SQLITE3(1) General Commands Manual 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 couple of records into that table:
$ sqlite3 mydata.db
SQLite version 3.7.9
Enter ".help" for instructions
sqlite> create table memos(text, priority INTEGER);
sqlite> insert into memos values('deliver project description', 10);
sqlite> insert into memos values('lunch with Christine', 100);
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:
$ sqlite3 -line mydata.db 'select * from memos where priority > 20;'
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
.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
.exit Exit this program
.explain ?ON|OFF? Turn output mode suitable for EXPLAIN on or off.
With no args, it turns EXPLAIN on.
.header(s) 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 Print STRING in place of NULL values
.output FILENAME Send output to FILENAME
.output stdout Send output to the screen
.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
.schema ?TABLE? Show the CREATE statements
If TABLE specified, only show tables matching
LIKE pattern TABLE.
.separator STRING Change separator used by output mode and .import
.show Show the current values for various settings
.stats ON|OFF Turn stats on or off
.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
.width NUM1 NUM2 ... Set column widths for "column" mode
.timer ON|OFF Turn the CPU timer measurement on or off
sqlite>
OPTIONS
sqlite3 has the following options:
-init file
Read and execute commands from file , which can contain a mix of SQL statements and meta-commands.
-echo Print commands before execution.
-[no]header
Turn headers on or off.
-bail Stop after hitting an error.
-interactive
Force interactive I/O .
-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.
-csv Set output mode to CSV (comma separated values).
-html Query results will be output as simple HTML tables.
-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.
-separator separator
Set output field separator. Default is '|'.
-stats Print memory stats before each finalize.
-nullvalue string
Set string used to represent NULL values. Default is '' (empty string).
-version
Show SQLite version.
-vfs name
Use name as the default VFS .
-help Show help on options and exit.
INIT FILE
sqlite3 reads an initialization file to set the configuration of the interactive environment. Throughout initialization, any previously
specified setting can be overridden. The sequence of initialization is as follows:
o The default configuration is established as follows:
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 processed.
o All other command line options are processed.
SEE ALSO
http://www.sqlite.org/
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 oth-
ers). It was subsequently revised by Bill Bumgarner <bbum@mac.com> and further updated by Laszlo Boszormenyi <gcs@debian.hu> .
Sat Nov 5 15:57:18 CET 2011 SQLITE3(1)