SQLITE3(1) (Mon Apr 15 23:49:17 2002) 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 cou-
ple 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',
sqlite> insert into memos values('lunch with Christine',
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.
SQLITE3(1) (Mon Apr 15 23:49:17 2002) SQLITE3(1)
For example:
$ sqlite3 -line mydata.db 'select * from
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>
SQLITE3(1) (Mon Apr 15 23:49:17 2002) SQLITE3(1)
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.
-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. The
default.
-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 configura-
tion of the interactive environment. Throughout initializa-
tion, any previously specified setting can be overridden.
The sequence of initialization is as follows:
SQLITE3(1) (Mon Apr 15 23:49:17 2002) SQLITE3(1)
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 pro-
cessed.
o All other command line options are processed.
SEE ALSO
http://www.sqlite.org/
The sqlite-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 others). It was subsequently revised by Bill
Bumgarner <bbum@mac.com>.