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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>.

NetBSD 10.99                   December 16, 2012                  NetBSD 10.99