diff --git a/internal/bbsimctl/commands/helpers.go b/internal/bbsimctl/commands/helpers.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f2a9ee1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/bbsimctl/commands/helpers.go
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2018-present Open Networking Foundation
+
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+ * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package commands
+
+import (
+	pb "github.com/opencord/bbsim/api/bbsim"
+	"github.com/opencord/bbsim/internal/bbsimctl/config"
+	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+	"google.golang.org/grpc"
+)
+
+func connect() (pb.BBSimClient, *grpc.ClientConn) {
+	conn, err := grpc.Dial(config.GlobalConfig.Server, grpc.WithInsecure())
+
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("did not connect: %v", err)
+		return nil, conn
+	}
+	return pb.NewBBSimClient(conn), conn
+}