Opening database file from within SQLite command-l

Question

I'm using the SQLite Command Line Shell. As documented, I can open a database by supplying it as an argument to the executable:

sqlite3 data.db

I cannot figure out how to open a database file from within the tool after having invoked it without supplying the file as a command-line argument (if I, say, double-click sqlite3.exe in Windows). What is the command within the SQLite shell tool to specify a database file?

Answer 1

You can simply specify the database file name in the command line:

bash-3.2 # sqlite3 UserDb.sqlite
SQLite version 3.16.2 2017-01-06 16:32:41
Enter ".help" for usage hints.

sqlite> .databases
main: /db/UserDb.sqlite

sqlite> .tables
accountLevelSettings  genres               syncedThumbs
collectionActivity    recordingFilter      thumbs
contentStatus         syncedContentStatus 

sqlite> select count(*) from genres;
10

Moreover, you can execute your query from the command line:

bash-3.2 # sqlite3 UserDb.sqlite 'select count(*) from genres'
10

You could attach another database file from the SQLite shell:

sqlite> attach database 'RelDb.sqlite' as RelDb;

sqlite> .databases
main: /db/UserDb.sqlite
RelDb: /db/RelDb_1.sqlite

sqlite> .tables
RelDb.collectionRelationship  contentStatus               
RelDb.contentRelationship     genres                      
RelDb.leagueRelationship      recordingFilter             
RelDb.localizedString         syncedContentStatus         
accountLevelSettings          syncedThumbs                
collectionActivity            thumbs                      

The tables from this 2nd database will be accessible via prefix of the database:

sqlite> select count(*) from RelDb.localizedString;
2442

But who knows how to specify multiple database files from the command line to execute the query from the command line?

Answer 2

The command within the Sqlite shell to open a database is .open

The syntax is,

sqlite> .open dbasename.db

If it is a new database that you would like to create and open, it is

sqlite> .open --new dbasename.db

If the database is existing in a different folder, the path has to be mentioned like this:

sqlite> .open D:/MainFolder/SubFolder/...database.db

In Windows Command shell, you should use '\' to represent a directory, but in SQLite directories are represented by '/'. If you still prefer to use the Windows notation, you should use an escape sequence for every '\'