f5-conx-core

F5 SDK for JavaScript with TypeScript type definitions. This library abstracts F5 BIG-IP and BIG-IQ API functionality, providing a unified interface for device management, Automated Tool Chain (ATC) services, and system operations.

Originally developed for the vscode-f5 extension, this SDK is designed to be reusable across multiple F5 automation projects.

Features

• Standardized HTTP REST calls to F5 devices

  • Authentication token and provider management
  • Async job monitoring with progress events
  • Request timing data for analytics/telemetry
  • File upload/download functionality

• Device discovery and management

  • Automatic device type detection (BIG-IP/BIG-IQ)
  • TMOS metadata collection
  • Version and capability discovery

• ATC Service Support

  • AS3 - Application Services 3
  • DO - Declarative Onboarding
  • TS - Telemetry Streaming
  • FAST - F5 Application Services Templates
  • CF - Cloud Failover Extension
  • Version management from GitHub
  • RPM install/uninstall

• System operations

  • UCS backup management
  • Qkview generation and retrieval
  • iHealth integration

• External HTTP calls

  • Custom user-agent identification
  • File downloads from external sources
  • Proxy support

• Event-driven architecture

  • EventEmitter-based logging and progress tracking

Installation

npm install f5-conx-core

Requirements

• Node.js 14.x or higher
• Network access to F5 BIG-IP or BIG-IQ devices
• Valid F5 device credentials

Quick Start

Basic Connection

import { F5Client } from 'f5-conx-core';

// Create client instance
const f5Client = new F5Client(
  'bigip.example.com',
  'admin',
  'password',
  {
    port: 443,
    provider: 'tmos'  // or 'ldap', 'radius', 'tacacs'
  }
);

// Discover device capabilities
await f5Client.discover();

// Make API calls
const version = await f5Client.https('/mgmt/tm/sys/version');
console.log(version.data);

Using ATC Services

// Deploy AS3 declaration
const as3Declaration = {
  class: "AS3",
  action: "deploy",
  // ... your AS3 config
};

const result = await f5Client.as3?.deploy(as3Declaration);
console.log('AS3 deployment:', result.data);

// Post DO declaration
const doDeclaration = {
  class: "Device",
  schemaVersion: "1.0.0",
  // ... your DO config
};

const doResult = await f5Client.do?.deploy(doDeclaration);

Event Monitoring

import { F5Client } from 'f5-conx-core';

const f5Client = new F5Client('bigip.example.com', 'admin', 'password');

// Listen for events
f5Client.events.on('log-info', (msg) => console.log('INFO:', msg));
f5Client.events.on('log-debug', (msg) => console.log('DEBUG:', msg));
f5Client.events.on('log-error', (msg) => console.error('ERROR:', msg));

await f5Client.discover();

UCS Backup Management

// Create UCS backup
const ucsCreate = await f5Client.ucs?.create('myBackup.ucs');

// List UCS files
const ucsList = await f5Client.ucs?.list();

// Download UCS
const ucsFile = await f5Client.ucs?.download('myBackup.ucs');

// Delete UCS
await f5Client.ucs?.delete('myBackup.ucs');

Install ATC Service

// Install AS3 from GitHub
const as3Install = await f5Client.atc?.install('as3', '3.50.0');

// Get installed ATC versions
const installedServices = await f5Client.atc?.getInstalledVersions();
console.log(installedServices);

Configuration

Cache Directory

By default, downloaded files are cached in /f5_cache. Override with the F5_CONX_CORE_CACHE environment variable:

export F5_CONX_CORE_CACHE=/path/to/custom/cache

Authentication Providers

Supported authentication providers:

• tmos (default) - Local BIG-IP authentication
• ldap - LDAP authentication
• radius - RADIUS authentication
• tacacs - TACACS+ authentication

const f5Client = new F5Client(
  'bigip.example.com',
  'admin',
  'password',
  { provider: 'ldap' }
);

Architecture

The SDK uses a layered client architecture:

1. F5Client - Main entry point, handles device discovery
2. MgmtClient - Device connectivity and token management
3. Service Clients - Specialized clients for ATC services (AS3, DO, TS, CF, FAST)
4. Utility Clients - UCS, Qkview, iHealth operations

All HTTP responses include detailed timing information via @szmarczak/http-timer for performance monitoring and telemetry.

// Example response with timings
{
  data: { /* response data */ },
  status: 200,
  request: {
    timings: {
      phases: {
        wait: 5,
        dns: 20,
        tcp: 30,
        tls: 100,
        request: 10,
        firstByte: 50,
        download: 15,
        total: 230
      }
    }
  }
}

API Reference

For detailed API documentation, see the TypeScript definitions in dist/index.d.ts or explore the source code with JSDoc annotations.

Core Classes

• F5Client - Main SDK entry point
• MgmtClient - Device management operations
• As3Client - Application Services 3
• DoClient - Declarative Onboarding
• TsClient - Telemetry Streaming
• FastClient - F5 Application Services Templates
• CfClient - Cloud Failover Extension
• UcsClient - UCS backup management
• QkviewClient - Qkview operations
• AtcMgmtClient - ATC package installation
• ExtHttp - External HTTP operations
• iHealthClient - iHealth service integration

Development

Build Commands

# Compile TypeScript
npm run compile

# Watch mode for development
npm run watch

# Build npm package
npm run build-package

Testing

# Run all unit tests
npm test

# Run linter
npm run lint

Tests use Mocha with nock for HTTP mocking. Integration tests (.int.tests.ts) require actual F5 device connectivity.

Code Coverage

Coverage thresholds are enforced via nyc:

• Lines: 60%
• Functions: 60%
• Branches: 60%
• Statements: 60%

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please follow these guidelines:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Write tests for new functionality
4. Ensure all tests pass and linting succeeds
5. Submit a pull request

Before contributing, please review the F5 Networks Contributor License Agreement.

Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Questions: Open a GitHub discussion or issue

Related Projects

• vscode-f5 - VS Code extension using this SDK
• F5 Automation Toolchain

License

Apache 2.0

Copyright

Copyright 2014-2025 F5 Networks Inc.

Note: This SDK is community-supported. For official F5 support, please use official F5 channels and products.