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

Provided by: sqlite3_3.8.2-1ubuntu2.2_amd64

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.

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> .

                                          Sat Nov  5 15:57:18 CET 2011                                SQLITE3(1)