Command-Line Options

This article is part of the Getting Started Guide. It gives some more details on the command-line options of all BaseX start scripts.

BaseX GUI

Launch the GUI

$ basexgui [file]

One or more XML and XQuery files can be passed on as parameters. If an XML file is specified, a database instance is created from this file, or an existing database is opened. XQuery files are opened in the XQuery editor.

BaseX Standalone

Launch the console mode

$ basex
BaseX [Standalone]
Try "help" to get more information.
> _

Available command-line flags can be listed with -h:

$ basex -h
BaseX [Standalone]
Usage: basex [-bcdioqsuvVwxz] [file]
  [file]      Execute XQuery file
  -b<pars>    Bind external XQuery variables
  -c<cmd>     Execute database command(s)
  -d          Activate debugging mode
  -i<input>   Open initial file or database
  -o<file>    Write output to file
  -q<expr>    Execute XQuery expression
  -s<pars>    Set serialization parameter(s)
  -u          Write updates back to original files
  -v/V        Show (all) process info
  -w          Preserve whitespaces from input files
  -x          Show query execution plan
  -z          Skip output of results

The meaning of all flags is listed in the following. If an equivalent database option exists (which can be specified via the SET command), it is listed as well:

Flag	Description	Option	Examples
[file]	Executes the specified XQuery file.
-b<pars>	Binds external variables to XQuery expressions. This flag may be specified multiple times. Variables names and their values are delimited by equality signs (=). The names may be optionally prefixed with dollar signs. If a variable uses a namespace different to the default namespace, it can be specified with the Clark Notation or Expanded QName Notation.	BINDINGS	-b$v=example -q$v -b{URL}ln=value -q"declare namespace ns='URL'; $ns:ln"
-c<cmd>	Launches database commands and skips the interactive mode. Several commands can be separated by semicolons.		-c"list;info"
-d	Turns on the debugging mode. Debugging information is output to standard error.	DEBUG
-i<input>	Opens a database or XML document specified by the argument. The opened input may be further processed by an XQuery expression.		-iitems.xml -q"//item"
-o<file>	All command and query output is written to the specified file.		-o output.txt
-q<expr>	Executes the specified string as XQuery expression.		-q"doc('input')//head"
-s<pars>	Specifies parameters for serializing XQuery results; see Serialization for more details. This flag may be specified multiple times. Key and values are separated by the equality sign (=).	SERIALIZER	-smethod=text
-u	Modifies original files after evaluating XQuery Update expressions.	WRITEBACK
-v	Prints process and timing information to the standard output.
-V	Prints detailed query information to the standard output, including details on the compilation and profiling steps.	QUERYINFO
-w	By default, whitespaces around text nodes are chopped when a database is created. This flag can be specified to preserve whitespaces.	CHOP
-x	This flags turn on the output of the query execution plan, formatted in XML.	XMLPLAN
-z	Skips the serialization of XQuery results. This flag is useful if the query is profiled or analyzed.	SERIALIZE

Since Version 7.1, multiple query files and -c/-i/-q flags can be specified. All other options will be set before any other operation takes place. The specified inputs, query files, queries and commands will be subsequently evaluated after that in the given order. The standard input can be parsed by specifying a single dash (-) as argument.

BaseX Server

Launch the server

$ basexserver
BaseX [Server]
Server was started.

Available command-line flags can be listed with -h:

$ basexserver -h
BaseX [Server]
Usage: basexserver [-cdeipSz] [stop]
  stop      Stop running server
  -c<cmd>   Execute initial database command(s)
  -d        Activate debugging mode
  -e<num>   Set event port
  -i        Enter interactive mode
  -p<num>   Set server port
  -S        Start as service
  -z        Suppress logging

The flags have the following meaning (equivalent database options are shown in the table as well):

Flag	Description	Option	Default	Examples
stop	Stops an existing server instance and quits.
-c<cmd>	Launches database commands before the server itself is started. Several commands can be separated by semicolons.			-c"open database;info"
-d	Turns on the debugging mode. Debugging information is output to standard error.	DEBUG
-e<num>	Specifies the port on which the server will send events to clients.	EVENTPORT	1985	-e9998
-i	Starts the interactive console mode, which can be used to enter database commands. This mode is similar to the default standalone and client mode.
-p<num>	Specifies the port on which the server will be addressable.	PORT	1984	-p9999
-S	Starts the server as service (i.e., in the background).
-z	Does not generate any log files.

Multiple -c and -i flags can be specified. All other options will be set before any other operation takes place. The specified inputs, query files, queries and commands will be subsequently evaluated after that in the given order. The standard input can be parsed by specifying a single dash (-) as argument.

BaseX Client

Launch the console mode communicating with the server

The user name and password will be requested. The default user/password combination is admin/admin:

$ basexclient
Username: admin
Password: *****
BaseX [Client]
Try "help" to get more information.
> _

Available command-line flags can be listed with -h:

$ basexclient -h
BaseX [Client]
Usage: basexclient [-bcdinopPqsUvVwxz] [file]
  [file]      Execute XQuery file
  -b<pars>    Bind external XQuery variables
  -c<cmd>     Execute database command(s)
  -d          Activate debugging mode
  -i<input>   Open initial file or database
  -n<name>    Set server (host) name
  -o<file>    Write output to file
  -p<num>     Set server port
  -P<pass>    Specify user password
  -q<expr>    Execute XQuery expression
  -s<pars>    Set serialization parameter(s)
  -U<name>    Specify user name
  -v/V        Show (all) process info
  -w          Preserve whitespaces from input files
  -x          Show query execution plan
  -z          Skip output of results

The flags have the following meaning (equivalent database options are shown in the table as well):

Flag	Description	Option	Default	Examples
[file]	Executes the specified XQuery file.
-b<pars>	Binds external variables to XQuery expressions. This flag may be specified multiple times. Variables names and their values are delimited by equality signs (=). The names may be optionally prefixed with dollar signs. If a variable uses a namespace different to the default namespace, it can be specified with the Clark Notation or Expanded QName Notation.	BINDINGS		-b$v=example -q$v -b{URL}ln=value -q"declare namespace ns='URL'; $ns:ln"
-c<cmd>	Launches database commands and skips the interactive mode. Several commands can be separated by semicolons.			-c"list;info"
-d	Turns on the debugging mode. Debugging information is output to standard error.	DEBUG
-i<input>	Opens a database or XML document specified by the argument. The opened input may be further processed by an XQuery expression.			-iitems.xml -q"//item"
-n<name>	Specifies the host name on which the server is running.	HOST	localhost	-nserver.basex.org
-o<file>	All command and query output is written to the specified file.
-p<num>	Specifies the port on which the server is running.	PORT	1984	-p9999
-P<pass>	Specifies the user password. If this flag is omitted, the password will be requested on command line. Warning: when the password is specified via this flag, it may be visible to others.			-Uadmin -Padmin
-q<expr>	Executes the specified string as XQuery expression.			-q"doc('input')//head"
-s<pars>	Specifies parameters for serializing XQuery results; see Serialization for more details. This flag may be specified multiple times. Key and values are separated by the equality sign (=).	SERIALIZER		-smethod=text
-U<name>	Specifies the user name. If this flag is omitted, the user name will be requested on command line.			-Uadmin
-v	Prints process and timing information to the standard output.
-V	Prints detailed query information to the standard output, including details on the compilation and profiling steps.	QUERYINFO
-w	By default, whitespaces around text nodes are chopped when a database is created. This flag can be specified to preserve whitespaces.	CHOP
-x	This flags turn on the output of the query execution plan, formatted in XML.	XMLPLAN
-z	Skips the serialization of XQuery results. This flag is useful if the query is profiled or analyzed.	SERIALIZE

Multiple query files and -c/-i/-q flags can be specified. All other options will be set before any other operation takes place. The specified inputs, query files, queries and commands will be subsequently evaluated after that in the given order. The standard input can be parsed by specifying a single dash (-) as argument.

BaseX HTTP Server

Launch the HTTP server

$ basexhttp
BaseX [Server]
Server was started.
2011-01-02 03:04:05.600:INFO::Logging to STDERR via org.mortbay.log.StdErrLog
2011-01-02 03:04:05.700:INFO::jetty-6.1.26
2011-01-02 03:04:05.800:INFO::Started SocketConnector@0.0.0.0:8984

Available command-line flags can be listed with -h:

$ basexhttp -h
BaseX [HTTP]
Usage: basexhttp [-dehlnpPRUWz] [stop]
  stop       Stop running server
  -c         Start in client mode
  -d         Activate debugging mode
  -e<num>    Set event port
  -h<num>    Set port of HTTP server
  -l         Start in local mode
  -n<name>   Set host name of database server
  -p<num>    Set port of database server
  -P<pass>   Specify user password
  -R         Deactivate REST service
  -s         Specify port to stop HTTP server
  -S         Start as service
  -U<name>   Specify user name
  -W         Deactivate WebDAV service
  -z         Suppress logging

The flags have the following meaning (equivalent database options are shown in the table as well):

Flag	Description	Option	Default	Examples
stop	Stops a running HTTP server. By default, the database server will be stopped as well, unless one of the flags -c or -l is specified.
-c	Starts the server in client mode, and sends all commands to a database server instance.
-d	Turns on the debugging mode. Debugging information is output to standard error.	DEBUG
-e<num>	Specifies the port on which the server will send events to clients.	EVENTPORT	1985	-e9998
-h<num>	Specifies the port on which the HTTP server will be addressable. This port is e.g. specified in the HTTP URLs.	HTTPPORT	8984	-h9999
-l	Starts the server in local mode, and executes all commands in the embedded database context.
-n<name>	Specifies the host name on which the server is running.	HOST	localhost	-nserver.basex.org
-p<num>	Specifies the port on which the BaseX Server will be addressable.	SERVERPORT	1984	-p9998
-P<pass>	Specifies the user password, which will be used by the HTTP services to open a new session. If this flag is omitted, the password will be requested on command line. Warning: when the password is specified on command-line, it may be visible to others.		admin	-Uadmin -Padmin
-R	Deactivates the REST service.
-s<num>	Specifies the port that will be used to stop the HTTP server.	STOPPORT
-S	Starts the server as service (i.e., in the background).
-U<name>	Specifies the user name, which will be used by the HTTP services for opening a new session. If this flag is omitted, the password will be requested on command line.		admin	-Uadmin
-W	Deactivates the WebDAV service.
-z	Does not generate any log files.

Some options can also be triggered by setting the following system properties:

• org.basex.user: user name for opening new sessions
• org.basex.password: user password for opening new sessions
• org.basex.mode: by default, the HTTP server also starts an instance of the database server. If the mode is set to local, an embedded database context is used for executing commands. If the mode is set to client, all commands are sent to an existing database server instance.