SQLITE3(1) | General Commands Manual | SQLITE3(1)

# NAME

`sqlite3` —
A command line interface for SQLite version 3

# SYNOPSIS

`sqlite3` | [options] [databasefile] [SQL]

# DESCRIPTION

`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.

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 3.1.3
    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
    .databases             List names and files of attached databases
    .dump ?TABLE? ...      Dump the database in an SQL text format
    .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.
    .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 on TABLE
    .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
    .schema ?TABLE?        Show the CREATE statements
    .separator STRING      Change separator used by output mode and .import
    .show                  Show the current values for various settings
    .tables ?PATTERN?      List names of tables matching a LIKE pattern
    .timeout MS            Try opening locked tables for MS milliseconds
    .width NUM NUM ...     Set column widths for "column" mode
    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.
`-header`
  Turn headers on.
`-noheader`
  Turn headers off.
`-column`
  Query results will be displayed in a table like form, using whitespace characters to separate the columns and align the output.
`-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.
`-separator` separator
  Set output field separator. Default is “|”.
`-nullvalue` string
  Set string used to represent `NULL` values. Default is “\” (empty string).
`-version`
  Show SQLite version.
`-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:

1. The default configuration is established as follows:

       mode            = LIST
       separator       = "|"
       main prompt     = "sqlite> "
       continue prompt = "   ...> "

2. 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.
3. If the `-init` option is present, the specified file is processed.
4. All other command line options are processed.

# SEE ALSO

http://www.sqlite.org/

# AUTHORS

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⟩.

December 16, 2012 | NetBSD 9.2