        --override=ENUM              Wizard: override existing value: [no], yes
        --default=ENUM               Wizard: set as default configuration for specified plugin (also: update): no, [yes]
        --key-path=VALUE             Wizard: path to private key for JWT
        --sdk-url=VALUE              Ascp: URL to get Aspera Transfer Executables
        --locations-url=VALUE        Ascp: URL to get download locations of Aspera Transfer Daemon
        --sdk-folder=VALUE           Ascp: Path to folder with ascp (or product with "product:")
        --progress-bar=ENUM          Display progress bar: [no], yes
        --smtp=VALUE                 Email: SMTP configuration (Hash)
        --notify-to=VALUE            Email: Recipient for notification of transfers
        --notify-template=VALUE      Email: ERB template for notification of transfers
        --insecure=ENUM              HTTP/S: Do not validate any certificate: [no], yes
        --ignore-certificate=VALUE   HTTP/S: Do not validate certificate for these URLs (Array)
        --warn-insecure=ENUM         HTTP/S: Issue a warning if certificate is ignored: no, [yes]
        --cert-stores=VALUE          HTTP/S: List of folder with trusted certificates (Array)
        --http-options=VALUE         HTTP/S: Options for HTTP/S socket (Hash)
        --http-proxy=VALUE           HTTP/S: URL for proxy with optional credentials
        --cache-tokens=ENUM          Save and reuse OAuth tokens: no, [yes]
        --fpac=VALUE                 Proxy auto configuration script
        --proxy-credentials=VALUE    HTTP proxy credentials for fpac: user, password (Array)
        --ts=VALUE                   Override transfer spec values (Hash)
        --to-folder=VALUE            Destination folder for transferred files
        --sources=VALUE              How list of transferred files is provided (@args,@ts,Array)
        --src-type=ENUM              Type of file list: [list], pair
        --transfer=ENUM              Type of transfer agent: connect, desktop, [direct], httpgw, node, transferd
        --transfer-info=VALUE        Parameters for transfer agent (Hash)

COMMAND: config
SUBCOMMANDS: ascp check_update coffee completion detect documentation download echo email_test file folder gem genkey image initdemo open platform plugins preset proxy_check pubkey remote_certificate smtp_settings sync test tokens transferd vault wizard


COMMAND: alee
SUBCOMMANDS: entitlement health
OPTIONS:
        --url=VALUE                  URL of application, e.g. https://app.example.com/aspera/app
        --username=VALUE             User's identifier
        --password=VALUE             User's password


COMMAND: aoc
SUBCOMMANDS: admin automation bearer_token files gateway organization packages reminder servers tier_restrictions user
OPTIONS:
        --url=VALUE                  URL of application, e.g. https://app.example.com/aspera/app
        --username=VALUE             User's identifier
        --password=VALUE             User's password
        --auth=ENUM                  OAuth type of authentication: boot, [jwt], web
        --client-id=VALUE            OAuth client identifier
        --client-secret=VALUE        OAuth client secret
        --redirect-uri=VALUE         OAuth (Web) redirect URI for web authentication
        --private-key=VALUE          OAuth (JWT) RSA private key PEM value (prefix file path with @file:)
        --passphrase=VALUE           OAuth (JWT) RSA private key passphrase
        --workspace=VALUE            Name of workspace
        --new-user-option=VALUE      New user creation option for unknown package recipients (Hash)
        --validate-metadata=ENUM     Validate shared inbox metadata: no, [yes]
        --package-folder=VALUE       Handling of reception of packages in folders (Hash)
        --validator=VALUE            Identifier of validator (optional for central)
        --asperabrowserurl=VALUE     URL for simple aspera web ui
        --node-api=VALUE             Gen4: standard_ports: Use standard FASP ports (true) or get from node API (false). cache: Set to false to force actual file system read (Hash)
        --root-id=VALUE              Gen4: File id of top folder when using access key (override AK root id)
        --dynamic-key=VALUE          Private key PEM to use for dynamic key auth
        --sql=VALUE                  SQL suffix appended to sqlite3 queries for admin subcommands (e.g. WHERE clause)


COMMAND: ats
SUBCOMMANDS: access_key api_key aws_trust_policy cluster
OPTIONS:
        --ibm-api-key=VALUE          IBM API key, see https://cloud.ibm.com/iam/apikeys
        --instance=VALUE             ATS instance in ibm cloud
        --ats-key=VALUE              ATS key identifier (ats_xxx)
        --ats-secret=VALUE           ATS key secret
        --cloud=VALUE                Cloud provider
        --region=VALUE               Cloud region


COMMAND: console
SUBCOMMANDS: health transfer
OPTIONS:
        --url=VALUE                  URL of application, e.g. https://app.example.com/aspera/app
        --username=VALUE             User's identifier
        --password=VALUE             User's password


COMMAND: cos
SUBCOMMANDS: node
OPTIONS:
        --bucket=VALUE               Bucket name
        --endpoint=VALUE             Storage endpoint (URL)
        --apikey=VALUE               Storage API key
        --crn=VALUE                  Resource instance id (CRN)
        --service-credentials=VALUE  IBM Cloud service credentials (Hash)
        --region=VALUE               Storage region
        --identity=VALUE             Authentication URL (https://iam.cloud.ibm.com/identity)


COMMAND: faspex
SUBCOMMANDS: address_book dropbox health login_methods me package source v4
OPTIONS:
        --url=VALUE                  URL of application, e.g. https://app.example.com/aspera/app
        --username=VALUE             User's identifier
        --password=VALUE             User's password
        --link=VALUE                 Public link for specific operation
        --delivery-info=VALUE        Package delivery information (Hash)
        --remote-source=VALUE        Remote source for package send (id or %name:)
        --storage=VALUE              Faspex local storage definition (for browsing source)
        --recipient=VALUE            Use if recipient is a dropbox (with *)
        --box=ENUM                   Package box: archive, [inbox], sent


COMMAND: faspex5
SUBCOMMANDS: admin bearer_token gateway health invitations packages postprocessing shared_folders user version
OPTIONS:
        --url=VALUE                  URL of application, e.g. https://app.example.com/aspera/app
        --username=VALUE             User's identifier
        --password=VALUE             User's password
        --auth=ENUM                  OAuth type of authentication: boot, [jwt], web
        --client-id=VALUE            OAuth client identifier
        --client-secret=VALUE        OAuth client secret
        --redirect-uri=VALUE         OAuth (Web) redirect URI for web authentication
        --private-key=VALUE          OAuth (JWT) RSA private key PEM value (prefix file path with @file:)
        --passphrase=VALUE           OAuth (JWT) RSA private key passphrase
        --box=VALUE                  Package inbox, either shared inbox name or one of: inbox, inbox_history, inbox_all, inbox_all_history, pending, pending_history, all, outbox, outbox_history or ALL
        --shared-folder=VALUE        Send package with files from shared folder
        --group-type=ENUM            Type of shared box: [shared_inboxes], workgroups


COMMAND: faspio
SUBCOMMANDS: bridges health
OPTIONS:
        --url=VALUE                  URL of application, e.g. https://app.example.com/aspera/app
        --username=VALUE             User's identifier
        --password=VALUE             User's password
        --auth=ENUM                  OAuth type of authentication: basic, jwt
        --client-id=VALUE            OAuth client identifier
        --private-key=VALUE          OAuth JWT RSA private key PEM value (prefix file path with @file:)
        --passphrase=VALUE           OAuth JWT RSA private key passphrase


COMMAND: httpgw
SUBCOMMANDS: health info
OPTIONS:
        --url=VALUE                  URL of application, e.g. https://app.example.com/aspera/app


COMMAND: node
SUBCOMMANDS: access_keys api_details asperabrowser async basic_token bearer_token browse cat central delete download events health info license mkdir mkfile mklink rename search service simulator slash space spec ssync stream sync telemetry transfer transport upload watch_folder
OPTIONS:
        --url=VALUE                  URL of application, e.g. https://app.example.com/aspera/app
        --username=VALUE             User's identifier
        --password=VALUE             User's password


COMMAND: orchestrator
SUBCOMMANDS: health info monitors plugins processes workflows workorders workstep
OPTIONS:
        --url=VALUE                  URL of application, e.g. https://app.example.com/aspera/app
        --username=VALUE             User's identifier
        --password=VALUE             User's password
        --result=VALUE               Specify result value as: 'work_step:parameter'
        --synchronous=ENUM           Wait for completion: [no], yes
        --ret-style=ENUM             How return type is requested in api: [arg], ext, header
        --auth-style=ENUM            Authentication type: apikey, arg_pass, [head_basic]


COMMAND: preview
SUBCOMMANDS: check events scan show test trevents
OPTIONS:
        --url=VALUE                  URL of application, e.g. https://app.example.com/aspera/app
        --username=VALUE             User's identifier
        --password=VALUE             User's password
        --skip-format=ENUM           Skip this preview format: mp4, png
        --folder-reset-cache=ENUM    Force detection of generated preview by refresh cache: header, [no], read
        --skip-types=VALUE           Skip generation for those types of files (Array)
        --previews-folder=VALUE      Preview folder in storage root
        --skip-folders=VALUE         List of folder to skip (Array)
        --base=VALUE                 Basename of output for for test
        --scan-path=VALUE            Subpath in folder id to start scan in (default=/)
        --scan-id=VALUE              Folder id in storage to start scan in, default is access key main folder id
        --mimemagic=ENUM             Use Mime type detection of gem mimemagic: [no], yes
        --overwrite=ENUM             When to overwrite result file: always, [mtime], never
        --root-url=VALUE             How to read and write files on storage (<empty>, aspera:, or file:///<folder>)
        --max-size=VALUE             Maximum size (in bytes) of preview file
        --thumb-vid-scale=VALUE      Png: video: size (ffmpeg scale argument)
        --thumb-vid-fraction=VALUE   Png: video: time percent position of snapshot
        --thumb-img-size=VALUE       Png: non-video: height (and width)
        --thumb-text-font=VALUE      Png: plaintext: font for text rendering: `magick identify -list font`
        --office-conversion=ENUM     Office: method for office document conversion: [soffice], unoconv
        --video-conversion=ENUM      Mp4: method for preview generation: blend, clips, [reencode]
        --video-png-conv=ENUM        Mp4: method for thumbnail generation: animated, [fixed]
        --video-scale=VALUE          Mp4: all: video scale (ffmpeg scale argument)
        --video-start-sec=VALUE      Mp4: all: start offset (seconds) of video preview
        --reencode-ffmpeg=VALUE      Mp4: reencode: options to ffmpeg, keys: `in`, `out`
        --blend-keyframes=VALUE      Mp4: blend: # key frames
        --blend-pauseframes=VALUE    Mp4: blend: # pause frames
        --blend-transframes=VALUE    Mp4: blend: # transition blend frames
        --blend-fps=VALUE            Mp4: blend: frame per second
        --clips-count=VALUE          Mp4: clips: number of clips
        --clips-length=VALUE         Mp4: clips: length in seconds of each clips


COMMAND: server
SUBCOMMANDS: browse cp delete df download du health info ls md5sum mkdir mv rename rm sync upload
OPTIONS:
        --url=VALUE                  URL of application, e.g. https://app.example.com/aspera/app
        --username=VALUE             User's identifier
        --password=VALUE             User's password
        --ssh-keys=VALUE             SSH key path list (Array)
        --passphrase=VALUE           SSH private key passphrase
        --ssh-options=VALUE          SSH options (Hash)
        --sql=VALUE                  SQL suffix appended to sqlite3 queries for admin subcommands (e.g. WHERE clause)


COMMAND: shares
SUBCOMMANDS: admin files health info
OPTIONS:
        --url=VALUE                  URL of application, e.g. https://app.example.com/aspera/app
        --username=VALUE             User's identifier
        --password=VALUE             User's password

Bulk creation and deletion of resources

Bulk creation and deletion of resources are possible using option bulk (yes,no(default)). In that case, the operation expects an Array of Hash instead of a simple Hash using the Extended Value syntax. This option is available only for some resources: if you need it: try and see if the entities you try to create or delete support this option.

Option: query

The query option can generally be used to add URL parameters to commands that list resources. It takes either a Hash, corresponding to key/value pairs that appear in the query part of request.

For example: --query=@json:'{"p1":"v1","p2":"v2"}' leads to query: ?p1=v1&p2=v2.

If the same parameter needs to be provided several times, then it's possible as well to provide an Array.

For example: --query=@json:'{"p":["v1","v2"]}' leads to query: ?p=v1&p=v2.

If PHP's style array is expected in the API, then just add [] to the name of the parameter.

For example: --query=@json:'{"p[]":["v1","v2"]}' leads to query: ?p[]=v1&p[]=v2.

Plugins

ascli uses a plugin mechanism. The first level command (just after ascli on the command line) is the name of the concerned plugin which will execute the command. Each plugin usually represents commands sent to a specific application. For instance, the plugin faspex allows operations on Aspera Faspex.

Available plugins can be found using command:

ascli config plugin list

+--------------+--------+--------+-------------------------------------------------------+
| plugin       | detect | wizard | path                                                  |
+--------------+--------+--------+-------------------------------------------------------+
| shares       | Y      | Y      | .../aspera-cli/lib/aspera/cli/plugins/shares.rb       |
| node         | Y      | Y      | .../aspera-cli/lib/aspera/cli/plugins/node.rb         |
...
+--------------+--------+--------+-------------------------------------------------------+

Most plugins will take the URL option: url to identify their location.

REST APIs of Aspera legacy applications (Aspera Node, Faspex 4, Shares, Console, Orchestrator) use simple username/password authentication: HTTP Basic Authentication using options: username and password.

Aspera on Cloud and Faspex 5 rely on OAuth.

By default, plugins are looked-up in folders specified by (multi-value) option plugin_folder:

ascli --show-config --fields=plugin_folder

You can create the skeleton of a new plugin like this:

ascli config plugin create foo .

Created ./foo.rb

ascli --plugin-folder=. foo

Plugins vs Transfer Agents

Plugins typically represent a specific remote application on which ascli can operate, while transfer agents are the underlying components that handle the actual data transfer.

A given remote application can sometimes be both a plugin and a transfer agent. For example: node and httpgw are both plugins and transfer agents.

A plugin is invoked as the first positional argument in a command line. A Transfer Agent is used by setting the option transfer (e.g. --transfer=node).

Command line parsing, Special Characters

ascli is typically executed in a shell, either interactively or in a script. ascli receives its arguments on the command line. The way arguments are parsed and provided to ascli depend on the Operating System and shell.

Shell parsing for Unix-like systems: Linux, macOS, AIX

Linux command line parsing is well-defined: It is fully documented in the shell's documentation.

On Unix-like environments, this is typically a POSIX-like shell (bash, zsh, ksh, sh). A c-shell (csh, tcsh) or other shell can also be used. In this environment the shell parses the command line, possibly replacing variables, etc. See bash shell operation. The shell builds the list of arguments and then fork/exec Ruby with that list. Ruby receives a list command line arguments from shell and gives it to ascli. Special character handling (quotes, spaces, env vars, ...) is handled by the shell for any command executed.

Shell parsing for Windows

On Windows, command line parsing first depends on the shell used (see next sections). MS Windows command line parsing is not like Unix-like systems simply because Windows does not provide a list of arguments to the executable (Ruby): it provides the whole command line as a single string, but the shell may interpret some special characters.

So command line parsing is not handled by the shell (cmd.exe), not handled by the operating system, but it is handled by the executable (Ruby). Typically, Windows executables use the Microsoft library for this parsing.

As far as ascli is concerned: the executable is Ruby. It has its own parsing algorithm, close to a Linux shell parsing.

Thankfully, ascli provides a command to check the value of an argument after parsing: config echo. One can also run ascli with option --log-level=debug to display the command line after parsing.

It is also possible to display arguments received by Ruby using this command:

C:> ruby -e 'puts ARGV' "Hello World" 1 2

Hello World
1
2

Once the shell has dealt with the command line "special" characters for it, the shell calls Windows' CreateProcess with just the whole command line as a single string. (Unlike Unix-like systems where the command line is split into arguments by the shell.)

It's up to the program to split arguments:

• Windows: How Command Line Parameters Are Parsed
• Understand Quoting and Escaping of Windows Command Line Arguments

ascli is a Ruby program, so Ruby parses the command line (received with GetCommandLineW) into arguments and provides them to the Ruby code ($0 and ARGV). Ruby vaguely follows the Microsoft C/C++ parameter parsing rules. (See w32_cmdvector in Ruby source win32.c) :

• Space characters: split arguments (space, tab, newline)
• Backslash: \ escape single special character
• Globbing characters: *?[]{} for file globbing
• Double quotes: "
• Single quotes: '

Shell parsing for Windows: cmd.exe

The following examples give the same result on Windows using cmd.exe:

• Single quote protects the double quote

  ascli config echo @json:'{"url":"https://..."}'
  

• Triple double quotes are replaced with a single double quote

  ascli config echo @json:{"""url""":"""https://..."""}
  

• Double quote is escaped with backslash within double quotes

  ascli config echo @json:"{\"url\":\"https://...\"}"
  

cmd.exe handles some special characters: ^"<>|%&. Basically it handles I/O redirection (<>|), shell variables (%), multiple commands (&) and handles those special characters from the command line. Eventually, all those special characters are removed from the command line unless escaped with ^ or ". " are kept and given to the program.

Shell parsing for Windows: PowerShell

For PowerShell, it actually depends on the version of it (5.1, 7.3+).

A difficulty is that PowerShell parses the command line for its own use and manages special characters, but then it passes the command line to the program (Ruby) as a single string, possibly without the special characters. If not using PowerShell features (e.g. variable), one can use the "stop-parsing" token --%.

Details can be found here:

• Passing arguments with quotes

• quoting rules

PowerShell 5

• Check your powershell version:

$psversiontable.psversion.Major

5

The following examples give the same result on Windows using PowerShell 5:

╭───────┬───────╮
│ field │ value │
╞═══════╪═══════╡
│ x     │ true  │
│ k     │ v     │
╰───────┴───────╯

• Use PowerShell argument --% to place PowerShell in "stop-parsing" mode.

ascli config echo  --% @json:'{"k":"v","x":true}'

• Triple double quotes are replaced with a single double quote in normal mode:

ascli config echo @json:'{"""k""":"""v""","""x""":true}'

• To insert PowerShell variables in the JSON string, one can do:

$var="v"
ascli config echo  $('@json:{"""k""":"""' + $var + '""","""x""":true}')

PowerShell 7

• Check your PowerShell version:

$psversiontable.psversion.Major

7

The following examples give the same result on Windows using PowerShell 7:

• Use PowerShell argument --% to place PowerShell in "stop-parsing" mode.

ascli config echo  --% @json:{"k":"v","x":true}

• Single quote protects double quote in normal mode:

ascli config echo @json:'{"k":"v","x":true}'

• To insert PowerShell variables in the JSON string, one can do:

$var="v"
ascli config echo  $('@json:{"k":"' + $var + '","x":true}')

• Use PowerShell structure and then convert to JSON string:

$var="v"
ascli config echo "@json:$(@{ k = $var; x = $true } | ConvertTo-Json -Compress)"

Extended Value (JSON, Ruby, ...)

Some values provided to ascli (options, Command Parameters) are expected to be Extended Value, i.e. not a simple String, but a composite structure (Hash, Array).

Typically, the @json: modifier is used, it expects a JSON value. JSON itself has some special syntax: for example " is used to enclose a String which may be difficult to specify in shells for whom it is a special character.

The dot-path can also be used and can be easier to use because it does usually not require special characters.

Any option or Command Parameter expecting a Hash value accepts the special value help to display its schema. See Schema Discovery with help.

Using a shell variable, parsed by shell, in an Extended Value

To be evaluated by shell, the shell variable must not be in single quotes. Even if the variable contains spaces it results only in one argument for ascli because word parsing is made before variable expansion by shell.

MYVAR="Hello World"
ascli config echo @json:'{"title":"'$MYVAR'"}' --format=json
ascli config echo @json:{\"title\":\"$MYVAR\"} --format=json

{"title":"Hello World"}

Double quote in strings in command line

Double quote is a shell special character. Like any shell special character, it can be protected either by preceding with a backslash or by enclosing in a single quote.

ascli config echo \"
ascli config echo '"'

"

Double quote in JSON is a little tricky because " is special both for the shell and JSON. Both shell and JSON syntax allow protecting ", but only the shell allows protection using single quote.

ascli config echo @json:'"\""' --format=text
ascli config echo @json:\"\\\"\" --format=text
ascli config echo @ruby:\'\"\' --format=text

"

Here a single quote or a backslash protects the double quote to avoid shell processing, and then an additional \ is added to protect the " for JSON. But as \ is also shell special, then it is protected by another \.

Shell and JSON or Ruby special characters in Extended Value

Construction of values with special characters is done like this:

• First select a syntax to represent the Extended Value, e.g. JSON or Ruby

• Write the expression using this syntax, for example, using JSON:

{"title":"Test \" ' & \\"}

or using Ruby:

{"title"=>"Test \" ' & \\"}
{'title'=>%q{Test " ' & \\}}

Both " and \ are special characters for JSON and Ruby and can be protected with \ (unless Ruby's extended single quote notation %q is used).

• Then, since the value will be evaluated by shell, any shell special characters must be protected, either using preceding \ for each character to protect, or by enclosing in single quote:

ascli config echo @json:{\"title\":\"Test\ \\\"\ \'\ \&\ \\\\\"} --format=json
ascli config echo @json:'{"title":"Test \" '\'' & \\"}' --format=json
ascli config echo @ruby:"{'title'=>%q{Test \" ' & \\\\}}" --format=json

{"title":"Test \" ' & \\"}

Reading special characters interactively

If ascli is used interactively (a user typing on terminal), it is easy to require the user to type values:

ascli config echo @ruby:"{'title'=>gets.chomp}" --format=json

gets is Ruby's method of terminal input (terminated by \n), and chomp removes the trailing \n.

Command line arguments from a file

If you need to provide a list of command line argument from lines that are in a file, on Linux you can use the xargs command:

xargs -a lines.txt -d \\n ascli config echo

This is equivalent to execution of:

ascli config echo [line1] [line2] [line3] ...

If there are spaces in the lines, those are not taken as separator, as we provide option -d \\n to xargs.

Extended value using special characters read from environmental variables or files

Using a text editor or shell: create a file title.txt (and env var) that contains exactly the text required: Test " ' & \ :

export MYTITLE='Test " '\'' & \'
echo -n $MYTITLE > title.txt

Using those values will not require any escaping of characters since values do not go through shell or JSON parsing.

If the value is to be assigned directly to an option of ascli, then you can directly use the content of the file or env var using the @file: or @env: readers:

ascli config echo @file:title.txt --format=text
ascli config echo @env:MYTITLE --format=text

Test " ' & \

If the value to be used is in a more complex structure, then the @ruby: modifier can be used: it allows any Ruby code in expression, including reading from file or env var. In those cases, there is no character to protect because values are not parsed by the shell, or JSON or even Ruby.

ascli config echo @ruby:"{'title'=>File.read('title.txt')}" --format=json
ascli config echo @ruby:"{'title'=>ENV['MYTITLE']}" --format=json

{"title":"Test \" ' & \\"}

Plugin: aoc: IBM Aspera on Cloud

The aoc plugin enables integration with IBM Aspera on Cloud. Because the Aspera on Cloud API requires OAuth 2.0 for authentication, HTTP Basic authentication is not supported.

AoC configuration: Using Wizard

ascli includes an interactive configuration wizard to simplify the OAuth setup. While manual configuration is possible, using the wizard is the recommended method for most deployments.

Prerequisites

To complete the setup, you must have:

• The URL or organization name of your Aspera on Cloud instance:

  • _your_organization_
  • _your_organization_.ibmaspera.com
  • https://_your_organization_.ibmaspera.com

• User Credentials: Access to the Aspera on Cloud web interface to update your Public Key.

Wizard Invocation

The wizard accepts two optional positional arguments:

• Organization/URL: The organization name or the full FQDN.

• Plugin Name: Specify aoc to bypass automatic application detection.

If the URL is omitted, the wizard will prompt for it interactively.

Example: Standard Configuration

During the process, the wizard generates or identifies a PEM-formatted Public Key. You must copy this key (including the BEGIN and END headers) and paste it into the Public Key field in the Aspera on Cloud UI. Once saved in the UI, return to the terminal and press Enter.

$ ascli config wizard
Using: Aspera on Cloud at https://<ORG_NAME>.ibmaspera.com
Path to private RSA key (leave empty to generate):
option: key_path>
Using existing key:
/home/john/.aspera/ascli/<PKEY_NAME>.pem
Please Log in as user john@example.com at: https://<ORG_NAME>.ibmaspera.com
Navigate to: (User) → Account Settings → Profile → Public Key
Check or update the value to (including BEGIN/END lines):
-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----
MIICIjANBg....
....
....kCAwEAAQ==
-----END PUBLIC KEY-----
Once updated or validated, press [Enter].

Using global client_id.
Preparing preset: aoc<ORG_NAME>ibmaspera_com_john_example_com
Setting config preset as default for aoc
You can test with:
ascli aoc user profile show
Saving config file.

Advanced Options

• Custom Client Identification: By default, ascli uses a pre-registered global client ID. To create and use an organization-specific integration, use the --use-generic-client=no flag.

• Direct Plugin Targeting: To limit detection to the aoc plugin and skip discovery, provide both the URL and plugin name:

  ascli config wizard <ORG_NAME> aoc
  

Verifying the Configuration

Upon successful completion, the wizard creates a configuration preset and assigns it as the default for the aoc plugin.

To verify the current configuration presets, execute:

ascli config preset list

To test the connection and display your profile information:

ascli aoc user profile show

AoC configuration: Using manual setup

AoC manual configuration: Details

IBM Aspera on Cloud (AoC) supports several OAuth 2.0 authentication mechanisms to secure API interactions. The method used is determined by the auth option.

Supported Authentication Methods:

Method	auth	Description
JSON Web Token	jwt	Recommended. Uses a private RSA key for secure, headless authentication. Ideal for automation and scripts.
Web-based	web	Redirects the user to a browser for interactive login. Suitable for manual operations on local workstations.
URL Token	-	Facilitates authentication for external users via public link tokens.

ascli automatically manages the lifecycle of Bearer tokens. Once a token is generated, it is cached in the local configuration folder (option cache_tokens). The tool reuses valid tokens and automatically triggers a refresh or regeneration when they expire, according to the expiration policy defined by the AoC administrator.

API Client Registration

You can use a specific OAuth API client_id. The first step is to declare ascli in Aspera on Cloud using the admin interface.

(AoC documentation: Registering an API Client).

Let's start by a registration with web based authentication (auth=web):

• Open a web browser, log to your instance: e.g. https://<ORG_NAME>.ibmaspera.com/ (use your actual AoC instance URL)
• Go to (Apps) → Admin → Organization → Integrations
• Click Create New
  • Client Name: ascli
  • Redirect URIs: http://localhost:12345
  • Origins: localhost
  • uncheck Prompt users to allow client to access
  • leave the JWT part for now
• Save

Once the client is registered, a Client ID and Secret are created, these values will be used in the next step.

Configuration for Aspera on Cloud

If you did not use the wizard, you can also manually create an Option Preset for ascli in its configuration file.

Let's create an Option Preset called: <AOC_ORG> using ask for interactive input (client info from previous step):

ascli config preset ask <AOC_ORG> url client_id client_secret
option: url> https://<ORG_NAME>.ibmaspera.com/
option: client_id> <CLIENT_ID>
option: client_secret> <CLIENT_SECRET>
updated: <AOC_ORG>

(This can also be done in one line using the command config preset update <AOC_ORG> --url=...)

Define this Option Preset as default configuration for the aspera plugin:

ascli config preset set default aoc <AOC_ORG>

Authentication with private key

For a Browser-less, Private Key-based authentication, use the following steps.

In order to use JSON Web Token (JWT) for Aspera on Cloud API client authentication, a private/public key pair must be used.

API Client JWT activation

If you are not using the built-in client_id and secret, JWT needs to be authorized in Aspera on Cloud. This can be done in two manners:

• Graphically

  • Open a web browser, log to your instance: https://<ORG_NAME>.ibmaspera.com/ (Use your actual AoC instance URL)
  • Go to Apps → Admin → Organization → Integrations
  • Click on the previously created application
  • select tab : JSON Web Token Auth
  • Modify options if necessary, for instance: activate both options in section Settings
  • Save

• Using command line

ascli aoc admin client list

Items: 4/4
╭────────────┬─────────────────────╮
│ id         │ name                │
╞════════════╪═════════════════════╡
│ oXPUyJ7JpQ │ ALM                 │
│ <ID> │ web_client         │
│ TDNl2bLZqw │ jwt_client          │
│ VTh92i5OfQ │ iPaaS               │
╰────────────┴─────────────────────╯

ascli aoc admin client modify <ID> @json:'{"jwt_grant_enabled":true,"explicit_authorization_required":false}'

modified

User key registration

The public key must be assigned to your user. This can be done in two manners as follows.

Graphically

Open the previously generated public key located here: $HOME/.aspera/ascli/<PKEY_NAME>.pub

• Open a web browser, log to your instance: https://<ORG_NAME>.ibmaspera.com/ (Use your actual AoC instance URL)
• Click on the user's icon (top right)
• Select Account Settings
• Paste the Public Key PEM value in the Public Key section
• Click on Submit

Using command line

ascli aoc admin user list

╭─────────┬────────────────┬────────────────────╮
│ id      │ name           │ email              │
╞═════════╪════════════════╪════════════════════╡
│ 1234567 │ John Doe       │ john@example.com   │
│ 7654321 │ Alice Saprich  │ alice@example.com  │
│ 1234321 │ Sponge Bob     │ bob@example.com    │
╰─────────┴────────────────┴────────────────────╯

ascli aoc user profile modify @: public_key=@file:~/.aspera/ascli/<PKEY_NAME>.pub

modified

Option Preset modification for JWT

To activate default use of JWT authentication for ascli using the Option Preset, do the following:

• Change auth method to JWT
• Provide location of private key
• Provide username to login as (OAuth subject)

Execute:

ascli config preset update <AOC_ORG> --auth=jwt --private-key=@val:@file:~/.aspera/ascli/<PKEY_NAME> --username=someuser@example.com

After this last step, commands do not require web login anymore.

AoC bootstrap authentication

For quick access using an existing browser session, use --auth=boot.

• Open a Web browser and log in to your AoC instance
• Open the browser developer tools
• In Network, select any request to api.ibmaspera.com.
• In Headers, right click on the Cookie Request Header, and select Copy Value

Alternatively:

• Go to the Application tab → Cookies
• Copy the full cookie string, all values on one line, separated by "; " (semi-colon + space).

For a simpler use, configure a preset with the url option, and optionally username. (If the username is not provided, then the subject from the token is used, else both must match.)

Use the cookie string for option password value, the env var can be used, as the value is temporary anyway:

export ASCLI_PASSWORD="...; aoc.token=...; aoc.refresh=...; ..."

ascli aoc user profile show --auth=boot

Public and private links

AoC gives the possibility to generate public links for both the Files and Packages modules. Public links embed the authorization of access. Provide the public link using option url alone.

In addition, the Files application supports private links. Private links require the user to authenticate. So, provide the same options as for regular authentication, and provide the private link using option url.

A user may not be part of any workspace, but still have access to shared folders (using private links). In that case, it is possible to list those shared folder by using a value for option workspace equal to @none: or @json:null or @ruby:nil.

AoC: First Use

Once client has been registered and Option Preset created: ascli can be used:

ascli aoc files br /

Current Workspace: Default Workspace (default)
empty

Calling AoC APIs from command line

The command ascli aoc bearer can be used to generate an OAuth token suitable to call any AoC API. This can be useful when a command is not yet available.

Example:

curl -s -H "Authorization: $(ascli aoc bearer_token)" 'https://api.ibmaspera.com/api/v1/group_memberships?embed[]=dropbox&embed[]=workspace'|jq -r '.[]|(.workspace.name + " -> " + .dropbox.name)'

It is also possible to get the bearer token for node, as user or as admin using:

ascli aoc files bearer_token_node /

ascli aoc admin node bearer_token <NODE_ID> _node /

Administration

The admin command allows several administrative tasks (and require admin privilege).

It allows actions (create, update, delete) on resources: users, groups, nodes, workspace, etc. with the admin resource command.

Listing resources

The command aoc admin <TYPE> list lists all entities of given type. It uses paging and multiple requests if necessary.

The option query can be optionally used. It expects a Hash using Extended Value syntax, generally provided using: --query=@json:{...}. Values are directly sent to the API call and used as a filter on server side.

The following parameters are supported:

Parameter	Source	Description
q	Native	A filter on name of resource. (case-insensitive, matches if value is contained in name)
sort	Native	Name of fields to sort results, prefix with - for reverse order.
page	Native	Do not use. Managed by ascli.
per_page	Native	Do not use. Managed by ascli.
max	ascli	Maximum number of items to retrieve.
pmax	ascli	Maximum number of pages to request.
other	Native	Other specific parameters depending on resource type.

Examples:

• List users with laurent in name:

ascli aoc admin user list --query.q=laurent

• List users who logged-in before a date:

ascli aoc admin user list --query.q='last_login_at:<2018-05-28'

• List external users and sort in reverse alphabetical order using name:

ascli aoc admin user list --query=@json:'{"member_of_any_workspace":false,"sort":"-name"}'

Selecting a resource

Resources are identified by a unique id, as well as a unique name (case-insensitive).

To execute an action on a specific resource, select it using one of those methods:

• recommended: give ID directly on command line after the action: aoc admin node show 123
• Give name on command line after the action: aoc admin node show name abc
• Provide option id : aoc admin node show 123
• Provide option name : aoc admin node show %name:abc

Creating a resource

New resources (users, groups, workspaces, etc.) can be created using a command like:

ascli aoc admin create <RESOURCE_TYPE> @json:'{<...parameters...>}'

Some API endpoints are described in IBM API Hub. Not all endpoints are documented there.

Nevertheless, it is possible to infer the structure of the creation payload by dumping an existing resource and using the same parameters for creation.

ascli aoc admin group show 12345 --format=json

{"created_at":"2018-07-24T21:46:39.000Z","description":null,"id":"12345","manager":false,"name":"A8Demo WS1","owner":false,"queued_operation_count":0,"running_operation_count":0,"stopped_operation_count":0,"updated_at":"2018-07-24T21:46:39.000Z","saml_group":false,"saml_group_dn":null,"system_group":true,"system_group_type":"workspace_members"}

Remove the parameters that are either obviously added by the system: id, created_at, updated_at or optional.

And then craft your command:

ascli aoc admin group create @json:'{"wrong":"param"}'

If the command returns an error, example:

ERROR: Rest: found unpermitted parameter: :wrong
code: unpermitted_parameters
request_id: 2a487dbc-bc5c-41ab-86c8-3b9972dfd4c4
api.ibmaspera.com 422 Unprocessable Entity

Well, remove the offending parameters and try again.

Access Key secrets

In order to access some administrative actions on nodes (in fact, access keys), the associated secret may be required. The secret is provided using the secret option. For example in a command like:

ascli aoc admin node <NODE_ID> v3 info

It is also possible to store secrets in the secret vault and then automatically find the related secret using the config finder.

Activity

The activity app can be queried with:

ascli aoc admin analytics transfers

It can also support filters and send notification using option notify_to. A template is defined using option notify_template :

mytemplate.erb:

From: <%=from_name%> <<%=from_email%>>
To: <<%=ev['user_email']%>>
Subject: <%=ev['files_completed']%> files received

Dear <%=ev[:user_email.to_s]%>,
We received <%=ev['files_completed']%> files for a total of <%=ev['transferred_bytes']%> bytes, starting with file:
<%=ev['content']%>

Thank you.

The environment provided contains the following additional variable:

• ev : all details on the transfer event

Example:

ascli aoc admin analytics transfers --once-only=yes --lock-port=12345 --query=@json:'{"status":"completed","direction":"receive"}' --notify-to=active --notify-template=@file:mytemplate.erb

Options:

• once_only keep track of last date it was called, so next call will get only new events
• query filter (on API call)
• notify send an email as specified by template; this can be placed in a file with the @file modifier.

Using ATS

See the section Examples of ATS and substitute command ats with aoc admin ats.

Files with type link

Aspera on Cloud Shared folders are implemented through a special type of file: link. A link is the equivalent of a symbolic link on a file system: it points to another folder (not file).

Listing a link (in terminal position of path) will show information on the link itself, not the content of the folder it points to. To list the target folder content, add a / at the end of the path.

Example:

ascli aoc files br the_link

Current Workspace: Default (default)
+------------+------+----------------+------+----------------------+--------------+
| name       | type | recursive_size | size | modified_time        | access_level |
+------------+------+----------------+------+----------------------+--------------+
| the_link   | link |                |      | 2021-04-28T09:17:14Z | edit         |
+------------+------+----------------+------+----------------------+--------------+

ascli aoc files br the_link/

Current Workspace: Default (default)
+-------------+------+----------------+------+----------------------+--------------+
| name        | type | recursive_size | size | modified_time        | access_level |
+-------------+------+----------------+------+----------------------+--------------+
| file_inside | file |                |      | 2021-04-26T09:00:00Z | edit         |
+-------------+------+----------------+------+----------------------+--------------+

Example: Bulk creation of users

ascli aoc admin user create --bulk=yes @json:'[{"email":"dummyuser1@example.com"},{"email":"dummyuser2@example.com"}]'

+-------+---------+
|  id   | status  |
+-------+---------+
| 98398 | created |
| 98399 | created |
+-------+---------+

Example: Find with filter and delete

ascli aoc admin user list --query='@json:{"q":"dummyuser"}' --fields=id,email

+-------+------------------------+
|  id   |         email          |
+-------+------------------------+
| 98398 | dummyuser1@example.com |
| 98399 | dummyuser2@example.com |
+-------+------------------------+

ascli aoc admin user list --query='@json:{"q":"dummyuser"}' --fields=id --display=data --format=csv | ascli aoc admin user delete @lines:@stdin: --bulk=yes

+-------+---------+
|  id   | status  |
+-------+---------+
| 98398 | deleted |
| 98399 | deleted |
+-------+---------+

Example: Find deactivated users for more than 2 years

ascli aoc admin user list --query=@ruby:'{"deactivated"=>true,"q"=>"last_login_at:<#{(DateTime.now.to_time.utc-2*365*86400).iso8601}"}'

To delete them use the same method as before.

Example: Display current user's workspaces

ascli aoc user workspaces list

╭────────┬─────────────────────────╮
│ id     │ name                    │
╞════════╪═════════════════════════╡
│ 45073  │ Engineering             │
│ 145222 │ Marketing               │
│ 149207 │ Sales                   │
│ 149699 │ Secret Project          │
╰────────┴─────────────────────────╯

User client settings

The aoc user settings sub-command manages persistent client-side settings stored server-side in AoC.

ascli aoc user settings list
ascli aoc user settings show <id>
ascli aoc user settings modify <id> @json:'{"value":"..."}'

Example: Create a sub access key in a node

Creation of a sub-access key is like creation of access key with the following difference: authentication to Node API is made with access key (master access key) and only the path parameter is provided: it is relative to the storage root of the master key. (id and secret are optional)

ascli aoc admin resource node --name=_node_name_ v4 access_key create @: storage.path=/folder1

Example: Display transfer events (ops/transfer)

ascli aoc admin node do <NODE_ID> v3 transfer list --query.q='*' --query.max=5

Examples of query:

{"q":"type(file_upload OR file_delete OR file_download OR file_rename OR folder_create OR folder_delete OR folder_share OR folder_share_via_public_link)","sort":"-date"}

{"tag":"aspera.files.package_id=LA8OU3p8w"}

Example: Display node events (events)

ascli aoc admin node v3 events

Example: Display members of a workspace

ascli aoc admin workspace_membership list --fields=member_type,manager,member.email --query=@json:'{"embed":"member","inherited":false,"workspace_id":11363,"sort":"name"}'

+-------------+---------+----------------------------------+
| member_type | manager |           member.email           |
+-------------+---------+----------------------------------+
| user        | true    | john.curtis@email.com            |
| user        | false   | someuser@example.com             |
| user        | false   | jean.dupont@me.com               |
| user        | false   | another.user@example.com         |
| group       | false   |                                  |
| user        | false   | aspera.user@gmail.com            |
+-------------+---------+----------------------------------+

Other query parameters:

{"workspace_membership_through":true,"include_indirect":true}

Example: Add all members of a workspace to another workspace

a- Get ID of first workspace

WS1='First Workspace'
WS1ID=$(ascli aoc admin workspace list --query=@json:'{"q":"'"$WS1"'"}' --select=@json:'{"name":"'"$WS1"'"}' --fields=id --format=csv)

b- Get ID of second workspace

WS2='Second Workspace'
WS2ID=$(ascli aoc admin workspace list --query=@json:'{"q":"'"$WS2"'"}' --select=@json:'{"name":"'"$WS2"'"}' --fields=id --format=csv)

c- Extract membership information

ascli aoc admin workspace_membership list --fields=manager,member_id,member_type,workspace_id --query=@json:'{"workspace_id":'"$WS1ID"'}' --format=jsonpp --output=ws1_members.json

d- Convert to creation data for second workspace:

grep -Eve '(direct|effective_manager|_count|storage|"id")' ws1_members.json|sed '/workspace_id/ s/"'"$WS1ID"'"/"'"$WS2ID"'"/g' > ws2_members.json

or, using jq:

jq '[.[] | {member_type,member_id,workspace_id,manager,workspace_id:"'"$WS2ID"'"}]' ws1_members.json > ws2_members.json

e- Add members to second workspace

ascli aoc admin workspace_membership create --bulk=yes @json:@file:ws2_members.json

Example: Get users who did not log since a date

ascli aoc admin user list --fields=email --query=@json:'{"q":"last_login_at:<2018-05-28"}'

+-------------------------------+
|             email             |
+-------------------------------+
| John.curtis@acme.com          |
| Jean.Dupont@tropfort.com      |
+-------------------------------+

Example: List Limited users

ascli aoc admin user list --fields=email --select=@json:'{"member_of_any_workspace":false}'

Example: Create a group, add to workspace and add user to group

• Create the group and take note of id

ascli aoc admin group create @json:'{"name":"group 1","description":"<DESCRIPTION>"}'

Group: <GROUP_ID>

• Get the workspace ID

ascli aoc admin workspace show %name:"<WORKSPACE_NAME>" --fields=id

Or (similar, but may return several entries, as it's a simple search):

ascli aoc admin workspace list --query.q="<WORKSPACE_NAME>" --fields=id

Workspace: <WORKSPACE_ID>

• Add group to workspace

ascli aoc admin workspace_membership create @json:'{"workspace_id":<WORKSPACE_ID>,"member_type":"user","member_id":<GROUP_ID>}'

• Get a user's ID

ascli aoc admin user list --query=@json:'{"q":"manu.macron@example.com"}' --fields=id --format=csv --display=data

User: <USER_ID>

• Add user to group

ascli aoc admin group_membership create @json:'{"group_id":<GROUP_ID>,"member_type":"user","member_id":<USER_ID>}'

Example: Perform a multi Gbps transfer between two remote shared folders

In this example, a user has access to a workspace where two shared folders are located on different sites, e.g. different cloud regions.

First, set up the environment (skip if already done)

ascli config wizard --url=https://sedemo.ibmaspera.com --username=someuser@example.com

Detected: Aspera on Cloud
Preparing preset: aoc_sedemo
Using existing key:
/Users/laurent/.aspera/ascli/aspera_aoc_key
Using global client_id.
Please Login to your Aspera on Cloud instance.
Navigate to your "Account Settings"
Check or update the value of "Public Key" to be:
-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----
SOME PUBLIC KEY PEM DATA HERE
-----END PUBLIC KEY-----
Once updated or validated, press enter.

creating new config preset: aoc_sedemo
Setting config preset as default for aspera
saving configuration file
Done.
You can test with:
ascli aoc user profile show

This creates the option preset aoc_[org name] to allow seamless command line access and sets it as default for Aspera on Cloud.

Then, create two shared folders located in two regions, in your files home, in a workspace.

Then, transfer between those:

ascli -Paoc_show aoc files transfer --from-folder='IBM Cloud SJ' --to-folder='AWS Singapore' 100GB.file --ts=@json:'{"target_rate_kbps":"1000000","multi_session":10,"multi_session_threshold":1}'

Example: Delete all registration keys

ascli aoc admin client_registration_token list --fields=id --format=csv|ascli aoc admin client_registration_token delete @lines:@stdin: --bulk=yes

+-----+---------+
| id  | status  |
+-----+---------+
| 99  | deleted |
| 100 | deleted |
| 101 | deleted |
| 102 | deleted |
+-----+---------+

Example: Create a tethered Node

Follow these steps to configure a new HSTS and link it to your existing Aspera on Cloud (AoC) organization.

• Retrieve the Organization Public Key

  First, obtain the public key from an existing node. This key is used to verify bearer tokens generated by your organization. This key remains constant for the lifetime of your Organization.

ascli aoc admin organization show --fields=oauth_token_verification_key --show-secrets=yes --output=mypubkey.pem

It can also be retrieved from an existing node:

ascli aoc admin node do %name:'<NODE_NAME>' v3 access_keys show self --fields=token_verification_key --show-secrets=yes --output=mypubkey.pem

• Create an Access Key on the Self-Managed HSTS

  Create the local credentials on your High-Speed Transfer Server (HSTS).

ascli node access_key create @: id=<ACCESS_KEY_ID> secret=<SECRET> storage.type=local storage.path=/data/aoc token_verification_key=@file:mypubkey.pem

• Register the Node in AoC

  Now, register the physical server as a node object within the Aspera on Cloud administration interface.

ascli aoc admin node create @: url=https://aspera.example.com access_key=<ACCESS_KEY_ID> name=testnode1

• Configure Access Key Permissions

  Assign the necessary permissions to the root file ID for your new access key. This ensures the system and node owner have the correct authorization.

ascli node access_key do self permission / create @: access_type=user access_id='F4 System'

ascli node access_key do self permission / create @: access_type=user access_id=NODE_OWNER

• Optional next Steps

  To register an Aspera Event Journal (AEJ) as described in the HSTS manual, please refer to:

  • Create a registration key for a tethered node

  • The Aspera HSTS Operations GitHub repository.

Example: Create registration key to register a tethered node

The following command will create and display a secret token to register a self-managed Aspera Transfer Server:

ascli aoc admin client_registration_token create @json:'{"data":{"name":"laurentnode","client_subject_scopes":["alee","aejd"],"client_subject_enabled":true}}' --fields=token --show-secrets=yes

Example: Create an ATS Node

AoC nodes are actually composed of two related entities:

• An access key created on the Transfer Server (HSTS/ATS)
• A node resource in the AoC application.

The web UI allows creation of both entities in one shot. For more flexibility, ascli allows this in two separate steps.

So, for example, the creation of a node using ATS in IBM Cloud looks like (see other example in this manual):

• Create the access key on ATS

The creation options are the ones of ATS API, refer to the section on ATS for more details and examples.

ascli aoc admin ats access_key create --cloud=softlayer --region=eu-de --params=@json:'{"storage":{"type":"ibm-s3","bucket":"mybucket","credentials":{"access_key_id":"mykey","secret_access_key":"mysecret"},"path":"/"}}'

Once executed, the access key id and secret, randomly generated by the Node API, is displayed.

• Create the AoC node resource

First, retrieve the ATS node address:

ascli aoc admin ats cluster show --cloud=softlayer --region=eu-de --fields=transfer_setup_url --format=csv

Then use the returned address for the url key to actually create the AoC Node resource:

ascli aoc admin node create @json:'{"name":"myname","access_key":"myaccesskeyid","ats_access_key":true,"ats_storage_type":"ibm-s3","url":"https://ats-sl-fra-all.aspera.io"}'

Creation of a node with a self-managed node is similar, but the command aoc admin ats access_key create is replaced with node access_key create on the private node itself.

Example: Deactivate an application in a workspace

This is a two-steps procedure:

1. Find the application ID in the workspace:

   ascli aoc admin workspace show <WORKSPACE_ID> --query.include_aspera_apps=true --fields=packages_app.id
   

   Or, alternatively:

   ascli aoc admin application instance list --query.aspera_app_type=packages --query.workspace_id=<WORKSPACE_ID> --fields=id --display=data
   

   This displays the <APP_ID>.

2. Deactivate the application:

   ascli aoc admin application instance modify packages <APP_ID> @: enabled=false inherit_organization_app_settings=false
   

List of files to transfer

Source files are provided as a list with the sources option. By default, simply the list of files on the command line. See File list.

Packages app

The Aspera on Cloud Packages app lets you assemble copies of any number of files and folders into a digital "package" and send the package to others, pretty much like a web-mail application.

Send a Package

General syntax:

ascli aoc packages send <PACKAGE_EXTENDED_VALUE> <OPTIONS> <FILE_LIST>

Package creation parameters are sent as a Command Parameter. See the AoC package creation API, or display an existing package in JSON to list attributes.

List allowed shared inbox destinations with:

ascli aoc packages shared_inboxes list

Use fields: recipients and/or bcc_recipients to provide the list of recipients: user or shared inbox:

• Provide either IDs as expected by API: "recipients":[{"type":"dropbox","id":"<SHBOX_ID>"}]
• or just names: "recipients":["The Dest"].

ascli will resolve the list of email addresses and dropbox names to the expected type/ID list, based on case-insensitive partial match.

If a user recipient (email) is not already registered and the workspace allows external users, then the package is sent to an external user, and:

• if the option new_user_option is @json:{"package_contact":true} (default), then a public link is sent and the external user does not need to create an account
• if the option new_user_option is @json:{}, then external users are invited to join the workspace

Example: Send a package with one file to two users, using their email

ascli aoc packages send @json:'{"name":"<TITLE>","note":"<NOTE>","recipients":["someuser@example.com","other@example.com"]}' <FILE_PATH>

Example: Send a package to a shared inbox with metadata

ascli aoc packages send --workspace="<WORKSPACE_NAME>" @json:'{"name":"<TITLE>","recipients":["Shared Inbox With Meta"],"metadata":{"Project Id":"123","Type":"Opt2","CheckThose":["Check1","Check2"],"Optional Date":"2021-01-13T15:02:00.000Z"}}' ~/Documents/Samples/200KB.1

It is also possible to use identifiers and API parameters. For example, sending to a shared inbox by ID with metadata:

ascli aoc packages send --workspace="<WORKSPACE_NAME>" @json:'{"name":"<TITLE>","recipients":[{"type":"dropbox","id":"12345"}],"metadata":[{"input_type":"single-text","name":"Project Id","values":["123"]},{"input_type":"single-dropdown","name":"Type","values":["Opt2"]},{"input_type":"multiple-checkbox","name":"CheckThose","values":["Check1","Check2"]},{"input_type":"date","name":"Optional Date","values":["2021-01-13T15:02:00.000Z"]}]}' ~/Documents/Samples/200KB.1

Example: Send a package with files from the Files app

Find files in Files app:

ascli aoc files browse /src_folder

+---------------+--------+----------------+--------------+----------------------+--------------+
| name          | type   | recursive_size | size         | modified_time        | access_level |
+---------------+--------+----------------+--------------+----------------------+--------------+
| sample_video  | link   |                |              | 2020-11-29T22:49:09Z | edit         |
| 100G          | file   |                | 107374182400 | 2021-04-21T18:19:25Z | edit         |
| 10M.dat       | file   |                | 10485760     | 2021-05-18T08:22:39Z | edit         |
| Test.pdf      | file   |                | 1265103      | 2022-06-16T12:49:55Z | edit         |
+---------------+--------+----------------+--------------+----------------------+--------------+

Let's send a package with the file 10M.dat from subfolder /src_folder in a package:

ascli aoc files node_info /src_folder --format=json --display=data | ascli aoc packages send @json:'{"name":"test","recipients":["someuser@example.com"]}' 10M.dat --transfer=node --transfer-info=@json:@stdin:

Receive packages

The command to receive one or multiple packages is:

ascli aoc packages recv <PACKAGE_ID> [<FILE> ...]

Where <PACKAGE_ID> is the identifier of the package to receive or ALL to receive all packages matching the query. Option once_only is supported, see below.

To download only some files from the package, just add the path of the files on the command line: [<FILE> ...], see option sources. By default, all files in the package are downloaded, i.e. . is used as the file list.

Option package_folder

The package_folder option (Hash) controls how downloaded packages are organized into subfolders under the path specified by to_folder.

• If package_folder is not specified or is an empty Hash, packages are downloaded directly into the folder defined by to_folder.
• If specified, packages are stored in dynamically generated subfolders.

Supported Fields:

Field	Type	Description
none	-	(Default) No subfolder. Packages are downloaded directly into to_folder.
fld	Array	List of package fields used to build the subfolder name. Field values are joined with .. Maximum size: 2.
seq	Bool	If true, appends an incrementing number (starting at 1) to the folder name when needed.
opt	Bool	If false (default), all fields in fld are always used. If true, the first field is used unless the folder already exists.
inf	Bool	If true, creates a file named <ID>.info.json inside the folder containing package metadata (same content as the sidecar file).

Examples:

• {"fld":["id"]}
  • The subfolder name is the unique package ID.
  • Downloading the same package (same ID) multiple times places it in the same folder.
• {"fld":["name"]}
  • The subfolder name is the package name.
  • If multiple packages share the same name, their contents are downloaded into the same folder.
• {"fld":["name","id"]}
  • The subfolder name is <NAME>.<ID>.
  • This guarantees uniqueness when package names are identical.
• {"fld":["name","id"],"opt":true}
  • The subfolder name is initially the package name.
  • If a folder with that name already exists, the name and ID (<NAME>.<ID>) are used instead.
• {"fld":["name"],"seq":true,"opt":true}
  • The subfolder name is the package name if it does not already exist.
  • If it exists, a sequence number is appended (e.g., <NAME>.1, <NAME>.2, etc.).
  • Downloading the same package multiple times results in different folders when a conflict occurs.

Example: Receive all packages from a given shared inbox

ascli aoc packages recv ALL --workspace=_workspace_ --once-only=yes --lock-port=12345 --query=@json:'{"dropbox_name":"_shared_inbox_name_","archived":false,"received":true,"has_content":true,"exclude_dropbox_packages":false,"include_draft":false}' --ts=@json:'{"resume_policy":"sparse_csum","target_rate_kbps":50000}'

To list packages that would be downloaded, without actually downloading them, replace recv ALL with list (keep options once_only and query)

Receive new packages only (Cargo)

It is possible to automatically download new packages, like using Aspera Cargo:

ascli aoc packages recv ALL --once-only=yes --lock-port=12345

• ALL (case-sensitive) will download all packages
• --once-only=yes keeps memory of any downloaded package in persistency files located in the configuration folder
• --lock-port=12345 ensures that only one instance is started at the same time, to avoid running two downloads in parallel

Typically, one would execute this command on a regular basis, using the method of your choice: see Scheduler.

Example: Content of a received Package

Some node operations are available for a package, such as browse and find.

To list the content of a package, use command packages browse <PACKAGE_ID> <FOLDER>. Example:

ascli aoc package browse xx5CnbeWng /

Use command find to list recursively.

For advanced users, it's also possible to pipe node information for the package and use node operations:

ascli aoc package node_info <PACKAGE_ID> / --format=json --show-secrets=yes --display=data | ascli node -N --preset=@json:@stdin: access_key do self browse /

List packages

By default, when using aoc packages list or aoc packages receive ALL, the following query is performed:

Query parameter	Value
archived	false
has_content	true
received	true
completed	true
workspace_id	Set based on current workspace.
dropbox_id	Set according to dropbox_name, if provided.
exclude_dropbox_packages	true unless dropbox_id is provided.

Parameters provided using option query override this query. To remove a parameter, set it to null.

Example: List packages in a given shared inbox

When user packages are listed, the following query is used:

{"archived":false,"exclude_dropbox_packages":true,"has_content":true,"received":true}

To list packages in a shared inbox, the query has to be specified with the shared inbox by name or its identifier. Additional parameters can be specified, as supported by the API (to find out available filters, consult the API definition, or use the web interface in developer mode). The current workspace is added unless specified in the query.

Using shared inbox name:

ascli aoc packages list --query=@json:'{"dropbox_name":"My Shared Inbox","archived":false,"received":true,"has_content":true,"exclude_dropbox_packages":false,"include_draft":false,"sort":"-received_at"}'

Using shared inbox identifier: first retrieve the ID of the shared inbox, and then list packages with the appropriate filter.

shared_box_id=$(ascli aoc packages shared_inboxes show --name='My Shared Inbox' --format=csv --display=data --fields=id)

ascli aoc packages list --query=@json:'{"dropbox_id":"'$shared_box_id'","archived":false,"received":true,"has_content":true,"exclude_dropbox_packages":false,"include_draft":false,"sort":"-received_at"}'

Files app

The Files application presents a Home folder to users in a given workspace. Files located here are either user's files, or shared folders.

Download Files

The general download command is:

ascli aoc files download <SOURCE_FOLDER_PATH> <SOURCE_FILENAME_1> ...

i.e., the first argument is the source folder, and the following arguments are the source file names in this folder.

If a single file or folder is to be downloaded, then a single argument can be provided.

ascli aoc files download <SINGLE_FILE_PATH>

Shared folders

In Aspera on Cloud (AoC), Shared Folders allow users to collaborate on content via Private or Public links.

• Private links: Require the collaborator to log in to access the folder.
• Public links: Include a passcode that allows access without an account or login.

Management Scopes

Shared folders can be managed through two primary administrative scopes:

• User Shared Folders: Users share personal folders with others in the same workspace using aoc files permission.
• Admin Shared Folders: Administrators share folders from any node in a workspace using aoc admin node do <NODE_ID> permission.

Technically, shared folders are managed as permissions on a specific node. When a permission is created, AoC generates a link in the recipient's home folder to that shared folder.

Permission Payloads

When creating a Shared Folder, ascli expects a Hash payload (typically passed via @json: or @:) similar to the one used at API level.

API-level Payload Example:

{
  "file_id": "50",
  "access_levels": ["list","read","write","delete","mkdir","rename","preview"],
  "access_type": "user",
  "access_id": "john@example.com",
  "tags": {...},
}

Field Mapping & Helper Fields:

ascli automatically populates (Auto) several native fields and provides helper fields to simplify the process:

Field	Type	Description
file_id	Native Auto	The ID of the folder, automatically resolved from the path provided in the command.
access_levels	Native Optional	List of access levels to set for the shared folder. Defaults to full access.
tags	Native Auto	Set with expected values for AoC: username who creates, and workspace in which the shared folder is created.
access_type	Native Required	Type of access, such as user, group, or workspace. Can be set with parameter with.
access_id	Native Required	ID of the user, group, or workspace (see with)
with	ascli	Recipient of shared folder. Can be a username, a group name, or a workspace name. ascli will resolve the name to the proper type and ID in fields access_type and access_id. If the value is the empty string, then it declares the shared folder in the workspace (first action to do, see below).
link_name	ascli	Name of the link file created in the user's home folder for private links.
as	ascli	Name of the link file created in the user's home folder for admin shared folders.

In order to declare/create the shared folder in the workspace, a special value for access_id is used: ASPERA_ACCESS_KEY_ADMIN_WS_[workspace ID], with a access_type of user. This is conveniently set by ascli using an empty string for field with. In order to share a folder with a different, special tags are set, but this is conveniently done by ascli using the as field.

User Shared Folders

Personal shared folders, created by users in a workspace follow the syntax:

ascli aoc files permission --workspace=<WORKSPACE_NAME> <PATH_TO_FOLDER> ...

Admin Shared Folders

Admin shared folders, created by administrators in a workspace, follow the syntax:

ascli aoc admin node do <NODE_ID> permission --workspace=<WORKSPACE_NAME> <PATH_TO_FOLDER>

Example: List permissions on a user shared folder

ascli aoc files permission /shared_folder_test1 list

Example: Share a personal folder with other users

ascli aoc files permission /shared_folder_test1 create @json:'{"with":"laurent"}'

Example: Revoke shared access

ascli aoc files permission /shared_folder_test1 delete 6161

Example: Public and Private short links

They can be managed with commands:

ascli aoc files short_link <PATH_TO_FOLDER> private create
ascli aoc files short_link <PATH_TO_FOLDER> private list
ascli aoc files short_link <PATH_TO_FOLDER> public create @json:'{...}'
ascli aoc files short_link <PATH_TO_FOLDER> public list
ascli aoc files short_link public delete <ID>
ascli aoc files short_link public modify <ID> @json:'{...}'

Only public short links can be modified. An optional payload can be provided at creation, for example to protect with a password, set an expiry date or set the access level.

A password can be provided on create and modify for public links:

{"password":"<PASSWORD>"}

To remove a password:

{"password_enabled":false}

By default, access level is set to edit. Change the default access level by providing the parameter: access_levels in payload. access_levels can be:

• a single String: one of the shortcuts: edit, preview, download, upload.
• an Array: any custom combination of: delete, list, mkdir, preview, read, rename, write.

For example:

{"access_levels":"upload"}

{"access_levels":["list","rename"]}

An expiration date can be set with parameter expires_at, using ISO 8601 format. For example, 2025-08-29T08:10:31.000Z. If only a date is provided, for example: 2025-08-29, it will be set to midnight UTC of that date, i.e. 2025-08-29T00:00:00.000Z.

Example: Create a workspace admin shared folder

First, identify the node ID where the shared folder will be created.

To get the node ID of the default node for workspace <WORKSPACE_NAME>, use the command:

ascli aoc admin workspace show %name:'<WORKSPACE_NAME>' --fields=node_id

Alternatively:

ascli aoc admin workspace list --select.name="<WORKSPACE_NAME>" --fields=node_id

Alternatively:

ascli aoc admin workspace list --query.q="<WORKSPACE_NAME>" --fields=node_id

Or select a node identifier manually from the list of nodes:

ascli aoc admin node list --fields=id,name

In the following commands, replace:

• <NODE_ID> with the node ID, or with %name:<NODE_NAME>.
• <WORKSPACE_NAME> with the workspace name, or with %id:<WORKSPACE_ID>.
• <FOLDER_PATH> with the path of the folder to share on the node (e.g. /my_folder or simply my_folder). It can also be a folder deeper than level 1.

If the shared folder does not exist, then create it:

ascli aoc admin node do <NODE_ID> mkdir <FOLDER_PATH>

Create the shared folder in workspace <WORKSPACE_NAME> (set with to empty string, or do not specify it). Optionally, use as to set the name of the shared folder if different from the folder name on the node. For other options, refer to the previous section on shared folders.

ascli aoc admin node do <NODE_ID> permission <FOLDER_PATH> create @json:'{"with":"","as":"folder_for_users"}' --workspace="<WORKSPACE_NAME>"

To share with a user, group, or workspace, use the with parameter with the name of a resource to share with (non-empty value). The "with" parameter will perform a lookup, and set fields access_type and access_id accordingly. The native fields access_type and access_id can also be used, instead of with.

ascli aoc admin node do <NODE_ID> permission <FOLDER_PATH> create @json:'{"with":"john@example.com","as":"folder_for_one_user"}' --workspace="<WORKSPACE_NAME>"

ascli aoc admin node do <NODE_ID> permission <FOLDER_PATH> create @json:'{"with":"group 1","as":"folder_for_a_group"}' --workspace="<WORKSPACE_NAME>"

ascli aoc admin node do <NODE_ID> permission <FOLDER_PATH> create @json:'{"with":"<WORKSPACE_NAME>","as":"folder_for_all_workspace"}' --workspace="<WORKSPACE_NAME>"

Example: List all workspace admin shared folder in a workspace

ascli aoc admin workspace shared_folder %name:'<WORKSPACE_NAME>' list

╭───────┬───────────┬─────────┬─────────┬───────────┬──────────────────────────────────────╮
│ id    │ node_name │ node_id │ file_id │ file.path │ tags.aspera.files.workspace.share_as │
╞═══════╪═══════════╪═════════╪═════════╪═══════════╪══════════════════════════════════════╡
│ 198   │ eudemo    │ 8666    │ 2465    │ /project1 │                                      │
│ 785   │ eudemo    │ 8666    │ 9       │ /folder2  │ project2                             │
│ 4788  │ eudemo    │ 8666    │ 3691    │ /backup   │                                      │
╰───────┴───────────┴─────────┴─────────┴───────────┴──────────────────────────────────────╯

To list members:

ascli aoc admin workspace shared_folder %name:'<WORKSPACE_NAME>' member 198 list

╭─────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────────────╮
│ access_type │ access_id                        │ access_level │ last_updated_at      │
╞═════════════╪══════════════════════════════════╪══════════════╪══════════════════════╡
│ user        │ ASPERA_ACCESS_KEY_ADMIN_WS_45071 │ edit         │ 2020-11-29T22:48:49Z │
│ group       │ 160270                           │ edit         │ 2024-05-13T15:58:02Z │
╰─────────────┴──────────────────────────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────────────╯

If you have the node ID of the shared folder, then it is equivalent to:

ascli aoc admin node do 8669 permission /project1 list --query=@json:'{"tag":"aspera.files.workspace.id=<WORKSPACE_ID>"}'

Example: List all workspace admin shared folder on a node

First get the workspace identifier:

ascli aoc admin workspace list --select=@json:'{"name":"<WORKSPACE_NAME>"}' --fields=id

<WORKSPACE_ID>

Then, identify the node ID on which to list, see previous section.

Finally, list all shared folders, as permissions:

ascli aoc admin node do <NODE_ID> permission %id: list --query=@json:'{"access_type":"user","access_id":"ASPERA_ACCESS_KEY_ADMIN_WS_<WORKSPACE_ID>"}'

Cross Organization transfers

It is possible to transfer files directly between organizations without having to first download locally and then upload...

Although optional, the creation of Option Preset is recommended to avoid placing all parameters in the command line.

Procedure to send a file from org1 to org2:

• Get access to Organization 1 and create an Option Preset: e.g. org1, for instance, use the Wizard
• Check that access works and locate the source file e.g. <SOURCE_FILE>, e.g. using command files browse
• Get access to Organization 2 and create an Option Preset: e.g. org2
• Check that access works and locate the destination folder <DEST_FOLDER>
• Execute the following:

ascli -Porg1 aoc files node_info <DEST_FOLDER> --format=json --display=data | ascli -Porg2 aoc files upload <SOURCE_FILE> --transfer=node --transfer-info=@json:@stdin:

Explanation:

• ascli is the command executed by the shell
• -Porg1 loads options for preset org1 (URL and credentials)
• aoc uses the Aspera on Cloud plugin
• files node_info /<DEST_FOLDER> generates transfer information including the Node API credential and root ID, suitable for the next command
• --format=json formats the output as JSON (instead of the default text table)
• --display=data displays only the result, removing other information such as workspace name
• | pipes the standard output of the first command into the second one
• -Porg2 aoc uses the Aspera on Cloud plugin and loads credentials for org2
• files upload <SOURCE_FILE> uploads the file named <SOURCE_FILE> (located in org2) to org1
• --transfer=node uses transfer agent type node instead of the default direct
• --transfer-info=@json:@stdin: provides node transfer agent information (Node API credentials), expected as JSON and read from standard input

Find Files

The command aoc files find allows searching for files in a given workspace.

It works also on node resource:

ascli aoc admin node do %name:'<NODE_NAME>' find ...

For instructions, refer to section find for plugin node.

Tested commands for aoc

admin analytics application_events
admin analytics files organization '' <id>
admin analytics transfers organization --query=@json:'{"status":"completed","direction":"receive","limit":2}' --notify-to=my_email_external --notify-template=@ruby:'%Q{From: <%=from_name%> <<%=from_email%>>\nTo: <<%=to%>>\nSubject: <%=ev["files_completed"]%> files received\n\n<%=ev.to_yaml%>}'
admin analytics transfers users --once-only=yes
admin application instance list
admin application instance list --query.aspera_app_type=files
admin application instance list --query.organization_apps=true
admin application membership list
admin application types
admin ats access_key create --cloud=aws --region=my_region @json:'{"id":"ak_aws_aoc","name":"my test key AWS","storage":{"type":"aws_s3","bucket":"my_bucket","credentials":{"access_key_id":"my_access_key","secret_access_key":"my_secret_key"},"path":"/"}}'
admin ats access_key create --cloud=softlayer --region=my_region @: id=ak1ibmcloud secret=my_secret_here 'name="my test key"' storage.type=ibm-s3 storage.bucket=my_bucket storage.credentials.access_key_id=my_access_key storage.credentials.secret_access_key=my_secret_key storage.path=/
admin ats access_key delete ak1ibmcloud
admin ats access_key list --fields=name,id
admin ats access_key node ak1ibmcloud --secret=my_secret_here browse /
admin ats cluster clouds
admin ats cluster list
admin ats cluster show --cloud=aws --region=eu-west-1
admin ats cluster show 1f412ae7-869a-445c-9c05-02ad16813be2
admin auth_providers list
admin bearer_token --display=data
admin client list
admin client_access_key list
admin client_registration_token create @json:'{"data":{"name":"test_client_reg1","client_subject_scopes":["alee","aejd"],"client_subject_enabled":true}}'
admin client_registration_token delete <id>
admin client_registration_token list
admin configuration_policy list
admin configuration_policy show <id>
admin contact list
admin dropbox list
admin dropbox_membership list
admin group list
admin group_membership list --fields=ALL --query=@json:'{"page":1,"per_page":50,"embed":"member","inherited":false,"workspace_id":11363,"sort":"name"}'
admin kms_profile list
admin network_policy list
admin network_policy show <id>
admin node bearer_token %name:my_node_name user:all
admin node do %name:my_node_name --secret=my_ak_secret browse /
admin node do %name:my_node_name --secret=my_ak_secret browse /folder_sub --node-api.cache=false
admin node do %name:my_node_name --secret=my_ak_secret delete /folder1
admin node do %name:my_node_name --secret=my_ak_secret delete /folder_sub
admin node do %name:my_node_name --secret=my_ak_secret mkdir /folder1
admin node do %name:my_node_name --secret=my_ak_secret mkdir /folder_sub
admin node do %name:my_node_name --secret=my_ak_secret v3 access_key create @json:'{"id":"testsub1","storage":{"path":"/folder_sub"}}'
admin node do %name:my_node_name --secret=my_ak_secret v3 access_key delete testsub1
admin node do %name:my_node_name --secret=my_ak_secret v3 events
admin node do %name:my_node_name delete test_shared_folder
admin node do %name:my_node_name mkdir test_shared_folder
admin node do %name:my_node_name perm test_shared_folder create @json:'{"with":"","as":"other_name_shared"}' --workspace=my_workspace_shared_inbox
admin node do %name:my_node_name perm test_shared_folder create @json:'{"with":"my_user_email","as":"other_name_shared"}' --workspace=my_workspace_shared_inbox
admin node do %name:my_node_name perm test_shared_folder create @json:'{"with":"my_user_group","as":"other_name_shared"}' --workspace=my_workspace_shared_inbox
admin node list
admin operation list
admin organization show
admin package list --http-options=@json:'{"read_timeout":120.0}'
admin saml_configuration list
admin self show
admin short_link list
admin subscription account
admin subscription usage
admin subscription usage MONTH
admin user list
admin user modify %name:my_user_email @json:'{"deactivated":false}'
admin workspace dropbox %name:my_other_workspace list
admin workspace list
admin workspace shared_folder %name:my_other_workspace list
admin workspace shared_folder %name:my_other_workspace member <id> list
admin workspace_membership list
admin workspace_membership list --fields=ALL --query=@json:'{"page":1,"per_page":50,"embed":"member","inherited":false,"workspace_id":11363,"sort":"name"}'
automation workflow action <id> create @json:'{"name":"toto"}'
automation workflow create @json:'{"name":"test_workflow"}'
automation workflow delete <id>
automation workflow list
automation workflow list --query=@json:'{"show_org_workflows":"true"}'
automation workflow list --select=@json:'{"name":"test_workflow"}' --fields=id
bearer_token --display=data
files bearer /
files bearer_token_node / --cache-tokens=no
files browse /
files browse / --url=my_private_link
files browse / --url=my_public_link_folder_no_pass
files browse / --url=my_public_link_folder_pass --password=my_public_link_password
files browse my_remote_file
files browse my_remote_folder
files browse my_remote_folder/
files cat testdst/test_file.bin
files delete /testsrc
files download --to-folder=. testdst/test_file.bin testdst/test_file.bin
files download --transfer=connect testdst/test_file.bin
files download --transfer=desktop testdst/test_file.bin
files find /sample_video
files find /sample_video '\.partial$'
files find /sample_video @ruby:'->(f){f["type"].eql?("file")}'
files mkdir /testsrc
files modify /some_folder @json:'{"mount_point":false}'
files permission my_test_folder list
files rename /some_folder testdst
files short_link /testdst private create
files short_link /testdst private list
files short_link /testdst public create @: access_levels.0=mkdir access_levels.1=write --fields=id
files short_link /testdst public modify <aoc_short_link_pub_create> @: access_levels=edit
files show %id:<id>
files show /
files show testdst/test_file.bin
files sync admin status /data/local_sync
files sync pull /testdst --to-folder=/data/local_sync @json:'{"reset":true,"transport":{"target_rate":my_bps}}'
files thumbnail my_test_folder/video_file.mpg
files thumbnail my_test_folder/video_file.mpg --query=@json:'{"text":true,"double":true}'
files transfer push /testsrc --to-folder=/testdst test_file.bin
files upload --to-folder=/ test_file.bin --url=my_public_link_folder_no_pass
files upload --to-folder=/testsrc test_file.bin
files upload --to-folder=/testsrc test_file.bin test_file.bin
files v3 info
gateway @json:'{"url":"https://localhost:12347/aspera/faspex"}'
organization
organization --format=image --fields=background_image_url --ui=text
organization --url=my_public_link_recv_from_aoc_user
packages browse <id> /
packages list
packages list --query=@json:'{"dropbox_name":"my_shared_inbox_name","sort":"-received_at","archived":false,"received":true,"has_content":true,"exclude_dropbox_packages":false}'
packages receive <id> --to-folder=.
packages receive <id> --to-folder=. /
packages receive ALL --once-only=yes --to-folder=. --lock-port=50101 --package-folder.fld.0=name --package-folder.fld.1=id --package-folder.opt=true
packages receive ALL --once-only=yes --to-folder=. --lock-port=50101 --query=@json:'{"dropbox_name":"my_shared_inbox_name","archived":false,"received":true,"has_content":true,"exclude_dropbox_packages":false,"include_draft":false}' --ts=@json:'{"resume_policy":"sparse_csum","target_rate_kbps":50000}'
packages receive INIT --once-only=yes --query.dropbox_name=my_shared_inbox_name
packages send --workspace=my_workspace_shared_inbox --validate-metadata=yes @json:'{"name":"package title","recipients":["my_shared_inbox_meta"],"metadata":[{"input_type":"single-text","name":"Project Id","values":["123"]},{"input_type":"single-dropdown","name":"Type","values":["Opt2"]},{"input_type":"multiple-checkbox","name":"CheckThose","values":["Check1","Check2"]},{"input_type":"date","name":"Optional Date","values":["2021-01-13T15:02:00.000Z"]}]}' test_file.bin
packages send --workspace=my_workspace_shared_inbox --validate-metadata=yes @json:'{"name":"package title","recipients":["my_shared_inbox_meta"],"metadata":{"Project Id":"456","Type":"Opt2","CheckThose":["Check1","Check2"],"Optional Date":"2021-01-13T15:02:00.000Z"}}' test_file.bin
packages send --workspace=my_workspace_shared_inbox @json:'{"name":"package title","recipients":["my_shared_inbox_name"]}' test_file.bin
packages send @: 'name=package title' recipients.0=my_username 'note=some notes' END test_file.bin
packages send @json:'{"name":"package title","recipients":["my_email_external"]}' --new-user-option=@json:'{"package_contact":true}' test_file.bin
packages send @json:'{"name":"package title"}' test_file.bin --url=my_public_link_send_aoc_user --password=my_public_link_send_use_pass
packages send @json:'{"name":"package title"}' test_file.bin --url=my_public_link_send_shared_inbox
packages shared_inboxes list
packages shared_inboxes show %name:my_shared_inbox_name
remind --username=my_user_email --url=https://aoc.example.com/path
servers --url=https://aoc.example.com/path
tier_restrictions
user contacts list
user pref modify @json:'{"default_language":"en-us"}'
user pref show
user profile modify @json:'{"name":"dummy change"}'
user profile show
user workspaces current
user workspaces list

Plugin: ats: IBM Aspera Transfer Service

ATS is usable either :

• From an AoC subscription : ascli aoc admin ats : use AoC authentication

• Or from an IBM Cloud subscription : ascli ats : use IBM Cloud API key authentication

IBM Cloud ATS: Creation of API key

This section is about using ATS with an IBM cloud subscription.

First get your IBM Cloud API key. For instance, it can be created using the IBM Cloud web interface, or using command line:

ibmcloud iam api-key-create <KEY_NAME> -d '<DESCRIPTION>'

OK
API key <KEY_NAME> was created

Please preserve the API key! It cannot be retrieved after it's created.

Name          <KEY_NAME>
Description   <DESCRIPTION>
Created At    2019-09-30T12:17+0000
API Key       <SECRET>_api_key_here
Locked        false
UUID          ApiKey-05b8fadf-e7fe-abcd-93a9-6fd348c5ab1f

References:

• IBM Cloud Managing user API keys
• IBM Aspera on Cloud regions

Then, to register the key by default for the ats plugin, create a preset. Execute:

ascli config preset update <PRESET_NAME> --ibm-api-key=<SECRET>_api_key_here

ascli config preset set default ats <PRESET_NAME>

ascli ats api_key instances

+--------------------------------------+
| instance                             |
+--------------------------------------+
| aaaaaaaa-bbbb-cccc-dddd-eeeeeeeeeeee |
+--------------------------------------+

ascli config preset update <PRESET_NAME> --instance=aaaaaaaa-bbbb-cccc-dddd-eeeeeeeeeeee

ascli ats api_key create

+--------+----------------------------------------------+
| field  | value                                        |
+--------+----------------------------------------------+
| id     | ats_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX                 |
| secret | YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY |
+--------+----------------------------------------------+
ascli config preset update <PRESET_NAME> --ats-key=ats_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX --ats-secret=YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

ATS Access key creation parameters

When creating an ATS access key, the option params must contain an Extended Value with the creation parameters. Those are directly the parameters expected by the ATS API.

Misc. Examples

Example: create access key on IBM Cloud (Softlayer):

ascli ats access_key create --cloud=softlayer --region=ams --params=@json:'{"storage":{"type":"softlayer_swift","container":"_container_name_","credentials":{"api_key":"<SECRET>","username":"_name_:_usr_name_"},"path":"/"},"id":"_optional_id_","name":"_optional_name_"}'

Example: create access key on AWS:

ascli ats access_key create --cloud=aws --region=eu-west-1 --params=@json:'{"id":"<ACCESS_KEY>","name":"laurent key AWS","storage":{"type":"aws_s3","bucket":"my-bucket","credentials":{"access_key_id":"_access_key_id_here_","secret_access_key":"<SECRET>"},"path":"/laurent"}}'

Example: create access key on Azure SAS:

ascli ats access_key create --cloud=azure --region=eastus --params=@json:'{"id":"<ACCESS_KEY>","name":"laurent key azure","storage":{"type":"azure_sas","credentials":{"shared_access_signature":"https://containername.blob.core.windows.net/blobname?sr=c&..."},"path":"/"}}'

Example: create access key on Azure:

ascli ats access_key create --cloud=azure --region=eastus --params=@json:'{"id":"<ACCESS_KEY>","name":"laurent key azure","storage":{"type":"azure","credentials":{"account":"myaccount","key":"<ACCESS_KEY>","storage_endpoint":"myblob"},"path":"/"}}'

delete all my access keys:

ascli ats access_key list --field=id --format=csv | ascli ats access_key delete @lines:@stdin: --bulk=yes

The parameters provided to ATS for access key creation are the ones of ATS API for the POST /access_keys endpoint.

Tested commands for ats

access_key cluster ak2ibmcloud --secret=my_secret_here
access_key create --cloud=aws --region=my_region @json:'{"id":"ak_aws","name":"my test key AWS","storage":{"type":"aws_s3","bucket":"my_bucket","credentials":{"access_key_id":"my_access_key","secret_access_key":"my_secret_key"},"path":"/"}}'
access_key create --cloud=softlayer --region=my_region @json:'{"id":"ak2ibmcloud","secret":"my_secret_here","name":"my test key","storage":{"type":"ibm-s3","bucket":"my_bucket","credentials":{"access_key_id":"my_access_key","secret_access_key":"my_secret_key"},"path":"/"}}'
access_key delete ak2ibmcloud
access_key entitlement ak2ibmcloud
access_key list --fields=name,id
access_key node ak2ibmcloud browse / --secret=my_secret_here
access_key show ak2ibmcloud
api_key create
api_key instances
api_key list
aws_trust_policy --region=us-east-1
cluster clouds
cluster list
cluster show --cloud=aws --region=eu-west-1
cluster show 1f412ae7-869a-445c-9c05-02ad16813be2

Plugin: server: IBM Aspera High Speed Transfer Server (SSH)

The server plugin is used for operations on Aspera HSTS using SSH authentication.

It is the original way of accessing an Aspera Server, often used for server to server transfers. An SSH session is established, authenticated with either a password or an SSH private key. Then, commands ascp (for transfers) and ascmd (for file operations) are executed.

The URL to be provided with option url shall be like ssh://_server_address_:33001, then option username is used to specify the transfer user, and finally either option password or ssh_keys (with one or several paths) for the authentication.

Typically:

ascli server --url=ssh://hsts.example.com:33001 --username=john --password=_something_here_ ...

ascli server --url=ssh://hsts.example.com:33001 --username=john --ssh-keys=~/.ssh/id_rsa ...

Tested commands for server

browse /
browse / --password=@none: --ssh-options=@json:'{"number_of_password_prompts":0}' --ssh-keys=<serv_key_path>
browse my_inside_folder/test_file.bin
browse my_upload_folder/target_hot
cp my_inside_folder/test_file.bin my_upload_folder/200KB.2
delete my_inside_folder
delete my_upload_folder/to.delete
df
download my_inside_folder/test_file.bin --to-folder=. --transfer-info=@json:'{"wss":false,"resume":{"iter_max":1}}'
download my_large_file --to-folder=my_upload_folder --transfer=node --ts.resume_policy=none
du /
health transfer --to-folder=my_upload_folder
health transfer --to-folder=my_upload_folder --format=nagios
info
md5sum my_inside_folder/test_file.bin
mkdir my_inside_folder --logger=stdout
mkdir my_upload_folder/target_hot
mv my_upload_folder/200KB.2 my_upload_folder/to.delete
sync admin file_info --sql='WHERE state=19' /data/local_sync
sync admin file_info /data/local_sync
sync admin overview /data/local_sync
sync admin query --sql='SELECT name FROM sqlite_master WHERE type='table'' /data/local_sync
sync admin status /data/local_sync
sync pull my_inside_folder --to-folder=/data/local_sync @json:'{"name":"serv_sync_pull_conf","reset":true,"transport":{"target_rate":my_bps}}'
sync pull my_inside_folder --to-folder=/data/local_sync @json:'{"name":"serv_sync_pull_conf"}'
upload 'faux:///test.bin?1k' --to-folder=my_upload_folder
upload --sources=@ts --transfer-info=@json:'{"ascp_args":["--file-list","file_list.txt"]}' --to-folder=my_inside_folder
upload --sources=@ts --transfer-info=@json:'{"ascp_args":["--file-pair-list","file_pair_list.txt"]}'
upload --sources=@ts --ts=@json:'{"paths":[{"source":"test_file.bin","destination":"my_inside_folder/other_name_4"}]}' --transfer=transferd
upload --src-type=pair --sources=@json:'["test_file.bin","my_inside_folder/other_name_3"]' --transfer-info.quiet=false --progress=no
upload --src-type=pair test_file.bin my_inside_folder/other_name_2 --notify-to=my_email_external '--transfer-info.ascp_args=@list: -l 100m'
upload --src-type=pair test_file.bin my_upload_folder/other_name_5 --ts=@json:'{"cipher":"aes-192-gcm","content_protection":"encrypt","content_protection_password":"my_secret_here","cookie":"biscuit","create_dir":true,"delete_before_transfer":false,"delete_source":false,"exclude_newer_than":"-1","exclude_older_than":"-10000","fasp_port":33001,"http_fallback":false,"multi_session":0,"overwrite":"diff+older","precalculate_job_size":true,"preserve_access_time":true,"preserve_creation_time":true,"rate_policy":"fair","resume_policy":"sparse_csum"}'
upload --to-folder=my_upload_folder/target_hot --lock-port=50101 --transfer-info=@json:'{"ascp_args":["--remove-after-transfer","--remove-empty-directories","--exclude-newer-than=-8","--src-base","hot_folder"]}' hot_folder
upload test_file.bin --to-folder=my_inside_folder --ts=@json:'{"multi_session":3,"multi_session_threshold":1,"resume_policy":"none","target_rate_kbps":100000}' --transfer-info=@json:'{"spawn_delay_sec":2.5,"multi_incr_udp":false}' --progress-bar=yes

Authentication on Server with SSH session

If SSH is the session protocol (by default, i.e. not WSS), then following session authentication methods are supported:

• password: SSH password
• ssh_keys: SSH keys (Multiple SSH key paths can be provided.)

If username is not provided then the default transfer user xfer is used.

If neither SSH password nor key is provided and a transfer token is provided in transfer spec (option ts), then standard SSH bypass key(s) is used.

Example:

ascli server --url=ssh://_server_address_:33001 ... --ts=@json:'{"token":"Basic _token_here_"}'

The value of the ssh_keys option can be a single value or an Array. Each value is a path to a private key and is expanded (~ is replaced with the user's home folder).

Examples:

ascli server --ssh-keys=~/.ssh/id_rsa
ascli server --ssh-keys=@list:,~/.ssh/id_rsa
ascli server --ssh-keys=@json:'["~/.ssh/id_rsa"]'

For file operation command (browse, delete), the Ruby SSH client library Net::SSH is used and provides several options settable using option ssh_options (additive option like ts).

For a list of SSH client options, refer to the Ruby documentation of Net::SSH.

Among the 50 available SSH options:

• verbose
• use_agent
• passphrase

By default, the SSH library will check if a local ssh-agent is running.

On Linux, if you get an error message such as:

ERROR -- net.ssh.authentication.agent: could not connect to ssh-agent: Agent not configured

or on Windows:

ERROR -- net.ssh.authentication.agent: could not connect to ssh-agent: pageant process not running

This means that your environment suggests using an agent, but you don't have such an SSH agent running, then:

• Check env var: SSH_AGENT_SOCK
• Check your file: $HOME/.ssh/config
• Check if the SSH key is protected with a passphrase (then, use the passphrase SSH option)
• Check the Ruby SSH options in start method
• To disable the use of ssh-agent, use the option ssh_options like this:

ascli server --ssh-options=@json:'{"use_agent": false}' ...

If one of the SSH private keys is passphrase-protected, then option passphrase can be used. It is equivalent to setting both options ssh_options.passphrase and ts.ssh_private_key_passphrase.

Other session channels for server

URL schemes local and https are also supported (mainly for testing purpose). (--url=local:, --url=https://...)

• local will execute ascmd locally, instead of using an SSH connection.
• https will use Web Socket Session: This requires the use of a transfer token. For example a Basic token can be used.

As, most of the time, SSH is used, if a http scheme is provided without token, the plugin will fallback to SSH and port 33001.

Examples: server

One can test the server application using the well-known demo server:

ascli config initdemo
ascli server browse /aspera-test-dir-large
ascli server download /aspera-test-dir-large/200MB

initdemo creates an Option Preset demoserver and sets it as default for plugin server.

If an SSH private key is used for authentication with a passphrase, the passphrase needs to be provided to both options: ssh_options (for browsing) and ts (for transfers):

ascli server --url=ssh://_server_address_here_:33001 --username=_user_here_ --ssh_keys=_private_key_path_here_ --passphrase=_passphrase_here_

Plugin: node: IBM Aspera High Speed Transfer Server Node

This plugin gives access to capabilities provided by the HSTS Node API.

The authentication is username and password or access_key and secret through options: username and password.

File Operations

It is possible to do gen3/node user operations:

• browse
• Transfer (upload / download / sync)
• delete
• ...

When using an access key, the so-called gen4/access key API is also supported through subcommands using access_keys do self.

Example:

• ascli node browse / : list files with gen3/node user API
• ascli node access_key do self browse / : list files with gen4/access key API

Browse

Gen3

This is when executing browse in node plugin or v3.

Native API parameters can be placed in option query.

Special parameters can be placed in option query for "gen3" browse:

Parameter	Description
recursive	Recursively list files.
max	Maximum number of files to list.
self	Show folder metadata, not content.
skip	Single API call.

Gen4

This is when executing browse in aoc files or in access_key.

Option node_api (Hash) controls some options of API used, with the following parameters:

Parameter	Default	Description
cache	true	true Folder content is retrieved from the Redis database (faster). false Folder content retrieved from storage.
standard_ports	true	true Use hard coded standard ports (33001) false Retrieve server ports from an API call (download_setup) which reads the information from aspera.conf on the server.
accept_v4	true	true (default) uses API header: Accept-Version: 4.0. false uses legacy method (refer to node API).
per_page	-	Requested number of items per API call. Set to nil (@none:) to deactivate paging. Default: 1000 when accept_v4 is true.

Operation find on gen4/access key

The command find <FOLDER> [filter_expr] is available for gen4/access key, under access_keys do self.

The argument <FOLDER> is mandatory and is the root from which the search is performed. The argument [filter_expr] is optional and represents the matching criteria.

It recursively scans storage to find files and folders matching the criteria and returns a list of matching entries.

[filter_expr] is either:

• Optional (default): All files and folders are selected
• Type String: The expression is similar to shell globbing; refer to Ruby function: File.fnmatch
• Type Proc : The expression is a Ruby lambda that takes one argument: a Hash that contains the current folder entry to test. See the following examples.

Examples of expressions:

• Find all files and folders under /

  ascli node access_keys do self find
  

• Find all text files in /Documents

  ascli node access_keys do self find /Documents '*.txt'
  

The following examples show Ruby lambda code you can use in the template command below:

 ascli node access_keys do self find / @ruby:'->(f){[code here]}'

• Find files modified in the last 100 days

  ->(f){f["type"].eql?("file") and (DateTime.now-DateTime.parse(f["modified_time"]))<100}
  

• Find files older than 1 year

  ->(f){f["type"].eql?("file") and (DateTime.now-DateTime.parse(f["modified_time"]))>365}
  

• Find files larger than 1 MB

  ->(f){f["type"].eql?("file") and f["size"].to_i>1000000}
  

• Filter out files beginning with ._ or named .DS_Store:

  ->(f){!(f["name"].start_with?("._") or f["name"].eql?(".DS_Store"))}
  

• Match files using a Ruby Regexp: \.gif$

  ->(f){f["name"].match?(/\.gif$/)}
  

ascli commands can be piped to combine operations, such as find and delete:

ascli node access_keys do self find / @ruby:'->(f){f["type"].eql?("file") and (DateTime.now-DateTime.parse(f["modified_time"]))>365}' --fields=path --format=csv | ascli node --bulk=yes delete @lines:@stdin:

Listing transfer events

When you run a transfer, its information is stored (typically for 1 day) in the HSTS database (Redis). To view this information, use the command transfer list.

When you have many transfers, the list is built from multiple API calls.

To list only new events since the last run, use the option once_only:

ascli node transfer list --once-only=yes

ascli stores an iteration_token in its persistence repository to track the latest event. To reset it, add the option --query=@json:'{"reset": true}'. To limit how many events are listed, use the max parameter in the query. Other query parameters are passed through to the underlying API (GET /ops/transfers).

Central

The central sub-command uses the reliable query API (session and file). Use it to list transfer sessions and transferred files.

To apply filtering:

ascli node central file list

To validate transfers offline, use the validator option.

Sync

The node plugin provides three commands for file synchronization:

Command	node	shares	aoc	server	Description
sync	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Perform a local sync by executing async locally.
async	Yes				Uses API /async. Get status on sync operations on the server side, as in Aspera Console.
ssync	Yes				Uses API /asyncs. Start a sync on the server side and monitor only those operations.

For details on the sync action, see IBM Aspera Sync.

For the async subcommands show and delete, you can use the special identifier ALL.

FASP Stream

You can start a FASP Stream session from the Node API.

Run the following command: ascli node stream create --ts=@json:<VALUE>. with the following transfer-spec:

{"direction":"send","source":"udp://233.3.3.4:3000?loopback=1&ttl=2","destination":"udp://233.3.3.3:3001/","remote_host":"localhost","remote_user":"stream","remote_password":"<PASSWORD>"}

Watchfolder

For watch folder creation, see Aspera Server documentation or Aspera Watchfolder API Documentation.

You can run watchfolder operations remotely through the Node API:

• Start the watchd and watchfolderd services as a system user that has access to the files
• Configure a Watchfolder to define automated transfers

ascli node service create @json:'{"id":"mywatchd","type":"WATCHD","run_as":{"user":"<USERNAME>"}}'
ascli node service create @json:'{"id":"mywatchfolderd","type":"WATCHFOLDERD","run_as":{"user":"<USERNAME>"}}'
ascli node watch_folder create @json:'{"id":"mywfolder","source_dir":"/watch1","target_dir":"/","transport":{"host":"10.25.0.4","user":"<USERNAME>","pass":"<PASSWORD>"}}'

Out of Transfer File Validation

To activate this feature, follow the Aspera Transfer Server configuration.

The following command lists one file that requires validation and assigns it to the unique validator identifier you provide:

ascli node central file list --validator=ascli @json:'{"file_transfer_filter":{"max_result":1}}'

+--------------+--------------+------------+--------------------------------------+
| session_uuid |    file_id   |   status   |              path                    |
+--------------+--------------+------------+--------------------------------------+
| 1a74444c-... | 084fb181-... | validating | /home/xfer.../PKG - <TITLE>/200KB.1 |
+--------------+--------------+------------+--------------------------------------+

To update the status of the file, use the following command:

ascli node central file update --validator=ascli @json:'{"files":[{"session_uuid": "1a74444c-...","file_id": "084fb181-...","status": "completed"}]}'

updated

Example: SHOD to ATS

Scenario: Access to a Shares on Demand (SHOD) server on AWS is provided by a partner. We need to transfer files from this third party SHOD instance into our Azure BLOB storage. Simply create an Aspera Transfer Service instance, which provides access to the Node API. Then create a configuration for the SHOD instance in the configuration file: in section shares, a configuration named: aws_shod. Create another configuration for the Azure ATS instance: in section node, named azure_ats. Then execute the following command:

ascli node download /share/sourcefile --to-folder=/destination_folder --preset=aws_shod --transfer=node --transfer-info=@preset:azure_ats

This will get transfer information from the SHOD instance and tell the Azure ATS instance to download files.

Node file information

When Node API is used with an Access key, extra information can be retrieved, such as preview.

dnf install -y ImageMagick-devel
gem install rmagick rainbow

For example, it is possible to display the preview of a file, if it exists, using an access key on node:

ascli node access_key do self thumbnail /preview_samples/Aspera.mpg

Previews are mainly used in AoC, this also works with AoC:

ascli aoc files thumbnail /preview_samples/Aspera.mpg

Create access key

ascli node access_key create @json:'{"id":"<ACCESS_KEY>","secret":"<SECRET>","storage":{"type":"local","path":"/data/mydir"}}'

Access keys support extra overriding parameters using parameter: configuration and sub keys transfer and server. For example, an access key can be modified or created with the following options:

{"configuration":{"transfer":{"target_rate_cap_kbps":500000}}}

The list of supported options can be displayed using command:

ascli node info --field=@ruby:'/^access_key_configuration_capabilities.*/'

Generate and use bearer token

Bearer tokens are part of the gen4/access key API. It follows the model of OAuth 2. For example, they are used in Aspera on Cloud. This is also available for developers for any application integrating Aspera. In this API, files, users and groups are identified by an ID (a String, e.g. "125", not necessarily numerical).

Bearer tokens are typically generated by the authenticating application and then recognized by the Node API. A bearer token is authorized on the node by creating permissions on a folder.

Bearer tokens can be generated using ascli command bearer_token: it takes two arguments:

• The private key used to sign the token.
• The token information, which is a Hash containing the following elements:

Parameter	Default	Type	Description
_scope	user:all	Special	Either user:all or admin:all
_validity	86400	Special	Validity in seconds from now.
user_id	-	Mandatory	Identifier of user
scope	node.<ACCESS_KEY>:_scope	Mandatory	API scope e.g. node.<ACCESS_KEY>:<NODE_SCOPE>
expires_at	now+_validity	Mandatory	Format: %Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ e.g. 2021-12-31T23:59:59Z
auth_type	access_key	Optional	access_key, node_user
group_ids	-	Optional	List of group IDs
organization_id	-	Optional	Organization ID
watermarking_json_base64	-	Optional	Watermarking information (not used)

Bearer token: Environment

An access key shall be created to grant access for transfers to its storage. The access key and its secret represent administrative access to the storage as it has access rights to the whole storage of the access key.

The way to create access keys depends slightly on the type of HSTS:

• If a self-managed Aspera node is used, then a node user admin must be created: It has no docroot but has at least one file restriction (for testing, one can use * to accept creation of an access key with any storage root path). See the Aspera HSTS documentation.

• If Cloud Pak for integration is used, then the node admin is created automatically.

• If Aspera on Cloud or ATS is used, then the SaaS API for access key creation is used.

In the next sections, we will assume that an access key has been created and that ascli is configured to use this access key by default using node.

Bearer token: Preparation

Let's assume that the access key was created, and a default configuration is set to use this access key. Using ascli, an access key can be created using the access_key create on the node (using main node credentials) or ATS.

Create a private key (organization key) that will be used to sign bearer tokens:

my_private_pem=./myorgkey.pem
ascli config genkey $my_private_pem

The corresponding public key shall be placed as an attribute of the access key (done with PUT /access_keys/<ID>):

ascli node access_key set_bearer_key self @file:$my_private_pem

Alternatively, use the following equivalent command, as ascli kindly extracts the public key with extension .pub:

ascli node access_key modify %id:self @ruby:'{token_verification_key: File.read("'$my_private_pem'.pub")}'

Bearer token: Configuration for user

• Select a folder for which we want to grant access to a user, and get its identifier:

  my_folder_id=$(ascli node access_key do self show / --fields=id)
  

• Let's designate a user by its ID:

  my_user_id=777
  

• Grant this user access to the selected folder:

  ascli node access_key do self permission %id:$my_folder_id create @json:'{"access_type":"user","access_id":"'$my_user_id'"}'
  

• Create a Bearer token for the user:

  ascli node bearer_token @file:./myorgkey.pem @json:'{"user_id":"'$my_user_id'","_validity":3600}' --output=bearer.txt
  

Bearer token: User side

Now, let's assume we are the user, the only information received are:

• The URL of the Node API
• A Bearer token
• A file ID for which we have access

Let's use it:

ascli node -N --url=https://... --password="Bearer $(cat bearer.txt)" --root-id=$my_folder_id access_key do self br /

Tested commands for node

--url=https://tst.example.com/path --password='Bearer <node_bearer_token>' --root-id=<id> access_key do self browse /
access_key create @json:'{"id":"my_username","secret":"my_password_here","storage":{"type":"local","path":"/"}}'
access_key delete my_username
access_key do my_ak_name browse / --secret=my_ak_secret
access_key do my_ak_name delete /test_nd_ak2 --secret=my_ak_secret
access_key do my_ak_name delete test_nd_ak3 --secret=my_ak_secret
access_key do my_ak_name download test_nd_ak3 --to-folder=. --secret=my_ak_secret
access_key do my_ak_name find my_test_folder --secret=my_ak_secret
access_key do my_ak_name find my_test_folder @re:'\.jpg$' --secret=my_ak_secret
access_key do my_ak_name find my_test_folder @ruby:'->(f){f["name"].end_with?(".jpg")}'
 --secret=my_ak_secret
access_key do my_ak_name mkdir /tst_nd_ak --secret=my_ak_secret
access_key do my_ak_name mkfile /mkfile.txt 'hello world' --secret=my_ak_secret
access_key do my_ak_name mklink /mklink.txt --query=@json:'{"target":"/mkfile.txt","target_node_id":"123"}' --secret=my_ak_secret
access_key do my_ak_name node_info / --secret=my_ak_secret
access_key do my_ak_name rename /tst_nd_ak test_nd_ak2 --secret=my_ak_secret
access_key do my_ak_name show %id:1 --secret=my_ak_secret
access_key do my_ak_name upload 'faux:///test_nd_ak3?100k' --node-api.standard_ports=false --secret=my_ak_secret
access_key do self permission %id:<id> create @json:'{"access_type":"user","access_id":"666"}'
access_key do self permission / delete 1
access_key do self permission / modify 1 @: 'access_levels=@list: read list'
access_key do self permission / show 1
access_key list
access_key set_bearer_key self @file:my_private_key
access_key show %id:self
api_details
asperabrowser
async bandwidth %name:my_sync_session_name
async counters %name:my_sync_session_name
async delete ALL
async files %name:my_sync_session_name
async files %name:my_sync_session_name --once-only=yes
async list
async show %name:my_sync_session_name
async show ALL
basic_token
browse / --log-level=trace2
cat my_upload_folder/test_file.bin
central file list
central file modify --validator=1 @json:'{"files":[]}'
central session list
delete @list:,my_upload_folder/a_folder,my_upload_folder/tdlink,my_upload_folder/a_file
delete my_upload_folder/test_file.bin
download my_upload_folder/test_file.bin --to-folder=.
health
info --fpac='function FindProxyForURL(url,host){return "DIRECT"}'
license
mkdir my_upload_folder/a_folder
mkfile my_upload_folder/a_file1 'hello world'
mklink my_upload_folder/a_folder my_upload_folder/tdlink
rename my_upload_folder a_file1 a_file
search / --query=@json:'{"sort":"mtime"}'
service create @json:'{"id":"service1","type":"WATCHD","run_as":{"user":"user1"}}'
service delete service1
service list
slash
space /
spec
ssync bandwidth %name:my_node_sync
ssync counters %name:my_node_sync
ssync create @json:'{"configuration":{"name":"my_node_sync","local":{"path":"my_local_path_real"},"remote":{"host":"my_host","port":my_port,"user":"my_username","pass":"my_password_here","path":"my_remote_path"}}}'
ssync delete %name:my_node_sync
ssync files %name:my_node_sync
ssync list
ssync show %name:my_node_sync
ssync start %name:my_node_sync
ssync state %name:my_node_sync
ssync stop %name:my_node_sync
ssync summary %name:my_node_sync
stream list
sync admin status /data/local_sync
sync pull /aspera-test-dir-tiny --to-folder=/data/local_sync @json:'{"name":"my_sync_session_name","reset":true}'
sync pull /aspera-test-dir-tiny --to-folder=/data/local_sync @json:'{"reset":true}'
transfer bandwidth_average
transfer cancel <id>
transfer list --query=@json:'{"active_only":true}'
transfer list --query=@json:'{"reset":true}' --once-only=yes
transfer modify <id> @json:'{"target_rate_kbps":10000}'
transfer sessions
transfer show <id>
transport
upload 'faux:///testfile1?1m' --to-folder=my_local_path
upload --to-folder=my_upload_folder --sources=@ts --ts=@json:'{"paths":[{"source":"/aspera-test-dir-small/10MB.2"}],"precalculate_job_size":true}' --transfer=node --transfer-info=@json:'{"url":"https://node.example.com/path@","username":"my_username","password":"my_password_here"}'
upload --username=my_ak_name --password=my_ak_secret test_file.bin
upload my_mxf my_docx --ts=@json:'{"target_rate_kbps":1000000,"resume_policy":"none"}'
watch_folder list

Open Telemetry

The node plugin supports Open Telemetry (OTel) for monitoring and tracing.

ascli polls the Node API for transfer events and sends them to an OTel collector.

The command expects the following parameters provided as a Hash positional parameter:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
url	String	-	URL of the Instana HTTPS backend for OTel.
key	String	-	Agent key for the backend.
interval	Float	10	Polling interval in seconds. 0 for single shot.

To retrieve OTel backend information: Go to the Instana web interface, More → Agents → Docker and identify the agent endpoint and key, e.g. endpoint=ingress-blue-saas.instana.io. Identify the region and the endpoint URL will be https://otlp-[region]-saas.instana.io, i.e. replace ingress with otlp.

For convenience, those parameters can be provided in a preset, e.g. named otel_default.

ascli config preset init otel_default @json:'{"url":"https://otlp-orange-saas.instana.io:4318","key":"*********","interval":1.1}'

Then it is invoked like this (assuming a default node is configured):

ascli node telemetry @preset:otel_default

In Instana, create a custom Dashboard to visualize the OTel data:

• Add Widget: Histogram
• Data Source: Infrastructure and Platforms
• Metric: search transfer

Plugin: faspex5: IBM Aspera Faspex v5

IBM Aspera's newer self-managed application.

3 authentication methods are supported (option auth):

Method	Description
jwt	General purpose, private-key based authentication
web	Requires authentication with web browser
public_link	Public link authentication (set when option url is a public link)
boot	Use authentication token copied from browser (experimental)

Faspex 5 quick start with wizard

For a quick start, one can use the wizard, which will help to create an Option Preset:

ascli config wizard

Then, answer questions interactively:

argument: url> faspex5.example.com

Potentially, multiple applications may be detected, or if only Faspex is detected, it would skip this step:

Multiple applications detected:
+---------+-------------------------------------------+-------------+
| product | url                                       | version     |
+---------+-------------------------------------------+-------------+
| faspex5 | https://faspex5.example.com/aspera/faspex | F5.0.6      |
| server  | ssh://faspex5.example.com:22              | OpenSSH_8.3 |
+---------+-------------------------------------------+-------------+
product> faspex5

When Faspex is detected, it would ask for the path to a private key. If you don't have a private key, then leave that field blank, and it will generate one or use one that was previously generated.

Using: Faspex at https://faspex5.example.com/aspera/faspex
Please provide the path to your private RSA key, or nothing to generate one:
option: key_path>
Using existing key:
/Users/someuser/.aspera/ascli/my_key

Then, the email of the user shall be provided:

option: username> someuser@example.com

The administrator of Faspex shall provide you with a client_id, as specified below.

Ask the ascli client ID and secret to your Administrator.
Admin should login to: https://faspex5.example.com/aspera/faspex
Navigate to: ::  → Admin → Configurations → API clients
Create an API client with:
- name: ascli
- JWT: enabled
Then, logged in as someuser@example.com go to your profile:
() → Account Settings → Preferences -> Public Key in PEM:
-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----
redacted
-----END PUBLIC KEY-----
Once set, fill in the parameters:
option: client_id> <CLIENT_ID>
option: client_secret> ****
Preparing preset: faspex5_example_com_user
Setting config preset as default for faspex5
Done.
You can test with:
ascli faspex5 user profile show
Saving configuration file.

For more information on the JWT method, refer to the section below.

If you have generated a private key with the wizard and lost the public key, you can retrieve the public key like this:

ascli faspex5 --show-config --show-secrets=yes --fields=private_key | ascli config pubkey @stdin: --show-secrets=yes

Faspex 5 JWT authentication

This is the general purpose and recommended method to use.

Activation is in two steps:

• The administrator must create an API client in Faspex with JWT support

  This operation is generally done only once:

  • As Admin, Navigate to the web UI: Admin → Configurations → API Clients → Create
  • Give a name, like ascli
  • Activate JWT
  • There is an option to set a global public key allowing the owner of the private key to impersonate any user. Unless you want to do this, leave this field empty.
  • Click on Create Button
  • Take note of Client ID (and Client Secret, but not used in current version)

• The user will authenticate with a private key and set the public key in his Faspex 5 profile.

  This operation is done by each user using the CLI.

  • As a user, click the user logo located to the left of the app switcher in the top-right corner.
  • Select Account Settings.
  • At the bottom, in the Public key in PEM format field, paste the public key that corresponds to the private key assigned to your account.

Then use these options:

--auth=jwt
--client-id=_client_id_here_
--client-secret=<SECRET>
--username=_username_here_
--private-key=@file:.../path/to/key.pem

Typically, users create a preset so they don’t have to enter these options each time.

Example:

ascli config preset update <F5_PRESET> --auth=jwt --client-id=_client_id_here_ --client-secret=<SECRET> --username=_username_here_ --private-key=@file:.../path/to/key.pem

ascli config preset set default faspex5 <F5_PRESET>

ascli faspex5 user profile show

Faspex 5 web authentication

For web-based authentication, the administrator must create an API client in Faspex for an external web app support:

• As Admin, Navigate to the web UI: Admin → Configurations → API Clients → Create
• Do not Activate JWT
• Set Redirect URI to https://127.0.0.1:8888
• Click on Create Button
• Take note of the Client Id (and Client Secret, but not used in current version)

The user will use the following options:

--auth=web
--client-id=_client_id_here_
--client-secret=<SECRET>
--redirect-uri=https://127.0.0.1:8888

Faspex 5 public link authentication

If all you have is a public link received by email or other, you can still do authorized actions with it.

For example, for a public link to post a package:

ascli faspex5 packages send --url='https://faspex5.example.com/?context=_some_long_string_here_'

Faspex 5 bootstrap authentication

For boot method: (will be removed in future)

• As user: Open a Web Browser
• Start developer mode
• Login to Faspex 5
• Find the first API call with Authorization header, and copy the value of the token (series of base64 values with dots)

Use this token as password and use --auth=boot.

ascli config preset update f5boot --url=https://localhost/aspera/faspex --auth=boot --password=_token_here_

Tested commands for faspex5

admin accounts list
admin alternate_addresses list
admin clean_deleted
admin configuration modify @json:'{"mfa_required":false}'
admin configuration show
admin contacts list
admin distribution_lists create @json:'{"name":"test4","contacts":[{"name":"john@example.com"}]}'
admin distribution_lists delete %name:test4
admin distribution_lists list --query=@json:'{"type":"global"}'
admin email_notifications list
admin email_notifications show welcome_email
admin event application --query=@ruby:'{"event_type[]"=>["login_success"],"created_at_start"=>(Time.now.utc-60).strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.%LZ")}'
admin event webhook
admin jobs list --query=@json:'{"job_type":"email","status":"failed"}' --fields=id,error_desc
admin metadata_profiles list
admin node browse %name:Local
admin node list
admin node shared_folders %name:Local list
admin node shared_folders %name:Local show %name:Main
admin node shared_folders %name:Local user %name:Main list
admin node show %name:Local
admin oauth_clients list
admin registrations list
admin saml_configs list
admin shared_inboxes invite %name:my_shared_box_name @: email_address=johnny@example.com
admin shared_inboxes list
admin shared_inboxes list --query=@json:'{"all":true}'
admin shared_inboxes members %name:my_shared_box_name create %name:john@example.com submit_only
admin shared_inboxes members %name:my_shared_box_name delete %name:john@example.com
admin shared_inboxes members %name:my_shared_box_name delete %name:johnny@example.com
admin shared_inboxes members %name:my_shared_box_name list
admin smtp create @json:'{"auth_type":"open","server_address":"smtp.gmail.com","server_port":587,"domain":"gmail.com","tls_enabled":true,"packages_recipient_from":"sender"}'
admin smtp modify @json:'{"default_time_zone_offset":"0"}'
admin smtp show
admin smtp test my_email_external
admin workgroups list
bearer_token
gateway @json:'{"url":"https://localhost:12346/aspera/faspex"}'
health --url=https://faspex5.example.com/path
invitation list
invitations create @json:'{"email_address":"aspera.user1+u@gmail.com"}'
packages browse <id> --query=@json:'{"recursive":true}'
packages delete <id>
packages list --box=ALL
packages list --box=my_shared_box_name
packages list --box=my_workgroup --group-type=workgroups
packages list --box=outbox --fields=DEF,sender.email,recipients.0.recipient_type
packages list --query=@json:'{"mailbox":"inbox","status":"completed"}'
packages receive --box=my_shared_box_name <f5_pack_shboxc> --to-folder=.
packages receive --box=my_workgroup --group-type=workgroups <id> --to-folder=.
packages receive <id> --to-folder=. --ts=@json:'{"content_protection_password":"my_secret_here"}'
packages receive ALL --once-only=yes --to-folder=.
packages receive INIT --once-only=yes
packages send --url=my_public_link_send_f5_user @json:'{"title":"test title"}' test_file.bin
packages send --url=my_public_link_send_shared_box @json:'{"title":"test title"}' test_file.bin
packages send @json:'{"title":"test title","recipients":["my_shared_box_name"],"metadata":{"Options":"Opt1","TextInput":"example text"}}' test_file.bin
packages send @json:'{"title":"test title","recipients":["my_workgroup"]}' test_file.bin
packages send @json:'{"title":"test title","recipients":[{"name":"my_username"}]my_meta}' test_file.bin --ts=@json:'{"content_protection_password":"my_secret_here"}'
packages send @json:'{"title":"test_webhook_ascli","recipients":["my_shared_box_name"]}' 'faux:///test1?1m'
packages show --box=my_shared_box_name <f5_pack_shboxc>
packages show --box=my_workgroup --group-type=workgroups <id>
packages show <id>
packages status <f5_pack_send_shared> @list:,failed,completed
packages status <id>
postprocessing @json:'{"url":"https://localhost:8553/asclihook","script_folder":"/path/to/scripts","cert":".../localhost.p12","key":"changeit"}'
shared browse %name:my_src
shared list
shared_folders browse %name:my_shared_folder_name
shared_folders list
user account
user account --query.expand=true
user profile modify @json:'{"preference":{"connect_disabled":false}}'
user profile show
version

Most commands correspond directly to REST API calls. Parameters to commands are carried through option query, as Extended Value, for list, or through Command Parameter for creation. One can conveniently use the JSON format with prefix @json:.

Faspex 5: Inbox selection

By default, package operations: receive and list are performed on the user's inbox (My packages).

To select another inbox, use option box with one of the following values:

box	Comment
inbox_all	All packages (not archived) Default.
inbox_all_history	All archived packages.
inbox	My packages. (not archived)
inbox_history	My archived packages.
outbox	Sent packages.
outbox_history	Archived sent packages.
pending	Pending packages.
pending_history	Archived pending packages.
all	All boxes accessible by current user.
ALL	All boxes of all users. admin only.
<NAME>	Name of shared ibox or workgroup. If option group_type is shared_inboxes: name of a shared inbox (default). If group_type is workgroups: name of workgroup.

Faspex 5: Send a package

Use the following command to send a package:

ascli faspex5 packages send <PACKAGE_DATA> <FILE_LIST> ...

The Hash passed as a command parameter corresponds to the Faspex 5 API endpoint POST /packages. See the API reference for a full list of supported fields, or inspect such request when interacting with a browser.

The following fields are required:

• title - the package title
• recipients - the intended recipients

Basic example (assuming a default preset has been configured for connection information):

ascli faspex5 packages send @json:'{"title":"some title","recipients":["user@example.com"]}' <FILE_PATH>

Specifying Recipients

The Faspex 5 API expects recipients to be an Array of Hash, each containing a name field and an optional recipient_type field:

{"title":"some title","recipients":[{"recipient_type":"user","name":"user@example.com"}]}

Valid values for recipient_type are (API):

• user
• workgroup
• external_user
• distribution_list
• shared_inbox

Other "recipient" fields are also defined in the API and can be used:

• private_recipients
• notified_on_upload
• notified_on_download
• notified_on_receipt

If the provided list is only an Array of String, then fields name and recipient_type are resolved automatically using the user's contacts.

Simplified recipient format

As a convenience, ascli also accepts plain Strings in the recipients Array rather than Hashes:

{"title":"some title","recipients":["user@example.com"]}

When Strings are provided, ascli automatically looks up the contact across all recipient types. If exactly one match is found, the name and recipient_type fields are resolved automatically. If no match or multiple matches are found, an exception is raised.

Sending to a shared inbox

To address a shared inbox, set recipient_type to shared_inbox:

{"title":"some title","recipients":[{"recipient_type":"shared_inbox","name":"box name"}]}

Restricting the lookup to specific recipient types

To limit automatic contact lookup to one or more specific types, include the recipient_types field with either a single value or an Array of values:

{"title":"test title","recipient_types":"user","recipients":["user1@example.com","user2@example.com"]}

Content Protection (Encryption at Rest)

To enable content protection (CSEAR), set parameter ear_enabled to true in the package creation payload. See the Faspex package creation API for full details.

The following error is returned by Faspex, if CSEAR was not specified in the package creation and if it is configured as mandatory on the server:

the provided encryption value (no) does not match the expected server side encryption value (yes)

Package with metadata

To attach metadata to a package, include the metadata field in the package creation payload. See the API documentation. Each key corresponds to a metadata field name, and its value is the metadata value:

{"title":"test title","recipients":["<SH_INBOX_NAME>"],"metadata":{"Confidential":"Yes","Drop menu":"Option 1"}}

Faspex 5: List packages

Option box can be used to list packages from a specific box (see Inbox Selection above).

Option query can be used to filter the list of packages, based on native API parameters, directly sent to Faspex 5 API GET /packages.

Parameter	Type	Description
offset	Native	Managed by ascli: Offset of first package. Default: 0
limit	Native	Managed by ascli: # of packages per API call. Default: 100
q	Native	General search string, case-insensitive. Matches if value is contained in one of several fields.
...	Native	Other native parameters are supported. See API documentation.
max	Special	Maximum number of items to retrieve Stop pages when the maximum is passed.
pmax	Special	Maximum number of pages to request. Stop pages when the maximum is passed.

A Command Parameter in last position, of type Proc, can be used to filter the list of packages. This advantage of this method is that the expression can be any test, even complex, as it is Ruby code. But the disadvantage is that the filtering is done in ascli and not in Faspex 5, so it is less efficient.

Examples:

• List only available packages: (filtering is done in Faspex)

  ascli faspex5 packages list --query=@json:'{"status":"completed"}'
  

• Similar, using filtering in ascli:

  ascli faspex5 packages list @ruby:'->(p){p["state"].eql?("released")}'
  

Faspex 5: Browsing folder content

Several entities support folder browsing: Packages, Nodes, Shared Folders. All support two modes: paging and legacy API. By default, paging is used.

Option query is available with parameters supported by the API and ascli :

Parameter	Evaluation	Default	Description
paging	ascli	true	Use paging API.
recursive	ascli	false	List inside folders.
max	ascli	-	Maximum number of items.
filter	API	{"basenames":[]}	See API doc.
offset	API (legacy)	0	Index of first item.
limit	API (legacy)	500	Number of items in one API call result.
per_page	API (paging)	500	Number of items in one API call result.

Faspex 5: Content of a received Package

To list the content of a received package, use command faspex5 packages browse <PACKAGE_ID>. Optionally, provide a folder path.

Faspex 5: Receive a package

To receive one, or several packages at once, use command faspex5 packages receive. Provide either a single package ID, or an Extended Value Array of package IDs, e.g. @list:,1,2,3 as argument.

The same options as for faspex5 packages list can be used to select the box and filter the packages to download. i.e., options box and query, as well as last Command Parameter Proc (filter).

Option --once-only=yes can be used, for "cargo-like" behavior. Special package ID INIT initializes the persistency of already received packages when option --once-only=yes is used.

Special package ID ALL selects all packages (of the selected box). In this case, typically, only completed packages should be downloaded, so use option --query=@json:'{"status":"completed"}'.

If a package is password protected, then the content protection password is asked interactively. To keep the content encrypted, use option: --ts=@json:'{"content_protection":null}', or provide the password instead of null.

Tip: If you use option query and/or positional filter, you can use the list command for a dry run.

Faspex 5: List all shared inboxes and work groups

If you are a regular user, to list work groups you belong to:

ascli faspex5 admin workgroup list

If you are admin or manager, add option: --query=@json:'{"all":true}', this will list items you manage, even if you do not belong to them. Example:

ascli faspex5 admin shared list --query=@json:'{"all":true}' --fields=id,name

Shared inbox members can also be listed, added, removed, and external users can be invited to a shared inbox.

ascli faspex5 admin shared_inboxes invite '%name:the shared inbox' john@example.com

It is equivalent to:

ascli faspex5 admin shared_inboxes invite '%name:the shared inbox' @json:'{"email_address":"john@example.com"}'

Other payload parameters are possible for invite in this last Hash Command Parameter:

{"description":"blah","prevent_http_upload":true,"custom_link_expiration_policy":false,"invitation_expires_after_upload":false,"set_invitation_link_expiration":false,"invitation_expiration_days":3}

Faspex 5: Create Metadata profile

ascli faspex5 admin metadata_profiles create @json:'{"name":"the profile","default":false,"title":{"max_length":200,"illegal_chars":[]},"note":{"max_length":400,"illegal_chars":[],"enabled":false},"fields":[{"ordering":0,"name":"field1","type":"text_area","require":true,"illegal_chars":[],"max_length":100},{"ordering":1,"name":"fff2","type":"option_list","require":false,"choices":["opt1","opt2"]}]}'

Faspex 5: Create a Shared inbox with specific metadata profile

ascli faspex5 admin shared create @json:'{"name":"the shared inbox","metadata_profile_id":1}'

Faspex 5: List content in Shared folder and send package from remote source

ascli faspex5 shared_folders list --fields=id,name

╭────┬──────────────╮
│ id │ name         │
╞════╪══════════════╡
│ 2  │ Server Files │
╰────┴──────────────╯

ascli faspex5 shared_folders br %name:'Server Files' /folder

ascli faspex5 packages send @json:'{"title":"hello","recipients":[{"name":"_recipient_here_"}]}' --shared-folder=%name:partages /folder/file

Faspex 5: Receive all packages (cargo)

To receive all packages, only once, through persistency of already received packages:

ascli faspex5 packages receive ALL --once-only=yes --query=@json:'{"status":"completed"}'

To initialize, and skip all current package so that next time ALL is used, only newer packages are downloaded:

ascli faspex5 packages receive INIT --once-only=yes

Faspex 5: Invitations

There are two types of invitations of package submission: public or private.

Public invitations are for external users, provide just the email address.

ascli faspex5 invitations create @json:'{"email_address":"john@example.com"}' --fields=access_url

Private invitations are for internal users, provide the user or shared inbox identifier through field recipient_name.

Faspex 5: Cleanup packages

The default automated cleanup period can be displayed with:

ascli faspex5 admin configuration show --fields=days_before_deleting_package_records

This parameter can be modified with:

ascli faspex5 admin configuration modify @json:'{"days_before_deleting_package_records":30}'

To start package purge, i.e. permanently remove packages marked for deletion older than days_before_deleting_package_records, use command:

ascli faspex5 admin clean_deleted

To delete all packages, one can use the following command:

ascli faspex5 packages list --box=ALL --format=yaml --fields=id | ascli faspex5 packages delete @yaml:@stdin:

Faspex 5: Admin: Unlock user

To unlock a user, you can deactivate and then re-activate the user:

ascli faspex5 admin accounts modify %name:some.user@example.com @json:'{"account_activated":false}'

ascli faspex5 admin accounts modify %name:some.user@example.com @json:'{"account_activated":true}'

To send a password reset link to a user, use command reset_password on the account.

Faspex 5: Faspex 4-style post-processing

The command ascli faspex5 postprocessing emulates Faspex 4 post-processing script execution in Faspex 5. It implements a web hook for Faspex 5 and calls a script with the same environment variables as set by Faspex 4. Environment variables at set to the values provided by the web hook which are the same as Faspex 4 post-processing.

It allows quickly migrating workflows from Faspex 4 to Faspex 5 while preserving scripts. Nevertheless, on long term, a native approach shall be considered, such as using Aspera Orchestrator or other workflow engine, using Faspex 5 native web hooks or File Processing.

It is invoked like this:

ascli faspex5 postprocessing

An optional positional parameter can be provided as Extended Value Hash:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
server info	-	-	See Web service.
script_folder	String	.	Prefix added to script path (Default: CWD)
fail_on_error	Bool	false	Fail if true and process exits with non-zero code
timeout_seconds	Integer	60	Time out before script is killed

When a request on ascli is received the following happens:

• ascli gets the path of the URL called
• It removes the base path of base URL.
• It prepends it with the value of script_folder
• It executes the script at that path
• Upon success, a success code is returned

For example:

ascli faspex5 postprocessing @json:'{"url":"http://localhost:8080/processing","script_folder":"/opt/scripts"}'

In Faspex 5, the URL of the webhook endpoint shall be reachable from within Faspex containers. For example, if ascli in running in the base host, the URL hostname shall not be localhost, as this refers to the local address inside Faspex container. Instead, one can specify the IP address of the host or host.containers.internal (Check podman manual).

Let's define the web hook:

Webhook endpoint URI : http://host.containers.internal:8080/processing/script1.sh

Then the post-processing script executed will be /opt/scripts/script1.sh.

Faspex 5: Faspex 4 Gateway

For legacy Faspex client applications that use the send API (only) of Faspex v4, the command gateway provides the capability to present an API compatible with Faspex 4, and it will call the Faspex 5 API.

It takes a single argument which is the URL at which the gateway will be located (locally):

ascli faspex5 gateway @json:'{"url":"https://localhost:12345/aspera/faspex"}'

There are many limitations:

• It's only to emulate the Faspex 4 send API (send package).
• No support for remote sources, only for an actual file transfer by the client.
• The client must use the transfer spec returned by the API (not faspe: URL).
• Tags returned in transfer spec must be used in transfer.
• Only a single authentication is possible (per gateway) on Faspex5.
• No authentication of F4 side (ignored).

Behavior: The API client calls the Faspex 4 API on the gateway, then the gateway transforms this into a Faspex5 API call, which returns a transfer spec, which is returned to the calling client. The calling client uses this to start a transfer to HSTS which is actually managed by Faspex 5.

For other parameters, see Web service.

Faspex 5: Get Bearer token to use API

If a command is missing, then it is still possible to execute command by calling directly the API on the command line using curl:

curl -H "Authorization: $(ascli ascli bearer)" https://faspex5.example.com/aspera/faspex/api/v5/api_endpoint_here

Plugin: faspex: IBM Aspera Faspex v4

This plugin uses APIs versions 3 Faspex v4. The v4 command requires the use of API v4, refer to the Faspex Admin manual on how to activate.

Listing Packages

Command: faspex package list

Option box

By default, it looks in box inbox, but the following boxes are also supported: archive and sent, selected with option box.

Option recipient

A user can receive a package because the recipient is:

• The user himself (default)
• The user is member of a dropbox/workgroup: filter using option recipient set with value *<name of dropbox/workgroup>

Option query

As inboxes may be large, it is possible to use the following query parameters:

Parameter	Evaluation	Description
count	API	Number of items in one API call result (default=0, equivalent to 10)
page	API	ID of page in call (default=0)
startIndex	API	Index of item to start (default=0)
max	ascli	Maximum number of items
pmax	ascli	Maximum number of pages

(SQL query is LIMIT <STARTINDEX>, <COUNT>)

The API is listed in Faspex 4 API Reference under Services (API v.3).

If no parameter max or pmax is provided, then all packages will be listed in the inbox, which results in paged API calls (using parameters: count and page). By default, count is 0 (10), it can be increased to issue less HTTP calls.

Example: List packages in dropbox

ascli faspex package list --box=inbox --recipient='*<DROPBOX>' --query=@json:'{"max":20,"pmax":2,"count":20}'

List a maximum of 20 items grouped by pages of 20, with maximum 2 pages in received box (inbox) when received in dropbox *<DROPBOX>.

Receiving a Package

The command is package recv, possible methods are:

• Provide a package ID with option id
• Provide a public link with option link
• Provide a faspe: URI with option link

ascli faspex package recv 12345
ascli faspex package recv --link=faspe://...

If the package is in a specific dropbox/workgroup, add option recipient for both the list and recv commands.

ascli faspex package list --recipient='*dropbox_name'
ascli faspex package recv 125 --recipient='*dropbox_name'

If id is set to ALL, then all packages are downloaded, and if option once_only is used, a persistency file is created to keep track of already downloaded packages.

Sending a Package

The command is faspex package send. Package information (title, note, metadata, options) is provided in option delivery_info. The content of delivery_info is directly the contents of the send v3 API of Faspex 4.

Example:

ascli faspex package send --delivery-info=@json:'{"title":"<TITLE>","recipients":["someuser@example.com"]}' /tmp/file1 /home/bar/file2

If the recipient is a dropbox or workgroup: provide the name of the dropbox or workgroup preceded with * in the recipients field of the delivery_info option: "recipients":["*MyDropboxName"]

Additional optional parameters in mandatory option delivery_info:

• Package Note: : "note":"note this and that"
• Package Metadata: "metadata":{"Meta1":"Val1","Meta2":"Val2"}

It is possible to send from a remote source using option remote_source, providing either the numerical ID, or the name of the remote source using percent selector: %name:<NAME>.

Remote source can be browsed if option storage is provided. storage is a Hash Extended Value. The key is the storage name, as listed in source list command. The value is a Hash with the following keys:

• node is a Hash with keys: url, username, password
• path is the sub-path inside the node, as configured in Faspex

Email notification on transfer

Like for any transfer, a notification can be sent by email using options: notify_to and notify_template.

Example:

ascli faspex package send --delivery-info=@json:'{"title":"test pkg 1","recipients":["aspera.user1@gmail.com"]}' ~/Documents/Samples/200KB.1 --notify-to=aspera.user1@gmail.com --notify-template=@ruby:'%Q{From: <%=from_name%> <<%=from_email%>>\nTo: <<%=to%>>\nSubject: Package sent: <%=ts["tags"]["aspera"]["faspex"]["metadata"]["_pkg_name"]%> files received\n\nTo user: <%=ts["tags"]["aspera"]["faspex"]["recipients"].first["email"]%>}'

In this example the notification template is directly provided on command line. Package information placed in the message are directly taken from the tags in transfer spec. The template can be placed in a file using modifier: @file:

Operations on dropbox

Example:

ascli faspex v4 dropbox create @json:'{"dropbox":{"e_wg_name":"test1","e_wg_desc":"test1"}}'
ascli faspex v4 dropbox list
ascli faspex v4 dropbox delete 36

Remote sources

Faspex lacks an API to list the contents of a remote source (available in web UI). To work around this, the Node API is used, for this it is required to set option: storage that links a storage name to a node configuration and sub path.

Example:

my_faspex_conf:
  url: https://10.25.0.3/aspera/faspex
  username: admin
  password: MyUserPassword
  storage:
    my_storage:
      node: "@preset:my_faspex_node"
      path: /mydir
my_faspex_node:
  url: https://10.25.0.3:9092
  username: node_faspex
  password: MyNodePassword

In this example, a Faspex storage named my_storage exists in Faspex, and is located under the docroot in /mydir (this must be the same as configured in Faspex). The node configuration name is my_faspex_node here.

Automated package download (cargo)

It is possible to tell ascli to download newly received packages, much like the official cargo client, or drive. See the same section in the Aspera on Cloud plugin:

ascli faspex packages recv ALL --once-only=yes --lock-port=12345

Tested commands for faspex

address_book
dropbox list --recipient='*my_dbx'
health
login_methods
me
package list --query.max=5
package receive <id> --recipient='*my_dbx' --to-folder=.
package receive <id> --recipient='*my_wkg' --to-folder=.
package receive <id> --to-folder=.
package receive <id> --to-folder=. --box=sent
package receive ALL --once-only=yes --to-folder=. --query.max=10
package send --delivery-info=@json:'{"title":"package title","recipients":["my_email_internal","my_username"]}' test_file.bin
package send --delivery-info=@json:'{"title":"package title","recipients":["my_email_internal"]}' --remote-source=%name:my_src sample_source.txt
package send --delivery-info=@json:'{"title":"package title","recipients":[*my_dbx]}' test_file.bin
package send --delivery-info=@json:'{"title":"package title","recipients":[*my_wkg]}' test_file.bin
package send --link=https://app.example.com/send_to_dropbox_path --delivery-info=@json:'{"title":"package title"}' test_file.bin
package send --link=https://app.example.com/send_to_user_path --delivery-info=@json:'{"title":"package title"}' test_file.bin
source info %name:my_src --storage=@preset:faspex4_storage
source list
source node %name:my_src br / --storage=@preset:faspex4_storage
v4 dmembership list
v4 dropbox list
v4 metadata_profile list
v4 user list
v4 wmembership list
v4 workgroup list

Plugin: shares: IBM Aspera Shares v1

Aspera Shares supports the Node API for the file transfer part.

Supported commands are listed in Share's API documentation:

https://developer.ibm.com/apis/catalog/aspera--aspera-shares-api/Introduction

The payload for creation is the same as for the API, parameters are provided as positional Hash.

Example: Create a Node: Attributes are like API:

Attribute	Required	Default
name	Yes
host	Yes
api_username	Yes
api_password	Yes
port		9092
ssl		true
verify_ssl		false
timeout		30s
open_timeout		10s

Example: Create a share and add a user to it.

ascli shares admin share create @json:'{"node_id":1,"name":"test1","directory":"test1","create_directory":true}'

share_id=$(ascli shares admin share list --select=@json:'{"name":"test1"}' --fields=id)

user_id=$(ascli shares admin user all list --select=@json:'{"username":"username1"}' --fields=id)

ascli shares admin share user_permissions $share_id create @json:'{"user_id":'$user_id',"browse_permission":true, "download_permission":true, "mkdir_permission":true,"delete_permission":true,"rename_permission":true,"content_availability_permission":true,"manage_permission":true}'

Tested commands for shares

admin group all list
admin node list
admin share list --fields=DEF,-status,status_message
admin share user_permissions %name:my_share list
admin transfer_settings modify @: min_connect_version=3.6.1
admin transfer_settings show --format=json
admin user all app_authorizations %username:my_username modify @json:'{"app_login":true}'
admin user all app_authorizations %username:my_username show
admin user all list
admin user all share_permissions %username:my_username list
admin user all share_permissions %username:my_username show %name:my_share
admin user ldap add the_name
admin user local list
admin user saml import @json:'{"id":"the_id","name_id":"the_name"}'
files browse /
files delete my_share_folder/new_folder
files delete my_share_folder/test_file.bin
files download --to-folder=. my_share_folder/test_file.bin
files download --to-folder=. my_share_folder/test_file.bin my_share_folder/test_file.bin --transfer=httpgw --transfer-info=@json:'{"url":"https://tst.example.com/path@"}'
files mkdir my_share_folder/new_folder
files sync push /data/local_sync --to-folder=my_share_folder/synctst
files sync push /data/local_sync --to-folder=my_share_folder/synctst @json:'{"reset":true}'
files upload 'faux:///testfile?1m' --to-folder=my_share_folder --transfer=httpgw --transfer-info=@json:'{"url":"https://tst.example.com/path@","synchronous":true,"api_version":"v1","upload_chunk_size":100000}'
files upload --to-folder=my_share_folder test_file.bin
files upload --to-folder=my_share_folder test_file.bin --transfer=httpgw --transfer-info=@json:'{"url":"https://tst.example.com/path@"}'
files upload send_folder --to-folder=my_share_folder --transfer=httpgw --transfer-info=@json:'{"url":"https://tst.example.com/path@","synchronous":true,"api_version":"v1","upload_chunk_size":100000}'
health --url=https://shares.example.com/path
info

Plugin: console: IBM Aspera Console

Transfer filter

Listing transfers supports the API syntax.

In addition, it is possible to place a single query parameter in the request to filter the results : filter, following the syntax:

(field operator value)and(field operator value)...

Tested commands for console

health
transfer current files <id>
transfer current list --query.filter='(transfer_name contain aoc)'
transfer current list --query=@json:'{"filter1":"transfer_name","comp1":"contain","val1":"aoc"}'
transfer current show <id>
transfer smart list
transfer smart sub my_smart_id @: source.paths.0=my_smart_file source_type=user_selected

Plugin: orchestrator: IBM Aspera Orchestrator

Tested commands for orchestrator

health
info
monitors
plugins
processes
workflow details my_workflow_id
workflow export my_workflow_id
workflow inputs my_workflow_id
workflow list
workflow outputs my_workflow_id
workflow start my_workflow_id @json:'{"Param":"world !"}'
workflow start my_workflow_id @json:'{"Param":"world !"}' --result=ResultStep:Complete_status_message
workflow status ALL
workflow status my_workflow_id
workflow workorders my_workflow_id
workflow workorders my_workflow_id --fields=id --query.max_results=1
workorder cancel <id>
workorder output <id>
workorder reset <id>
workorder status <id>
workstep cancel 1
workstep status 1

Plugin: cos: IBM Cloud Object Storage

IBM Cloud Object Storage supports high-speed transfers using the FASP protocol. These transfers leverage the same service used by Aspera on Cloud, called the Aspera Transfer Service (ATS). You can check the list of available ATS regions here: https://status.aspera.io. There are two ways to provide credentials:

• Using existing credentials

  If you already have the endpoint, API key, and Resource Instance ID (CRN), use this method.

• Using IBM Cloud Console access

  If you do not have credentials but have access to the IBM Cloud Console, use this alternative method.

Using endpoint, API key and Resource Instance ID (CRN)

If you already have these parameters, provide the following options to ascli:

Option	Description
bucket	Bucket name
endpoint	Storage endpoint URL e.g. https://s3.hkg02.cloud-object-storage.appdomain.cloud
apikey	API Key
crn	Resource instance ID

Example: Create a Default Configuration

ascli config preset update <COS_PRESET_NAME> --bucket=mybucket --endpoint=https://s3.us-east.cloud-object-storage.appdomain.cloud --apikey=abcdefgh --crn=crn:v1:bluemix:public:iam-identity::a/xxxxxxx
ascli config preset set default cos <COS_PRESET_NAME>

Once configured, proceed to the transfer example.

Using service credential file

If you are the COS administrator and do not yet have credentials, you can create them directly from the IBM Cloud Console (Web UI):

Steps:

• → Navigation Menu
• → Resource List
• → Storage
• → Select your storage instance
• → Service Credentials
• → New credentials (Leave default role: Writer, no special options)
• → Copy to clipboard

Save the copied JSON value to a file, for example: $HOME/cos_service_creds.json

or using the IBM Cloud CLI:

ibmcloud resource service-keys
ibmcloud resource service-key _service_key_name_here_ --output JSON|jq '.[0].credentials'>$HOME/service_creds.json

The service credential file consists of the following structure:

{
  "apikey": "<API_KEY>",
  "cos_hmac_keys": {
    "access_key_id": "<ACCESS_KEY>",
    "secret_access_key": "<SECRET>"
  },
  "endpoints": "https://control.cloud-object-storage.cloud.ibm.com/v2/endpoints",
  "iam_apikey_description": "<DESCRIPTION>",
  "iam_apikey_name": "<NAME>",
  "iam_role_crn": "crn:v1:bluemix:public:iam::::serviceRole:Writer",
  "iam_serviceid_crn": "crn:v1:bluemix:public:iam-identity::a/xxxxxxx.....",
  "resource_instance_id": "crn:v1:bluemix:public:cloud-object-storage:global:a/xxxxxxx....."
}

The field mappings are as follows:

• resource_instance_id → option crn
• apikey → option apikey

The required options for this method are:

Option	Description
bucket	Bucket name
region	Bucket region e.g. eu-de
service_credentials	JSON information saved from IBM Cloud console.

Example: Create a Default Configuration

ascli config preset update <COS_PRESET_NAME> --bucket=mybucket --service-credentials=@val:@json:@file:~/service_creds.json --region=us-south
ascli config preset set default cos <COS_PRESET_NAME>

Operations, transfers

Once you have created a default configuration using one of the previous methods (otherwise, specify the access options directly on the command line), you can perform a subset of node plugin operations, which correspond to the Node API.

ascli cos node info
ascli cos node upload 'faux:///sample1G?1g'

Tested commands for cos

node download test_file.bin --to-folder=.
node info --bucket=my_bucket --endpoint=my_endpoint --apikey=my_api_key --crn=my_resource_instance_id
node info --bucket=my_bucket --region=my_region --service-credentials=@json:@file:my_cos_svc_cred
node info --log-level=trace2
node upload test_file.bin

Plugin: httpgw: HTTP Gateway

Tested commands for httpgw

health
info

Plugin: faspio: Faspio Gateway

IBM Aspera faspio Gateway is a high-performance proxy that bridges traditional TCP/UDP applications with the Aspera FASP protocol, enabling secure, ultra-fast transfers over any network, even with high latency or packet loss. It integrates seamlessly into existing workflows and supports use cases such as server-to-server transfers, database replication, and messaging systems. Using ascli, you can remotely create and manage bridges on faspio Gateway, simplifying configuration and automation.

Tested commands for faspio

bridges create @json:'{"name":"test1","local":{"protocol":"tcp","tls_enabled":false,"port":"3000","bind_address":"127.0.0.1"},"forward":{"protocol":"fasp","tls_enabled":false,"port":"3994","bind_address":"127.0.0.1","host":["10.0.0.1"]}}'
bridges delete --bulk=yes @json:<faspio_bclean_list>
bridges list
health

Plugin: alee: Aspera License Entitlement Engine

Retrieve information on subscription.

Tested commands for alee

entitlement
health

Plugin: preview: Preview generator for AoC

The preview plugin is responsible for generating thumbnails (Office documents, images, videos) and video previews on storage, primarily for use within the Aspera on Cloud (AoC) application. This plugin leverages the Node API of Aspera HSTS and requires:

• An Access Key
• The associated storage root

Key Features and Options

You can configure several aspects of the preview generation process:

• File Detection Methods

  Define how new files requiring previews are identified.

• Video Preview Generation Methods

  Choose the approach for creating video previews (e.g., transcoding options).

• Video Handling Parameters

  Fine-tune video processing, such as resolution, bitrate, and format.

Using ascli is an alternative to https://github.com/IBM/aspera-on-cloud-file-previews.

Aspera Server configuration

Specify the preview's folder as shown in:

https://ibmaspera.com/help/admin/organization/installing_the_preview_maker

By default, the preview plugin expects previews to be generated in a folder named previews located in the storage root. On the transfer server execute:

PATH=/opt/aspera/bin:$PATH

asconfigurator -x "server;preview_dir,previews"
asnodeadmin --reload

If another folder is configured on the HSTS, then specify it to ascli using the option previews_folder.

The HSTS Node API limits any preview file to a parameter: max_request_file_create_size_kb (1 KB is 1024 Bytes). This size is internally capped to 1<<24 Bytes (16777216), i.e. 16384 KB, i.e. 16 MB.

To change this parameter in aspera.conf, use asconfigurator. To display the value, use asuserdata:

asuserdata -a | grep max_request_file_create_size_kb

  max_request_file_create_size_kb: "1024"

asconfigurator -x "server; max_request_file_create_size_kb,16384"

If you use a value different from 16777216, then specify it using option max_size.

External tools: Linux

ascli requires the following external tools available in the PATH:

• ImageMagick v7+: magick (for tools: convert and composite)
• OptiPNG : optipng
• FFmpeg : ffmpeg ffprobe
• LibreOffice : unoconv

Here shown on Red Hat/Rocky Linux.

Other OSes should work as well, but are not tested.

To check if all tools are found properly, execute:

ascli preview check

Image: ImageMagick and optipng

dnf install -y ImageMagick optipng

You may also install ghostscript which adds fonts to ImageMagick. Prefer ImageMagick version >=7. More info on ImageMagick at https://imagemagick.org/ Available fonts, used to generate PNG for text, can be listed with:

magick identify -list font

If your OS has only ImageMagick v6, then you can create a script called magick and add it to your PATH:

#!/bin/bash
exec "$@"

make it executable:

chmod a+x /usr/local/bin/magick

Video: FFmpeg

The installation of ffmpeg depends on the distribution of Linux. On Rocky Linux, you can install ffmpeg with:

dnf install ffmpeg-free

Or check which package provides it with:

dnf provides ffmpeg

Another method is to download and install the latest released version of ffmpeg with static libraries from https://johnvansickle.com/ffmpeg/

curl -s https://johnvansickle.com/ffmpeg/releases/ffmpeg-release-amd64-static.tar.xz|(mkdir -p /opt && cd /opt && rm -f ffmpeg /usr/bin/{ffmpeg,ffprobe} && rm -fr ffmpeg-*-amd64-static && tar xJvf - && ln -s ffmpeg-* ffmpeg && ln -s /opt/ffmpeg/{ffmpeg,ffprobe} /usr/bin)

To uninstall above manual installation:

rm -rf /opt/ffmpeg* /usr/bin/{ffmpeg,ffprobe}

Office: unoconv and LibreOffice

If you don't want to have preview for office documents or if it is too complex you can skip office document preview generation by using option: --skip-types=office

The generation of preview in based on the use of LibreOffice's unoconv.

• RHEL 8/Rocky Linux 8+

dnf install unoconv

• Amazon Linux

amazon-linux-extras enable libreoffice
yum clean metadata
yum install libreoffice-core libreoffice-calc libreoffice-opensymbol-fonts libreoffice-ure libreoffice-writer libreoffice-pyuno libreoffice-impress
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/unoconv/unoconv/master/unoconv
mv unoconv /usr/bin
chmod a+x /usr/bin/unoconv

Configuration

The preview generator should be executed as a non-user. When using object storage, any user can be used, but when using local storage it is usually better to use the user xfer, as uploaded files are under this identity: this ensures proper access rights. (we will assume this)

Like any ascli commands, options can be passed on command line or using a configuration Option Preset. The configuration file must be created with the same user used to run so that it is properly used on runtime.

The xfer user has a special protected shell: aspshell, so in order to update the configuration, and when changing identity, specify an alternate shell. For example:

su -s /bin/bash - xfer

ascli config preset update <PREVIEW_PRESET_NAME> --url=https://localhost:9092 --username=<ACCESS_KEY> --password=<SECRET> --skip-types=office --lock-port=12346

ascli config preset set default preview <PREVIEW_PRESET_NAME>

Here we assume that Office file generation is disabled, else remove this option. lock_port prevents concurrent execution of generation when using a scheduler.

One can check if the access key is well configured using:

ascli -Ppreviewconf node browse /

This shall list the contents of the storage root of the access key.

Options for generated files

When generating preview files, some options are provided by default. Some values for the options can be modified on command line. For video preview, the whole set of options can be overridden with option reencode_ffmpeg: it is a Hash with two keys: in and out, each is an Array of strings with the native options to ffmpeg.

Execution

ascli intentionally supports only a one shot mode (no infinite loop) in order to avoid having a hanging process or using too many resources (calling REST API too quickly during the scan or event method). It needs to be run on a regular basis to create or update preview files. For that use your best reliable scheduler, see Scheduler.

Typically, for Access key access, the system/transfer user is xfer. So, in order to be consistent, and generate the appropriate access rights, the generation process should be run as user xfer.

Let's do a one shot test, using the configuration previously created:

su -s /bin/bash - xfer

or

sudo -u xfer /bin/bash

and then:

ascli preview scan --overwrite=always

When the preview generator is first executed it will create a file: .aspera_access_key in the preview's folder which contains the access key used. On subsequent run it reads this file and check that previews are generated for the same access key, else it fails. This is to prevent clash of different access keys using the same root.

Configuration for Execution in scheduler

Details are provided in section Scheduler.

Shorter commands can be specified if a configuration preset was created as shown previously.

For example the timeout value can be differentiated depending on the option: event versus scan:

case "$*" in *trev*) tmout=10m ;; *) tmout=30m ;; esac

Candidate detection for creation or update (or deletion)

ascli generates preview files using those commands:

• trevents : only recently uploaded files will be tested (transfer events)
• events : only recently uploaded files will be tested (file events: not working)
• scan : recursively scan all files under the access key's storage root
• test : test using a local file

Once candidate are selected, a preview is always generated if it does not exist already, else if a preview already exist, it will be generated using one of three values for the overwrite option:

• always : preview is always generated, even if it already exists and is newer than original
• never : preview is generated only if it does not exist already
• mtime : preview is generated only if the original file is newer than the existing

Deletion of preview for deleted source files: not implemented yet (TODO).

If the scan or events detection method is used, then the option : skip_folders can be used to skip some folders. It expects a list of path relative to the storage root (docroot) starting with slash, use the @json: notation, example:

ascli preview scan --skip-folders=@json:'["/not_here"]'

The option folder_reset_cache forces the node service to refresh folder contents using various methods.

When scanning the option query has the same behavior as for the node access_keys do self find command.

See the following section for details.

Preview File types

Two types of preview can be generated:

• png: thumbnail
• mp4: video preview (only for video)

Use option skip_format to skip generation of a format.

Supported input Files types

The preview generator supports rendering of those file categories:

• image
• pdf
• plaintext
• office
• video

To avoid generation for some categories, specify a list using option skip_types.

Each category has a specific rendering method to produce the PNG thumbnail.

The mp4 video preview file is only for category video.

By default, the Mime type used for conversion is the one returned by the Node API, based on file name extension.

It is also possible to detect the MIME type using option mimemagic. To use it, set option mimemagic to yes: --mimemagic=yes.

In this case the preview command will first analyze the file content using gem marcel, and if no match, will try by extension.

Generation: Read source files and write preview

Thumbnails and video previews are generated using standard open source tools and stored together in the storage root under the folder specified by option previews_folder. Those tools require that original files are accessible in the local file system and also write generated files on the local file system. Nevertheless, ascli may or may not have direct file system access to the access key storage root.

ascli provides 2 ways to read and write files with the option: root_url:

• Using direct access to the local file system.
• Using Aspera to transfer files between the storage and the ascli server.

root_url	Description
<empty>	(Default) If the access key storage type is local, then the storage root is used as the main folder. This assumes that ascli runs on the same system as HSTS, or has access through a common "mount". Else, remote access is assumed.
aspera:	Source files are downloaded to a temporary directory, and preview files are uploaded to the storage. Two transfers are realized using Aspera: one download transfer for source files, one upload transfer for preview files.
file:///<path>	Files are accessed from the specified path locally.

Tested commands for preview

check --skip-types=office
events --once-only=yes --skip-types=office --log-level=info
scan --scan-id=1 --skip-types=office --log-level=info {"--file-access=aspera" => nil} --ts=@json:'{"target_rate_kbps":1000000}'
scan --skip-types=office --log-level=info --skip-folder=/special/folder
show /etc/hosts --base=test
show my_docx --base=test
show my_mpg --base=test --video-png-conv=animated
show my_mpg --base=test --video-png-conv=fixed
show my_pdf --base=test
show my_small_mp4 --base=test --video-png-conv=animated
show my_small_mp4 --base=test --video-png-conv=fixed
test my_dcm --base=test
test my_dcm --base=test --mimemagic=yes
test my_jpg_unk --base=test --mimemagic=yes
test my_mpg mp4 --base=test --video-conversion=clips
test my_mpg mp4 --base=test --video-conversion=reencode
test my_mxf mp4 --base=test --video-conversion=blend --query=@json:'{"text":true,"double":true}'
trevents --once-only=yes --skip-types=office --log-level=info

Operational Utilities

This section covers the specialized modules and utilities used to integrate ascli into your broader operational infrastructure. While the core plugins handle data movement, these tools provide the "integration layer" for enterprise environments: Aspera Sync and Hot Folder enable automated, folder-based synchronization; Nagios and SMTP modules provide health monitoring and automated email alerting for transfer status; and asession and module manage internal session states and environment configurations. Together, these features transform the CLI from a manual tool into a fully integrated component of an automated, monitored data workflow.

IBM Aspera Sync

An interface for the async utility is provided in the following plugins:

• server sync (SSH Auth)
• node sync (use gen3 token)
• aoc files sync (uses node plugin with bearer token)
• shares files sync (uses node plugin with gen3 token)

The sync command, available in above plugins, performs the following actions:

• Start a local Sync session by executing the async command with the appropriate parameters.
• Get local Sync session information accessing directly the Async snap database.
• Get local Sync session information using the asyncadmin command, if available.

One advantage of using ascli over the async command line is the possibility to use a configuration file, using standard options of ascli. Moreover, ascli supports sync with application requiring token-based authorization.

Some sync parameters are filled by the related plugin using transfer spec parameters (e.g. including token).

Quick test

Below is a simple end-to-end procedure to verify synchronization using the demo server.

1. Initialize the demo server configuration:

   ascli config initdemo
   

2. Create a local folder with a sample file to sync:

   mkdir foobar
   echo hello > foobar/file1
   

3. Create the destination folder on the remote server:

   ascli server -Pdemoserver mkdir /Upload/mydest1
   

4. Run the sync operation:

   ascli server -Pdemoserver sync push foobar --to-folder=/Upload/mydest1
   

The following sections provide additional details on available options and configuration.

Starting a sync session

To start a sync session, use one of the three sync directions, followed by a folder path. For push and bidi, the path is a local folder. For pull, the path is a remote folder.

The corresponding path on the opposite side is provided using the to_folder option.

General syntax:

ascli ... sync <DIRECTION> <PATH> [--to-folder=<PATH>] [<SYNC_INFO>]

(parameter)	(parameter)	to_folder (option)
push	Local	Remote
bidi	Local	Remote
pull	Remote	Local

An optional positional Hash argument (<SYNC_INFO>) may be provided. It can be expressed in one of two formats:

• conf format (recommended)
• args format (legacy)

A single sync session must use one format exclusively.

• If <SYNC_INFO> is not provided, a default configuration is automatically generated in the conf format (details in the next section).

• If argument <SYNC_INFO> is provided, the format is inferred:

  • If the Hash contains either key sessions or instance, the args format is used.
  • Otherwise, the conf format is used.

sync_info: conf format

This is the preferred syntax. It is the same payload as specified on the async option --conf or in Node API /asyncs.

Documentation on Async Node API can be found on IBM Developer Portal.

The following parameters are automatically filled from mandatory arguments, and are not allowed:

• direction
• local.path
• remote.path

Parameter name is set to a default value if not provided in sync_info. Parameter quiet is set to false if not provided in sync_info and a terminal is detected.

The documentation is available in the terminal with:

ascli config sync spec

Field	Type	Description
ascp_dir	string	Directory containing ascp executable to use.
assume_no_mods	boolean	Assume that the directory structure has not been modified. Default: false. (--assume-no-mods)
checksum	string	Use the specified checksum type. Default is none on cloud storage. Allowed values: sha1, md5, sha1_sparse, md5_sparse, none. Default: sha1_sparse. (--checksum={enum})(-k)
clean_excluded	boolean	Removes any existing entries in the snapshot database for excluded paths Default: false. (--clean-excluded)
cookie	string	User-defined identification string. (--cookie={string})
cooloff_max_seconds	integer	Wait up to the specified time for a file to stop changing before skipping synchronization of the file. 0 for disabled Default: 0. (--cooloff-max={integer})
cooloff_seconds	integer	Delay the start of the transfer to confirm that the content is not changing. Value must be between 0 and 60 Default: 3. (--cooloff={integer})
create_dir	boolean	Create the source directory, target directory, or both, if they do not exist. Default: false. (--create-dir)
db_cache_size	integer	Specify DB cache size. Default: 16000.
db_journal_off	boolean	Turn off DB journal. Default: false.
db_sync_on	boolean	Enable synchronous write in DB. Default: false.
dedup	string	Take the specified action when async detects duplicate files on the source. Allowed values: copy, inode, hardlink, none. Default: none. (--dedup={enum})
delete_before	boolean	Schedule deletes before transfers. Default: false. (--delete-before)
delete_delay	boolean	Delay actual deletes until the end of the synchronization. Default: false. (--delete-delay)
direction	string	The direction of replication relative to the local. Allowed values: bidi, pull, push. Default: push. (--direction={enum})(-K)
exclude_dirs_older_than.absolute	string	UTC timestamp. Empty value for disabled.
exclude_dirs_older_than.relative_seconds	integer	Relative to async start time. -1 for disabled. Default: -1.
exclude_dirs_older_than	object	Don't scan directories with a recursive modified time older than absolute or async start time - relative_seconds
filters[].rule	string	The rule for the filter. Allowed values: include, exclude, include_from, exclude_from.
filters[].value	string	On include or exclude, the filter's pattern. On include_from or exclude_from, the path containing filter specifications
filters	array	The filters allow to further specify which files have to be excluded and included from the transfer list. Each filter is defined by a rule and a value. Order of filters matters
ignore_delete	boolean	Do not copy removals to the peer. Default: false. (--ignore-delete)
ignore_mode	boolean	Source files that have had their mode changed after the initial. transfer will not update the destination file mode. Default: false. (--ignore-mode)
ignore_remote_host_sync_name	boolean	Do not check that the remote host being used for the current. transfer matches the host used when the local database was created Default: false.
local.pass	string	Authenticate the local async with the specified password.
local.path	string	The directory to be synchronized on the local host. (--local-dir={string})(-d)
local_apply_docroot	boolean	Prepend the docroot to the directory on the local host. Default: false. (--apply-local-docroot)
local_checksum_threads	integer	Maximum number of threads to do checksum on the local host. Value must be between 1 and 99. Default: 4. (--local-checksum-threads={integer})
local_db_dir	string	Use the specified database directory on the local host. Default is .private-asp at the root level of the synchronized directory. (--local-db-dir={string})(-b)
local_db_store_dir	string	Store/Restore the database to/from the specified directory on the local host. The value can be an absolute path, an URI or - (use the local sync dir) (--local-db-store-dir={string})
local_force_stat	boolean	Forces the local async to retrieve file information even when no changes are detected by the scanner or monitor. Default: false. (--local-force-stat)
local_fs_threads	integer	Maximum number of threads to do file system operations on the local host. Value must be between 1 and 99. Default: 1. (--local-fs-threads={integer})
local_keep_dir	string	Move deleted files into the specified directory on the local host. (--keep-dir-local={string})
local_mount_signature	string	Verify that the file system is mounted by the existence of this file on the local host. (--local-mount-signature={string})
local_move_cache_timeout_seconds	integer	Delay in seconds before aborting moving a file from local cache to final destination. -1 for disabled. Default: -1. (--local-move-cache-timeout={integer})
local_preserve_acls	string	Preserve access control lists on the local host. Allowed values: native, metafile, none. Default: none. (--preserve-acls={enum})
local_preserve_xattrs	string	Preserve extended attributes on the local. Allowed values: native, metafile, none. Default: none. (--preserve-xattrs={enum})
local_scan_interval_milliseconds	integer	Enable periodic scans on the local host during a continuous sync. -1 for disabled Default: -1. (--scan-interval={integer})
local_scan_threads	integer	Number of directory scanning threads on the local host. Value must be between 1 and 99 Default: 1. (--scan-threads={integer})
local_stat_cache_size	integer	Set stat cache size on the local host. 0 for disabled. Default: 0.
local	object
log.level	string	Use the specified log level. Allowed values: log, dbg1, dbg2. Default: log. (special:-D)
log.local_dir	string	Use the specified logging directory on the local host. (--alt-logdir={string})(-L)
log.remote_dir	string	Use the specified logging directory on the remote host. (--remote-logdir={string})(-R)
log	object
manifest_path	string	A directory path where ascp will create manifest TEXT files (passed to ascp as --file-manifest-path)
mirror	boolean	Force the pulling side to be exactly like the pushing side, removing files on the destination that don't exist on the source and resending source files that don't have an exact match on the destination. Cannot be used in bi-directional mode. Default: false. (--mirror)
mode	string	Specify whether async runs continuously or not. In one_time mode, async stops after the first full synchronization. continuous supported only if the source is Windows or Linux. Allowed values: one_time, continuous. Default: one_time. (special:--continuous)(-C)
monitor_buffer_size	integer	Bytes to allocate for the change monitor buffer. Applies to any Windows machine on either side. -1 to use the computed value. Default: -1.
name	string	Name of the synchronization pair. (--name={string})(-N)
no_log	string	Suppress log messages for ITEM. The only currently supported ITEM is 'stats', which suppresses both STATS and PROG log messages. (--no-log={string})
no_preserve_root_attrs	boolean	Disable the preservation of attributes on the Sync root. Default: false. (--no-preserve-root-attrs)
no_scan	boolean	Skip initial scanning. Default: false. (--no-scan)
notifications_sharing_retry_max	integer	Retry processing filesystem notifications up to the specified maximum number after a sharing violation. Default: 3.
overwrite	string	Overwrite files according to the specified policy. Default is determined by the direction: conflict for bidi, otherwise always. Allowed values: always, older, conflict. (--overwrite={enum})(-o)
pending_max	integer	Allow the maximum number of files that are pending transfer to be no more than the specified number. Default: 2000. (--pending-max={integer})
preserve_access_time	boolean	Preserve file access time from the source to the destination. Default: false. (--preserve-access-time)
preserve_creation_time	boolean	Preserve file creation time from the source to the destination. Default: false. (--preserve-creation-time)
preserve_gid	boolean	Preserve the file owner's GID. Default: false. (--preserve-gid)(-j)
preserve_modification_time	boolean	Preserve file modification time from the source to the destination. Default: false. (--preserve-modification-time)
preserve_object_lock_legal_hold	boolean	Preserve object lock legal hold status from the source to the destination. Default: false. (--preserve-object-lock-legal-hold)
preserve_object_lock_retention	boolean	Preserve object lock retention from the source to the destination. Default: false. (--preserve-object-lock-retention)
preserve_object_metadata	boolean	Preserve object metadata from the source to the destination. Default: false. (--preserve-object-metadata)
preserve_uid	boolean	Preserve the file owner's UID. Default: false. (--preserve-uid)(-u)
quiet	boolean	Disable progress display. Default: true. (--quiet)(-q)
remote.connect_mode	string	Define how to connect to the remote. Allowed values: ssh, ws. Default: ssh. (special:--ws-connect)
remote.fingerprint	string	Check it against server SSH host key fingerprint.
remote.host	string	Use the specified host name or address of the remote host. (--host={string})
remote.pass	string	Authenticate the transfer with the specified password. (--pass={string})(-w)
remote.path	string	Synchronize the specified directory on the remote host. (--remote-dir={string})(-r)
remote.port	integer	Use the specified TCP port for SSH. Used when connect_mode is ssh Default: 22. (--tcp-port={integer})(-P)
remote.private_key_paths	array	Authenticate with the specified SSH private key file. (--private-key-path={array})(-i)
remote.proxy.host	string	Use the specified host name or address of the proxy.
remote.proxy.pass	string	Authenticate to the proxy with the specified password.
remote.proxy.port	integer	Use the specified port, default is 9091 for dnat, 9092. for dnats
remote.proxy.protocol	string	The protocol to be used. Allowed values: none, dnat, dnats. Default: none.
remote.proxy.user	string	Authenticate to the proxy with the specified username.
remote.proxy	object	Specify the address of the Aspera high-speed proxy server. (special:--proxy={object})
remote.token_node_user	string	Node API user identity associated with the token. Required for node user bearer tokens
remote.token	string	Token string passed to server's authentication service.
remote.user	string	Authenticate the transfer with the specified username. (--user={string})
remote.ws_port	integer	Use the specified port for Websocket. Used when connect_mode is ws. Default: 9093.
remote_checksum_threads	integer	Maximum number of threads to do checksum on the remote host. Value must be between 1 and 99 Default: 4. (--remote-checksum-threads={integer})
remote_db_dir	string	Use the specified database directory on the remote host. Default is .private-asp at the root level of the synchronized directory. (--remote-db-dir={string})(-B)
remote_db_store_dir	string	Store/Restore the database to/from the specified directory on the remote host. The value can be an absolute path, an URI or - (use the remote sync dir). (--remote-db-store-dir={string})
remote_force_stat	boolean	Forces the remote async to retrieve file information even when no changes are detected by the scanner or monitor. Default: false. (--remote-force-stat)
remote_fs_threads	integer	Maximum number of threads to do file system operations on the remote host. Value must be between 1 and 99. Default: 1. (--remote-fs-threads={integer})
remote_keep_dir	string	Move deleted files into the specified directory on the remote host. (--keep-dir-remote={string})
remote_mount_signature	string	Verify that the file system is mounted by the existence of this file on the remote host. (--remote-mount-signature={string})
remote_move_cache_timeout_seconds	integer	Delay in seconds before aborting moving a file from remote cache to final destination. -1 for disabled. Default: -1. (--remote-move-cache-timeout={integer})
remote_preserve_acls	string	Preserve access control lists on the remote host. If not specified, the default behavior is to use the same storage mode as specified by preserve_acls. Allowed values: native, metafile, none. (--remote-preserve-acls={enum})
remote_preserve_xattrs	string	Preserve extended attributes on the remote host. If not specified, the default behavior is to use the same storage mode as specified by preserve_xattrs. Allowed values: native, metafile, none. (--remote-preserve-xattrs={enum})
remote_scan_interval_milliseconds	integer	Enable periodic scans on the remote host. -1 for disabled. Default: -1. (special:--remote-scan-interval={integer})
remote_scan_threads	integer	Number of directory scanning threads on the remote host. Value must be between 1 and 99. Default: 1. (--remote-scan-threads={integer})
remote_stat_cache_size	integer	Set stat cache size on the remote host. 0 for disabled. Default: 0.
remote	object
remove_after_transfer	boolean	Remove source files after they are successfully synchronized. Default: false. (--remove-after-transfer)
reset	boolean	Clear the snapshot database and rescan the synchronized directories and files to create a fresh snapshot Default: false. (--reset)(-x)
resume.enabled	boolean	Enable the possibility of resuming individual file transfers between async sessions. Default: false.
resume.max_age	integer	Sets the age limit in days for temporary files that will be preserved on cleanup (usually at async's start and stop) for potential transfer resume. Temp files older than the given value will be removed regardless of whether they might be resumeable. Default: 5. (--resume-age-days={integer})
resume.min_size	integer	This field specifies the minimum size of files that will be allowed to resume. Default: 1048576. (--support-resume={integer})
resume_scan	boolean	Resume the scan from where the previous execution left off. Default: false. (--resume-scan)
resume	object	Partial transfers may exist if communication disruptions caused the underlying ascp processes to terminate early. Note that transfer resumption can only happen if the reset option is disabled. If an async session starts with reset enabled and resume enabled, transfers interrupted during that session will be resumeable, but only if async is then restarted with 'reset' disabled.
scan_dir_rename	boolean	Enable the detection of renamed directories and files compared. to the previous scan, based on matching inodes Default: false. (--scan-dir-rename)
scan_file_rename	boolean	Enable the detection of renamed files compared to the previous scan, based on matching inodes. Default: false. (--scan-file-rename)
scan_intensity	string	Scan at the set intensity. vlow minimizes system activity. vhigh maximizes system activity by continuously scanning files without rest. Allowed values: vlow, low, medium, high, vhigh. Default: medium. (--scan-intensity={enum})(-H)
sharing_retry_max	integer	Retry synchronizations up to the specified maximum number after a sharing violation. Default: 3. (--sharing-retry-max={integer})
store_metadata_records	boolean	Store the acls or xattrs in the snapshot database. Default: false. (--store-metadata-records)
symbolic_links	string	Handle symbolic links with the specified method. Default is skip on windows, copy otherwise. Allowed values: copy, skip, follow. (--symbolic-links={enum})(-n)
tags	object	User-defined metadata tags. (special:--tags64={object})
transfer_threads[].size	integer	Upper limit. -1 for infinity. Default: -1.
transfer_threads[].threads	integer	The number of threads.
transfer_threads	array	Use the specified number of dedicated transfer threads to process files smaller or equal to the specified size (special:--transfer-threads={array})
transport.cipher	string	Specify encryption algorithm for file data. Allowed values: none, aes128, aes192, aes256, aes128cfb, aes192cfb, aes256cfb, aes128gcm, aes192gcm, aes256gcm. Default: aes128. (--cipher={enum})(-c)
transport.compression	string	Compress a file before transfer using the specified MODE. Allowed values: none, zlib. Default: none. (--compression={enum})
transport.datagram_size	integer	Specify the datagram size (MTU) for FASP. By default it uses the detected path MTU. (--datagram-size={integer})(-Z)
transport.min_rate	integer	Attempt to transfer no slower than the specified rate (in bps). Default: 0. (--min-rate={integer})(-m)
transport.rate_policy	string	Defines how ascp will manage the bandwidth. Allowed values: fair, fixed, high, low. Default: fair. (--rate-policy={enum})(-a)
transport.raw_options	array	Pass arbitrary arguments to ascp. (special:--raw-options={array})
transport.read_block_size	integer	Use the specified block size (in bytes) for reading. Default is determined by aspera.conf. (--read-block-size={integer})(-g)
transport.rexmsg_size	integer	Use the specified size (in bytes) for a retransmission request. Default is determined by aspera.conf. (--rexmsg-size={integer})(-X)
transport.target_rate	integer	Transfer no faster than the specified rate (in bps). Default: 10000000. (--target-rate={integer})(-l)
transport.udp_port	integer	Use the specified UDP port for FASP data transfer. Default: 33001. (--udp-port={integer})(-O)
transport.write_block_size	integer	Use the specified block size (in bytes) for writing. Default is determined by aspera.conf. (--write-block-size={integer})(-G)
transport	object
watchd.datastore	string	Specify the type of datastore, none for disabled. Allowed values: none, redis, scalekv. Default: none.
watchd.domain	string	Specify the domain. Default is the current username.
watchd.host	string	Use the specified host name or address to connect to the datastore.
watchd.port	integer	Use the specified port. Default: 31415.
watchd	object	When connection is configured, asperawatchd is used to detect the changes on the source directory. (special:--watchd={object})
write_gid	string	Try to write files as the specified group. (--write-gid={string})
write_uid	string	Try to write files as the specified user. (--write-uid={string})

sync_info: args format

This is the legacy syntax. ascli defines a JSON equivalent to regular async options. It is based on a JSON representation of async command line options. Technically, it allows definition of multiple sync sessions in a single command, but ascli only accepts a single session for consistency with the previous syntax.

This is the mode selection if there are either keys sessions or instance in option sync_info.

The following parameters are automatically filled from mandatory arguments, and are not allowed:

• direction
• local_dir
• remote_dir

Parameter name is set to a default value if not provided in sync_info.

Sync management and monitoring: admin

The admin command provides subcommands to inspect the state of an Async sync session. Most subcommands read the local snap database (snap.db) directly — no server connection is required. The exception is status, which calls the asyncadmin utility available only on server products.

These commands can also be run from the config plugin:

ascli config sync admin

Prerequisites: Most admin subcommands require the sqlite3 gem:

gem install sqlite3

Usage: All admin subcommands share the same argument structure:

ascli ... sync admin <COMMAND> <FOLDER> [<SYNC_INFO>]

• <COMMAND> — one of the subcommands listed below.
• <FOLDER> — path to the local database folder (a folder containing a .private-asp subfolder). By default this is the local synchronized folder; if a separate database folder was configured, specify that path instead.
• [<SYNC_INFO>] — optional Hash to identify the session. If the folder contains only one session it is selected automatically; otherwise provide @: name=<SESSION_NAME>.

The only exception is find, which takes a plain directory path and lists all <SESSION_NAME> found inside it.

Subcommands:

Command	Uses	Description
find	filesystem	Search a directory for existing sync sessions and list their names and paths
status	asyncadmin	Retrieve the status of a running sync session (requires a server-side product)
meta	sqlite3	Display session metadata from sync_snapmeta_table
counters	sqlite3	Display synchronization counters from sync_snap_counters_table
file_info	sqlite3	List the synchronization state of each file from sync_snapdb_table (state, record ID, path, message)
overview	sqlite3	List all tables and their columns in the snap database
query	sqlite3	Execute an arbitrary SQL statement against the snap database and return the result rows

The query subcommand requires --sql with the full SQL statement to execute. The sqlite3-based subcommands (meta, counters, file_info) accept --sql optionally to append a SQL fragment (e.g. a WHERE or ORDER BY clause):

ascli ... sync admin query <FOLDER> --sql="SELECT * FROM sync_snapdb_table WHERE state=20"
ascli ... sync admin file_info <FOLDER> --sql="WHERE state=20"
ascli ... sync admin file_info <FOLDER> --sql="WHERE state=20 ORDER BY f_meta_path"

Snap database schema: The snap database (snap.db) contains the following tables:

sync_snapmeta_table — one row per session, written at start and updated at stop:

Field	Type	Description
ascp_sids	string	Last known FASP (ascp) session IDs.
byte_peerxfer	integer	Number of bytes transferred by the peer.
byte_synced	integer	Number of bytes successfully synchronized.
byte_xferres	integer	Number of bytes for which transfer was resumed.
checksum	string	Checksum algorithm. Allowed values: sha1, md5, sha1_sparse, md5_sparse, none.
cip_true_val	integer	Candidate-in-progress counter true value (internal).
condition	string	Last known session condition. Allowed values: running, stopped.
dbversion	string	Database schema version.
direction	string	Sync direction. Allowed values: push, pull, bidi.
exclude_dirs_older_than	integer	Exclude directories with modification time older than this epoch value (0 = disabled).
file_peerxfer	integer	Number of files transferred by the peer.
file_synced	integer	Number of files successfully synchronized.
file_xferres	integer	Number of files for which transfer was resumed.
filters	string	Active include/exclude filter patterns.
inode_format	string	Inode format used by the session.
ldir	string	Local directory path.
max_recid	integer	Highest record ID allocated in the snapshot table.
pairname	string	Sync session name.
path_peerxfer	integer	Number of paths transferred by the peer.
path_synced	integer	Number of paths successfully synchronized.
path_xferres	integer	Number of paths for which transfer was resumed.
rdir	string	Remote directory path.
rhost	string	Remote host.
scn_true_val	integer	Scan counter true value (internal).
start_time	string	Session start timestamp.
stop_time	string	Session stop timestamp (written when session ends).
sync_point	integer	Synchronization point sequence number.
sync_uuid	string	UUID identifying this sync pair.

sync_snap_counters_table — one row, updated live during a session:

Field	Type	Description
conflict	integer	Number of paths in the Conflict state.
error	integer	Number of paths in the Error state.
files_conflict	integer	Number of files in the Conflict state.
files_error	integer	Number of files in the Error state.
files_pending	integer	Number of files still pending synchronization.
files_potential_conflict	integer	Number of files in the Potential conflict state.
files_syncd	integer	Number of files in the Syncd state.
pending	integer	Number of paths still pending synchronization.
potential_conflict	integer	Number of paths in the Potential conflict state.
syncd	integer	Number of paths in the Syncd state.
unused	integer	Reserved (unused counter slot).

sync_snapdb_table — one row per tracked file or directory:

Field	Type	Description
c_cont_csum	string	Current content — checksum.
c_cont_mtime	integer	Current content — modification time (epoch).
c_cont_size	integer	Current content — file size in bytes.
c_cont_timestamp	integer	Current content — internal timestamp.
c_meta_atime	integer	Current metadata — access time (epoch).
c_meta_attrs	string	Current metadata — file attributes.
c_meta_ctime	integer	Current metadata — change time (epoch).
c_meta_gid	integer	Current metadata — group ID (Unix).
c_meta_mtime	integer	Current metadata — modification time (epoch).
c_meta_object_metadata	string	Current metadata — object metadata (JSON).
c_meta_ol_legal_hold	integer	Current metadata — object lock legal hold flag.
c_meta_ol_mode	integer	Current metadata — object lock mode.
c_meta_ol_retain_until	integer	Current metadata — object lock retain-until date (epoch).
c_meta_parentrid	integer	Current metadata — parent record ID.
c_meta_path	string	Current metadata — file path as known to the snapshot.
c_meta_type	integer	Current metadata — file type (file, directory, …).
c_meta_uid	integer	Current metadata — user ID (Unix).
c_meta_xattrs_cksum	string	Current metadata — checksum of extended attributes.
c_meta_xattrs	integer	Current metadata — extended attributes (not used).
candidate_in_prog	integer	Set to 1 when this record is currently in the candidate transfer list.
commit_version	integer	Local commit version for this entry.
f_cont_csum	string	Filesystem content — checksum.
f_cont_mtime	integer	Filesystem content — modification time (epoch).
f_cont_size	integer	Filesystem content — file size in bytes.
f_cont_timestamp	integer	Filesystem content — internal timestamp.
f_meta_atime	integer	Filesystem metadata — access time (epoch).
f_meta_attrs	string	Filesystem metadata — file attributes.
f_meta_ctime	integer	Filesystem metadata — change time (epoch).
f_meta_gid	integer	Filesystem metadata — group ID (Unix).
f_meta_mtime	integer	Filesystem metadata — modification time (epoch).
f_meta_object_metadata	string	Filesystem metadata — object metadata (JSON).
f_meta_ol_legal_hold	integer	Filesystem metadata — object lock legal hold flag.
f_meta_ol_mode	integer	Filesystem metadata — object lock mode.
f_meta_ol_retain_until	integer	Filesystem metadata — object lock retain-until date (epoch).
f_meta_parentrid	integer	Filesystem metadata — parent record ID.
f_meta_path	string	Filesystem metadata — file path as seen on disk (displayed by file_info).
f_meta_type	integer	Filesystem metadata — file type.
f_meta_uid	integer	Filesystem metadata — user ID (Unix).
f_meta_xattrs_cksum	string	Filesystem metadata — checksum of extended attributes.
f_meta_xattrs	integer	Filesystem metadata — extended attributes (not used).
message	string	Error or status message associated with this entry.
meta_lastreq_no	integer	Sequence number of the last metadata request sent.
meta_lastresp_no	integer	Sequence number of the last metadata response received.
nodeid	integer	Local filesystem node ID.
p_cont_csum	string	Pending content — checksum.
p_cont_mtime	integer	Pending content — modification time (epoch).
p_cont_size	integer	Pending content — file size in bytes.
p_cont_timestamp	integer	Pending content — internal timestamp.
pcr_reqno	integer	Peer content request sequence number.
peer_commit_version	integer	Peer commit version for this entry.
peer_nodeid	integer	Peer filesystem node ID.
peer_rid	integer	Peer record ID for this entry.
pp_cont_csum	string	Peer pending content — checksum.
pp_cont_mtime	integer	Peer pending content — modification time (epoch).
pp_cont_size	integer	Peer pending content — file size in bytes.
pp_cont_timestamp	integer	Peer pending content — internal timestamp.
record_id	integer	Primary key (auto-increment).
recursive_mtime	integer	Most recent modification time across all descendants (directories only).
scn_completed	integer	Set to 1 when the scan of this directory entry has completed.
scn_not_visited	integer	Set to 1 when the scanner has not yet visited this entry in the current scan pass.
scn_required	integer	Set to 1 when a rescan of this entry is required.
state	integer	Sync state of the entry. | Value | Name | |-------|-------------------| | 0 | Nil | | 1–18 | Pending (variant) | | 19 | Syncd | | 20 | Error | | 21 | Conflict | | 22 | PotentialConflict | | 23–24 | Pending (variant) |
tobe_deleted	integer	Set to 1 when the record is flagged for deletion (garbage collection pending).
version	integer	Schema version field (not used).

Hot folder

ascli does not have a standalone hotfolder command. Instead, you create a Hot Folder by combining the upload or download commands with specific transfer-spec parameters and an OS scheduler (like cron or Task Scheduler).

Requirements

ascli maybe used as a simple hot folder engine. A hot folder being defined as a tool that:

• Locally (or remotely) detects new files in a top folder
• Send detected files to a remote (respectively, local) repository
• Only sends new files, do not re-send already sent files
• Optionally: sends only files that are not still growing
• Optionally: after transfer of files, deletes or moves to an archive

In addition: the detection should be made continuously or on specific time/date.

Setup procedure

The general idea is to rely on :

• Existing ascp features for detection and transfer
• Take advantage of ascli configuration capabilities and server side knowledge
• The OS scheduler for reliability and continuous operation

ascp features

Interesting ascp features are found in its arguments: (see ascp manual):

• Sending only new files
  • option -k 1,2,3 (resume_policy)
• Remove or move files after transfer:
  • --remove-after-transfer (remove_after_transfer)
  • --move-after-transfer (move_after_transfer)
  • --remove-empty-directories (remove_empty_directories)
• Send only files not modified since the last X seconds:
  • --exclude-newer-than (exclude_newer_than)
  • --exclude-older-than (exclude_older_than)
• Top level folder should not be created on destination
  • --src-base (src_base)

Server side and configuration

Virtually any transfer on a repository on a regular basis might emulate a hot folder.

Scheduling

Once ascli command line arguments are defined, run the command using the OS native scheduler, e.g. every minute, or 5 minutes, etc. See Scheduler. (on use of option lock_port)

Example: Upload hot folder

ascli server upload source_hot --to-folder=/Upload/target_hot --lock-port=12345 --ts=@json:'{"remove_after_transfer":true,"remove_empty_directories":true,"exclude_newer_than":-8,"src_base":"source_hot"}'

The local folder (here, relative path: source_hot) is sent (upload) to an Aspera server. Source files are deleted after transfer. Growing files will be sent only once they don't grow anymore (based on an 8-second cool-off period). If a transfer takes more than the execution period, then the subsequent execution is skipped (lock_port) preventing multiple concurrent runs.

Example: Unidirectional synchronization (upload) to server

ascli server upload source_sync --to-folder=/Upload/target_sync --lock-port=12345 --ts=@json:'{"resume_policy":"sparse_csum","exclude_newer_than":-8,"src_base":"source_sync"}'

This can also be used with other folder-based applications: Aspera on Cloud, Shares, Node.

Example: Unidirectional synchronization (download) from Aspera on Cloud Files

ascli aoc files download . --to-folder=. --lock-port=12345 --progress-bar=no --display=data --ts=@json:'{"resume_policy":"sparse_csum","target_rate_kbps":50000,"exclude_newer_than":-8,"delete_before_transfer":true}'

Health check and Nagios

Most plugin provide a health command that will check the health status of the application. Example:

ascli console health

╭────────┬─────────────┬────────────╮
│ status │ component   │ message    │
╞════════╪═════════════╪════════════╡
│ ok     │ console api │ accessible │
╰────────┴─────────────┴────────────╯

Typically, the health check uses the REST API of the application with the following exception: the server plugin allows checking health by:

• Issuing a transfer to the server
• Checking web app status with asctl all:status
• Checking daemons process status

ascli can be called by Nagios to check the health status of an Aspera server. The output can be made compatible to Nagios with option --format=nagios :

ascli server health transfer --to-folder=/Upload --format=nagios --progress-bar=no

OK - [transfer:ok]

SMTP for email notifications

ascli can send email, for that setup SMTP configuration. This is done with option smtp.

The smtp option is a Hash (Extended Value) with the following fields:

Field	Default	Example	Description
server	-	smtp.gmail.com	SMTP server address
tls	true	true	Enable STARTTLS (port 587)
ssl	false	false	Enable TLS (port 465)
port	587 465 25	587	Port for service
domain	domain of server	gmail.com	Email domain of user
username	-	john@example.com	User to authenticate on SMTP server Leave empty for open auth.
password	-		Password for above username
from_email	username if defined	johnny@example.com	Address used if receiver replies
from_name	same as email	John Wayne	Display name of sender

Example of configuration

ascli config preset set smtp_google server smtp.google.com
ascli config preset set smtp_google username john@gmail.com
ascli config preset set smtp_google password <PASSWORD>

or

ascli config preset init smtp_google @json:'{"server":"smtp.google.com","username":"john@gmail.com","password":"<PASSWORD>"}'

or

ascli config preset update smtp_google --server=smtp.google.com --username=john@gmail.com --password=<PASSWORD>

Set this configuration as global default, for instance:

ascli config preset set cli_default smtp @val:@preset:smtp_google
ascli config preset set default config cli_default

Email templates

Sent emails are built using a template that uses the ERB syntax.

The template is the full SMTP message, including headers.

The following variables are defined by default:

• from_name
• from_email
• to

Other variables are defined depending on context.

Test

Check settings with smtp_settings command. Send test email with email_test.

ascli config --smtp=@preset:smtp_google smtp
ascli config --smtp=@preset:smtp_google email --notify-to=sample.dest@example.com

Notifications for transfer status

An e-mail notification can be sent upon transfer success and failure (one email per transfer job, one job being possibly multi session, and possibly after retry).

To activate, use option notify_to.

A default e-mail template is used, but it can be overridden with option notify_template.

The environment provided contains the following additional variables:

• subject : a default subject including transfer status
• status : global status of transfer
• ts : the transfer-spec used for the transfer
• from_email : email of sender (from smtp configuration)
• from_name : name of sender (from smtp configuration)
• to : recipient of the email (from notify_to)

Example of template:

From: <%=from_name%> <<%=from_email%>>
To: <<%=to%>>
Subject: <%=subject%>

Transfer is: <%=status%>

Tool: asession

This gem comes with a second executable tool providing a simplified standardized interface to start a FASP session: asession.

It aims at simplifying the startup of a FASP session from a programmatic standpoint as formatting a transfer-spec is:

• Common to Aspera Node API (HTTP POST /ops/transfer)
• Common to Aspera Connect API (browser JavaScript startTransfer)
• Easy to generate by using any third party language specific JSON library

Ideally, IBM will integrate this directly into ascp, making this tool redundant.

This makes it easy to integrate with any language, provided that one can spawn a subprocess, write to its STDIN, read from STDOUT, and generate and parse JSON.

ascli expects a single argument: a session specification that contains parameters and a transfer-spec.

If no argument is provided, it assumes a value of: @json:@stdin:, i.e. a JSON formatted on stdin.

During execution, it generates all low level events, one per line, in JSON format on stdout.

Top level parameters supported by asession:

Parameter	Description
spec	The transfer-spec
agent	Same parameters as transfer-info for agent direct
loglevel	Log level of asession
file_list_folder	The folder used to store (for garbage collection) generated file lists. Default: [system tmp folder]/[username]_asession_filelists

Comparison of interfaces

Feature/Tool	Transfer Daemon	FASPManager	ascp	asession
status	Supported	Deprecated	Supported	Deprecated
language integration	Many	C/C++ C#/.net Go Python java	Any	Any
required additional components to ascp	Daemon	Library (+headers)	-	Ruby Aspera gem
startup	Daemon	API	Command line arguments	JSON on stdin (standard APIs: JSON.generate Process.spawn)
events	Poll	Callback	Possibility to open management port and proprietary text syntax	JSON on stdout
platforms	Like ascp and transferd	Like ascp and lib (if compiled)	Any with ascp	Any with Ruby and ascp

Simple session

Create a file session.json with:

{"remote_host":"demo.asperasoft.com","remote_user":"asperaweb","ssh_port":33001,"remote_password":"<PASSWORD>","direction":"receive","destination_root":"./test.dir","paths":[{"source":"/aspera-test-dir-tiny/200KB.1"}],"resume_level":"none"}

Then start the session:

asession < session.json

Asynchronous commands and Persistent session

asession also supports asynchronous commands (on the management port). Instead of the traditional text protocol as described in ascp manual, the format for commands is: one single line per command, formatted in JSON, where parameters shall be snake style, for example: LongParameter → long_parameter

This is particularly useful for a persistent session (with the transfer-spec parameter: "keepalive":true)

asession
{"remote_host":"demo.asperasoft.com","ssh_port":33001,"remote_user":"asperaweb","remote_password":"<PASSWORD>","direction":"receive","destination_root":".","keepalive":true,"resume_level":"none"}
{"type":"START","source":"/aspera-test-dir-tiny/200KB.2"}
{"type":"DONE"}

(events from FASP are not shown in above example. They would appear after each command)

Help

asession -h
USAGE
    asession
    asession -h|--help
    asession [<session spec extended value>]
    
    If no argument is provided, default will be used: @json:@stdin
    -h, --help display this message
    <session spec extended value> a dictionary (Hash)
    The value can be either:
       the JSON description itself, e.g. @json:'{"xx":"yy",...}'
       @json:@stdin, if the JSON is provided from stdin
       @json:@file:<path>, if the JSON is provided from a file
    The following keys are recognized in session spec:
       spec : mandatory, contains the transfer spec
       loglevel : modify log level (to stderr)
       agent : modify transfer agent parameters, e.g. ascp_args
       file_list_folder : location of temporary files
       sdk : location of SDK (ascp)
    Asynchronous commands can be provided on STDIN, examples:
       {"type":"START","source":"/aspera-test-dir-tiny/200KB.2"}
       {"type":"START","source":"xx","destination":"yy"}
       {"type":"DONE"}
EXAMPLES
    asession @json:'{"spec":{"remote_host":"demo.asperasoft.com","remote_user":"asperaweb","ssh_port":33001,"remote_password":"demoaspera","direction":"receive","destination_root":"./test.dir","paths":[{"source":"/aspera-test-dir-tiny/200KB.1"}]}}'
    echo '{"spec":{"remote_host":...}}'|asession @json:@stdin:

Ruby Module: Aspera

Main components:

• Aspera generic classes for REST and OAuth
• Aspera::Agent::Direct: Starting and monitoring transfers using ascp.
• Aspera::Cli: ascli.

Working examples can be found in repo: https://github.com/laurent-martin/aspera-api-examples in Ruby examples.

Common problems

ascli detects common problems and provides hints to solve them.

Error: "Remote host is not who we expected"

Cause: ascp >= 4.x checks fingerprint of the highest server host key, including ECDSA. ascp < 4.0 (3.9.6 and earlier) support only to RSA level (and ignore ECDSA presented by server). aspera.conf supports a single fingerprint.

Workaround on client side: To ignore the certificate (SSH fingerprint) add option on client side (this option can also be added permanently to the configuration file):

--ts=@json:'{"sshfp":null}'

Workaround on server side: Either remove the fingerprint from aspera.conf, or keep only RSA host keys in sshd_config.

References: ES-1944 in release notes of 4.1 and to HSTS admin manual section "Configuring Transfer Server Authentication With a Host-Key Fingerprint".

Error: "can't find header files for ruby"

Some Ruby gems dependencies require compilation of native parts (C). This also requires Ruby header files. If Ruby was installed as a Linux Packages, then also install Ruby development package: ruby-dev or ruby-devel, depending on distribution.

Private key type: ed25519 not supported by default

There are a few aspects concerning ED25519 keys.

By default, the aspera-cli gem does not depend on the ed25519 gem because it requires compilation of native code which can cause problems and prevent the installation of ascli, especially when using JRuby. See this. If you want to use ed25519 keys, then install the required gems:

gem install ed25519 bcrypt_pbkdf

In addition, if those two gems are not installed, and if you are using Private Keys encoded using the OpenSSH format, then you'll get the message:

OpenSSH keys only supported if ED25519 is available (NotImplementedError)
net-ssh requires the following gems for ed25519 support:
 * ed25519 (>= 1.2, < 2.0)
 * bcrypt_pbkdf (>= 1.0, < 2.0)
See https://github.com/net-ssh/net-ssh/issues/565 for more information

In addition, if JRuby is used, host keys of type: ecdsa-sha2 and ecdh-sha2 are also deactivated by default. To activate, set env var ASCLI_ENABLE_ECDSHA2 to true.

JRuby: net-ssh: Unsupported algorithm

JRuby may not implement all the algorithms supported by OpenSSH.

Add the following to option ssh_options:

{"host_key":["rsa-sha2-512","rsa-sha2-256"],"kex":["curve25519-sha256","diffie-hellman-group14-sha256"],"encryption": ["aes256-ctr", "aes192-ctr", "aes128-ctr"]}

e.g.

--ssh-options=@json:'{"host_key":["rsa-sha2-512","rsa-sha2-256"],"kex":["curve25519-sha256","diffie-hellman-group14-sha256"],"encryption": ["aes256-ctr", "aes192-ctr", "aes128-ctr"]}'

Error: "SSL_read: unexpected eof while reading"

Newer OpenSSL library expects a clean SSL close. To deactivate this error, enable option IGNORE_UNEXPECTED_EOF for ssl_options in option http_options.

--http-options=@json:'{"ssl_options":["IGNORE_UNEXPECTED_EOF"]}'

Error: ascp: /lib64/libc.so.6: version GLIBC_2.28 not found

This happens on Linux x86 if you try to install transferd on a Linux version too old to support a newer ascp executable.

Workaround: Install an older version of transferd:

ascli config transferd install 1.1.2

See Binary

Error: Cannot rename partial file

This is an error coming from ascp when it is configured to use a partial file name, and at the end of the transfer, the partial file, now complete, does not exist anymore.

This often happens when two transfers start in parallel for the same file:

• Session 1 starts for file1, it creates file: file1.partial and fills it.
• Session 2 starts for file1 (same), it creates file: file1.partial and fills it.
• Session 1 finishes, and renames file1.partial to file1.
• Session 2 finishes, and tries to rename file1.partial to file1, but it fails as it does not exist anymore...

By default, ascli creates a config file:~/.aspera/sdk/aspera.conf like this:

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<CONF version="2">
<default>
    <file_system>
        <resume_suffix>.aspera-ckpt</resume_suffix>
        <partial_file_suffix>.partial</partial_file_suffix>
    </file_system>
</default>
</CONF>

In container, this is located in /ibm_aspera.

One possibility to avoid that error is to disable partial filename suffix... But that only hides the problem.

For example, when using the container, override that file with a volume and remove the line for extension. Another possibility is to add this option: --transfer-info==@json:'{"ascp_args":["--partial-file-suffix="]}' : this overrides the value in config file.

About

Houtput, the mascot

Hootput lives in the terminal, watching over every command with wide, unblinking eyes. Known for concise output and sharp insight, this owl thrives where others get lost in the dark. It doesn’t chatter; it hoots—clear, precise, and always on time.

Like ascli, Hootput is built for action: launching transfers, parsing options, and navigating APIs without hesitation. Light on feathers but heavy on wisdom, it turns complexity into simple one-liners. When you hear Hootput’s call, you know your data is already in flight.

History

When I joined Aspera, there was only one CLI: ascp, the implementation of the FASP protocol, but there was no CLI to access the various existing products (Server, Faspex, Shares). At some point, Serban (founder) provided a shell script able to create a Faspex package using the Faspex REST API. Since all products relate to file transfers using FASP (ascp), I thought it would be interesting to have a unified CLI for FASP transfers. Also, because ascp already existed, I conceived an extended tool: eascp.pl, which accepted all ascp options for transfers but was also able to transfer to Faspex and Shares (the destination was a kind of URI for the applications).

There were a few pitfalls:

• eascp.pl was written in the aging perl language, while most Aspera web application products (other than the Transfer Server) are written in ruby.
• It was only for transfers and was not able to call other product APIs.

So, it evolved into ascli:

• Portable: works on platforms supporting ruby (and ascp)
• Easy to install with the gem utility
• Supports transfers with multiple Transfer Agents; this is why transfer parameters moved from the ascp command line to the transfer-spec (more reliable, more standard)
• ruby is consistent with other Aspera products

Over time, a supported command-line tool aspera was developed in C++ and later deprecated. It had the advantage of being relatively easy to install as a single executable (still using ascp), but it was too limited in scope and lacked many of the features of this CLI.

Enjoy a coffee on me:

ascli config coffee
ascli config coffee --ui=text
ascli config coffee --ui=text --image.text=true

References

Ruby gem: https://rubygems.org/gems/aspera-cli

Ruby Doc: https://ibm.biz/ascli-doc

Aspera APIs on IBM developer