In addition to the graphical user interface (HMC GUI), the HMC also offers a command line interface (CLI). With a few exceptions, everything can be configured via the CLI that can also be configured via the HMC GUI.

For physical HMCs, the HMC CLI can be accessed directly from the HMC’s console. In addition, all HMCs (virtual and physical) can be accessed from a remote computer using OpenSSH. When logging in with OpenSSH, the user works with a so-called restricted shell. This only allows access to the HMC CLI commands and a few shell commands.