Splunk Dev

Difficulty getting -auth option recognised in query via Python subprocess.call()

TomJordan
Explorer

Hi,
I am experiencing difficulty entering credentials via -auth on a CLI query, when invoking via Python subprocess.call()

If I run the following via terminal after restarting the Splunk daemon:

splunk search "host=sampledata-1 sourcetype=access_combined_wcookie |outputcsv flowerseller.csv" -auth admin:changeme

it does not prompt me for my credentials and the query executes.

However, if I try and run query from a Python script using subprocess.call(), Splunk ignores/doesn't get the -auth and prompts me for my credentials on stdout. Once I enter the credentials the query executes. I have tried various permutations of quotes around the -auth, but can't get it to work.

Can anyone show me what I am doing wrong? It maybe more of a Python/newbie issue but I'm hoping someone in the community has some experience of this type of scenario.

(I know that there is a REST API for authentication, but I want to use the CLI for the moment)

Thanks in advance!

T.

Tags (1)
0 Karma
1 Solution

TomJordan
Explorer

Sorry, found out what the problem was, I was entering "-auth admin:changeme" as a single string, it should have been:

subprocess.call([path_to_splunk, "search", query, "-auth", "admin:changeme"])

View solution in original post

TomJordan
Explorer

Sorry, found out what the problem was, I was entering "-auth admin:changeme" as a single string, it should have been:

subprocess.call([path_to_splunk, "search", query, "-auth", "admin:changeme"])

rgamoji
Engager

Tom, thanks for the posting your observation here. It saved my day. I had been struggling with the same issue for quite some time now.

0 Karma
Got questions? Get answers!

Join the Splunk Community Slack to learn, troubleshoot, and make connections with fellow Splunk practitioners in real time!

Meet up IRL or virtually!

Join Splunk User Groups to connect and learn in-person by region or remotely by topic or industry.

Get Updates on the Splunk Community!

Make Your Machine Data AI-Ready in Splunk

Every team is getting ready for AI agents.   Thursday, November 12, 2026  |  11AM  PST / 2PM EST   ...

Splunk Asynchronous Forwarding Explained

Splunk asynchronous forwarding is often misunderstood as simply setting autoLBVolume. That is not quite right. ...

How to Monitor AI Agents with Splunk Agent Observability

Let’s say I’m running a travel planning AI app in production. A user asks for three concise hotel options in ...