1SQLITE(1) General Commands Manual SQLITE(1)
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6 sqlite - A command line interface for SQLite
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9 sqlite [options] filename [SQL]
10 SUMMARY
12 sqlite is a terminal-based front-end to the SQLite library. It enables
13 you to type in queries interactively, issue them to SQLite and see the
14 results. Alternatively, you can specify SQL code on the command-line.
15 In addition it provides a number of meta-commands.
16
19 This manual page documents briefly the sqlite command. This manual
20 page was written for the Debian GNU/Linux distribution because the
21 original program does not have a manual page.
22 GETTING STARTED
24 To start the sqlite program, just type "sqlite" followed by the name
25 the file that holds the SQLite database. If the file does not exist, a
26 new one is created automatically. The sqlite program will then prompt
27 you to enter SQL. Type in SQL statements (terminated by a semicolon),
28 press "Enter" and the SQL will be executed.
29 For example, to create a new SQLite database named "ex1" with a single
31 table named "tbl1", you might do this:
32 $ sqlite ex1
34 SQLite version 2.0.0
35 Enter ".help" for instructions
36 sqlite> create table tbl1(one varchar(10), two smallint);
37 sqlite> insert into tbl1 values('hello!',10);
38 sqlite> insert into tbl1 values('goodbye', 20);
39 sqlite> select * from tbl1;
40 hello!|10
41 goodbye|20
42 sqlite>
43 SQLITE META-COMMANDS
47 Most of the time, sqlite just reads lines of input and passes them on
48 to the SQLite library for execution. But if an input line begins with a
49 dot ("."), then that line is intercepted and interpreted by the sqlite
50 program itself. These "dot commands" are typically used to change the
51 output format of queries, or to execute certain prepackaged query
52 statements.
53 For a listing of the available dot commands, you can enter ".help" at
55 any time. For example:
56 sqlite> .help
58 .dump ?TABLE? ... Dump the database in an text format
59 .echo ON|OFF Turn command echo on or off
60 .exit Exit this program
61 .explain ON|OFF Turn output mode suitable for EXPLAIN on or off.
62 "off" will revert to the output mode that was
63 previously in effect
64 .header(s) ON|OFF Turn display of headers on or off
65 .help Show this message
66 .indices TABLE Show names of all indices on TABLE
67 .mode MODE Set mode to one of "line(s)", "column(s)",
68 "insert", "list", or "html"
69 .mode insert TABLE Generate SQL insert statements for TABLE
70 .nullvalue STRING Print STRING instead of nothing for NULL data
71 .output FILENAME Send output to FILENAME
72 .output stdout Send output to the screen
73 .prompt MAIN CONTINUE Replace the standard prompts
74 "sqlite > " and " ...> "
75 with the strings MAIN and CONTINUE
76 CONTINUE is optional.
77 .quit Exit this program
78 .read FILENAME Execute SQL in FILENAME
79 .reindex ?TABLE? Rebuild indices
80 .schema ?TABLE? Show the CREATE statements
81 .separator STRING Change separator string for "list" mode
82 .show Show the current values for the following:
83 .echo
84 .explain
85 .mode
86 .nullvalue
87 .output
88 .separator
89 .width
90 .tables ?PATTERN? List names of tables matching a pattern
91 .timeout MS Try opening locked tables for MS milliseconds
92 .width NUM NUM ... Set column widths for "column" mode
93 sqlite>
94
98 The program has the following options:
99 -init file
101 Read in and process 'file', which contains "dot commands". You
102 can use this file to initialize display settings.
103 -html Set output mode to HTML.
105 -list Set output mode to 'list'.
107 -line Set output mode to 'line'.
109 -column
111 Set output mode to 'column'.
112 -separator separator
114 Specify which output field separator for 'list' mode to use.
115 Default is '|'.
116 -nullvalue string
118 When a null is encountered, print 'string'. Default is no
119 string.
120 -[no]header
122 Turn headers on or off. Default is off.
123 -echo Print commands before execution.
125
129 The SQLite program has different output modes, which define the way the
130 output (from queries) is formatted.
131 In 'list' mode, which is the default, one record per line is output,
133 each field separated by the separator specified with the -separator
134 option or .separator command.
135 In 'line' mode, each column is output on its own line, records are sep‐
137 arated by blank lines.
138 In HTML mode, an XHTML table is generated.
140 In 'column' mode, one record per line is output, aligned neatly in
142 colums.
143
146 sqlite can be initialized using resource files. These can be combined
147 with command line arguments to set up sqlite exactly the way you want
148 it. Initialization proceeds as follows:
149 o The defaults of
151 mode = LIST
154 separator = "|"
155 main prompt = "sqlite> "
156 continue prompt = " ...> "
157 are established.
160 o If a file .sqliterc can be found in the user's home directory, it is
162 read and processed. It should only contain "dot commands". If the file
163 is not found or cannot be read, processing continues without notifica‐
164 tion.
165 o If a file is specified on the command line with the -init option, it
167 is processed in the same manner as .sqliterc
168 o All other command line options are processed
170 o The database is opened and you are now ready to begin.
172
175 http://www.hwaci.com/sw/sqlite/
176 The sqlite-doc package
177
179 This manual page was originally written by Andreas Rottmann
180 <rotty@debian.org>, for the Debian GNU/Linux system (but may be used by
181 others).
182 Mon Apr 15 23:49:17 2002 SQLITE(1)