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Step-by-Step Installation

Step-by-Step Installation

The recommended (but not only) way to run Meraki-CLI on Windows is to run it on Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). This is because Meraki-CLI's tab-autocompletion feature is only supported on MacOS and Linux platforms. Running it inside Windows 10 WSL gives you this full tab-autocompletion functionality.

NOTE: Running WSL version 2 (which is now the default) requires virtualization features to be enabled in your PC's BIOS settings. The settings may be called VT-x, AMD-V, or SVM.

WSL is very quick and easy to install on your Windows 10/11 OS and should take about 10 minutes. Follow the below steps to install WSL, install Meraki-CLI, and set up tab-autocompletion.

  1. Click on the Start button and search for "features", click on the "Turn Windows features on and off" application
  2. Check the boxes for "Virtual Machine Platform" and "Windows Subsystem for Linux", click OK and reboot Windows once the installation completes
  3. Once logged back in, click on the Start button and search for "store", open the "Microsoft Store" application
  4. Search for "ubuntu" inside the store and click on the "Ubuntu 20.04" app (or the latest version available), then click the Get button to install it
  5. Once installation finishes, click the Open button to open WSL. It will ask you for a user name and password. Go through these prompts to set up WSL
  6. After setting it up, you will have a command prompt with something like user@MYWIN10PC:~$. Now we will perform a Linux Meraki-CLI installation
  7. Run sudo apt update to pull the latest repository info
    • Provide your WSL password when prompted
  8. Run sudo apt install python3-pip to install the PIP Python package manager
  9. Run sudo apt install pipx to install the PIPX virtual environment package installer
  10. Run pipx ensurepath to add the PIPX app directory to your PATH
  11. Run pipx install meraki-cli to install the Meraki-CLI tool
  12. Exit the WSL window with exit
  13. Reopen the WSL command window by finding the "Ubuntu" app in your start menu
  14. Run the meraki command and make sure you see the help output
  15. Type meraki at the prompt and then hit the TAB key a few times
  16. You now should see all the arguments/switches/commands available to you

Meraki-CLI can be installed natively on MacOS and be used through the Terminal application. Follow the below steps to install Meraki-CLI on MacOS.

  1. Open your Terminal application by navigating in Finder to Applications > Utilities > Terminal
  2. Meraki-CLI uses Python3 and (on modern MacOS versions) requires a virtual Python environment to install dependencies. In order to install a Python virtual environment, we first need to install the Homebrew MacOS package manager. You can see details about homebrew at brew.sh
    • Install Homebrew with the below command. It may take a while to install. 
      /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
    • Once Homebew is installed, you should be able to run the command brew from your terminal and see a list of command options
  3. Now that Homebrew is installed, we will use it to install PIPX 
    brew install pipx
    • You should be able to run the command pipx and see a list of options
  4. Have pipx make sure it has added its binary locations to your PATH 
    pipx ensurepath
  5. Install the argcomplete package which assists with Meraki-CLI command completion 
    pipx install argcomplete
  6. Install the Meraki-CLI package 
    pipx install meraki-cli
  7. Run the meraki command and make sure you see the help output
  8. Type meraki at the prompt and then hit the TAB key a few times
  9. You now should see all the arguments/switches/commands available to you

The recommended way to run Meraki-CLI on Windows is to use the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) because it supports tab-autocompletion. But you can also install Meraki-CLI natively on Windows. Follow the below steps to install natively on Windows.

  • In order to use Meraki-CLI on native Windows, you need to have Python 3 installed. If you do not yet have Python 3 installed, visit this Python 3 Installation Instructions Page and install for your operating system.
  • Once Python3 is installed, click on the Start button and search for "command", click on the "Command Prompt" application
  • Run pip3 install meraki-cli to install the Meraki-CLI tool
  • Run the meraki command and make sure you see the help output

The instructions here describe installation of Meraki-CLI on an Ubuntu 20 OS. Other distros may require slightly different commands.

  • Run sudo apt update to pull the latest repository info
  • Provide your password when prompted
  • Run sudo apt install python3-pip to install the PIP Python package manager
  • Run sudo apt install pipx to install the PIPX virtual environment package installer
  • Run pipx ensurepath to add the PIPX app directory to your PATH
  • Run pipx install meraki-cli to install the Meraki-CLI tool
  • Run sudo activate-global-python-argcomplete to activate the tab autocompletion feature
  • Log out and back into the OS to restart BASH and enable tab-autocompletion
  • Run the meraki command and make sure you see the help output
  • Type meraki at the prompt and then hit the TAB key a few times
  • You now should see all the arguments/switches/commands available to you

Once fully installed, follow the instructions in Getting Your API Key section to obtain and plug-in your Meraki Dashboard API key.

Next: Getting Your API Key