Commands

This article is part of the Getting Started Section. It lists all database commands supported by BaseX.

Commands can be executed from the Command Line, as part of Scripts, via the Clients, REST, the input field in the GUI, and other ways. If the GUI is used, all commands that are triggered by the GUI itself will show up in the Info View. The Permission fields indicate which rights are required by a user to perform a command in the client/server architecture.

Basics

Command Scripts

On command line, multiple commands can be written down in a single line (separated by semicolons). You can also put them into a command script: Database commands in both string and XML syntax can be placed in a text file and stored as file with the BaseX command script suffix .bxs. If the path to a script file is passed on to BaseX on command-line, or if it is opened in the GUI editor, it will be recognized and evaluated as such.

String Syntax

Lines starting with # are interpreted as comments and are skipped. With the following script, a database is created, two documents are added to it, and a query is performed:

CREATE DB test
ADD TO embedded.xml <root>embedded</root>
# run query
XQUERY <hits>{ count(//text()) }</hits>
CLOSE

XML Syntax

The string syntax is limited when XML snippets need to be embedded in a command, or when complex queries are to be specified.

The XML syntax provides more flexibility here. Multiple commands can be enclosed by a <commands/> root element. Some commands, such as ADD, allow you to directly embed XML documents. If you want to embed XML in XQuery expressions, entities should be encoded, or the CDATA syntax should be used:

<commands>
  <create-db name='test'/>
  <add path='embedded.xml'><root>embedded</root></add>
  <!-- run query -->
  <xquery><![CDATA[
    <hits>{ count(//text()) }</hits>
  ]]></xquery>
  <close/>
</commands>

Glob Syntax

Some commands support the glob syntax to address more than one database or user. Question marks and asterisks can be used to match one or more characters, and commas can be used to separate multiple patterns. Some examples:

• AB? addresses all names with the characters AB and one more character.
• *AB addresses all names ending with the characters AB.
• X*,Y*,Z* addresses all names starting with the characters X, Y, or Z.

Valid Names

Names of databases and users follow the same constraints: Names must at least have one printable character, including letters, numbers, and any of the special characters !#$%&'()+-=@[]^_`{}~. The following characters are disallowed:

• ,?*: glob syntax
• ;: Separator for multiple database commands on the command line
• \/: Directory path separators
• :"<>|: invalid filename characters on Windows
• Names starting or ending with .: hidden folders (e.g. the .logs directory)

Aliases

In all commands, the DB keyword can be replaced by DATABASE.

Database Operations

CREATE DB

Syntax	CREATE DB [name] ([input])
XML Syntax	<create-db name='...'>([input])</create-db>
Permission	CREATE
Summary	Creates a new database with the specified name and, optionally, an initial input, and opens it. An existing database will be overwritten. The input can be a file or directory path to XML documents, a remote URL, or a string containing XML: name must be a valid database name database creation can be controlled by setting Create Options If you need to add initial resources, it is always faster to supply them at creation time than adding them in a subsequent step via ADD.
Errors	The command fails if a database with the specified name is currently used by another process, if one of the documents to be added is not well-formed or if it cannot be parsed for some other reason.
Examples	CREATE DB input creates an empty database input. CREATE DB xmark http://files.basex.org/xml/xmark.xml creates the database xmark, containing a single initial document called xmark.xml. CREATE DATABASE coll /path/to/input creates the database coll with all documents found in the input directory. SET INTPARSE false and CREATE DB input input.xml creates a database input with input.xml as initial document, which will be parsed with Java's default XML parser. <create-db name='simple'><hello>Universe</hello></create-db> creates a database named simple with an initial document <hello>Universe</hello>.

OPEN

Syntax	OPEN [name]
XML Syntax	<open name='...'/>
Permission	READ
Summary	Opens the database specified by name.
Errors	The command fails if the specified database does not exist, is currently being updated by another process, or cannot be opened for some other reason.

CHECK

Syntax	CHECK [input]
XML Syntax	<check input='...'/>
Permission	READ/CREATE
Summary	This convenience command combines OPEN and CREATE DB: If a database with the name input exists, and if there is no existing file or directory with the same name that has a newer timestamp, the database is opened. Otherwise, a new database is created; if the specified input points to an existing resource, it is stored as initial content.
Errors	The command fails if the addressed database could neither be opened nor created.

CLOSE

Syntax	CLOSE
XML Syntax	<close/>
Permission	READ
Summary	Closes the currently opened database.
Errors	The command fails if the database files could not be closed for some reason.

LIST

Syntax	LIST ([name] ([path]))
XML Syntax	<list (name='...' (path='...'))/>
Permission	NONE
Summary	Lists all available databases. If name is specified, the resources of a database are listed. The output can be further restricted to the resources matching the specified path. If database resources are listed, the size is either the number of nodes (for XML resources) or the number of bytes (for binary resources).
Errors	The command fails if the optional database cannot be opened, or if the existing databases cannot be listed for some other reason.

DIR

Syntax	DIR ([path]))
XML Syntax	<dir (path='...')/>
Permission	READ
Summary	Lists directories and resources of the currently opened database and the specified path. If database resources are listed, the size is either the number of nodes (for XML resources) or the number of bytes (for binary resources).

EXPORT

Syntax	EXPORT [path]
XML Syntax	<export path='...'/>
Permission	CREATE
Summary	Exports all documents in the database to the specified file path, using the serializer options specified by the EXPORTER option.
Errors	The command fails if no database is opened, if the target path points to a file or is invalid, if the serialization parameters are invalid, or if the documents cannot be serialized for some other reason.

CREATE INDEX

Syntax	CREATE INDEX [TEXT|ATTRIBUTE|TOKEN|FULLTEXT]
XML Syntax	<create-index type='text|attribute|token|fulltext'/>
Permission	WRITE
Summary	Creates the specified Value Index. The current Index Options will be considered when creating the index.
Errors	The command fails if no database is opened, if the specified index is unknown, or if indexing fails for some other reason.

DROP INDEX

Syntax	DROP INDEX [TEXT|ATTRIBUTE|TOKEN|FULLTEXT]
XML Syntax	<drop-index type='text|attribute|token|fulltext'/>
Permission	WRITE
Summary	Drops the specified Value Index.
Errors	The command fails if no database is opened, if the specified index is unknown, or if it could not be deleted for some other reason.

ALTER DB

Syntax	ALTER DB [name] [newname]
XML Syntax	<alter-db name='...' newname='...'/>
Permission	CREATE
Summary	Renames the database specified by name to newname. newname must be a valid database name.
Errors	The command fails if the source database does not exist or is currently locked, or if it could not be renamed for some other reason.
Examples	ALTER DB db tempdb renames the database db into tempdb.

DROP DB

Syntax	DROP DB [name]
XML Syntax	<drop-db name='...'/>
Permission	CREATE
Summary	Drops the database with the specified name. The Glob Syntax can be used to address more than one database.
Errors	The command fails if the specified database does not exist or is currently locked, or if the database could not be deleted for some other reason.

COPY

Syntax	COPY [name] [newname]
XML Syntax	<copy name='...' newname='...'/>
Permission	CREATE
Summary	Creates a copy of the database specified by name. newname must be a valid database name.
Errors	The command fails if the source database does not exist.

INSPECT

Syntax	INSPECT
XML Syntax	<inspect/>
Permission	READ
Summary	Performs some integrity checks on the opened database and returns a brief summary.

Backups

CREATE BACKUP

Syntax	CREATE BACKUP ([name] ([comment]))
XML Syntax	<create-backup (name='...') (comment='...')/>
Permission	CREATE
Summary	Creates a backup of the database specified by name, with an optional comment. If no name is supplied, general data will be backed up. The backup file will be suffixed with the current timestamp and stored in the database directory. The Glob Syntax can be used to address more than one database.
Errors	The command fails if the specified database does not exist, or if it could not be zipped for some other reason.
Examples	BACKUP db creates a zip archive of the database db (e.g. db-2014-04-01-12-27-28.zip) in the database directory.

DROP BACKUP

Syntax	DROP BACKUP ([name])
XML Syntax	<drop-backup (name='...')/>
Permission	CREATE
Summary	Drops all backups of the database with the specified name, or a specific backup file if the name ends with its timestamp. If no name is supplied, backups with general data are addressed. The Glob Syntax can be used to address more than one database.
Examples	DROP BACKUP abc* deletes the backups of all databases starting with the characters abc. DROP BACKUP factbook-2021-05-16-13-13-10 deletes a specific backup file.

ALTER BACKUP

Syntax	ALTER BACKUP [name] [newname]
XML Syntax	<alter-backup name='...' newname='...'/>
Permission	CREATE
Summary	Renames all backups of the database with the specified name to newname. If the name ends with a timestamp, only the specified backup file will be renamed. The Glob Syntax can be used to address more than one database.
Examples	ALTER BACKUP logs logs-backup renames the backups of the logs database to logs-backup.

RESTORE

Syntax	RESTORE ([name])
XML Syntax	<restore (name='...')/>
Permission	CREATE
Summary	Restores a database with the specified name. The name may include the timestamp of the backup file. If no name is supplied, general data will be restored. If general data is restored, it will only be available after BaseX has been restarted.
Errors	The command fails if the specified backup does not exist, if the database to be restored is currently locked, or if it could not be restored for some other reason.

SHOW BACKUPS

Syntax	SHOW BACKUPS
XML Syntax	<show-backups/>
Permission	CREATE
Summary	Shows all database backups.

Querying

XQUERY

Syntax	XQUERY [query]
XML Syntax	<xquery>[query]</xquery>
Permission	depends on query
Summary	Runs the specified query and prints the result.
Errors	The command fails if the specified query is invalid.
Examples	XQUERY 1 to 10 returns the sequence (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). SET RUNS 10 and XQUERY 1 to 10 returns the results after having run the query 10 times. SET XMLPLAN true and XQUERY 1 to 10 returns the result and prints the query plan as XML.

GET

Syntax	GET [path]
XML Syntax	<get path='...'/>
Permission	READ
Summary	Retrieves an XML document from the opened database at the specified path.
Errors	The command fails if no database is opened or if the source path is invalid.

BINARY GET

Syntax	BINARY GET [path]
XML Syntax	<binary-get path='...'/>
Permission	READ
Summary	Retrieves a binary resource from the opened database at the specified path.
Errors	The command fails if no database is opened or if the source path is invalid.

FIND

Syntax	FIND [query]
XML Syntax	<find>[query]</find>
Permission	READ
Summary	Builds and runs a query for the specified query terms. Keywords can be enclosed in quotes to look for phrases. The following modifiers can be used to further limit search: = looks for exact text nodes ~ looks for approximate hits @= looks for exact attribute values @ looks for attributes
Errors	The command fails if no database is opened.

TEST

Syntax	TEST [path]
XML Syntax	<test path='...'/>
Permission	ADMIN
Summary	Runs all XQUnit tests in the specified path. The path can point to a single file or a directory. Unit testing can also be triggered via -t on command line.
Errors	The command fails if at least one test fails.
Examples	TEST project/tests runs all tests in the directory project/tests.

REPO INSTALL

Syntax	REPO INSTALL [path]
XML Syntax	<repo-install path='...'/>
Permission	CREATE
Summary	Installs the package with path path.
Errors	The command fails in the following cases: The package to be installed is not a xar file. The package to be installed does not exist or is already installed. The package descriptor is with invalid syntax. The package to be installed depends on a package which is not installed. The package is not supported by the current version of BaseX. A component of the package is already installed as part of another package.

REPO LIST

Syntax	REPO LIST
XML Syntax	<repo-list/>
Permission	READ
Summary	Lists all installed packages.

REPO DELETE

Syntax	REPO DELETE [name]
XML Syntax	<repo-delete name='...'/>
Permission	CREATE
Summary	Deletes the specified package with the specified name. What is called "name" can also be the id (which is the name followed by the version) or the directory of the package.
Errors	The command fails if the package to be deleted is required by another package.

Updates

ADD

Syntax	ADD (TO [path]) [input]
XML Syntax	<add (path='...')>[input]</add>
Permission	WRITE
Summary	Adds a file, directory or XML string specified by input to the currently opened database at the specified path: input may either be a single XML document, a directory, a remote URL or a plain XML string. A document with the same path may occur than once in a database. If this is unwanted, the PUT command can be used. If a file is too large to be added in one go, its data structures will be cached to disk first. Caching can be enforced by turning the ADDCACHE option on. If files are to be added to an empty database, it is usually faster to use the CREATE DB command and specify the initial input as argument.
Errors	The command fails if no database is opened, if one of the documents to be added is not well-formed, or if it could not be parsed for some other reason.
Examples	ADD input.xml adds the file input.xml to the database. ADD TO temp/one.xml input.xml adds input.xml to the database and moves it to temp/one.xml. ADD TO target/ xmldir adds all files from the xmldir directory to the database in the target path.

DELETE

Syntax	DELETE [path]
XML Syntax	<delete path='...'/>
Permission	WRITE
Summary	Deletes all documents from the currently opened database that start with the specified path.
Errors	The command fails if no database is opened.

RENAME

Syntax	RENAME [path] [newpath]
XML Syntax	<rename path='...' newpath='...'/>
Permission	WRITE
Summary	Renames all document paths in the currently opened database that start with the specified path. The command may be used to either rename single documents or directories.
Errors	The command fails if no database is opened, or if the target path is empty.
Examples	RENAME one.xml two.xml renames the document one.xml to two.xml. RENAME / TOP moves all documents to a TOP root directory.

PUT

Syntax	PUT [path] [input]
XML Syntax	<put path='...'>[input]</put>
Permission	WRITE
Summary	Adds or replaces resources in the currently opened database, addressed by path, with the file, directory or XML string specified by input.
Errors	The command fails if no database is opened or if the specified path is invalid.
Examples	PUT one.xml input.xml replaces one.xml with the contents of the file input.xml. PUT top.xml <xml/> replaces top.xml with the XML document <xml/>.

BINARY PUT

Syntax	BINARY PUT (TO [path]) [input]
XML Syntax	<binary-put (path='...')>[input]</store>
Permission	WRITE
Summary	Stores a binary resource specified via input in the opened database to the specified path: The input may either be a file reference, a remote URL, or a plain string. If the path denotes a directory, it needs to be suffixed with a slash (/). An existing resource will be replaced.
Errors	The command fails if no database is opened, if the specified resource is not found, if the target path is invalid or if the data cannot not be written for some other reason.

OPTIMIZE

Syntax	OPTIMIZE (ALL)
XML Syntax	<optimize/> <optimize-all/>
Permission	WRITE
Summary	Optimizes the index structures, metadata and statistics of the currently opened database: If ALL is specified, all database structures are completely reconstructed. The database size will be reduced, and all orphaned data will be deleted. Without ALL, only the outdated index structures and database statistics will be updated. If the database is completely up-to-date, nothing will be done. Database options will be adopted from the original database. Only AUTOOPTIMIZE and (if ALL is specified) UPDINDEX will be adopted from the current options.
Errors	The command fails if no database is opened, or if the currently opened database is a main-memory instance.

FLUSH

Syntax	FLUSH
XML Syntax	<flush/>
Permission	WRITE
Summary	Explicitly flushes the buffers of the currently opened database to disk. This command is applied if AUTOFLUSH has been set to false.
Errors	The command fails if no database is opened.

User Management

CREATE USER

Syntax	CREATE USER [name] ([password])
XML Syntax	<create-user name='...'>([password])</create-user>
Permission	ADMIN
Summary	Creates a user with the specified name and password. If no password is specified, it is requested via the chosen frontend (GUI or bash).
Errors	The command fails if the specified user already exists.

ALTER USER

Syntax	ALTER USER [name] ([newname])
XML Syntax	<alter-user name='...' newname='...'/>
Permission	ADMIN
Summary	Renames the user with the specified name to newname.
Errors	The command fails if the specified user does not exist, or if the new user already exists.

ALTER PASSWORD

Syntax	ALTER PASSWORD [name] ([password])
XML Syntax	<alter-password name='...'>([password])</alter-password>
Permission	ADMIN
Summary	Alters the password of the user with the specified name. If no password is specified, it is requested via the chosen frontend (GUI or bash).
Errors	The command fails if the specified user does not exist.

DROP USER

Syntax	DROP USER [name] (ON [pattern]):
XML Syntax	<drop-user name='...' (pattern='...')/>
Permission	ADMIN
Summary	Drops the user with the specified name. The Glob Syntax can be used to address more than one database or user. If a glob pattern is specified, only the assigned database pattern will be removed.
Errors	The command fails if admin is specified as username, or if the specified user does not exist or is currently logged in.

GRANT

Syntax	GRANT [NONE|READ|WRITE|CREATE|ADMIN] (ON [pattern]) TO [user]
XML Syntax	<grant name='...' permission='none|read|write|create|admin' (pattern='...')/>
Permission	ADMIN
Summary	Grants the specified permission to the specified user. The Glob Syntax can be used to address more than one user. If a glob pattern is specified, the permission will be applied to all databases that match this pattern.
Errors	The command fails if admin is specified as username or if the specified user does not exist.
Examples	GRANT READ TO JoeWinson grants READ permission to the user JoeWinson. GRANT WRITE ON Wiki TO editor* grants WRITE permissions on the Wiki database to all users starting with the characters editor*.

PASSWORD

Syntax	PASSWORD ([password])
XML Syntax	<password>([password])</password>
Permission	NONE
Summary	Changes the password of the current user. If the command is run on command-line or in the GUI, the password can be omitted and entered interactively.

Administration

SHOW OPTIONS

Syntax	SHOW OPTIONS [name]
XML Syntax	<show-options (name='...')/>
Permission	NONE
Summary	Returns the current values of all Options, or a single option with the specified name. Global options can only be requested by users with ADMIN permissions.
Errors	The command fails if the specified option is unknown.

SHOW SESSIONS

Syntax	SHOW SESSIONS
XML Syntax	<show-sessions/>
Permission	ADMIN
Summary	Shows all sessions that are connected to the current server instance.

SHOW USERS

Syntax	SHOW USERS (ON [database])
XML Syntax	<show-users (database='...')/>
Permission	ADMIN
Summary	Shows all users that are visible to the current user. If a database is specified, only those users will be shown for which a pattern was specified that matches the database name.
Errors	The command fails if the optional database could not be opened.

KILL

Syntax	KILL [target]
XML Syntax	<kill target='...'/>
Permission	ADMIN
Summary	Kills sessions of a user or an IP:port combination, specified by target. The Glob Syntax can be used to address more than one user.
Errors	The command fails if a user tried to kill his/her own session.

INFO DB

Syntax	INFO DB
XML Syntax	<info-db/>
Permission	READ
Summary	Shows general information and metadata on the currently opened database.
Errors	The command fails if no database is opened.

INFO INDEX

Syntax	INFO INDEX ([ELEMNAME|ATTRNAME|PATH|TEXT|ATTRIBUTE|TOKEN|FULLTEXT])
XML Syntax	<info-index type='elemname|attrname|path|text|attribute|token|fulltext'/>
Permission	READ
Summary	Shows information on the existing index structures. The output can be optionally limited to the specified index.
Errors	The command fails if no database is opened, or if the specified index is unknown.

INFO STORAGE

Syntax	INFO STORAGE [start end]
XML Syntax	<info-storage (start='...') (end='...')/>
Permission	READ
Summary	Shows the internal main table of the currently opened database. An integer range may be specified as argument.
Errors	The command fails if no database is opened, or if one of the specified arguments is invalid.

General Commands

RUN

Syntax	RUN [file]
XML Syntax	<run file='...'/>
Permission	depends on input
Summary	Evaluates the contents of file as XQuery expression. If the file ends with the suffix .bxs, the file contents will be evaluated as command script. This command can be used to run several commands in a row, with no other transaction intervening the execution.
Errors	The command fails if the specified file does not exist, or if the retrieved input is invalid. It will be canceled as soon as one of the executed commands fails.
Examples	RUN query.xq will evaluate the specified file as XQuery expression RUN commands.bxs will evaluate the specified file as command script

EXECUTE

Syntax	EXECUTE [input]
XML Syntax	<execute>[input]</execute>
Permission	depends on input
Summary	Evaluates the specified input as command script. This command can be used to run several commands in a row, with no other transaction intervening the execution.
Errors	The command fails if the syntax of the specified input is invalid. It will be canceled as soon as one of the executed commands fails.
Examples	EXECUTE "<commands><create-db name='db1'/><create-db name='db2'/></commands>" Two databases will be created in a single transaction.

SET

Syntax	SET [option] ([value])
XML Syntax	<set option='...'>([value])</set>
Permission	NONE
Summary	Sets the Option specified by option to a new value. Only local options can be modified. If no value is specified, and if the value is boolean, it will be inverted.
Errors	The command fails if the specified option is unknown or if the specified value is invalid.

INFO

Syntax	INFO
XML Syntax	<info/>
Permission	READ
Summary	Shows global information.

HELP

Syntax	HELP ([command])
XML Syntax	<help>([command])</help>
Permission	NONE
Summary	If command is specified, information on the specific command is printed; otherwise, all commands are listed.
Errors	The command fails if the specified command is unknown.

EXIT

Syntax	EXIT
XML Syntax	<exit/>
Permission	NONE
Summary	Exits the console mode.

QUIT

Syntax	QUIT
XML Syntax	<quit/>
Permission	NONE
Summary	Exits the console mode (alias of EXIT).

Changelog

Version 10

• Added: Backups: Support for general data (registered users, scheduled services and key-value stores).
• Added: DIR, GET
• Updated: SHOW OPTIONS: Renamed (before: GET).
• Updated: BINARY GET: Renamed (before: RETRIEVE).
• Updated: BINARY PUT: Renamed (before: STORE).
• Updated: PUT: Renamed (before: REPLACE).
• Updated: CREATE BACKUP: Support for comments.
• Updated: OPEN: path argument dropped.
• Removed: JOBS LIST, JOBS RESULT, JOBS STOP

Version 9.7

• Updated: ALTER DB, COPY: Overwrite existing databases.

Version 9.3

• Added: ALTER BACKUP

Version 8.6

• Updated: SHOW USERS: If called by non-admins, will only return the current user

Version 8.5

• Added: JOBS LIST, JOBS RESULT, JOBS STOP
• Updated: Valid Names: allow dots (except as first and last character)

Version 8.4

• Updated: CREATE INDEX, DROP INDEX, INFO INDEX: token index added
• Updated: INFO STORAGE: Query argument removed, start/end added to XML syntax.
• Updated: INFO INDEX: Token index added; index TAG renamed to ELEMNAME; index ATTNAME renamed to ATTRNAME
• Updated: OPTIMIZE: adopt original index options

Version 8.2

• Removed: CREATE EVENT, DROP EVENT and SHOW EVENTS command

Version 8.0

• Updated: commands for User Management
• Updated: OPEN: path argument added
• Removed: CS command
• Added: QUIT

Version 7.9

• Added: TEST runs XQUnit tests.

Version 7.7

• Updated: syntax of valid names.

Version 7.5

• Added: EXECUTE executes a command script.
• Added: INSPECT performs integrity checks.
• Added: automatic detection of Command Scripts.
• Removed: SHOW DATABASES; information is also returned by SHOW SESSIONS.
• Removed: OPEN: path argument.

Version 7.3

• Added: XML Syntax added.
• Updated: CHECK can now be used to create empty databases.
• Updated: Names and paths in OPEN and LIST are now specified as separate arguments.

Version 7.2.1

• Updated: permissions for GET and SET changed from READ to NONE.

Version 7.2

• Updated: CREATE INDEX, DROP INDEX (PATH argument removed. Path summary is always available now and updated with OPTIMIZE).
• Updated: permissions for REPO DELETE, REPO INSTALL and REPO LIST.

Version 7.1

• Updated: KILL (killing sessions by specifying IP:port)

Version 7.0

• Added: FLUSH, RETRIEVE, STORE.
• Updated: ADD: simplified arguments.