Documentation Index
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Most database vendors provide their own SQL command line tools, but they vary significantly in features and usage. To simplify working with multiple databases, Wirekite provides Wiretalk - a unified SQL command line tool that works consistently across all supported databases.
Wiretalk uses the same DSN/URL connection files as other Wirekite tools. If you can connect to a database using Wiretalk, the same connection file will work with other Wirekite components.
Supported Databases
Wiretalk supports all Wirekite source and target databases:
| Database | Type Flag |
|---|
| PostgreSQL | postgres or postgresql |
| MySQL | mysql |
| MariaDB | mariadb |
| SQL Server | sqlserver |
| Oracle | oracle |
| Snowflake | snowflake |
| Firebolt | firebolt |
| Google BigQuery | bigquery |
| Google Cloud Spanner | spanner |
| Databricks | databricks |
| SingleStore | singlestore |
Command Line Usage
wiretalk -d <dbtype> -c <connection-file>
wiretalk -d <dbtype> -dsn "<connection-string>"
Required Flags
| Flag | Description |
|---|
-d | Database type (required) - see supported databases above |
-c | Path to file containing the connection string |
-dsn | Connection string provided directly (alternative to -c) |
-c or -dsn must be provided.
Optional Flags
| Flag | Description |
|---|
-quiet | Suppress prompts, print only row numbers and column names |
-silent | Print only query results (no metadata) |
-csv | Output results in CSV format with headers |
-json | Output per-statement JSON results (for programmatic integration) |
-credfile <path> | Path to a GCP service account JSON file. Required for Spanner and BigQuery connections |
-ignore-errors | Continue executing remaining SQL statements even if one fails. Without this flag, execution stops on the first error |
Interactive Mode
When run interactively (connected to a terminal), Wiretalk provides a prompt-based interface with command history.
Example Session
$ wiretalk -d firebolt -c fi_url.txt
firebolt instance connect successful
=> create table example (a int, b int);
ok
=> insert into example values (1,1),(2,2),(3,3);
ok
=> select * from example;
1: a: 1
1: b: 1
2: a: 2
2: b: 2
3: a: 3
3: b: 3
=> \d csv
display type set to csv
=> select * from example;
'a','b'
'1','1'
'2','2'
'3','3'
=> <ctrl>-D
bye
Escape Commands
Wiretalk provides several escape commands for controlling output and behavior:
| Command | Description |
|---|
\h | Display help information |
\i <filename> | Load and execute SQL statements from a file |
\o [filename] | Redirect output to a file; \o alone disables file output |
\d csv|list | Change display format (default: list) |
\p <num> | Set number of rows per page; 0 disables paging |
\r true|false | Show or hide row numbers |
\t | Toggle elapsed time display |
\D | Print current display settings |
\c <enc> <sep> <row> <hdr> | Configure CSV format parameters |
\c command configures CSV output format with four parameters:
\c <value-enclose> <column-separator> <row-terminator> <show-header>
QUOTE - single quote (')DOUBLEQUOTE - double quote (")COMMA - comma (,)SPACE - space characterTAB - tab characterPIPE - pipe (|)NONE - no characterNEWLINE - newline (\n)CRLF - carriage return + newline (\r\n)- Any other literal character
Example:
=> \c DOUBLEQUOTE COMMA NEWLINE true
Non-Interactive Mode
Wiretalk can execute SQL from files or stdin in non-interactive mode:
# From a file
wiretalk -d postgres -c pg_conn.txt < schema.sql
# Piped input
cat queries.sql | wiretalk -d mysql -c mysql_conn.txt -quiet
JSON Output Mode
For programmatic integration, use -json to get structured output:
echo "CREATE TABLE test (id INT); INSERT INTO test VALUES (1);" | wiretalk -d postgres -c pg_conn.txt -json
{"index":1,"sql":"CREATE TABLE test (id INT)","status":"OK","lineNum":1}
{"index":2,"sql":"INSERT INTO test VALUES (1)","status":"OK","lineNum":1}
index - statement number (1-based)sql - the executed SQLstatus - OK or FAILEDerror - error message (only if status is FAILED)lineNum - line number in input
Database-Specific Features
Oracle PL/SQL Blocks
Oracle PL/SQL blocks (starting with BEGIN or DECLARE) are terminated by a / on its own line:
BEGIN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Hello World');
END;
/
Google Cloud Spanner Batch DDL
Spanner requires DDL statements to be batched together. Wiretalk supports this with special commands:
START BATCH DDL;
CREATE TABLE users (id INT64, name STRING(100)) PRIMARY KEY (id);
CREATE TABLE orders (id INT64, user_id INT64) PRIMARY KEY (id);
RUN BATCH;
Notes
- Command history is saved to
~/.linerhistory
- Multi-line SQL statements are supported - statements are executed when a semicolon is encountered
- For PostgreSQL,
sslmode=disable is automatically added if not specified
- SQL Server PRINT output from stored procedures is captured and displayed
