2. The terminal and your workspace

Gloom from your shell (the CLI)

The functions you open in panes also run from your computer's command line, printing a table or JSON and CSV for scripts and spreadsheets.

4 min
3 questions
Lesson 8 of 9

Why you would care

Can you get this number without opening the app? You want last year's daily prices for five stocks in a spreadsheet. Or a script that checks a yield every morning. Clicking and copying is slow and error-prone. The CLI gives you the same data as the panes, as text you can save, sort and reuse.

The idea from scratch

A CLI (command-line interface) is a program you run by typing in a shell: the text window of your computer (Terminal on a Mac, PowerShell on Windows). You type a command, press Enter, and it prints the answer.

Gloom's program is called gloomberb.

gloomberb alone opens the terminal app.
gloomberb <command> ... runs one command, prints the result, and exits.

The one command to know: fn

gloomberb fn <FUNCTION> <argument> runs a function the way its pane would, and prints its report.

gloomberb fn HP AAPL            # price history table
gloomberb fn CBR --json          # central bank rates as JSON
gloomberb fn OVME --spot 100 --strike 100 --days 30 --volatility 25

Options after the argument are the function's own settings. gloomberb catalog <FUNCTION> lists them, with examples.

Output formats

Flag	You get	Good for
(none)	A readable table that fits your window	Reading
`--json`	Structured data with every field	Scripts, AI tools
`--csv`	Comma-separated rows	Spreadsheets
`--ndjson`	One JSON object per line	Streams of rows

Other handy commands

Command	What it does
`gloomberb quote AAPL NVDA SPY`	Current quotes
`gloomberb search vodafone`	Find tickers and their listings
`gloomberb help`	Every command, grouped
`gloomberb catalog --all`	Every function, with its argument
`gloomberb shot TAS AAPL --output tape.png`	Save a picture of a pane
`gloomberb portfolio` / `watchlist`	Manage your lists

Diagram: Your shell leads to Gloom runs the HP function (gloomberb fn HP AAPL --csv); Gloom runs the HP function leads to Table text; Gloom runs the HP function leads to CSV for a spreadsheet; Gloom runs the HP function leads to JSON for a script. — Wide diagram: scroll sideways to see all of it.

See it in Gloom

This is what gloomberb quote AAPL NVDA SPY printed on 2026-10-06, before the US open (historical example):

Symbol  Name                                 Last     Chg%    Session  Cur  Source   Updated
AAPL    Apple Inc.                           $332.74  -0.05%  PRE-MKT  USD  delayed  2026-10-06 14:40
NVDA    NVIDIA Corporation                   $241.46  +1.07%  PRE-MKT  USD  delayed  2026-10-06 14:41
SPY     State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust  $777.67  +0.37%  PRE-MKT  USD  delayed  2026-10-06 14:41

Read it like a pane:

Last and Chg%: the price and the change since the previous close.
Session PRE-MKT: the US market had not opened yet; this is premarket trading.
Source delayed: this machine was signed out, so prices were about 15 minutes behind.
Updated: the time of the quote, in the computer's time zone.

The CLI uses the same account and plan as the app on that computer: signed in with Pro, the same command prints real-time prices.

Practice and recap

Try it3 tasks

Write the command that saves Microsoft's price history as a CSV file. (gloomberb fn HP MSFT --csv > msft.csv; the > sends the output into a file.)
Which flag would you use to feed a script? (--json.)
How do you find the settings a function accepts? (gloomberb catalog <FUNCTION>.)

Common mistakes4 mistakes

Forgetting the fn word: gloomberb HP AAPL is not a command; gloomberb fn HP AAPL is.
Reading a delayed CLI quote as live. Check the Source column.
Expecting every pane to print everything: a report contains what the pane shows; very wide tables can be cut in the readable view. Use --json for every field.
Running the app and a script with different accounts and comparing numbers.

Check yourself3 questions

What does gloomberb with no words after it do?
What is the difference between --csv and --json?
What does Source delayed tell you?

Answers

It opens the terminal app.
CSV is rows for a spreadsheet; JSON is structured data with every field, for scripts.
The quote is from the delayed feed, about 15 minutes behind for US stocks.

Words in this lesson5 words

CLI: Command-line interface: a program you run by typing commands.
shell: Your computer's text window where you type commands.
flag: An option added to a command, starting with --, like --json.
JSON: A structured text format that programs read easily.
CSV: Comma-separated values: rows of text that spreadsheets open.

Educational material about reading market data, not investment advice.