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SQLITE(1)                              General Commands Manual                             SQLITE(1)



NAME
       sqlite - A command line interface for SQLite

SYNOPSIS
       sqlite [options] filename [SQL]

   SUMMARY
       sqlite is a terminal-based front-end to the SQLite library. It enables you to type in queries
       interactively, issue them to SQLite and see the results. Alternatively, you can  specify  SQL
       code on the command-line. In addition it provides a number of meta-commands.


DESCRIPTION
       This  manual page documents briefly the sqlite command.  This manual page was written for the
       Debian GNU/Linux distribution because the original program does not have a manual page.

   GETTING STARTED
       To start the sqlite program, just type "sqlite" followed by the name the file that holds  the
       SQLite  database.  If the file does not exist, a new one is created automatically. The sqlite
       program will then prompt you to enter SQL. Type in SQL  statements  (terminated  by  a  semi‐
       colon), press "Enter" and the SQL will be executed.

       For  example,  to  create a new SQLite database named "ex1" with a single table named "tbl1",
       you might do this:

       $ sqlite ex1
       SQLite version 2.0.0
       Enter ".help" for instructions
       sqlite> create table tbl1(one varchar(10), two smallint);
       sqlite> insert into tbl1 values('hello!',10);
       sqlite> insert into tbl1 values('goodbye', 20);
       sqlite> select * from tbl1;
       hello!|10
       goodbye|20
       sqlite>



   SQLITE META-COMMANDS
       Most of the time, sqlite just reads lines of input and passes them on to the  SQLite  library
       for  execution.  But  if an input line begins with a dot ("."), then that line is intercepted
       and interpreted by the sqlite program itself. These "dot  commands"  are  typically  used  to
       change the output format of queries, or to execute certain prepackaged query statements.

       For a listing of the available dot commands, you can enter ".help" at any time. For example:

       sqlite> .help
       .dump ?TABLE? ...      Dump the database in an 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.
                              "off" will revert to the output mode that was
                              previously in effect
       .header(s) ON|OFF      Turn display of headers on or off
       .help                  Show this message
       .indices TABLE         Show names of all indices on TABLE
       .mode MODE             Set mode to one of "line(s)", "column(s)",
                              "insert", "list", or "html"
       .mode insert TABLE     Generate SQL insert statements for TABLE
       .nullvalue STRING      Print STRING instead of nothing for NULL data
       .output FILENAME       Send output to FILENAME
       .output stdout         Send output to the screen
       .prompt MAIN CONTINUE  Replace the standard prompts
                              "sqlite > " and "   ...> "
                              with the strings MAIN and CONTINUE
                              CONTINUE is optional.
       .quit                  Exit this program
       .read FILENAME         Execute SQL in FILENAME
       .reindex ?TABLE?       Rebuild indices
       .schema ?TABLE?        Show the CREATE statements
       .separator STRING      Change separator string for "list" mode
       .show                  Show the current values for the following:
                              .echo
                              .explain
                              .mode
                              .nullvalue
                              .output
                              .separator
                              .width
       .tables ?PATTERN?      List names of tables matching a pattern
       .timeout MS            Try opening locked tables for MS milliseconds
       .width NUM NUM ...     Set column widths for "column" mode
       sqlite>



OPTIONS
       The program has the following options:

       -init file
              Read  in  and process 'file', which contains "dot commands".  You can use this file to
              initialize display settings.

       -html  Set output mode to HTML.

       -list  Set output mode to 'list'.

       -line  Set output mode to 'line'.

       -column
              Set output mode to 'column'.

       -separator separator
              Specify which output field separator for 'list' mode to use.  Default is '|'.

       -nullvalue string
              When a null is encountered, print 'string'. Default is no string.

       -[no]header
              Turn headers on or off. Default is off.

       -echo  Print commands before execution.



OUTPUT MODE
       The SQLite program has different output modes, which define the way the output (from queries)
       is formatted.

       In  'list' mode, which is the default, one record per line is output, each field separated by
       the separator specified with the -separator option or .separator command.

       In 'line' mode, each column is output on its own line, records are separated by blank lines.

       In HTML mode, an XHTML table is generated.

       In 'column' mode, one record per line is output, aligned neatly in colums.


INIT FILE
       sqlite can be initialized using resource files. These can be combined with command line argu‐
       ments to set up sqlite exactly the way you want it.  Initialization proceeds as follows:

       o The defaults of


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


       are established.

       o If a file .sqliterc can be found in the user's home directory, it is read and processed. It
       should only contain "dot commands".  If the file is not found or cannot be  read,  processing
       continues without notification.

       o  If  a  file is specified on the command line with the -init option, it is processed in the
       same manner as .sqliterc

       o All other command line options are processed

       o The database is opened and you are now ready to begin.


SEE ALSO
       http://www.hwaci.com/sw/sqlite/
       The sqlite-doc package

AUTHOR
       This manual page was originally written by Andreas Rottmann <rotty AT debian.org>, for  the  De‐
       bian GNU/Linux system (but may be used by others).



                                      Mon Apr 15 23:49:17 2002                             SQLITE(1)