Command-Line Options
This article is part of the Getting Started Guide. Each BaseX Startup mode has one or more command-line options which are described in this article.
Command-line options can be specified multiple times. Please note that all options will be evaluated in the given order. The standard input can be parsed by specifying a single dash (-
) as argument.
Standalone
- Launch the standalone (console) mode
$ basex BaseX [Standalone] Try "help" to get more information. > _
You can list the command-line options available for the standalone mode using -h
:
$ basex -h BaseX [Standalone] Usage: basex [-bcdiIoqrRstuvVwxz] [input] [input] XQuery or command file, or query string -b<args> Bind external query variables -c<input> Execute commands from file or string -d Toggle debugging output -i<input> Bind file or database to context -I<input> Bind input string to context -o<path> Write output to local file -q<expr> Execute XQuery expression -r<num> Run query multiple times -R Toggle query execution -s<args> Set serialization parameters -t[path] Run tests in file or directory -u Toggle updates in original files -v Toggle output of progress info -V Toggle detailed query output -w Toggle whitespace chopping -x Toggle output of query plan -z Toggle output of query result
The meaning of all options is listed in the following table. If an equivalent database option exists (which can be specified via the SET
command), it is listed as well.
For the examples to work, it might be necessary to escape some characters depending on your Operating System.
Flag | Description | Option | Default | Examples |
---|---|---|---|---|
[input]
|
Evaluates the specified input:
|
• "doc('X')//head" • query.xq • commands.bxs | ||
-b<args>
|
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.
|
BINDINGS
|
• -bv=example "declare variable $v external; $v" • -b{URL}ln=value
| |
-c<input>
|
Executes commands:
|
• -c"list;info" • -ccommands.txt • -c"<info/>"
| ||
-d
|
Toggles the debugging mode. Debugging information is output to standard error. | DEBUG
|
false
|
|
-i<input>
|
Opens an XML file or database specified by the argument. The opened input can then be processed by a command or XQuery expression. | -iitems.xml "//item"
| ||
-I<input>
|
Assigns an input string as item of type xs:untypedAtomic to the query context.
|
-I "Hello Universe" -q "."
| ||
-o<path>
|
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"
| ||
-r<num>
|
Specifies how often a specified query will be evaluated. | RUNS
|
1
|
-V -r10 "1"
|
-R
|
Specifies if a query will be executed or parsed only. | RUNQUERY
|
true
|
-V -R "1"
|
-s<args>
|
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
| |
-t[path]
|
Runs all Unit tests in the specified file or directory. | -t project/tests | ||
-u
|
Propagates updates on input files back to disk. | WRITEBACK
|
false
|
|
-v
|
Toggles the output of process and timing information. | false
|
||
-V
|
Prints detailed query information to the standard output, including details on the compilation and profiling steps. | QUERYINFO
|
false
|
|
-w
|
Toggles whitespace chopping of XML text nodes. By default, whitespaces will be chopped. | CHOP
|
true
|
|
-x
|
Toggles the output of the query execution plan, formatted as XML. | XMLPLAN
|
false
|
|
-X
|
Generates the query plan before or after query compilation. -x needs to be activated to make the plan visible.
|
COMPPLAN
|
true
|
|
-z
|
Turns the serialization of XQuery results on/off. This flag is useful if the query is profiled or analyzed. | SERIALIZE
|
true
|
GUI
- Launch the GUI
The basexgui
command has only one option. You can pass one or more XML and XQuery files 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.
$ basexgui [file]
Server
- Launch the server
$ basexserver BaseX [Server] Server was started (port: 1984)
You can list the available command-line options using -h
:
$ basexserver -h BaseX [Server] Usage: basexserver [-cdnpSz] [stop] stop Stop running server -c<input> Execute commands from file or string -d Enable debugging output -n<name> Set host the server is bound to -p<port> Set server port -S Start as service -z Suppress logging
The meaning of all options is listed in the following table (equivalent database options are shown in the table as well). For the examples to work, it might be necessary to escape some characters depending on your Operating System.
Flag | Description | Option | Default | Examples |
---|---|---|---|---|
stop
|
Stops a local database server instance and quits. | |||
-c<input>
|
Executes commands:
|
-c"open database;info"
| ||
-d
|
Turns on the debugging mode. Debugging information is output to standard error. | DEBUG
|
false
|
|
-n<name>
|
Specifies the host the server will be bound to. | SERVERHOST
|
-p127.0.0.1
| |
-p<port>
|
Specifies the port on which the server will be addressable. | SERVERPORT
|
1984
|
-p9999
|
-S
|
Starts the server as service (i.e., in the background). Use YAJSW, or start BaseX as an ordinary background process to get more options. | |||
-z
|
Prevents the generation of log files. | LOG
|
true
|
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.
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. > _
You can list the available command-line options using -h
:
$ basexclient -h BaseX [Client] Usage: basexclient [-bcdiInopPqrRsUvVwxz] [input] [input] XQuery or command file, or query string -b<args> Bind external query variables -c<input> Execute commands from file or string -d Toggle debugging output -i<input> Bind file or database to context -I<input> Bind input string to context -n<name> Set server (host) name -o<path> Write output to local file -p<port> Set server port -P<pass> Specify user password -q<expr> Execute XQuery expression -r<num> Run query multiple times -R Toggle query execution -s<args> Set serialization parameters -U<name> Specify user name -v Toggle output of progress info -V Toggle detailed query output -w Toggle whitespace chopping -x Toggle output of query plan -z Toggle output of query result
The meaning of all options is listed in the following table (equivalent database options are shown in the table as well). For the examples to work, it might be necessary to escape some characters depending on your Operating System.
Flag | Description | Option | Default | Examples |
---|---|---|---|---|
[input]
|
Evaluates the specified input:
|
• "doc('X')//head" • query.xq • commands.bxs | ||
-b<args>
|
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 "declare variable $v external; $v" • -b{URL}ln=value
| |
-c<input>
|
Executes commands:
|
• -c"list;info" • -ccommands.txt • -c"<info/>"
| ||
-d
|
Toggles the debugging mode. Debugging information is output to standard error. | DEBUG
|
false
|
|
-i<input>
|
Opens an XML file or database specified by the argument. The opened input can then be processed by a command or XQuery expression. | -iitems.xml "//item"
| ||
-I<input>
|
Assigns an input string as item of type xs:untypedAtomic to the query context.
|
-I "Hello Universe" -q "."
| ||
-n<name>
|
Specifies the host name on which the server is running. | HOST
|
localhost
|
-nserver.basex.org
|
-o<path>
|
All command and query output is written to the specified file. | |||
-p<port>
|
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 with this flag, it may get visible to others. | PASSWORD
|
-Uadmin -Padmin
| |
-q<expr>
|
Executes the specified string as XQuery expression. | -q"doc('input')//head"
| ||
-r<num>
|
Specifies how often a specified query will be evaluated. | RUNS
|
1
|
-V -r10 "1"
|
-R
|
Specifies if a query will be executed or parsed only. | RUNQUERY
|
true
|
-V -R "1"
|
-s<args>
|
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. | USER
|
-Uadmin
| |
-v
|
Prints process and timing information to the standard output. | false
|
||
-V
|
Prints detailed query information to the standard output, including details on the compilation and profiling steps. | QUERYINFO
|
false
|
|
-w
|
Toggles whitespace chopping of XML text nodes. By default, whitespaces will be chopped. | CHOP
|
chop
|
|
-x
|
Toggles the output of the query execution plan, formatted as XML. | XMLPLAN
|
false
|
|
-X
|
Generates the query plan before or after query compilation. -x needs to be activated to make the plan visible.
|
COMPPLAN
|
after
|
|
-z
|
Turns the serialization of XQuery results on/off. This flag is useful if the query is profiled or analyzed. | SERIALIZE
|
true
|
HTTP Server
- Launch the HTTP server
$ basexhttp BaseX [Server] Server was started (port: 1984) HTTP Server was started (port: 8984)
You can list the available command-line options using -h
:
$ basexhttp -h BaseX [HTTP] Usage: basexhttp [-cdhlnpsSUz] [stop] stop Stop running server -c<input> Execute commands from file or string -d Enable debugging output -h<port> Set port of HTTP server -l Start in local mode -n<name> Set host name of database server -p<port> Set port of database server -s<port> Specify port to stop HTTP server -S Start as service -U<name> Specify user name -z Suppress logging
The meaning of all options is listed in the following table (equivalent database options are shown in the table as well). For the examples to work, it might be necessary to escape some characters depending on your Operating System.
Flag | Description | Option | Default | Examples |
---|---|---|---|---|
stop
|
Stops a local HTTP server and quits. The database server will be stopped as well, unless -l is specified.
|
pom.xml
|
||
-c<input>
|
Executes commands:
|
-c"open database"
| ||
-d
|
Turns on the debugging mode. Debugging information is output to standard error. | DEBUG
|
||
-h<port>
|
Specifies the port on which the HTTP server will be addressable. | jetty.xml
|
8984
|
-h9999
|
-l
|
Starts the server in local mode, and executes all commands in the embedded database context. | HTTPLOCAL
|
||
-n<name>
|
Specifies the host name on which the server is running. | HOST
|
localhost
|
-nserver.basex.org
|
-p<port>
|
Specifies the port on which the database server will be addressable. | SERVERPORT
|
1984
|
-p9998
|
-s<port>
|
Specifies the port that will be used to stop the HTTP server. | STOPPORT orpom.xml
|
8985
|
|
-S
|
Starts the server as service (i.e., in the background). Use YAJSW, or start BaseX as an ordinary background process to get more options. | |||
-U<name>
|
Specifies a user name, which will be used by the HTTP services for opening a new session. | USER
|
-Uadmin
| |
-z
|
Prevents the generation of log files. | LOG
|
Changelog
- Version 9.0
- Added: BaseXHTTP, command-line option
-c
. - Updated: BaseXHTTP, command-line option
-c
, additionally accepts valid URLs and file references.
- Version 8.2
- Removed: Event ports,
-e
.
- Version 8.1
- Added: Bind input strings to the query context with
-I
.
- Version 8.0
- Removed: Command-line option
-L
(results will now be automatically separated by newlines).
- Version 7.9
- Added: Runs tests in file or directory with
-t
. - Removed: interactive server mode.
- Version 7.8
- Added: Specify if a query will be executed or parsed only with
-R
.
- Version 7.7
- Added: Bind host to the BaseX Server with
-n
.
- Version 7.5
- Added: detection of Command Scripts.
- Removed: HTTP server flags
-R
,-W
, and-X
.
- Version 7.3
- Updated: all options are now evaluated in the given order.
- Updated: Create main-memory representations for specified sources with
-i
. - Updated: Options
-C
/-c
and-q
/[input]
merged. - Updated: Option
-L
also separates serialized items with newlines (instead of spaces).
- Version 7.2
- Added: RESTXQ Service
- Version 7.1.1
- Added: Options
-C
and-L
in standalone and client mode.
- Version 7.1
- Updated: Multiple query files and
-c
/-i
/-q
flags can be specified.