Connecting from the command line

• 1: Command-line options
• 1.1: -A --no-align
• 1.2: -a --echo-all
• 1.3: -c --command
• 1.4: -d --dbname
• 1.5: -E
• 1.6: -e --echo-queries
• 1.7: -r --workload
• 1.8: -F --field-separator
• 1.9: -f --file
• 1.10: ? --help
• 1.11: -H --html
• 1.12: -h --host
• 1.13: -i -- timing
• 1.14: -g --label
• 1.15: -l --list
• 1.16: -m --sslmode
• 1.17: -n
• 1.18: -o --output
• 1.19: -P --pset
• 1.20: -p --port
• 1.21: -q --quiet
• 1.22: -R --record-separator
• 1.23: -S --single-line
• 1.24: -s --single-step
• 1.25: -T --table-attr
• 1.26: -t --tuples-only
• 1.27: -V --version
• 1.28: -v --variable --set
• 1.29: -X --no-vsqlrc
• 1.30: -x --expanded
• 2: Connecting from a non-cluster host

/opt/vertica/bin/vsql [-h host] [ -p port ] [ option...] [ dbname [ username ] ]

$ vsql --echo-all < retail_queries.sql > retail_queries.out 2>&1

1 - Command-line options

This section contains the command-line options for vsql.

General options

--command command
-c command

Runs one command and exits. This command is useful in shell scripts.

Variables set with -v are not processed when referenced in a -c command. To use variables, create a .sql file that references the variable and pass it to vsql with the -f option.

--dbname dbname
-d dbname

Specifies the name of the database to which you want to connect. Using this command is equivalent to specifying dbname as the first non-option argument on the command line.

--file filename
-f filename

Uses the filename as the source of commands instead of reading commands interactively. After the file is processed, vsql terminates.

--help

Displays help about vsql command line arguments and exits.

--timing
-i

Enables the \timing meta-command.

--list
-l

Returns all available databases, then exits. Other non-connection options are ignored. This command is similar to the internal command \list.

--set assignment
--variable assignment
-v assignment

Performs a variable assignment, like the vsql command\set.

--version -V

Prints the vsql version and exits.

--no-vsqlr
-X

Disables all command line editing and history functionality.

Connection options

-4

When resolving hostnames in dual stack environments, prefer IPv4 addresses.

-6

When resolving hostnames in dual stack environments, prefer IPv6 addresses.

-B server:port[,...]

Sets connection backup server/port. Use comma-separated multiple hosts (default: not set). If using an IPv6 address, enclose the address in brackets ([, ]) and place the port outside of the brackets. For example \B [2620:0:a13:8a4:9d9f:e0e3:1181:7f51]:5433

--enable-connection
-load-balance -C

Enables connection load balancing (default: not enabled).

Note

You can only use load balancing with one address family in dual stack environments. For example, if you've configured load balancing for IPv6 addresses, then when an IPv4 client connects and requests load balancing the server does not allow it.

--host hostname
-h hostname

Specifies the host name of the machine on which the server is running.

-k krb-service

Provides the service name portion of the Kerberos principal (default: vertica). Using -k is equivalent to using the drivers' KerberosServiceName connection string.

-K krb-host

Provides the instance or host name portion of the Kerberos principal. -K is equivalent to the drivers' KerberosHostName connection string.

-g client-label
--label client-label

Sets the client label for the connection.

--sslmode
-m

Specifies the policy for making SSL connections to the server. Options are require, prefer, allow, and disable. You can also set the VSQL_SSLMODE variable to achieve the same effect. If the variable is set, the command-line option overrides it.

--port port
-p port

Specifies the TCP port or the local socket file extension on which the server is listening for connections. Defaults to port 5433.

`--username` *`username`*
`-U` *`username`*

Connects to the database as the user username instead of the default.

-w password

Specifies the password for a database user.

Note

Using this command-line option displays the database password in plain text. Use it with care, particularly if you are connecting as the database administrator, to avoid exposing sensitive information.

--password
-W

Forces vsql to prompt for a password before connecting to a database.The password is not displayed on the screen. This option remains set for the entire session, even if you change the database connection with the meta-command \connect.

Output formatting

--no-align
-A

Switches to unaligned output mode. (The default output mode is aligned.)

-b

Beep on command completion.

--field-separator separator
-F separator

Specifies the field separator for unaligned output (default: "|") (-P fieldsep=). (See -A --no-align.) Using this command is equivalent to \pset fieldsep or \f.

--html
-H

Turns on HTML tabular output. Using this command is equivalent to using the \pset format html or the \H command.

--pset assignment
-P assignment

Lets you specify printing options in the style of \pset on the command line. You must separate the name and value with an equals (=) sign instead of a space. Thus, to set the output format to LaTeX, you could write -P format=latex.

-Q

Turns on trailing record separator. Use \pset trailingrecordsep to toggle the trailing record separator on or off.

--record-separator separator
-R separator

Uses separator as the record separator. Using this command is equivalent to using the \pset recordsep command.

--tuples-only
-t

Disables printing of column names, result row count footers, and so on. This is equivalent to the vsql meta-command \t.

--table-attr options
-T options

Allows you to specify options to be placed within the HTML table tag. See \pset for details.

--expanded
-x

Enables extended table formatting mode. This is equivalent to the vsql meta-command \x.

Input and output options

--echo-all
-a

Prints all input lines to standard output as they are read. This approach is more useful for script processing than interactive mode. It is the same as setting the variable ECHO to all.

--echo-queries
-e

Copies all SQL commands sent to the server to standard output. Using this command is equivalent to setting the variable ECHO to queries.

-E

Displays queries generated by internal commands.

-n

Disables command line editing.

--output filename
-o filename

Writes all query output to filename. Using this command is equivalent to using the vsql meta-command \o.

--quiet
-q

Specifies that vsql do its work quietly (without informational output, such as welcome messages). This command is useful with the -c option. Within vsql you can also set the QUIET variable to achieve the same effect.

--single-step
-s

Runs in single-step mode for debugging scripts. Forces vsql to prompt before each statement is sent to the database and allows you to cancel execution.

--single-line -S

Runs in single-line mode where a newline terminates a SQL command, as if you are using a semicolon.

Note

This mode is provided only by customer request. Vertica recommends that you not use single-line mode in cases where you mix SQL and meta-commands on a line. In single-line mode, the order of execution might be unclear to the inexperienced user.

1.1 - -A --no-align

-A or --no-align switches to unaligned output mode. The default output mode is aligned.

1.2 - -a --echo-all

-a or --echo-all prints all input lines to standard output as they are read. This is more useful for script processing than interactive mode. It is equivalent to setting the variable ECHO to all.

1.3 - -c --command

-c command or--command command runs one command and exits. This is useful in shell scripts.

Use either:

• A command string that can be completely parsed by the server that does not contain features specific to vsql

• A single meta-command

You cannot mix SQL and vsql meta-commands. You can, however, pipe the string into vsql as shown:

echo "\\timing\\\\select * from t" | ../Linux64/bin/vsql
                Timing is on.
                i | c | v
                ---+---+---
                (0 rows)

1.4 - -d --dbname

-d db-name or --dbname db-name specifies the name of the database to connect to. This is equivalent to specifying db-name as the first non-option argument on the command line.

1.5 - -E

-E displays queries generated by internal commands.

1.6 - -e --echo-queries

-e --echo-queries copies all SQL commands sent to the server to standard output as well. This is equivalent to setting the variable ECHO to queries.

1.7 - -r --workload

-r --workload lets you specify the name of a workload. If a routing rule is associated with that workload, your connection is routed to the subcluster reserved for that workload. For details, see Workload routing.

You can also specify a workload with the VSQL_WORKLOAD environment variable. For details, see vsql environment variables.

1.8 - -F --field-separator

-F separator or --field-separator separator specifies the field separator for unaligned output (default: "|") (-P fieldsep=). (See -A --no-align.) This is equivalent to \pset fieldsep or \f.

To set the field separator value to a control character, use your shell's control character escape notation. In Bash, you specify a control character in an argument using a dollar sign ($) followed by a string contained in single quotes. This string can contain C-string escapes (such as \t for tab), or a backslash () followed by an octal value for the character you want to use.

The following example demonstrates setting the separator character to tab (\t), vertical tab (\v) and the octal value of vertical tab (\013).

$ vsql -At -c "SELECT * FROM testtable;"
A|1|2|3
B|4|5|6

$ vsql -F $'\t' -At -c "SELECT * FROM testtable;"
A       1       2       3
B       4       5       6

$ vsql -F $'\v' -At -c "SELECT * FROM testtable;"
A
 1
  2
   3
B
 4
  5
   6
$ vsql -F $'\013' -At -c "SELECT * FROM testtable;"
A
 1
  2
   3
B
 4
  5
   6

1.9 - -f --file

-f filename or --file filename uses filename as the source of commands instead of reading commands interactively. After the file is processed, vsql terminates.

If filename is a hyphen (-), standard input is read.

Using this option is different from writing vsql < filename. Using -f enables some additional features such as error messages with line numbers. Conversely, the variant using the shell's input redirection should always yield exactly the same output that you would have gotten had you entered everything manually.

1.10 - ? --help

-? --help displays help about vsql command line arguments and exits.

1.11 - -H --html

-H --html turns on HTML tabular output. This is equivalent to \pset format html or the \H command.

1.12 - -h --host

-h hostname or --host hostname specifies the host name of the machine on which the server is running. Use this flag to connect to Vertica remotely.

The following requirements and restrictions apply:

• If you use client authentication with a Kerberos connection method of either gss or krb5, you must specify -h hostname.

• Use the -h option if you want to connect to Vertica from a local connection, but want to use the an authentication record with the access method HOST (rather than LOCAL).

1.13 - -i -- timing

Enables the \timing meta-command. You can only use this command with the -c --command and -f --file commands:

$VSQL -h host1 -U user1 -d VMart -p 15 -w ****** -i -f transactions.sql

You can only use -i with the -c (command) and -f (filename) commands. For more information see Command-line options.

From the command line enter the -i option before running a session to turn timing on. For example:

$VSQL -h host1 -U user1 -d VMart -p 15 -w ****** -i -f transactions.sql

$VSQL-h host1 -U user1 -d VMart -p 15 -w ****** -i -c "SELECT user_name,
ssl_state, authentication_method, client_authentication_name, client_type FROM sessions
WHERE session_id=(SELECT session_id FROM current_session);"

1.14 - -g --label

Assigns a client label to the connection at the start of the session. Client connections and their labels appear in the SESSIONS and some Data collector tables like DC_REQUESTS_ISSUED. Client labels set with this option appear in DC_SESSION_STARTS.

If used, this option takes precedence over the VSQL_CLIENT_LABEL environment variable.

To set client labels for ongoing sessions, use SET_CLIENT_LABEL.

1.15 - -l --list

-l or --list returns all available databases, then exits. Other non-connection options are ignored. This command is similar to the internal command \list.

1.16 - -m --sslmode

-m or --sslmode specifies the policy for making SSL connections to the server. Options are verify-full, verify-ca require, prefer, and disable. You can also set the VSQL_SSLMODE variable to achieve the same effect. If the variable is set, the command-line option overrides it.

For information on these modes see Configuring TLS for ODBC Clients.

1.17 - -n

-n disables command line editing.

1.18 - -o --output

-o filename or --output filename writes all query output into file filename. This is equivalent to the vsql meta-command \o.

1.19 - -P --pset

-P assignment or --pset assignment lets you specify printing options in the style of \pset on the command line. Note that you have to separate name and value with an equal sign instead of a space. Thus to set the output format to LaTeX, you could write -P format=latex.

1.20 - -p --port

-p port or--port port specifies the TCP port or the local socket file extension on which the server is listening for connections. Defaults to port 5433.

1.21 - -q --quiet

-q or --quiet specifies that vsql do its work quietly. By default, it prints welcome messages and various informational output. If this option is used, none of this appears. This is useful with the -c option. Within vsql you can also set the QUIET variable to achieve the same effect.

1.22 - -R --record-separator

-R separator or --record-separator separator specifies separator as the record separator. This is equivalent to the \pset recordsep command.

1.23 - -S --single-line

-S --single-line runs in single-line mode where a newline terminates a SQL command, like the semicolon does.

1.24 - -s --single-step

-s --single-step runs in single-step mode for debugging scripts. Forces vsql to prompt before each statement is sent to the database and allows you to cancel execution.

1.25 - -T --table-attr

-T table-options or --table-attr table-options lets you specify options to be placed within the HTML table tag. See \pset for details.

1.26 - -t --tuples-only

-t or --tuples-only disables printing of column names, result row count footers, and so on. This is equivalent to the vsql meta-command \t.

1.27 - -V --version

-V or --version prints the vsql version and exits.

1.28 - -v --variable --set

-v assignment, --variable assignment, and --set assignment perform a variable assignment, like the vsql meta-command \set.

To unset a variable, omit the equal sign. To set a variable without a value, use the equals sign but omit the value. Make these assignments at a very early stage of start-up, so that variables reserved for internal purposes can get overwritten later.

1.29 - -X --no-vsqlrc

-X --no-vsqlrc prevents the start-up file from being read: the system-wide vsqlrc file or the user's ~/.vsqlrc file.

1.30 - -x --expanded

-x or --expanded enables extended table formatting mode. This is equivalent to the vsql meta-command \x.

2 - Connecting from a non-cluster host

You can use the Vertica vsql executable image on a non-cluster Linux host to connect to a Vertica database.

• On Red Hat, CentOS, and SUSE systems, you can install the client driver RPM, which includes the vsql executable. See Installing the vsql client for details.

• If the non-cluster host is running the same version of Linux as the cluster, copy the image file to the remote system. For example:

  $ scp host01:/opt/vertica/bin/vsql .$ ./vsql
  

• If the non-cluster host is running a different distribution or version of Linux than your cluster hosts, you must install the Vertica server RPM in order to get vsql:

  1. Download the appropriate RPM package by browsing to Vertica website. On the Support tab, select Customer Downloads.

  2. If the system you used to download the RPM is not the non-cluster host, transfer the file to the non-cluster host.

  3. Log into the non-cluster host as root and install the RPM package using the command:

     # rpm -Uvh filename
     

     Where filename is the package you downloaded. Note that you do not have to run the install_vertica script on the non-cluster host to use vsql.

Notes

• Use the same Command-line options that you would on a cluster host.

• You cannot run vsql on a Cygwin bash shell (Windows). Use ssh to connect to a cluster host, then run vsql.