Command Line Interface

ABConnect provides a comprehensive command-line interface through the ab command. This guide covers all available commands and their usage.

Installation

After installing ABConnect, the ab command becomes available in your terminal:

pip install ABConnect

Verify the installation:

ab --version

Environment Setup

The CLI requires environment configuration files. Create them from the sample:

cp .env.sample .env.staging
cp .env.sample .env

Edit both files with your credentials:

# ABC Connect credentials
ABCONNECT_USERNAME=your_username
ABCONNECT_PASSWORD=your_password
ABC_CLIENT_ID=your_app_name
ABC_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret

# API environment setting
ABC_ENVIRONMENT=staging  # or 'production'

Note

To request a client secret, contact abconnect@annexbrands.com

Available Commands

Version Information

ab --version

Display the current version of ABConnect.

Configuration Management

ab config

View and manage your configuration settings.

User Information

ab me

Get information about the currently authenticated user.

Company Information

ab company <company_id>

Retrieve information about a specific company.

Example:

ab company 12345

Quote Operations

ab quote <quote_type> [options]

Get shipping quotes. Supports two quote types:

  • qq - Quick Quote

  • qr - Quote Request

Examples:

# Quick quote
ab quote qq --origin "New York, NY" --destination "Los Angeles, CA"

# Quote request
ab quote qr --file quote_data.json

Lookup Values

ab lookup <type>

Look up master constant values from the API.

Available lookup types:

  • company-types

  • contact-types

  • job-statuses

  • container-types

Example:

ab lookup company-types

File Loading

ab load <file_path> [options]

Load and display data from CSV, JSON, or Excel files.

Options:

  • --format - Specify output format (json, table, csv)

  • --encoding - Specify file encoding (default: auto-detect)

Examples:

# Load CSV file
ab load data.csv

# Load Excel file with specific sheet
ab load report.xlsx --sheet "Sales Data"

# Output as JSON
ab load contacts.csv --format json

API Endpoints

ab endpoints [options]

List all available API endpoints.

Options:

  • --filter - Filter endpoints by keyword

  • --format - Output format (list, json)

Examples:

# List all endpoints
ab endpoints

# Filter by keyword
ab endpoints --filter company

# Output as JSON
ab endpoints --format json

Raw API Calls

ab api raw <method> <endpoint> [options]

Execute raw API calls for advanced usage.

Options:

  • --data - JSON data for POST/PUT requests

  • --params - Query parameters

  • --headers - Additional headers

Examples:

# GET request
ab api raw GET /companies/12345

# POST request with data
ab api raw POST /contacts --data '{"name": "John Doe", "email": "john@example.com"}'

# GET with query parameters
ab api raw GET /jobs --params '{"status": "active", "limit": 10}'

Common Workflows

Finding Company Information

  1. List company types to understand the categories:

    ab lookup company-types

  2. Get specific company details:

    ab company 12345

Working with Quotes

  1. Prepare quote data in a JSON file

  2. Submit quote request:

    ab quote qr --file quote_request.json

  3. Check quote status using raw API:

    ab api raw GET /quotes/QUOTE_ID

Data Import Workflow

  1. Prepare your data in CSV or Excel format

  2. Preview the data:

    ab load contacts.csv --limit 5

  3. Process the full file:

    ab load contacts.csv --format json > processed_contacts.json

Environment Variables

The CLI respects these environment variables:

  • ABC_ENVIRONMENT - Set to staging or production

  • ABC_LOG_LEVEL - Set logging verbosity (DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR)

  • ABC_TOKEN_FILE - Custom path for token storage

Example:

# Use production environment for a single command
ABC_ENVIRONMENT=production ab company 12345

Troubleshooting

Authentication Issues

If you encounter authentication errors:

  1. Verify your credentials in the .env file

  2. Check that ABC_CLIENT_SECRET is set correctly

  3. Try clearing cached tokens:

    rm ~/.abconnect/token.json

Connection Problems

For connection issues:

  1. Verify your internet connection

  2. Check if you’re using the correct environment (staging vs production)

  3. Enable debug logging:

    ABC_LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG ab me

File Loading Errors

When file loading fails:

  1. Verify the file path is correct

  2. Check file permissions

  3. Try specifying encoding explicitly:

    ab load data.csv --encoding utf-8

See Also