Ubuntu Manpage: sqlite3 - A command line interface for SQLite version 3

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 3.43.0 2023-08-11 17:45:23
Enter ".help" for usage hints.
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

The available commands differ by version and build options, so they are not listed here. Please refer to
your local copy for all available options.

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 ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/sqlite3/sqliterc or ~/.sqliterc exists, the first of those to be found
       is processed during startup.  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.

AUTHOR