2 $PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/ref/psql-ref.sgml,v 1.246 2010/07/20 03:54:19 rhaas Exp $
3 PostgreSQL documentation
6 <refentry id="APP-PSQL">
8 <refentrytitle><application>psql</application></refentrytitle>
9 <manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
10 <refmiscinfo>Application</refmiscinfo>
14 <refname><application>psql</application></refname>
16 <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> interactive terminal
20 <indexterm zone="app-psql">
21 <primary>psql</primary>
26 <command>psql</command>
27 <arg rep="repeat"><replaceable class="parameter">option</replaceable></arg>
28 <arg><replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable>
29 <arg><replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable></arg></arg>
34 <title>Description</title>
37 <application>psql</application> is a terminal-based front-end to
38 <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>. It enables you to type in
39 queries interactively, issue them to
40 <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>, and see the query results.
41 Alternatively, input can be from a file. In addition, it provides a
42 number of meta-commands and various shell-like features to
43 facilitate writing scripts and automating a wide variety of tasks.
47 <refsect1 id="R1-APP-PSQL-3">
48 <title>Options</title>
52 <term><option>-a</></term>
53 <term><option>--echo-all</></term>
56 Print all input lines to standard output as they are read. This is more
57 useful for script processing than interactive mode. This is
58 equivalent to setting the variable <varname>ECHO</varname> to
59 <literal>all</literal>.
65 <term><option>-A</></term>
66 <term><option>--no-align</></term>
69 Switches to unaligned output mode. (The default output mode is
76 <term><option>-c <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable></></term>
77 <term><option>--command <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable></></term>
80 Specifies that <application>psql</application> is to execute one
81 command string, <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>,
82 and then exit. This is useful in shell scripts. Start-up files
83 (<filename>psqlrc</filename> and <filename>~/.psqlrc</filename>) are
84 ignored with this option.
87 <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable> must be either
88 a command string that is completely parsable by the server (i.e.,
89 it contains no <application>psql</application>-specific features),
90 or a single backslash command. Thus you cannot mix
91 <acronym>SQL</acronym> and <application>psql</application>
92 meta-commands with this option. To achieve that, you could
93 pipe the string into <application>psql</application>, like
94 this: <literal>echo '\x \\ SELECT * FROM foo;' | psql</literal>.
95 (<literal>\\</> is the separator meta-command.)
98 If the command string contains multiple SQL commands, they are
99 processed in a single transaction, unless there are explicit
100 <command>BEGIN</>/<command>COMMIT</> commands included in the
101 string to divide it into multiple transactions. This is
102 different from the behavior when the same string is fed to
103 <application>psql</application>'s standard input.
109 <term><option>-d <replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable></></term>
110 <term><option>--dbname <replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable></></term>
113 Specifies the name of the database to connect to. This is
114 equivalent to specifying <replaceable
115 class="parameter">dbname</replaceable> as the first non-option
116 argument on the command line.
119 If this parameter contains an <symbol>=</symbol> sign, it is treated as a
120 <parameter>conninfo</parameter> string. See <xref linkend="libpq-connect"> for more information.
126 <term><option>-e</></term>
127 <term><option>--echo-queries</></term>
130 Copy all SQL commands sent to the server to standard output as well.
132 to setting the variable <varname>ECHO</varname> to
133 <literal>queries</literal>.
139 <term><option>-E</></term>
140 <term><option>--echo-hidden</></term>
143 Echo the actual queries generated by <command>\d</command> and other backslash
144 commands. You can use this to study <application>psql</application>'s
145 internal operations. This is equivalent to
146 setting the variable <varname>ECHO_HIDDEN</varname> from within
147 <application>psql</application>.
153 <term><option>-f <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></></term>
154 <term><option>--file <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></></term>
157 Use the file <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable>
158 as the source of commands instead of reading commands interactively.
159 After the file is processed, <application>psql</application>
160 terminates. This is in many ways equivalent to the internal
161 command <command>\i</command>.
165 If <replaceable>filename</replaceable> is <literal>-</literal>
166 (hyphen), then standard input is read.
170 Using this option is subtly different from writing <literal>psql
172 class="parameter">filename</replaceable></literal>. In general,
173 both will do what you expect, but using <literal>-f</literal>
174 enables some nice features such as error messages with line
175 numbers. There is also a slight chance that using this option will
176 reduce the start-up overhead. On the other hand, the variant using
177 the shell's input redirection is (in theory) guaranteed to yield
178 exactly the same output you would have received had you entered
185 <term><option>-F <replaceable class="parameter">separator</replaceable></></term>
186 <term><option>--field-separator <replaceable class="parameter">separator</replaceable></></term>
189 Use <replaceable class="parameter">separator</replaceable> as the
190 field separator for unaligned output. This is equivalent to
191 <command>\pset fieldsep</command> or <command>\f</command>.
197 <term><option>-h <replaceable class="parameter">hostname</replaceable></></term>
198 <term><option>--host <replaceable class="parameter">hostname</replaceable></></term>
201 Specifies the host name of the machine on which the
202 server is running. If the value begins
203 with a slash, it is used as the directory for the Unix-domain
210 <term><option>-H</></term>
211 <term><option>--html</></term>
214 Turn on <acronym>HTML</acronym> tabular output. This is
215 equivalent to <literal>\pset format html</literal> or the
216 <command>\H</command> command.
222 <term><option>-l</></term>
223 <term><option>--list</></term>
226 List all available databases, then exit. Other non-connection
227 options are ignored. This is similar to the internal command
228 <command>\list</command>.
234 <term><option>-L <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></></term>
235 <term><option>--log-file <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></></term>
238 Write all query output into file <replaceable
239 class="parameter">filename</replaceable>, in addition to the
240 normal output destination.
246 <term><option>-n</></term>
247 <term><option>--no-readline</></term>
250 Do not use readline for line editing and do not use the history.
251 This can be useful to turn off tab expansion when cutting and pasting.
257 <term><option>-o <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></></term>
258 <term><option>--output <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></></term>
261 Put all query output into file <replaceable
262 class="parameter">filename</replaceable>. This is equivalent to
263 the command <command>\o</command>.
269 <term><option>-p <replaceable class="parameter">port</replaceable></></term>
270 <term><option>--port <replaceable class="parameter">port</replaceable></></term>
273 Specifies the TCP port or the local Unix-domain
274 socket file extension on which the server is listening for
275 connections. Defaults to the value of the <envar>PGPORT</envar>
276 environment variable or, if not set, to the port specified at
277 compile time, usually 5432.
283 <term><option>-P <replaceable class="parameter">assignment</replaceable></></term>
284 <term><option>--pset <replaceable class="parameter">assignment</replaceable></></term>
287 Specifies printing options, in the style of
288 <command>\pset</command>. Note that here you
289 have to separate name and value with an equal sign instead of a
290 space. For example, to set the output format to LaTeX, you could write
291 <literal>-P format=latex</literal>.
297 <term><option>-q</></term>
298 <term><option>--quiet</></term>
301 Specifies that <application>psql</application> should do its work
302 quietly. By default, it prints welcome messages and various
303 informational output. If this option is used, none of this
304 happens. This is useful with the <option>-c</option> option.
305 Within <application>psql</application> you can also set the
306 <varname>QUIET</varname> variable to achieve the same effect.
312 <term><option>-R <replaceable class="parameter">separator</replaceable></></term>
313 <term><option>--record-separator <replaceable class="parameter">separator</replaceable></></term>
316 Use <replaceable class="parameter">separator</replaceable> as the
317 record separator for unaligned output. This is equivalent to the
318 <command>\pset recordsep</command> command.
324 <term><option>-s</></term>
325 <term><option>--single-step</></term>
328 Run in single-step mode. That means the user is prompted before
329 each command is sent to the server, with the option to cancel
330 execution as well. Use this to debug scripts.
336 <term><option>-S</></term>
337 <term><option>--single-line</></term>
340 Runs in single-line mode where a newline terminates an SQL command, as a
346 This mode is provided for those who insist on it, but you are not
347 necessarily encouraged to use it. In particular, if you mix
348 <acronym>SQL</acronym> and meta-commands on a line the order of
349 execution might not always be clear to the inexperienced user.
356 <term><option>-t</></term>
357 <term><option>--tuples-only</></term>
360 Turn off printing of column names and result row count footers,
361 etc. This is equivalent to the <command>\t</command> command.
367 <term><option>-T <replaceable class="parameter">table_options</replaceable></></term>
368 <term><option>--table-attr <replaceable class="parameter">table_options</replaceable></></term>
371 Specifies options to be placed within the
372 <acronym>HTML</acronym> <sgmltag>table</sgmltag> tag. See
373 <command>\pset</command> for details.
379 <term><option>-U <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable></></term>
380 <term><option>--username <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable></></term>
383 Connect to the database as the user <replaceable
384 class="parameter">username</replaceable> instead of the default.
385 (You must have permission to do so, of course.)
391 <term><option>-v <replaceable class="parameter">assignment</replaceable></></term>
392 <term><option>--set <replaceable class="parameter">assignment</replaceable></></term>
393 <term><option>--variable <replaceable class="parameter">assignment</replaceable></></term>
396 Perform a variable assignment, like the <command>\set</command>
397 internal command. Note that you must separate name and value, if
398 any, by an equal sign on the command line. To unset a variable,
399 leave off the equal sign. To just set a variable without a value,
400 use the equal sign but leave off the value. These assignments are
401 done during a very early stage of start-up, so variables reserved
402 for internal purposes might get overwritten later.
408 <term><option>-V</></term>
409 <term><option>--version</></term>
412 Print the <application>psql</application> version and exit.
418 <term><option>-w</></term>
419 <term><option>--no-password</></term>
422 Never issue a password prompt. If the server requires password
423 authentication and a password is not available by other means
424 such as a <filename>.pgpass</filename> file, the connection
425 attempt will fail. This option can be useful in batch jobs and
426 scripts where no user is present to enter a password.
430 Note that this option will remain set for the entire session,
431 and so it affects uses of the meta-command
432 <command>\connect</command> as well as the initial connection attempt.
438 <term><option>-W</></term>
439 <term><option>--password</></term>
442 Force <application>psql</application> to prompt for a
443 password before connecting to a database.
447 This option is never essential, since <application>psql</application>
448 will automatically prompt for a password if the server demands
449 password authentication. However, <application>psql</application>
450 will waste a connection attempt finding out that the server wants a
451 password. In some cases it is worth typing <option>-W</> to avoid
452 the extra connection attempt.
456 Note that this option will remain set for the entire session,
457 and so it affects uses of the meta-command
458 <command>\connect</command> as well as the initial connection attempt.
464 <term><option>-x</></term>
465 <term><option>--expanded</></term>
468 Turn on the expanded table formatting mode. This is equivalent to the
469 <command>\x</command> command.
475 <term><option>-X,</></term>
476 <term><option>--no-psqlrc</></term>
479 Do not read the start-up file (neither the system-wide
480 <filename>psqlrc</filename> file nor the user's
481 <filename>~/.psqlrc</filename> file).
487 <term><option>-1</option></term>
488 <term><option>--single-transaction</option></term>
491 When <application>psql</application> executes a script with the
492 <option>-f</> option, adding this option wraps
493 <command>BEGIN</>/<command>COMMIT</> around the script to execute it
494 as a single transaction. This ensures that either all the commands
495 complete successfully, or no changes are applied.
499 If the script itself uses <command>BEGIN</>, <command>COMMIT</>,
500 or <command>ROLLBACK</>, this option will not have the desired
502 Also, if the script contains any command that cannot be executed
503 inside a transaction block, specifying this option will cause that
504 command (and hence the whole transaction) to fail.
510 <term><option>-?</></term>
511 <term><option>--help</></term>
514 Show help about <application>psql</application> command line
525 <title>Exit Status</title>
528 <application>psql</application> returns 0 to the shell if it
529 finished normally, 1 if a fatal error of its own occurs (e.g. out of memory,
530 file not found), 2 if the connection to the server went bad
531 and the session was not interactive, and 3 if an error occurred in a
532 script and the variable <varname>ON_ERROR_STOP</varname> was set.
540 <refsect2 id="R2-APP-PSQL-connecting">
541 <title>Connecting To A Database</title>
544 <application>psql</application> is a regular
545 <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> client application. In order
546 to connect to a database you need to know the name of your target
547 database, the host name and port number of the server, and what user
548 name you want to connect as. <application>psql</application> can be
549 told about those parameters via command line options, namely
550 <option>-d</option>, <option>-h</option>, <option>-p</option>, and
551 <option>-U</option> respectively. If an argument is found that does
552 not belong to any option it will be interpreted as the database name
553 (or the user name, if the database name is already given). Not all
554 of these options are required; there are useful defaults. If you omit the host
555 name, <application>psql</> will connect via a Unix-domain socket
556 to a server on the local host, or via TCP/IP to <literal>localhost</> on
557 machines that don't have Unix-domain sockets. The default port number is
558 determined at compile time.
559 Since the database server uses the same default, you will not have
560 to specify the port in most cases. The default user name is your
561 Unix user name, as is the default database name. Note that you cannot
562 just connect to any database under any user name. Your database
563 administrator should have informed you about your access rights.
567 When the defaults aren't quite right, you can save yourself
568 some typing by setting the environment variables
569 <envar>PGDATABASE</envar>, <envar>PGHOST</envar>,
570 <envar>PGPORT</envar> and/or <envar>PGUSER</envar> to appropriate
571 values. (For additional environment variables, see <xref
572 linkend="libpq-envars">.) It is also convenient to have a
573 <filename>~/.pgpass</> file to avoid regularly having to type in
574 passwords. See <xref linkend="libpq-pgpass"> for more information.
578 An alternative way to specify connection parameters is in a
579 <parameter>conninfo</parameter> string, which is used instead of a
580 database name. This mechanism give you very wide control over the
581 connection. For example:
583 $ <userinput>psql "service=myservice sslmode=require"</userinput>
585 This way you can also use LDAP for connection parameter lookup as
586 described in <xref linkend="libpq-ldap">.
587 See <xref linkend="libpq-connect"> for more information on all the
588 available connection options.
592 If the connection could not be made for any reason (e.g., insufficient
593 privileges, server is not running on the targeted host, etc.),
594 <application>psql</application> will return an error and terminate.
598 <refsect2 id="R2-APP-PSQL-4">
599 <title>Entering SQL Commands</title>
602 In normal operation, <application>psql</application> provides a
603 prompt with the name of the database to which
604 <application>psql</application> is currently connected, followed by
605 the string <literal>=></literal>. For example:
607 $ <userinput>psql testdb</userinput>
609 Type "help" for help.
616 At the prompt, the user can type in <acronym>SQL</acronym> commands.
617 Ordinarily, input lines are sent to the server when a
618 command-terminating semicolon is reached. An end of line does not
619 terminate a command. Thus commands can be spread over several lines for
620 clarity. If the command was sent and executed without error, the results
621 of the command are displayed on the screen.
625 Whenever a command is executed, <application>psql</application> also polls
626 for asynchronous notification events generated by
627 <xref linkend="SQL-LISTEN"> and
628 <xref linkend="SQL-NOTIFY">.
632 <refsect2 id="APP-PSQL-meta-commands">
633 <title>Meta-Commands</title>
636 Anything you enter in <application>psql</application> that begins
637 with an unquoted backslash is a <application>psql</application>
638 meta-command that is processed by <application>psql</application>
639 itself. These commands make
640 <application>psql</application> more useful for administration or
641 scripting. Meta-commands are often called slash or backslash commands.
645 The format of a <application>psql</application> command is the backslash,
646 followed immediately by a command verb, then any arguments. The arguments
647 are separated from the command verb and each other by any number of
648 whitespace characters.
652 To include whitespace into an argument you can quote it with a
653 single quote. To include a single quote into such an argument,
654 use two single quotes. Anything contained in single quotes is
655 furthermore subject to C-like substitutions for
656 <literal>\n</literal> (new line), <literal>\t</literal> (tab),
657 <literal>\</literal><replaceable>digits</replaceable> (octal), and
658 <literal>\x</literal><replaceable>digits</replaceable> (hexadecimal).
662 If an unquoted argument begins with a colon (<literal>:</literal>),
663 it is taken as a <application>psql</> variable and the value of the
664 variable is used as the argument instead. If the variable name is
665 surrounded by single quotes (e.g. <literal>:'var'</literal>), it
666 will be escaped as an SQL literal and the result will be used as
667 the argument. If the variable name is surrounded by double quotes,
668 it will be escaped as an SQL identifier and the result will be used
673 Arguments that are enclosed in backquotes (<literal>`</literal>)
674 are taken as a command line that is passed to the shell. The
675 output of the command (with any trailing newline removed) is taken
676 as the argument value. The above escape sequences also apply in
681 Some commands take an <acronym>SQL</acronym> identifier (such as a
682 table name) as argument. These arguments follow the syntax rules
683 of <acronym>SQL</acronym>: Unquoted letters are forced to
684 lowercase, while double quotes (<literal>"</>) protect letters
685 from case conversion and allow incorporation of whitespace into
686 the identifier. Within double quotes, paired double quotes reduce
687 to a single double quote in the resulting name. For example,
688 <literal>FOO"BAR"BAZ</> is interpreted as <literal>fooBARbaz</>,
689 and <literal>"A weird"" name"</> becomes <literal>A weird"
694 Parsing for arguments stops at the end of the line, or when another
695 unquoted backslash is found. An unquoted backslash
696 is taken as the beginning of a new meta-command. The special
697 sequence <literal>\\</literal> (two backslashes) marks the end of
698 arguments and continues parsing <acronym>SQL</acronym> commands, if
699 any. That way <acronym>SQL</acronym> and
700 <application>psql</application> commands can be freely mixed on a
701 line. But in any case, the arguments of a meta-command cannot
702 continue beyond the end of the line.
706 The following meta-commands are defined:
710 <term><literal>\a</literal></term>
713 If the current table output format is unaligned, it is switched to aligned.
714 If it is not unaligned, it is set to unaligned. This command is
715 kept for backwards compatibility. See <command>\pset</command> for a
716 more general solution.
722 <term><literal>\cd [ <replaceable>directory</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
725 Changes the current working directory to
726 <replaceable>directory</replaceable>. Without argument, changes
727 to the current user's home directory.
732 To print your current working directory, use <literal>\! pwd</literal>.
739 <term><literal>\C [ <replaceable class="parameter">title</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
742 Sets the title of any tables being printed as the result of a
743 query or unset any such title. This command is equivalent to
744 <literal>\pset title <replaceable
745 class="parameter">title</replaceable></literal>. (The name of
746 this command derives from <quote>caption</quote>, as it was
747 previously only used to set the caption in an
748 <acronym>HTML</acronym> table.)
754 <term><literal>\connect</literal> (or <literal>\c</literal>) <literal>[ <replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable> [ <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable> ] [ <replaceable class="parameter">host</replaceable> ] [ <replaceable class="parameter">port</replaceable> ] ]</literal></term>
757 Establishes a new connection to a <productname>PostgreSQL</>
758 server. If the new connection is successfully made, the
759 previous connection is closed. If any of <replaceable
760 class="parameter">dbname</replaceable>, <replaceable
761 class="parameter">username</replaceable>, <replaceable
762 class="parameter">host</replaceable> or <replaceable
763 class="parameter">port</replaceable> are omitted or specified
764 as <literal>-</literal>, the value of that parameter from the
765 previous connection is used. If there is no previous
766 connection, the <application>libpq</application> default for
767 the parameter's value is used.
771 If the connection attempt failed (wrong user name, access
772 denied, etc.), the previous connection will only be kept if
773 <application>psql</application> is in interactive mode. When
774 executing a non-interactive script, processing will
775 immediately stop with an error. This distinction was chosen as
776 a user convenience against typos on the one hand, and a safety
777 mechanism that scripts are not accidentally acting on the
778 wrong database on the other hand.
784 <term><literal>\conninfo</literal></term>
787 Outputs connection information about the current database
794 <term><literal>\copy { <replaceable class="parameter">table</replaceable> [ ( <replaceable class="parameter">column_list</replaceable> ) ] | ( <replaceable class="parameter">query</replaceable> ) }
795 { <literal>from</literal> | <literal>to</literal> }
796 { <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> | stdin | stdout | pstdin | pstdout }
800 [ delimiter [ as ] '<replaceable class="parameter">character</replaceable>' ]
801 [ null [ as ] '<replaceable class="parameter">string</replaceable>' ]
804 [ quote [ as ] '<replaceable class="parameter">character</replaceable>' ]
805 [ escape [ as ] '<replaceable class="parameter">character</replaceable>' ]
806 [ force quote <replaceable class="parameter">column_list</replaceable> | * ]
807 [ force not null <replaceable class="parameter">column_list</replaceable> ] ]</literal>
812 Performs a frontend (client) copy. This is an operation that
813 runs an <acronym>SQL</acronym> <xref linkend="SQL-COPY">
814 command, but instead of the server
815 reading or writing the specified file,
816 <application>psql</application> reads or writes the file and
817 routes the data between the server and the local file system.
818 This means that file accessibility and privileges are those of
819 the local user, not the server, and no SQL superuser
820 privileges are required.
824 The syntax of the command is similar to that of the
825 <acronym>SQL</acronym> <xref linkend="sql-copy">
826 command. Note that, because of this,
827 special parsing rules apply to the <command>\copy</command>
828 command. In particular, the variable substitution rules and
829 backslash escapes do not apply.
833 <literal>\copy ... from stdin | to stdout</literal>
834 reads/writes based on the command input and output respectively.
835 All rows are read from the same source that issued the command,
836 continuing until <literal>\.</literal> is read or the stream
837 reaches <acronym>EOF</>. Output is sent to the same place as
838 command output. To read/write from
839 <application>psql</application>'s standard input or output, use
840 <literal>pstdin</> or <literal>pstdout</>. This option is useful
841 for populating tables in-line within a SQL script file.
846 This operation is not as efficient as the <acronym>SQL</acronym>
847 <command>COPY</command> command because all data must pass
848 through the client/server connection. For large
849 amounts of data the <acronym>SQL</acronym> command might be preferable.
857 <term><literal>\copyright</literal></term>
860 Shows the copyright and distribution terms of
861 <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>.
867 <term><literal>\d[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
871 For each relation (table, view, index, or sequence) matching the
872 <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>, show all
873 columns, their types, the tablespace (if not the default) and any
874 special attributes such as <literal>NOT NULL</literal> or defaults.
875 Associated indexes, constraints, rules, and triggers are
877 (<quote>Matching the pattern</> is defined in
878 <xref linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns" endterm="APP-PSQL-patterns-title">
883 The command form <literal>\d+</literal> is identical, except that
884 more information is displayed: any comments associated with the
885 columns of the table are shown, as is the presence of OIDs in the
886 table, and the view definition if the relation is a view.
890 By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a
891 pattern or the <literal>S</literal> modifier to include system
897 If <command>\d</command> is used without a
898 <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> argument, it is
899 equivalent to <command>\dtvs</command> which will show a list of
900 all visible tables, views, and sequences. This is purely a convenience
908 <term><literal>\da[S] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
912 Lists aggregate functions, together with their
913 return type and the data types they operate on. If <replaceable
914 class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
915 is specified, only aggregates whose names match the pattern are shown.
916 By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a
917 pattern or the <literal>S</literal> modifier to include system
925 <term><literal>\db[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
929 Lists tablespaces. If <replaceable
930 class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
931 is specified, only tablespaces whose names match the pattern are shown.
932 If <literal>+</literal> is appended to the command name, each object
933 is listed with its associated permissions.
940 <term><literal>\dc[S] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
943 Lists conversions between character-set encodings.
944 If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
945 is specified, only conversions whose names match the pattern are
947 By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a
948 pattern or the <literal>S</literal> modifier to include system
956 <term><literal>\dC [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
960 If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
961 is specified, only casts whose source or target types match the
969 <term><literal>\dd[S] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
972 Shows the descriptions of objects matching the <replaceable
973 class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>, or of all visible objects if
974 no argument is given. But in either case, only objects that have
975 a description are listed.
976 By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a
977 pattern or the <literal>S</literal> modifier to include system
979 <quote>Object</quote> covers aggregates, functions, operators,
980 types, relations (tables, views, indexes, sequences), large
981 objects, rules, and triggers. For example:
983 => <userinput>\dd version</userinput>
985 Schema | Name | Object | Description
986 ------------+---------+----------+---------------------------
987 pg_catalog | version | function | PostgreSQL version string
993 Descriptions for objects can be created with the <xref
994 linkend="sql-comment">
995 <acronym>SQL</acronym> command.
1002 <term><literal>\ddp [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
1005 Lists default access privilege settings. An entry is shown for
1006 each role (and schema, if applicable) for which the default
1007 privilege settings have been changed from the built-in defaults.
1008 If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
1009 specified, only entries whose role name or schema name matches
1010 the pattern are listed.
1014 The <xref linkend="sql-alterdefaultprivileges"> command is used to set
1015 default access privileges. The meaning of the
1016 privilege display is explained under
1017 <xref linkend="sql-grant">.
1024 <term><literal>\dD[S] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
1027 Lists domains. If <replaceable
1028 class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
1029 is specified, only domains whose names match the pattern are shown.
1030 By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a
1031 pattern or the <literal>S</literal> modifier to include system
1039 <term><literal>\des[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
1042 Lists foreign servers (mnemonic: <quote>external
1044 If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
1045 specified, only those servers whose name matches the pattern
1046 are listed. If the form <literal>\des+</literal> is used, a
1047 full desription of each server is shown, including the
1048 server's ACL, type, version, and options.
1055 <term><literal>\deu[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
1058 Lists user mappings (mnemonic: <quote>external
1060 If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
1061 specified, only those mappings whose user names match the
1062 pattern are listed. If the form <literal>\deu+</literal> is
1063 used, additional information about each mapping is shown.
1068 <literal>\deu+</literal> might also display the user name and
1069 password of the remote user, so care should be taken not to
1078 <term><literal>\dew[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
1081 Lists foreign-data wrappers (mnemonic: <quote>external
1083 If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
1084 specified, only those foreign-data wrappers whose name matches
1085 the pattern are listed. If the form <literal>\dew+</literal>
1086 is used, the ACL and options of the foreign-data wrapper are
1094 <term><literal>\df[antwS+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
1098 Lists functions, together with their arguments, return types, and
1099 function types, which are classified as <quote>agg</> (aggregate),
1100 <quote>normal</>, <quote>trigger</>, or <quote>window</>.
1101 To display only functions
1102 of specific type(s), add the corresponding letters <literal>a</>,
1103 <literal>n</>, <literal>t</>, or <literal>w</> to the command.
1105 class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is specified, only
1106 functions whose names match the pattern are shown. If the
1107 form <literal>\df+</literal> is used, additional information
1108 about each function, including volatility, language, source
1109 code and description, is shown. By default, only user-created
1110 objects are shown; supply a pattern or the <literal>S</literal>
1111 modifier to include system objects.
1116 To look up functions taking arguments or returning values of a specific
1117 type, use your pager's search capability to scroll through the
1118 <literal>\df</> output.
1126 <term><literal>\dF[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
1129 Lists text search configurations.
1130 If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is specified,
1131 only configurations whose names match the pattern are shown.
1132 If the form <literal>\dF+</literal> is used, a full description of
1133 each configuration is shown, including the underlying text search
1134 parser and the dictionary list for each parser token type.
1140 <term><literal>\dFd[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
1143 Lists text search dictionaries.
1144 If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is specified,
1145 only dictionaries whose names match the pattern are shown.
1146 If the form <literal>\dFd+</literal> is used, additional information
1147 is shown about each selected dictionary, including the underlying
1148 text search template and the option values.
1154 <term><literal>\dFp[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
1157 Lists text search parsers.
1158 If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is specified,
1159 only parsers whose names match the pattern are shown.
1160 If the form <literal>\dFp+</literal> is used, a full description of
1161 each parser is shown, including the underlying functions and the
1162 list of recognized token types.
1168 <term><literal>\dFt[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
1171 Lists text search templates.
1172 If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is specified,
1173 only templates whose names match the pattern are shown.
1174 If the form <literal>\dFt+</literal> is used, additional information
1175 is shown about each template, including the underlying function names.
1182 <term><literal>\dg[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
1185 Lists database roles. If <replaceable
1186 class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is specified, only
1187 those roles whose names match the pattern are listed.
1188 (This command is now effectively the same as <literal>\du</literal>).
1189 If the form <literal>\dg+</literal> is used, additional information
1190 is shown about each role, including the comment for each role.
1197 <term><literal>\di[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
1198 <term><literal>\ds[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
1199 <term><literal>\dt[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
1200 <term><literal>\dv[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
1204 In this group of commands, the letters
1205 <literal>i</literal>, <literal>s</literal>,
1206 <literal>t</literal>, and <literal>v</literal>
1207 stand for index, sequence, table, and view, respectively.
1208 You can specify any or all of
1209 these letters, in any order, to obtain a listing of objects
1210 of these types. For example, <literal>\dit</> lists indexes
1211 and tables. If <literal>+</literal> is
1212 appended to the command name, each object is listed with its
1213 physical size on disk and its associated description, if any.
1214 If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
1215 specified, only objects whose names match the pattern are listed.
1216 By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a
1217 pattern or the <literal>S</literal> modifier to include system
1225 <term><literal>\dl</literal></term>
1228 This is an alias for <command>\lo_list</command>, which shows a
1229 list of large objects.
1236 <term><literal>\dn[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
1240 Lists schemas (namespaces). If <replaceable
1241 class="parameter">pattern</replaceable>
1242 is specified, only schemas whose names match the pattern are listed.
1243 Non-local temporary schemas are suppressed. If <literal>+</literal>
1244 is appended to the command name, each object is listed with its associated
1245 permissions and description, if any.
1252 <term><literal>\do[S] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
1255 Lists operators with their operand and return types.
1256 If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
1257 specified, only operators whose names match the pattern are listed.
1258 By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a
1259 pattern or the <literal>S</literal> modifier to include system
1267 <term><literal>\dp [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
1270 Lists tables, views and sequences with their
1271 associated access privileges.
1272 If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
1273 specified, only tables, views and sequences whose names match the
1278 The <xref linkend="sql-grant"> and
1279 <xref linkend="sql-revoke">
1280 commands are used to set access privileges. The meaning of the
1281 privilege display is explained under
1282 <xref linkend="sql-grant">.
1288 <term><literal>\drds [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">role-pattern</replaceable></link> [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">database-pattern</replaceable></link> ] ]</literal></term>
1291 Lists defined configuration settings. These settings can be
1292 role-specific, database-specific, or both.
1293 <replaceable>role-pattern</replaceable> and
1294 <replaceable>database-pattern</replaceable> are used to select
1295 specific roles and databases to list, respectively. If omitted, or if
1296 <literal>*</> is specified, all settings are listed, including those
1297 not role-specific or database-specific, respectively.
1301 The <xref linkend="sql-alterrole"> and
1302 <xref linkend="sql-alterdatabase">
1303 commands are used to define per-role and per-database configuration
1310 <term><literal>\dT[S+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
1314 If <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
1315 specified, only types whose names match the pattern are listed.
1316 If <literal>+</literal> is appended to the command name, each type is
1317 listed with its internal name and size, as well as its allowed values
1318 if it is an <type>enum</> type.
1319 By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a
1320 pattern or the <literal>S</literal> modifier to include system
1328 <term><literal>\du[+] [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
1331 Lists database roles. If <replaceable
1332 class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is specified, only
1333 those roles whose names match the pattern are listed.
1334 If the form <literal>\du+</literal> is used, additional information
1335 is shown about each role, including the comment for each role.
1342 <term><literal>\edit</literal> (or <literal>\e</literal>) <literal><optional> <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> </optional></literal></term>
1346 If <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> is
1347 specified, the file is edited; after the editor exits, its
1348 content is copied back to the query buffer. If no argument is
1349 given, the current query buffer is copied to a temporary file
1350 which is then edited in the same fashion.
1354 The new query buffer is then re-parsed according to the normal
1355 rules of <application>psql</application>, where the whole buffer
1356 is treated as a single line. (Thus you cannot make scripts this
1357 way. Use <command>\i</command> for that.) This means also that
1358 if the query ends with (or rather contains) a semicolon, it is
1359 immediately executed. In other cases it will merely wait in the
1365 <application>psql</application> searches the environment
1366 variables <envar>PSQL_EDITOR</envar>, <envar>EDITOR</envar>, and
1367 <envar>VISUAL</envar> (in that order) for an editor to use. If
1368 all of them are unset, <filename>vi</filename> is used on Unix
1369 systems, <filename>notepad.exe</filename> on Windows systems.
1377 <term><literal>\ef <optional> <replaceable class="parameter">function_description</replaceable> </optional></literal></term>
1381 This command fetches and edits the definition of the named function,
1382 in the form of a <command>CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION</> command.
1383 Editing is done in the same way as for <literal>\e</>.
1384 After the editor exits, the updated command waits in the query buffer;
1385 type semicolon or <literal>\g</> to send it, or <literal>\r</>
1390 The target function can be specified by name alone, or by name
1391 and arguments, for example <literal>foo(integer, text)</>.
1392 The argument types must be given if there is more
1393 than one function of the same name.
1397 If no function is specified, a blank <command>CREATE FUNCTION</>
1398 template is presented for editing.
1405 <term><literal>\echo <replaceable class="parameter">text</replaceable> [ ... ]</literal></term>
1408 Prints the arguments to the standard output, separated by one
1409 space and followed by a newline. This can be useful to
1410 intersperse information in the output of scripts. For example:
1412 => <userinput>\echo `date`</userinput>
1413 Tue Oct 26 21:40:57 CEST 1999
1415 If the first argument is an unquoted <literal>-n</literal> the trailing
1416 newline is not written.
1421 If you use the <command>\o</command> command to redirect your
1422 query output you might wish to use <command>\qecho</command>
1423 instead of this command.
1431 <term><literal>\encoding [ <replaceable class="parameter">encoding</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
1435 Sets the client character set encoding. Without an argument, this command
1436 shows the current encoding.
1443 <term><literal>\f [ <replaceable class="parameter">string</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
1447 Sets the field separator for unaligned query output. The default
1448 is the vertical bar (<literal>|</literal>). See also
1449 <command>\pset</command> for a generic way of setting output
1457 <term><literal>\g</literal> [ { <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> | <literal>|</literal><replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable> } ]</term>
1461 Sends the current query input buffer to the server and
1462 optionally stores the query's output in <replaceable
1463 class="parameter">filename</replaceable> or pipes the output
1464 into a separate Unix shell executing <replaceable
1465 class="parameter">command</replaceable>. A bare
1466 <literal>\g</literal> is virtually equivalent to a semicolon. A
1467 <literal>\g</literal> with argument is a <quote>one-shot</quote>
1468 alternative to the <command>\o</command> command.
1474 <term><literal>\help</literal> (or <literal>\h</literal>) <literal>[ <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
1477 Gives syntax help on the specified <acronym>SQL</acronym>
1478 command. If <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>
1479 is not specified, then <application>psql</application> will list
1480 all the commands for which syntax help is available. If
1481 <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable> is an
1482 asterisk (<literal>*</literal>), then syntax help on all
1483 <acronym>SQL</acronym> commands is shown.
1488 To simplify typing, commands that consists of several words do
1489 not have to be quoted. Thus it is fine to type <userinput>\help
1490 alter table</userinput>.
1498 <term><literal>\H</literal></term>
1501 Turns on <acronym>HTML</acronym> query output format. If the
1502 <acronym>HTML</acronym> format is already on, it is switched
1503 back to the default aligned text format. This command is for
1504 compatibility and convenience, but see <command>\pset</command>
1505 about setting other output options.
1512 <term><literal>\i <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></literal></term>
1515 Reads input from the file <replaceable
1516 class="parameter">filename</replaceable> and executes it as
1517 though it had been typed on the keyboard.
1521 If you want to see the lines on the screen as they are read you
1522 must set the variable <varname>ECHO</varname> to
1523 <literal>all</literal>.
1531 <term><literal>\l</literal> (or <literal>\list</literal>)</term>
1532 <term><literal>\l+</literal> (or <literal>\list+</literal>)</term>
1535 List the names, owners, character set encodings, and access privileges
1536 of all the databases in the server.
1537 If <literal>+</literal> is appended to the command name, database
1538 sizes, default tablespaces, and descriptions are also displayed.
1539 (Size information is only available for databases that the current
1540 user can connect to.)
1547 <term><literal>\lo_export <replaceable class="parameter">loid</replaceable> <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></literal></term>
1551 Reads the large object with <acronym>OID</acronym> <replaceable
1552 class="parameter">loid</replaceable> from the database and
1553 writes it to <replaceable
1554 class="parameter">filename</replaceable>. Note that this is
1555 subtly different from the server function
1556 <function>lo_export</function>, which acts with the permissions
1557 of the user that the database server runs as and on the server's
1562 Use <command>\lo_list</command> to find out the large object's
1563 <acronym>OID</acronym>.
1571 <term><literal>\lo_import <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> [ <replaceable class="parameter">comment</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
1575 Stores the file into a <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
1576 large object. Optionally, it associates the given
1577 comment with the object. Example:
1579 foo=> <userinput>\lo_import '/home/peter/pictures/photo.xcf' 'a picture of me'</userinput>
1582 The response indicates that the large object received object
1583 ID 152801, which can be used to access the newly-created large
1584 object in the future. For the sake of readability, it is
1585 recommended to always associate a human-readable comment with
1586 every object. Both OIDs and comments can be viewed with the
1587 <command>\lo_list</command> command.
1591 Note that this command is subtly different from the server-side
1592 <function>lo_import</function> because it acts as the local user
1593 on the local file system, rather than the server's user and file
1600 <term><literal>\lo_list</literal></term>
1603 Shows a list of all <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
1604 large objects currently stored in the database,
1605 along with any comments provided for them.
1611 <term><literal>\lo_unlink <replaceable class="parameter">loid</replaceable></literal></term>
1615 Deletes the large object with <acronym>OID</acronym>
1616 <replaceable class="parameter">loid</replaceable> from the
1622 Use <command>\lo_list</command> to find out the large object's
1623 <acronym>OID</acronym>.
1631 <term><literal>\o</literal> [ {<replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> | <literal>|</literal><replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>} ]</term>
1635 Saves future query results to the file <replaceable
1636 class="parameter">filename</replaceable> or pipes future results
1637 into a separate Unix shell to execute <replaceable
1638 class="parameter">command</replaceable>. If no arguments are
1639 specified, the query output will be reset to the standard output.
1643 <quote>Query results</quote> includes all tables, command
1644 responses, and notices obtained from the database server, as
1645 well as output of various backslash commands that query the
1646 database (such as <command>\d</command>), but not error
1652 To intersperse text output in between query results, use
1653 <command>\qecho</command>.
1661 <term><literal>\p</literal></term>
1664 Print the current query buffer to the standard output.
1670 <term><literal>\password [ <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
1673 Changes the password of the specified user (by default, the current
1674 user). This command prompts for the new password, encrypts it, and
1675 sends it to the server as an <command>ALTER ROLE</> command. This
1676 makes sure that the new password does not appear in cleartext in the
1677 command history, the server log, or elsewhere.
1683 <term><literal>\prompt [ <replaceable class="parameter">text</replaceable> ] <replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable></literal></term>
1686 Prompts the user to set variable <replaceable
1687 class="parameter">name</>. An optional prompt, <replaceable
1688 class="parameter">text</>, can be specified. (For multi-word
1689 prompts, use single-quotes.)
1693 By default, <literal>\prompt</> uses the terminal for input and
1694 output. However, if the <option>-f</> command line switch is
1695 used, <literal>\prompt</> uses standard input and standard output.
1701 <term><literal>\pset <replaceable class="parameter">option</replaceable> [ <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
1705 This command sets options affecting the output of query result tables.
1706 <replaceable class="parameter">option</replaceable>
1707 indicates which option is to be set. The semantics of
1708 <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> vary depending
1709 on the selected option. For some options, omitting <replaceable
1710 class="parameter">value</replaceable> causes the option to be toggled
1711 or unset, as described under the particular option. If no such
1712 behavior is mentioned, then omitting
1713 <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> just results in
1714 the current setting being displayed.
1718 Adjustable printing options are:
1721 <term><literal>format</literal></term>
1724 Sets the output format to one of <literal>unaligned</literal>,
1725 <literal>aligned</literal>, <literal>wrapped</literal>,
1726 <literal>html</literal>,
1727 <literal>latex</literal>, or <literal>troff-ms</literal>.
1728 Unique abbreviations are allowed. (That would mean one letter
1733 <literal>unaligned</> format writes all columns of a row on one
1734 line, separated by the currently active field separator. This
1735 is useful for creating output that might be intended to be read
1736 in by other programs (for example, tab-separated or comma-separated
1741 <literal>aligned</literal> format is the standard, human-readable,
1742 nicely formatted text output; this is the default.
1746 <literal>wrapped</> format is like <literal>aligned</> but wraps
1747 wide data values across lines to make the output fit in the target
1748 column width. The target width is determined as described under
1749 the <literal>columns</> option. Note that <application>psql</> will
1750 not attempt to wrap column header titles; therefore,
1751 <literal>wrapped</> format behaves the same as <literal>aligned</>
1752 if the total width needed for column headers exceeds the target.
1756 The <literal>html</>, <literal>latex</>, and <literal>troff-ms</>
1757 formats put out tables that are intended to
1758 be included in documents using the respective mark-up
1759 language. They are not complete documents! (This might not be
1760 so dramatic in <acronym>HTML</acronym>, but in LaTeX you must
1761 have a complete document wrapper.)
1767 <term><literal>columns</literal></term>
1770 Sets the target width for the <literal>wrapped</> format, and also
1771 the width limit for determining whether output is wide enough to
1773 Zero (the default) causes the target width to be controlled by the
1774 environment variable <envar>COLUMNS</>, or the detected screen width
1775 if <envar>COLUMNS</> is not set.
1776 In addition, if <literal>columns</> is zero then the
1777 <literal>wrapped</> format only affects screen output.
1778 If <literal>columns</> is nonzero then file and pipe output is
1779 wrapped to that width as well.
1785 <term><literal>border</literal></term>
1788 The <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> must be a
1789 number. In general, the higher
1790 the number the more borders and lines the tables will have,
1791 but this depends on the particular format. In
1792 <acronym>HTML</acronym> format, this will translate directly
1793 into the <literal>border=...</literal> attribute; in the
1794 other formats only values 0 (no border), 1 (internal dividing lines),
1795 and 2 (table frame) make sense.
1801 <term><literal>linestyle</literal></term>
1804 Sets the border line drawing style to one
1805 of <literal>ascii</literal>, <literal>old-ascii</literal>
1806 or <literal>unicode</literal>.
1807 Unique abbreviations are allowed. (That would mean one
1809 The default setting is <literal>ascii</>.
1810 This option only affects the <literal>aligned</> and
1811 <literal>wrapped</> output formats.
1815 <literal>ascii</literal> style uses plain <acronym>ASCII</acronym>
1816 characters. Newlines in data are shown using
1817 a <literal>+</literal> symbol in the right-hand margin.
1818 When the <literal>wrapped</literal> format wraps data from
1819 one line to the next without a newline character, a dot
1820 (<literal>.</>) is shown in the right-hand margin of the first line,
1821 and again in the left-hand margin of the following line.
1825 <literal>old-ascii</literal> style uses plain <acronym>ASCII</>
1826 characters, using the formatting style used
1827 in <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> 8.4 and earlier.
1828 Newlines in data are shown using a <literal>:</literal>
1829 symbol in place of the left-hand column separator.
1830 When the data is wrapped from one line
1831 to the next without a newline character, a <literal>;</>
1832 symbol is used in place of the left-hand column separator.
1836 <literal>unicode</literal> style uses Unicode box-drawing characters.
1837 Newlines in data are shown using a carriage return symbol
1838 in the right-hand margin. When the data is wrapped from one line
1839 to the next without a newline character, an ellipsis symbol
1840 is shown in the right-hand margin of the first line, and
1841 again in the left-hand margin of the following line.
1845 When the <literal>border</> setting is greater than zero,
1846 this option also determines the characters
1847 with which the border lines are drawn.
1848 Plain <acronym>ASCII</acronym> characters work everywhere, but
1849 Unicode characters look nicer on displays that recognize them.
1855 <term><literal>expanded</literal> (or <literal>x</literal>)</term>
1858 If <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> is specified
1859 it must be either <literal>on</literal> or <literal>off</literal>
1860 which will enable or disable expanded mode. If <replaceable
1861 class="parameter">value</replaceable> is omitted the command toggles
1862 between regular and expanded mode.
1863 When expanded mode is enabled, query results
1864 are displayed in two columns, with the column name on the left and
1865 the data on the right. This mode is useful if the data wouldn't fit
1866 on the screen in the normal <quote>horizontal</quote> mode.
1872 <term><literal>null</literal></term>
1875 Sets the string to be printed in place of a null value.
1876 The default is to print nothing, which can easily be mistaken for
1877 an empty string. For example, one might prefer <literal>\pset null
1884 <term><literal>fieldsep</literal></term>
1887 Specifies the field separator to be used in unaligned output
1888 format. That way one can create, for example, tab- or
1889 comma-separated output, which other programs might prefer. To
1890 set a tab as field separator, type <literal>\pset fieldsep
1891 '\t'</literal>. The default field separator is
1892 <literal>'|'</literal> (a vertical bar).
1898 <term><literal>footer</literal></term>
1901 If <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> is specified
1902 it must be either <literal>on</literal> or <literal>off</literal>
1903 which will enable or disable display of the table footer
1904 (the <literal>(<replaceable>n</> rows)</literal> count).
1905 If <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> is omitted the
1906 command toggles footer display on or off.
1912 <term><literal>numericlocale</literal></term>
1915 If <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> is specified
1916 it must be either <literal>on</literal> or <literal>off</literal>
1917 which will enable or disable display of a locale-specific character
1918 to separate groups of digits to the left of the decimal marker.
1919 If <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> is omitted the
1920 command toggles between regular and locale-specific numeric output.
1926 <term><literal>recordsep</literal></term>
1929 Specifies the record (line) separator to use in unaligned
1930 output format. The default is a newline character.
1936 <term><literal>tuples_only</literal> (or <literal>t</literal>)</term>
1939 If <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> is specified
1940 it must be either <literal>on</literal> or <literal>off</literal>
1941 which will enable or disable tuples-only mode.
1942 If <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> is omitted the
1943 command toggles between regular and tuples-only output.
1944 Regular output includes extra information such
1945 as column headers, titles, and various footers. In tuples-only
1946 mode, only actual table data is shown.
1952 <term><literal>title</literal></term>
1955 Sets the table title for any subsequently printed tables. This
1956 can be used to give your output descriptive tags. If no
1957 <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> is given,
1964 <term><literal>tableattr</literal> (or <literal>T</literal>)</term>
1967 Specifies attributes to be placed inside the
1968 <acronym>HTML</acronym> <sgmltag>table</sgmltag> tag in
1969 <literal>html</> output format. This
1970 could for example be <literal>cellpadding</literal> or
1971 <literal>bgcolor</literal>. Note that you probably don't want
1972 to specify <literal>border</literal> here, as that is already
1973 taken care of by <literal>\pset border</literal>.
1975 <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> is given,
1976 the table attributes are unset.
1982 <term><literal>pager</literal></term>
1985 Controls use of a pager program for query and <application>psql</>
1986 help output. If the environment variable <envar>PAGER</envar>
1987 is set, the output is piped to the specified program.
1988 Otherwise a platform-dependent default (such as
1989 <filename>more</filename>) is used.
1993 When the <literal>pager</> option is <literal>off</>, the pager
1994 program is not used. When the <literal>pager</> option is
1995 <literal>on</>, the pager is used when appropriate, i.e., when the
1996 output is to a terminal and will not fit on the screen.
1997 The <literal>pager</> option can also be set to <literal>always</>,
1998 which causes the pager to be used for all terminal output regardless
1999 of whether it fits on the screen. <literal>\pset pager</>
2000 without a <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable>
2001 toggles pager use on and off.
2009 Illustrations of how these different formats look can be seen in
2010 the <xref linkend="APP-PSQL-examples"
2011 endterm="APP-PSQL-examples-title"> section.
2016 There are various shortcut commands for <command>\pset</command>. See
2017 <command>\a</command>, <command>\C</command>, <command>\H</command>,
2018 <command>\t</command>, <command>\T</command>, and <command>\x</command>.
2024 It is an error to call <command>\pset</command> without any
2025 arguments. In the future this case might show the current status
2026 of all printing options.
2035 <term><literal>\q</literal></term>
2038 Quits the <application>psql</application> program.
2045 <term><literal>\qecho <replaceable class="parameter">text</replaceable> [ ... ] </literal></term>
2048 This command is identical to <command>\echo</command> except
2049 that the output will be written to the query output channel, as
2050 set by <command>\o</command>.
2057 <term><literal>\r</literal></term>
2060 Resets (clears) the query buffer.
2067 <term><literal>\s [ <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
2070 Print or save the command line history to <replaceable
2071 class="parameter">filename</replaceable>. If <replaceable
2072 class="parameter">filename</replaceable> is omitted, the history
2073 is written to the standard output. This option is only available
2074 if <application>psql</application> is configured to use the
2075 <acronym>GNU</acronym> <application>Readline</application> library.
2082 <term><literal>\set [ <replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable> [ <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> [ ... ] ] ]</literal></term>
2086 Sets the internal variable <replaceable
2087 class="parameter">name</replaceable> to <replaceable
2088 class="parameter">value</replaceable> or, if more than one value
2089 is given, to the concatenation of all of them. If no second
2090 argument is given, the variable is just set with no value. To
2091 unset a variable, use the <command>\unset</command> command.
2095 Valid variable names can contain characters, digits, and
2096 underscores. See the section <xref
2097 linkend="APP-PSQL-variables"
2098 endterm="APP-PSQL-variables-title"> below for details.
2099 Variable names are case-sensitive.
2103 Although you are welcome to set any variable to anything you
2104 want, <application>psql</application> treats several variables
2105 as special. They are documented in the section about variables.
2110 This command is totally separate from the <acronym>SQL</acronym>
2111 command <xref linkend="SQL-SET">.
2119 <term><literal>\t</literal></term>
2122 Toggles the display of output column name headings and row count
2123 footer. This command is equivalent to <literal>\pset
2124 tuples_only</literal> and is provided for convenience.
2131 <term><literal>\T <replaceable class="parameter">table_options</replaceable></literal></term>
2134 Specifies attributes to be placed within the
2135 <sgmltag>table</sgmltag> tag in <acronym>HTML</acronym>
2136 output format. This command is equivalent to <literal>\pset
2137 tableattr <replaceable
2138 class="parameter">table_options</replaceable></literal>.
2145 <term><literal>\timing [ <replaceable class="parameter">on</replaceable> | <replaceable class="parameter">off</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
2148 Without parameter, toggles a display of how long each SQL statement
2149 takes, in milliseconds. With parameter, sets same.
2156 <term><literal>\w</literal> <replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></term>
2157 <term><literal>\w</literal> <literal>|</><replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable></term>
2160 Outputs the current query buffer to the file <replaceable
2161 class="parameter">filename</replaceable> or pipes it to the Unix
2162 command <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>.
2169 <term><literal>\x</literal></term>
2172 Toggles expanded table formatting mode. As such it is equivalent to
2173 <literal>\pset expanded</literal>.
2180 <term><literal>\z [ <link linkend="APP-PSQL-patterns"><replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable></link> ]</literal></term>
2183 Lists tables, views and sequences with their
2184 associated access privileges.
2185 If a <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> is
2186 specified, only tables, views and sequences whose names match the
2191 This is an alias for <command>\dp</command> (<quote>display
2192 privileges</quote>).
2199 <term><literal>\! [ <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable> ]</literal></term>
2202 Escapes to a separate Unix shell or executes the Unix command
2203 <replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable>. The
2204 arguments are not further interpreted; the shell will see them
2212 <term><literal>\?</literal></term>
2215 Shows help information about the backslash commands.
2223 <refsect3 id="APP-PSQL-patterns">
2224 <title id="APP-PSQL-patterns-title">Patterns</title>
2227 <primary>patterns</primary>
2228 <secondary>in psql and pg_dump</secondary>
2232 The various <literal>\d</> commands accept a <replaceable
2233 class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> parameter to specify the
2234 object name(s) to be displayed. In the simplest case, a pattern
2235 is just the exact name of the object. The characters within a
2236 pattern are normally folded to lower case, just as in SQL names;
2237 for example, <literal>\dt FOO</> will display the table named
2238 <literal>foo</>. As in SQL names, placing double quotes around
2239 a pattern stops folding to lower case. Should you need to include
2240 an actual double quote character in a pattern, write it as a pair
2241 of double quotes within a double-quote sequence; again this is in
2242 accord with the rules for SQL quoted identifiers. For example,
2243 <literal>\dt "FOO""BAR"</> will display the table named
2244 <literal>FOO"BAR</> (not <literal>foo"bar</>). Unlike the normal
2245 rules for SQL names, you can put double quotes around just part
2246 of a pattern, for instance <literal>\dt FOO"FOO"BAR</> will display
2247 the table named <literal>fooFOObar</>.
2251 Whenever the <replaceable class="parameter">pattern</replaceable> parameter
2252 is omitted completely, the <literal>\d</> commands display all objects
2253 that are visible in the current schema search path — this is
2254 equivalent to using <literal>*</> as the pattern.
2255 (An object is said to be <firstterm>visible</> if its
2256 containing schema is in the search path and no object of the same
2257 kind and name appears earlier in the search path. This is equivalent to the
2258 statement that the object can be referenced by name without explicit
2259 schema qualification.)
2260 To see all objects in the database regardless of visibility,
2261 use <literal>*.*</> as the pattern.
2265 Within a pattern, <literal>*</> matches any sequence of characters
2266 (including no characters) and <literal>?</> matches any single character.
2267 (This notation is comparable to Unix shell file name patterns.)
2268 For example, <literal>\dt int*</> displays tables whose names
2269 begin with <literal>int</>. But within double quotes, <literal>*</>
2270 and <literal>?</> lose these special meanings and are just matched
2275 A pattern that contains a dot (<literal>.</>) is interpreted as a schema
2276 name pattern followed by an object name pattern. For example,
2277 <literal>\dt foo*.*bar*</> displays all tables whose table name
2278 includes <literal>bar</> that are in schemas whose schema name
2279 starts with <literal>foo</>. When no dot appears, then the pattern
2280 matches only objects that are visible in the current schema search path.
2281 Again, a dot within double quotes loses its special meaning and is matched
2286 Advanced users can use regular-expression notations such as character
2287 classes, for example <literal>[0-9]</> to match any digit. All regular
2288 expression special characters work as specified in
2289 <xref linkend="functions-posix-regexp">, except for <literal>.</> which
2290 is taken as a separator as mentioned above, <literal>*</> which is
2291 translated to the regular-expression notation <literal>.*</>,
2292 <literal>?</> which is translated to <literal>.</>, and
2293 <literal>$</> which is matched literally. You can emulate
2294 these pattern characters at need by writing
2295 <literal>?</> for <literal>.</>,
2296 <literal>(<replaceable class="parameter">R</replaceable>+|)</literal> for
2297 <literal><replaceable class="parameter">R</replaceable>*</literal>, or
2298 <literal>(<replaceable class="parameter">R</replaceable>|)</literal> for
2299 <literal><replaceable class="parameter">R</replaceable>?</literal>.
2300 <literal>$</> is not needed as a regular-expression character since
2301 the pattern must match the whole name, unlike the usual
2302 interpretation of regular expressions (in other words, <literal>$</>
2303 is automatically appended to your pattern). Write <literal>*</> at the
2304 beginning and/or end if you don't wish the pattern to be anchored.
2305 Note that within double quotes, all regular expression special characters
2306 lose their special meanings and are matched literally. Also, the regular
2307 expression special characters are matched literally in operator name
2308 patterns (i.e., the argument of <literal>\do</>).
2314 <title>Advanced features</title>
2316 <refsect3 id="APP-PSQL-variables">
2317 <title id="APP-PSQL-variables-title">Variables</title>
2320 <application>psql</application> provides variable substitution
2321 features similar to common Unix command shells.
2322 Variables are simply name/value pairs, where the value
2323 can be any string of any length. To set variables, use the
2324 <application>psql</application> meta-command
2325 <command>\set</command>:
2327 testdb=> <userinput>\set foo bar</userinput>
2329 sets the variable <literal>foo</literal> to the value
2330 <literal>bar</literal>. To retrieve the content of the variable, precede
2331 the name with a colon and use it as the argument of any slash
2334 testdb=> <userinput>\echo :foo</userinput>
2341 The arguments of <command>\set</command> are subject to the same
2342 substitution rules as with other commands. Thus you can construct
2343 interesting references such as <literal>\set :foo
2344 'something'</literal> and get <quote>soft links</quote> or
2345 <quote>variable variables</quote> of <productname>Perl</productname>
2346 or <productname><acronym>PHP</acronym></productname> fame,
2347 respectively. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), there is no way to do
2348 anything useful with these constructs. On the other hand,
2349 <literal>\set bar :foo</literal> is a perfectly valid way to copy a
2355 If you call <command>\set</command> without a second argument, the
2356 variable is set, with an empty string as value. To unset (or delete) a
2357 variable, use the command <command>\unset</command>.
2361 <application>psql</application>'s internal variable names can
2362 consist of letters, numbers, and underscores in any order and any
2363 number of them. A number of these variables are treated specially
2364 by <application>psql</application>. They indicate certain option
2365 settings that can be changed at run time by altering the value of
2366 the variable or that represent some state of the application. Although
2367 you can use these variables for any other purpose, this is not
2368 recommended, as the program behavior might grow really strange
2369 really quickly. By convention, all specially treated variables
2370 consist of all upper-case letters (and possibly numbers and
2371 underscores). To ensure maximum compatibility in the future, avoid
2372 using such variable names for your own purposes. A list of all specially
2373 treated variables follows.
2379 <primary>autocommit</primary>
2380 <secondary>psql</secondary>
2382 <term><varname>AUTOCOMMIT</varname></term>
2385 When <literal>on</> (the default), each SQL command is automatically
2386 committed upon successful completion. To postpone commit in this
2387 mode, you must enter a <command>BEGIN</> or <command>START
2388 TRANSACTION</> SQL command. When <literal>off</> or unset, SQL
2389 commands are not committed until you explicitly issue
2390 <command>COMMIT</> or <command>END</>. The autocommit-off
2391 mode works by issuing an implicit <command>BEGIN</> for you, just
2392 before any command that is not already in a transaction block and
2393 is not itself a <command>BEGIN</> or other transaction-control
2394 command, nor a command that cannot be executed inside a transaction
2395 block (such as <command>VACUUM</>).
2400 In autocommit-off mode, you must explicitly abandon any failed
2401 transaction by entering <command>ABORT</> or <command>ROLLBACK</>.
2402 Also keep in mind that if you exit the session
2403 without committing, your work will be lost.
2409 The autocommit-on mode is <productname>PostgreSQL</>'s traditional
2410 behavior, but autocommit-off is closer to the SQL spec. If you
2411 prefer autocommit-off, you might wish to set it in the system-wide
2412 <filename>psqlrc</filename> file or your
2413 <filename>~/.psqlrc</filename> file.
2420 <term><varname>DBNAME</varname></term>
2423 The name of the database you are currently connected to. This is
2424 set every time you connect to a database (including program
2425 start-up), but can be unset.
2431 <term><varname>ECHO</varname></term>
2434 If set to <literal>all</literal>, all lines
2435 entered from the keyboard or from a script are written to the standard output
2436 before they are parsed or executed. To select this behavior on program
2437 start-up, use the switch <option>-a</option>. If set to
2438 <literal>queries</literal>,
2439 <application>psql</application> merely prints all queries as
2440 they are sent to the server. The switch for this is
2441 <option>-e</option>.
2447 <term><varname>ECHO_HIDDEN</varname></term>
2450 When this variable is set and a backslash command queries the
2451 database, the query is first shown. This way you can study the
2452 <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> internals and provide
2453 similar functionality in your own programs. (To select this behavior
2454 on program start-up, use the switch <option>-E</option>.) If you set
2455 the variable to the value <literal>noexec</literal>, the queries are
2456 just shown but are not actually sent to the server and executed.
2462 <term><varname>ENCODING</varname></term>
2465 The current client character set encoding.
2471 <term><varname>FETCH_COUNT</varname></term>
2474 If this variable is set to an integer value > 0,
2475 the results of <command>SELECT</command> queries are fetched
2476 and displayed in groups of that many rows, rather than the
2477 default behavior of collecting the entire result set before
2478 display. Therefore only a
2479 limited amount of memory is used, regardless of the size of
2480 the result set. Settings of 100 to 1000 are commonly used
2481 when enabling this feature.
2482 Keep in mind that when using this feature, a query might
2483 fail after having already displayed some rows.
2487 Although you can use any output format with this feature,
2488 the default <literal>aligned</> format tends to look bad
2489 because each group of <varname>FETCH_COUNT</varname> rows
2490 will be formatted separately, leading to varying column
2491 widths across the row groups. The other output formats work better.
2498 <term><varname>HISTCONTROL</varname></term>
2501 If this variable is set to <literal>ignorespace</literal>,
2502 lines which begin with a space are not entered into the history
2503 list. If set to a value of <literal>ignoredups</literal>, lines
2504 matching the previous history line are not entered. A value of
2505 <literal>ignoreboth</literal> combines the two options. If
2506 unset, or if set to any other value than those above, all lines
2507 read in interactive mode are saved on the history list.
2511 This feature was shamelessly plagiarized from
2512 <application>Bash</application>.
2519 <term><varname>HISTFILE</varname></term>
2522 The file name that will be used to store the history list. The default
2523 value is <filename>~/.psql_history</filename>. For example, putting:
2525 \set HISTFILE ~/.psql_history- :DBNAME
2527 in <filename>~/.psqlrc</filename> will cause
2528 <application>psql</application> to maintain a separate history for
2533 This feature was shamelessly plagiarized from
2534 <application>Bash</application>.
2541 <term><varname>HISTSIZE</varname></term>
2544 The number of commands to store in the command history. The
2545 default value is 500.
2549 This feature was shamelessly plagiarized from
2550 <application>Bash</application>.
2557 <term><varname>HOST</varname></term>
2560 The database server host you are currently connected to. This is
2561 set every time you connect to a database (including program
2562 start-up), but can be unset.
2568 <term><varname>IGNOREEOF</varname></term>
2571 If unset, sending an <acronym>EOF</> character (usually
2572 <keycombo action="simul"><keycap>Control</><keycap>D</></>)
2573 to an interactive session of <application>psql</application>
2574 will terminate the application. If set to a numeric value,
2575 that many <acronym>EOF</> characters are ignored before the
2576 application terminates. If the variable is set but has no
2577 numeric value, the default is 10.
2581 This feature was shamelessly plagiarized from
2582 <application>Bash</application>.
2589 <term><varname>LASTOID</varname></term>
2592 The value of the last affected OID, as returned from an
2593 <command>INSERT</command> or <command>lo_insert</command>
2594 command. This variable is only guaranteed to be valid until
2595 after the result of the next <acronym>SQL</acronym> command has
2603 <primary>rollback</primary>
2604 <secondary>psql</secondary>
2606 <term><varname>ON_ERROR_ROLLBACK</varname></term>
2609 When <literal>on</>, if a statement in a transaction block
2610 generates an error, the error is ignored and the transaction
2611 continues. When <literal>interactive</>, such errors are only
2612 ignored in interactive sessions, and not when reading script
2613 files. When <literal>off</> (the default), a statement in a
2614 transaction block that generates an error aborts the entire
2615 transaction. The on_error_rollback-on mode works by issuing an
2616 implicit <command>SAVEPOINT</> for you, just before each command
2617 that is in a transaction block, and rolls back to the savepoint
2624 <term><varname>ON_ERROR_STOP</varname></term>
2627 By default, if non-interactive scripts encounter an error, such
2628 as a malformed <acronym>SQL</acronym> command or internal
2629 meta-command, processing continues. This has been the
2630 traditional behavior of <application>psql</application> but it
2631 is sometimes not desirable. If this variable is set, script
2632 processing will immediately terminate. If the script was called
2633 from another script it will terminate in the same fashion. If
2634 the outermost script was not called from an interactive
2635 <application>psql</application> session but rather using the
2636 <option>-f</option> option, <application>psql</application> will
2637 return error code 3, to distinguish this case from fatal error
2638 conditions (error code 1).
2644 <term><varname>PORT</varname></term>
2647 The database server port to which you are currently connected.
2648 This is set every time you connect to a database (including
2649 program start-up), but can be unset.
2655 <term><varname>PROMPT1</varname></term>
2656 <term><varname>PROMPT2</varname></term>
2657 <term><varname>PROMPT3</varname></term>
2660 These specify what the prompts <application>psql</application>
2661 issues should look like. See <xref
2662 linkend="APP-PSQL-prompting"
2663 endterm="APP-PSQL-prompting-title"> below.
2669 <term><varname>QUIET</varname></term>
2672 This variable is equivalent to the command line option
2673 <option>-q</option>. It is probably not too useful in
2680 <term><varname>SINGLELINE</varname></term>
2683 This variable is equivalent to the command line option
2684 <option>-S</option>.
2690 <term><varname>SINGLESTEP</varname></term>
2693 This variable is equivalent to the command line option
2694 <option>-s</option>.
2700 <term><varname>USER</varname></term>
2703 The database user you are currently connected as. This is set
2704 every time you connect to a database (including program
2705 start-up), but can be unset.
2711 <term><varname>VERBOSITY</varname></term>
2714 This variable can be set to the values <literal>default</>,
2715 <literal>verbose</>, or <literal>terse</> to control the verbosity
2726 <title><acronym>SQL</acronym> Interpolation</title>
2729 An additional useful feature of <application>psql</application>
2730 variables is that you can substitute (<quote>interpolate</quote>)
2731 them into regular <acronym>SQL</acronym> statements.
2732 <application>psql</application> provides special facilities for
2733 ensuring that values used as SQL literals and identifiers are
2734 properly escaped. The syntax for interpolating a value without
2735 any special escaping is again to prepend the variable name with a colon
2736 (<literal>:</literal>):
2738 testdb=> <userinput>\set foo 'my_table'</userinput>
2739 testdb=> <userinput>SELECT * FROM :foo;</userinput>
2741 would then query the table <literal>my_table</literal>. Note that this
2742 may be unsafe: the value of the variable is copied literally, so it can
2743 even contain unbalanced quotes or backslash commands. You must make sure
2744 that it makes sense where you put it.
2748 When a value is to be used as an SQL literal or identifier, it is
2749 safest to arrange for it to be escaped. To escape the value of
2750 a variable as an SQL literal, write a colon followed by the variable
2751 name in single quotes. To escape the value an SQL identifier, write
2752 a colon followed by the variable name in double quotes. The previous
2753 example would be more safely written this way:
2755 testdb=> <userinput>\set foo 'my_table'</userinput>
2756 testdb=> <userinput>SELECT * FROM :"foo";</userinput>
2758 Variable interpolation will not be performed into quoted
2759 <acronym>SQL</acronym> entities.
2763 One possible use of this mechanism is to
2764 copy the contents of a file into a table column. First load the file into a
2765 variable and then proceed as above:
2767 testdb=> <userinput>\set content `cat my_file.txt`</userinput>
2768 testdb=> <userinput>INSERT INTO my_table VALUES (:'content');</userinput>
2770 (Note that this still won't work if my_file.txt contains NUL bytes.
2771 psql does not support embedded NUL bytes in variable values.)
2775 Since colons can legally appear in SQL commands, an apparent attempt
2776 at interpolation (such as <literal>:name</literal>,
2777 <literal>:'name'</literal>, or <literal>:"name"</literal>) is not
2778 changed unless the named variable is currently set. In any case, you
2779 can escape a colon with a backslash to protect it from substitution.
2780 (The colon syntax for variables is standard <acronym>SQL</acronym> for
2781 embedded query languages, such as <application>ECPG</application>.
2782 The colon syntax for array slices and type casts are
2783 <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> extensions, hence the
2784 conflict. The colon syntax for escaping a variable's value as an
2785 SQL literal or identifier is a <application>psql</application>
2791 <refsect3 id="APP-PSQL-prompting">
2792 <title id="APP-PSQL-prompting-title">Prompting</title>
2795 The prompts <application>psql</application> issues can be customized
2796 to your preference. The three variables <varname>PROMPT1</varname>,
2797 <varname>PROMPT2</varname>, and <varname>PROMPT3</varname> contain strings
2798 and special escape sequences that describe the appearance of the
2799 prompt. Prompt 1 is the normal prompt that is issued when
2800 <application>psql</application> requests a new command. Prompt 2 is
2801 issued when more input is expected during command input because the
2802 command was not terminated with a semicolon or a quote was not closed.
2803 Prompt 3 is issued when you run an <acronym>SQL</acronym>
2804 <command>COPY</command> command and you are expected to type in the
2805 row values on the terminal.
2809 The value of the selected prompt variable is printed literally,
2810 except where a percent sign (<literal>%</literal>) is encountered.
2811 Depending on the next character, certain other text is substituted
2812 instead. Defined substitutions are:
2816 <term><literal>%M</literal></term>
2819 The full host name (with domain name) of the database server,
2820 or <literal>[local]</literal> if the connection is over a Unix
2822 <literal>[local:<replaceable>/dir/name</replaceable>]</literal>,
2823 if the Unix domain socket is not at the compiled in default
2830 <term><literal>%m</literal></term>
2833 The host name of the database server, truncated at the
2834 first dot, or <literal>[local]</literal> if the connection is
2835 over a Unix domain socket.
2841 <term><literal>%></literal></term>
2842 <listitem><para>The port number at which the database server is listening.</para></listitem>
2846 <term><literal>%n</literal></term>
2849 The database session user name. (The expansion of this
2850 value might change during a database session as the result
2851 of the command <command>SET SESSION
2852 AUTHORIZATION</command>.)
2858 <term><literal>%/</literal></term>
2859 <listitem><para>The name of the current database.</para></listitem>
2863 <term><literal>%~</literal></term>
2864 <listitem><para>Like <literal>%/</literal>, but the output is <literal>~</literal>
2865 (tilde) if the database is your default database.</para></listitem>
2869 <term><literal>%#</literal></term>
2872 If the session user is a database superuser, then a
2873 <literal>#</literal>, otherwise a <literal>></literal>.
2874 (The expansion of this value might change during a database
2875 session as the result of the command <command>SET SESSION
2876 AUTHORIZATION</command>.)
2882 <term><literal>%R</literal></term>
2885 In prompt 1 normally <literal>=</literal>, but <literal>^</literal> if
2886 in single-line mode, and <literal>!</literal> if the session is
2887 disconnected from the database (which can happen if
2888 <command>\connect</command> fails). In prompt 2 the sequence is
2889 replaced by <literal>-</literal>, <literal>*</literal>, a single quote,
2890 a double quote, or a dollar sign, depending on whether
2891 <application>psql</application> expects more input because the
2892 command wasn't terminated yet, because you are inside a
2893 <literal>/* ... */</literal> comment, or because you are inside
2894 a quoted or dollar-escaped string. In prompt 3 the sequence doesn't
2901 <term><literal>%x</literal></term>
2904 Transaction status: an empty string when not in a transaction
2905 block, or <literal>*</> when in a transaction block, or
2906 <literal>!</> when in a failed transaction block, or <literal>?</>
2907 when the transaction state is indeterminate (for example, because
2908 there is no connection).
2914 <term><literal>%</literal><replaceable class="parameter">digits</replaceable></term>
2917 The character with the indicated octal code is substituted.
2923 <term><literal>%:</literal><replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable><literal>:</literal></term>
2926 The value of the <application>psql</application> variable
2927 <replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable>. See the
2928 section <xref linkend="APP-PSQL-variables"
2929 endterm="APP-PSQL-variables-title"> for details.
2935 <term><literal>%`</literal><replaceable class="parameter">command</replaceable><literal>`</literal></term>
2938 The output of <replaceable
2939 class="parameter">command</replaceable>, similar to ordinary
2940 <quote>back-tick</quote> substitution.
2946 <term><literal>%[</literal> ... <literal>%]</literal></term>
2949 Prompts can contain terminal control characters which, for
2950 example, change the color, background, or style of the prompt
2951 text, or change the title of the terminal window. In order for
2952 the line editing features of <application>Readline</application> to work properly, these
2953 non-printing control characters must be designated as invisible
2954 by surrounding them with <literal>%[</literal> and
2955 <literal>%]</literal>. Multiple pairs of these can occur within
2956 the prompt. For example:
2958 testdb=> \set PROMPT1 '%[%033[1;33;40m%]%n@%/%R%[%033[0m%]%# '
2960 results in a boldfaced (<literal>1;</literal>) yellow-on-black
2961 (<literal>33;40</literal>) prompt on VT100-compatible, color-capable
2969 To insert a percent sign into your prompt, write
2970 <literal>%%</literal>. The default prompts are
2971 <literal>'%/%R%# '</literal> for prompts 1 and 2, and
2972 <literal>'>> '</literal> for prompt 3.
2977 This feature was shamelessly plagiarized from
2978 <application>tcsh</application>.
2985 <title>Command-Line Editing</title>
2988 <application>psql</application> supports the <application>Readline</application>
2989 library for convenient line editing and retrieval. The command
2990 history is automatically saved when <application>psql</application>
2991 exits and is reloaded when
2992 <application>psql</application> starts up. Tab-completion is also
2993 supported, although the completion logic makes no claim to be an
2994 <acronym>SQL</acronym> parser. If for some reason you do not like the tab completion, you
2995 can turn it off by putting this in a file named
2996 <filename>.inputrc</filename> in your home directory:
2999 set disable-completion on
3002 (This is not a <application>psql</application> but a
3003 <application>Readline</application> feature. Read its documentation
3004 for further details.)
3012 <title>Environment</title>
3017 <term><envar>COLUMNS</envar></term>
3021 If <literal>\pset columns</> is zero, controls the
3022 width for the <literal>wrapped</> format and width for determining
3023 if wide output requires the pager.
3029 <term><envar>PAGER</envar></term>
3033 If the query results do not fit on the screen, they are piped
3034 through this command. Typical values are
3035 <literal>more</literal> or <literal>less</literal>. The default
3036 is platform-dependent. The use of the pager can be disabled by
3037 using the <command>\pset</command> command.
3043 <term><envar>PGDATABASE</envar></term>
3044 <term><envar>PGHOST</envar></term>
3045 <term><envar>PGPORT</envar></term>
3046 <term><envar>PGUSER</envar></term>
3050 Default connection parameters (see <xref linkend="libpq-envars">).
3056 <term><envar>PSQL_EDITOR</envar></term>
3057 <term><envar>EDITOR</envar></term>
3058 <term><envar>VISUAL</envar></term>
3062 Editor used by the <command>\e</command> command. The variables
3063 are examined in the order listed; the first that is set is used.
3069 <term><envar>SHELL</envar></term>
3073 Command executed by the <command>\!</command> command.
3079 <term><envar>TMPDIR</envar></term>
3083 Directory for storing temporary files. The default is
3084 <filename>/tmp</filename>.
3091 This utility, like most other <productname>PostgreSQL</> utilities,
3092 also uses the environment variables supported by <application>libpq</>
3093 (see <xref linkend="libpq-envars">).
3100 <title>Files</title>
3105 Unless it is passed an <option>-X</option>
3106 or <option>-c</option> option,
3107 <application>psql</application> attempts to
3108 read and execute commands from the system-wide
3109 <filename>psqlrc</filename> file and the user's
3110 <filename>~/.psqlrc</filename> file before starting up.
3111 (On Windows, the user's startup file is named
3112 <filename>%APPDATA%\postgresql\psqlrc.conf</filename>.)
3113 See <filename><replaceable>PREFIX</>/share/psqlrc.sample</>
3114 for information on setting up the system-wide file. It could be used
3115 to set up the client or the server to taste (using the <command>\set
3116 </command> and <command>SET</command> commands).
3122 Both the system-wide <filename>psqlrc</filename> file and the user's
3123 <filename>~/.psqlrc</filename> file can be made version-specific
3124 by appending a dash and the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
3125 release number, for example <filename>~/.psqlrc-&version;</filename>.
3126 A matching version-specific file will be read in preference to a
3127 non-version-specific file.
3133 The command-line history is stored in the file
3134 <filename>~/.psql_history</filename>, or
3135 <filename>%APPDATA%\postgresql\psql_history</filename> on Windows.
3143 <title>Notes</title>
3148 In an earlier life <application>psql</application> allowed the
3149 first argument of a single-letter backslash command to start
3150 directly after the command, without intervening whitespace.
3151 As of <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> 8.4 this is no
3158 <application>psql</application> is only guaranteed to work smoothly
3159 with servers of the same version. That does not mean other combinations
3160 will fail outright, but subtle and not-so-subtle problems might come
3161 up. Backslash commands are particularly likely to fail if the
3162 server is of a newer version than <application>psql</> itself. However,
3163 backslash commands of the <literal>\d</> family should work with
3164 servers of versions back to 7.4, though not necessarily with servers
3165 newer than <application>psql</> itself.
3174 <title>Notes for Windows users</title>
3177 <application>psql</application> is built as a <quote>console
3178 application</>. Since the Windows console windows use a different
3179 encoding than the rest of the system, you must take special care
3180 when using 8-bit characters within <application>psql</application>.
3181 If <application>psql</application> detects a problematic
3182 console code page, it will warn you at startup. To change the
3183 console code page, two things are necessary:
3188 Set the code page by entering <userinput>cmd.exe /c chcp
3189 1252</userinput>. (1252 is a code page that is appropriate for
3190 German; replace it with your value.) If you are using Cygwin,
3191 you can put this command in <filename>/etc/profile</filename>.
3197 Set the console font to <literal>Lucida Console</>, because the
3198 raster font does not work with the ANSI code page.
3207 <refsect1 id="APP-PSQL-examples">
3208 <title id="APP-PSQL-examples-title">Examples</title>
3211 The first example shows how to spread a command over several lines of
3212 input. Notice the changing prompt:
3214 testdb=> <userinput>CREATE TABLE my_table (</userinput>
3215 testdb(> <userinput> first integer not null default 0,</userinput>
3216 testdb(> <userinput> second text)</userinput>
3217 testdb-> <userinput>;</userinput>
3220 Now look at the table definition again:
3222 testdb=> <userinput>\d my_table</userinput>
3224 Attribute | Type | Modifier
3225 -----------+---------+--------------------
3226 first | integer | not null default 0
3230 Now we change the prompt to something more interesting:
3232 testdb=> <userinput>\set PROMPT1 '%n@%m %~%R%# '</userinput>
3233 peter@localhost testdb=>
3235 Let's assume you have filled the table with data and want to take a
3238 peter@localhost testdb=> SELECT * FROM my_table;
3248 You can display tables in different ways by using the
3249 <command>\pset</command> command:
3251 peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\pset border 2</userinput>
3253 peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>SELECT * FROM my_table;</userinput>
3264 peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\pset border 0</userinput>
3266 peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>SELECT * FROM my_table;</userinput>
3275 peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\pset border 1</userinput>
3277 peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\pset format unaligned</userinput>
3278 Output format is unaligned.
3279 peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\pset fieldsep ","</userinput>
3280 Field separator is ",".
3281 peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\pset tuples_only</userinput>
3282 Showing only tuples.
3283 peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>SELECT second, first FROM my_table;</userinput>
3289 Alternatively, use the short commands:
3291 peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>\a \t \x</userinput>
3292 Output format is aligned.
3294 Expanded display is on.
3295 peter@localhost testdb=> <userinput>SELECT * FROM my_table;</userinput>