sqlite3(1)
SQLITE3(1) USER COMMANDS SQLITE3(1)
NAME
sqlite3 - A command line interface for SQLite version 3
SYNOPSIS
sqlite3 [options] [databasefile] [SQL]
SUMMARY
sqlite3 is a terminal-based front-end to the SQLite library
that can evaluate queries interactively and display the
results in multiple formats. sqlite3 can also be used
within shell scripts and other applications to provide batch
processing features.
DESCRIPTION
To start a sqlite3 interactive session, invoke the sqlite3
command and optionally provide the name of a database file.
If the database file does not exist, it will be created. If
the database file does exist, it will be opened.
For example, to create a new database file named
"mydata.db", create a table named "memos" and insert a cou-
ple of records into that table:
$ sqlite3 mydata.db
SQLite version 3.8.8
Enter ".help" for instructions
sqlite> create table memos(text, priority INTEGER);
sqlite> insert into memos values('deliver project descrip-
tion',
sqlite> insert into memos values('lunch with Christine',
sqlite> select * from memos;
deliver project description|10
lunch with Christine|100
sqlite>
If no database name is supplied, the ATTACH sql command can
be used to attach to existing or create new database files.
ATTACH can also be used to attach to multiple databases
within the same interactive session. This is useful for
migrating data between databases, possibly changing the
schema along the way.
Optionally, a SQL statement or set of SQL statements can be
supplied as a single argument. Multiple statements should
be separated by semi-colons.
For example:
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$ sqlite3 -line mydata.db 'select * from
text = lunch with Christine
priority = 100
SQLITE META-COMMANDS
The interactive interpreter offers a set of meta-commands
that can be used to control the output format, examine the
currently attached database files, or perform administrative
operations upon the attached databases (such as rebuilding
indices). Meta-commands are always prefixed with a dot
(.).
A list of available meta-commands can be viewed at any time
by issuing the '.help' command. For example:
sqlite> .help
.backup ?DB? FILE Backup DB (default "main") to FILE
.bail on|off Stop after hitting an error. Default OFF
.clone NEWDB Clone data into NEWDB from the existing database
.databases List names and files of attached databases
.dump ?TABLE? ... Dump the database in an SQL text format
If TABLE specified, only dump tables matching
LIKE pattern TABLE.
.echo on|off Turn command echo on or off
.eqp on|off Enable or disable automatic EXPLAIN QUERY PLAN
.exit Exit this program
.explain ?on|off? Turn output mode suitable for EXPLAIN on or off.
With no args, it turns EXPLAIN on.
.fullschema Show schema and the content of sqlite_stat tables
.headers on|off Turn display of headers on or off
.help Show this message
.import FILE TABLE Import data from FILE into TABLE
.indices ?TABLE? Show names of all indices
If TABLE specified, only show indices for tables
matching LIKE pattern TABLE.
.load FILE ?ENTRY? Load an extension library
.log FILE|off Turn logging on or off. FILE can be stderr/stdout
.mode MODE ?TABLE? Set output mode where MODE is one of:
csv Comma-separated values
column Left-aligned columns. (See .width)
html HTML <table> code
insert SQL insert statements for TABLE
line One value per line
list Values delimited by .separator string
tabs Tab-separated values
tcl TCL list elements
.nullvalue STRING Use STRING in place of NULL values
.once FILENAME Output for the next SQL command only to FILENAME
.open ?FILENAME? Close existing database and reopen FILENAME
.output ?FILENAME? Send output to FILENAME or stdout
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.print STRING... Print literal STRING
.prompt MAIN CONTINUE Replace the standard prompts
.quit Exit this program
.read FILENAME Execute SQL in FILENAME
.restore ?DB? FILE Restore content of DB (default "main") from FILE
.save FILE Write in-memory database into FILE
.schema ?TABLE? Show the CREATE statements
If TABLE specified, only show tables matching
LIKE pattern TABLE.
.separator STRING ?NL? Change separator used by output mode and .import
NL is the end-of-line mark for CSV
.shell CMD ARGS... Run CMD ARGS... in a system shell
.show Show the current values for various settings
.stats on|off Turn stats on or off
.system CMD ARGS... Run CMD ARGS... in a system shell
.tables ?TABLE? List names of tables
If TABLE specified, only list tables matching
LIKE pattern TABLE.
.timeout MS Try opening locked tables for MS milliseconds
.timer on|off Turn SQL timer on or off
.trace FILE|off Output each SQL statement as it is run
.vfsname ?AUX? Print the name of the VFS stack
.width NUM1 NUM2 ... Set column widths for "column" mode
Negative values right-justify
sqlite>
OPTIONS
sqlite3 has the following options:
-bail
Stop after hitting an error.
-batch
Force batch I/O.
-column
Query results will be displayed in a table like form,
using whitespace characters to separate the columns and
align the output.
-cmd command
run command before reading stdin
-csv Set output mode to CSV (comma separated values).
-echo
Print commands before execution.
-init file
Read and execute commands from file , which can contain
a mix of SQL statements and meta-commands.
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-[no]header
Turn headers on or off.
-help
Show help on options and exit.
-html
Query results will be output as simple HTML tables.
-interactive
Force interactive I/O.
-line
Query results will be displayed with one value per
line, rows separated by a blank line. Designed to be
easily parsed by scripts or other programs
-list
Query results will be displayed with the separator (|,
by default) character between each field value. The
default.
-mmap N
Set default mmap size to N
-nullvalue string
Set string used to represent NULL values. Default is
'' (empty string).
-separator separator
Set output field separator. Default is '|'.
-stats
Print memory stats before each finalize.
-version
Show SQLite version.
-vfs name
Use name as the default VFS.
INIT FILE
sqlite3 reads an initialization file to set the configura-
tion of the interactive environment. Throughout initializa-
tion, any previously specified setting can be overridden.
The sequence of initialization is as follows:
o The default configuration is established as follows:
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mode = LIST
separator = "|"
main prompt = "sqlite> "
continue prompt = " ...> "
o If the file ~/.sqliterc exists, it is processed first.
can be found in the user's home directory, it is read and
processed. It should generally only contain meta-commands.
o If the -init option is present, the specified file is pro-
cessed.
o All other command line options are processed.
SEE ALSO
http://www.sqlite.org/cli.html
The sqlite3-doc package.
AUTHOR
This manual page was originally written by Andreas Rottmann
<rotty@debian.org>, for the Debian GNU/Linux system (but may
be used by others). It was subsequently revised by Bill
Bumgarner <bbum@mac.com> and further updated by Laszlo
Boszormenyi <gcs@debian.hu> .
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