How to change entered creds?

[JWaters02]

I am using JCL Check extension first time, and it asked me to input my user and password but I got confused as I expected it to just use the Zowe credentials. So for username I entered user. Now I realise this mistake, I want to go back and change my username, but I can't find the option to change it. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling extension. I tried deleting jclcheck from Zowe global config file, restarting VS Code and readding it back in.

And why it doesn't use Zowe credentials?

My global zowe.config.json file:

{
    "$schema": "./zowe.schema.json",
    "profiles": {
        ...other profile types...
        "jclcheck": {
            "type": "jclcheck",
            "properties": {
                "port": 7100,
                "basePath": "cajclcheck/api/v1",
                "rejectUnauthorized": false
            },
            "secure": []
        },
        "base": {
            "type": "base",
            "properties": {
                "host": "hostname",
                "rejectUnauthorized": false
            },
            "secure": [
                "user",
                "password"
            ]
        }
    },
    "defaults": {
        "zosmf": "zosmf",
        "tso": "tso",
        "ssh": "ssh",
        "cics": "cics",
        "jclcheck": "jclcheck",
        "base": "base"
    },
    "autoStore": true
}

[swetadadu]

Thanks Joshua for installing and getting started with JCL Check extension.
Few things to remember -

1. Please follow the instructions under Software Requirements and Configuring in the README doc.
2. Userid that you are using to test should be a authorized JCL Check user.
3. You can use the 'zowe config init' from your command prompt/VSCode terminal where your zowe is installed, followed by entering your host(JCLCheck REST API), username and pwd. Restart your vscode.
4. This should solve your problem, but in case it is not resolved, then you can try the following as well.
5. With the CLI you can issue the 'zowe config secure' command. If you only have a global config file, you will want to add the --global-config option to the command. The command will prompt you to enter a value for every property that you have defined as a secure property in your zowe.config.json file.
6. Alternatively, in Zowe Explorer, you right-click your profile and select 'Manage Profile'. Which item you select in the resulting submenu will depend on whether you are using a password or an APIML token.
7. You do not have to do both apps. Changing your properties in one app will be picked up by the other app.

Please let us know if you need further assistance.

[JWaters02]

Hi, I managed to fix it by deleting my zowe creds (cmdkey /delete:Zowe/secure_config_props) then using zowe config secure --global-config to re-add them and restarting vs code.

A couple things:

When I run "Check JCL" for the first time I still get this enter user and password quick picks at the top, which is really strange considering that it is meant to be using the username and password stored in the zowe secrets store.

And out of curiosity if I cancel the quick picks I get this message - which makes sense if the extension should accept its own credentials but again I do not understand why it is showing its own messages if it is meant to be only using the zowe config credentials.

[swetadadu]

Hi Joshua,

I was able to replicate the issue you're experiencing, and it seems to occur only during the initial attempt. Subsequent attempts correctly use the previously entered credentials.

Second screen shot as stated was understandable as it has not taken up the credentials given with 'zowe config secure' command.

I have raised this issue to the Zowe team to confirm if this is a change related to Zowe v3. I hope this isn't currently blocking your testing. I will keep you updated as soon as I receive any information.

Thanks
Sweta

[swetadadu]

Hi Joshua,

I received an update from the Zowe team regarding the issue. They've clarified that the problem isn't due to a change in V3. Instead, we are typically prompted for values when they cannot be found in our configuration by the Zowe infrastructure.

They provided two common scenarios where this might occur:

Configuration File Edits: If we recently edited our configuration and moved the location of the user and password within the config file, we'll need to record the new location for these values. This is because items are stored in the Secure Credential Store based on their location in the configuration file.

zowe.config.json Location: If our zowe.config.json file is NOT located in the YourHomeDirectory/.zowe folder, did you open the folder in VSCode so that your configuration is found by Zowe Explorer?

I hope your further testing and work goes smoothly.

Thanks
Sweta

[JWaters02]

Configuration File Edits: If we recently edited our configuration and moved the location of the user and password within the config file, we'll need to record the new location for these values. This is because items are stored in the Secure Credential Store based on their location in the configuration file.

My config file almost never changes and have used SCS with autoStore: true for a while. I also have other ZE extenders such as CICS and FTP extensions which both have their own config file profiles with the secure: [] field like the jclcheck profile type and both pick up the Zowe credentials from the SCS fine.

zowe.config.json Location: If our zowe.config.json file is NOT located in the YourHomeDirectory/.zowe folder, did you open the folder in VSCode so that your configuration is found by Zowe Explorer?

My global config file is located in my C:\Users\username\.zowe folder. Just as a sanity test, I replicated this issue with VS Code opened in the .zowe folder just in case.

[swetadadu]

Thanks for checking it out.

Please let us know if you are still facing issues with JCLCheck usage or was it only the first time configuration issue.

Thanks
Sweta

[JWaters02]

Hey, my mainframe password changed today so I updated it in zowe explorer for my zosmf profile - which uses the base profile's credentials - but now when I run check JCL, I get this error:

JCLCheck REST API Error: Error: z/OSMF REST API Error:
Rest API failure with HTTP(S) status 401
messages: 
  - 
    messageType:       ERROR
    messageNumber:     BRSA401
    messageContent:    The request has not been applied because it lacks valid authentication credentials.
    messageReason:     The accessed resource requires authentication. The request is missing valid authentication credentials or the token expired.
    messageAction:     Review the product documentation for more details about acceptable authentication. Verify that your credentials are valid and contact security administrator to obtain valid credentials.
    messageKey:        com.broadcom.security.rest.unauthorized
    messageInstanceId: df0f754f-c8e6-409e-a61a-8c3fca150ff1
    messageComponent:  com.broadcom.restapi.sdk.CustomRestExceptionHandler
    messageSource:     <host>:<port>:cajclcheck

I suspect that JCL Check simply has not picked up the credential change on the base profile and is still using the ones I entered during first time setup, which are now wrong.

Just as a sanity check, I logged the credentials being fetched from Zowe/secure_config_props in the SCS and it returned:
{"C:\\Users\\username\\.zowe\\zowe.config.json":{"profiles.base.properties.user":"myuser","profiles.base.properties.password":"mypass"}}
meaning that yes, the credentials are definately updated for the base profile. So why is JCL Check not picking up the base profile credentials despite my config file?

As before, the workaround to fix this is to run cmdkey /delete:Zowe/secure_config_props then zowe config secure --global-config (and just running the latter command on its own does not work). Then when first running the check JCL command, enter the username and password into the quick picks.

[JWaters02]

FYI this issue is blocking us from being able to roll out this extension to devs. We cannot recommend devs to instal zowe CLI on their machines as the only known workaround for this bug. So this is certainly a high priority/breaking issue.

[swetadadu]

Hi Joshua,

The screenshot with the error is as expected when you don't have the valid credentials set in your system (REST/Zowe CLI/VSCode).

One key software requirement for running the JCLCheck VSCode extension is that "Zowe CLI and the JCLCheck Plug-in for Zowe CLI is installed on your PC." (https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=broadcomMFD.jcl-check-support)

Additionally, please note that every time your mainframe password changes, you'll need to re-enter your username and password in the quick picks when first running the JCLCheck command from the VSCode extension.

My team and I have confirmed that these two requirements cannot be changed at this time.

Please let us know if there's anything else we can assist you with.

Thanks
Sweta

[JWaters02]

Hi,

I have the Zowe CLI & JCLCheck plugin for Zowe CLI installed and did not get the quick picks to re-enter my username and password when first running the check command after my mainframe password changed.

However, here is something interesting! I got one of my colleagues to install the extension, add the jclcheck profile to his zowe config file and run the check command. Two things:

1. He does not have Zowe CLI installed. After I verified the extension works for him, I got him to run zowe jclcheck -h in a new command prompt and it said 'zowe' is not recognized as an internal or extenernal command, operable program or batch file. (i.e. command not found). This makes sense as we do not tell any developers to install Zowe CLI.
2. When he first ran the check command, he did not get the prompt to enter his username and password. I then checked this with another developer who also does not have Zowe CLI installed, and they also did not get this prompt.

So now we have found two things:

1. The bugs I have reported likely only exists with users who have Zowe CLI + JCLCheck plugin for CLI installed. If your team cannot replicate this issue, I wonder if maybe it is to do with us using base profiles rather than nested profiles?
2. The README is wrong to state that Zowe CLI + JCLCheck plugin for CLI is a requirement for this extension to work.

Hope this helps!

Thanks

[swetadadu]

Thanks Joshua, for your inputs.

We are not sure how you installed and tested this scenario. We have some question here -

1. Are you testing jclcheck extension directly(without zowe explorer) or are you using zowe explorer to test it.
2. Are you providing only zowe.config.json or both zowe.config.json along with zowe.schema.json to your colleague's machine, if not using zowe explorer.
3. If zowe.config.json that you are providing to your colleague's machine, is it from a system where it was installed properly thru zowe install.

In case you are following point 2 and 3 then its not a recommended approach.

If you are using Zowe Explorer, it can create a zowe.config.json file and can store a user and password into the secure credential store without Zowe CLI. Zowe Explorer presents interactive prompts to the user before performing either of those actions.

But running JCL Check without zowe explorer is also a valid use case.
If you do not have Zowe Explorer installed, then you use Zowe CLI to create a configuration and store credentials. And then use JCL Check extension to test JCL directly without having need to install zowe explorer.

Thanks
Sweta

[JWaters02]

Hi,

1. Yes we are both using JCL Check extension in VS Code with Zowe Explorer, and are using it with files opened from the mainframe from the Zowe Explorer data sets tree. I am the only person in my company who has installed Zowe CLI and any associated plugins (to test some other stuff).
2. N/A (using Zowe Explorer)
3. I just told him, that after installing the JCL Check extension in VS Code, restart VS Code (so that the extension adds its entry into the schema json file), then add this to their zowe.config.json:

    "jclcheck": {
            "type": "jclcheck",
            "properties": {
                "port": 7100,
                "basePath": "cajclcheck/api/v1",
                "rejectUnauthorized": false
            },
            "secure": []
        },

plus adding jclcheck to the defaults:

"defaults": {
        (other profiles)
        "jclcheck": "jclcheck",
        "base": "base"
    },

exactly the same config as I posted above.

Would it be any easier if we messaged over slack and/or jumped into a slack huddle so I can show exactly how it's setup and the bugs I am facing? I can talk to Vit or Kate to get us connected if you'd like.

Thanks

[swetadadu]

Hi,

I understand now that you are using zowe explorer, that's the reason you don't need zowe cli.
Sure we can setup a call to resolve you issues. You can ask Vit or Kate or if needed I/JCLCheck team can setup up the call too. Let us know your convenient time.

Thanks
Sweta

[swetadadu]

Hi Joshua,
We released a new version 3.0.2 with the fix. It fixed the profile merge issue between Zowe explorer and JCLCheck.

There is one scenario when you are inside another project level then profile merge does not work and you will be asked for credentials separately by both extensions.
That change which will be fixed via Zowe SDK later and will be available once Zowe explorer consumes that version of Zowe SDK.

If you would like to have a call regarding this let me know or let Vit or Kate know, we can have a call to walk you thru the scenario that should be avoided.

Thanks
Sweta