Commands
This article is part of the Getting Started Section. It lists all database commands supported by BaseX. Commands can e.g. be executed from the Command Line, Scripts, 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
Database commands in both the string and XML syntax can be placed in a text file and stored on disk. The extension for BaseX command scripts is .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 automatically be recognized and evaluated as such.
String Syntax
Multiple commands can be written in a single line and separated by semicolons, or stored as command script. Lines starting with #
are interpreted as comments and are skipped. The following script creates a database, adds two documents to it and performs a query:
CREATE DB test ADD input.xml ADD TO embedded.xml <root>embedded</root> # run query XQUERY count(//text())
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.
This is why database commands can also be specified in XML.
Multiple commands can be enclosed by a <commands/>
root element:
<commands> <create-db name='test'/> <add>input.xml</add> <add path='embedded.xml'><root>embedded</root></add> <xquery>count(//text())</xquery> </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 charactersAB
and one more character.*AB
addresses all names ending with the charactersAB
.X*,Y*,Z*
addresses all names starting with the charactersX
,Y
, orZ
.
Valid Names
Database and user names follow the same naming constraints: Names are restricted to ASCII characters. They must at least have one character, and they may contain letters, numbers and any of the special characters !#$%&'()+-=@[]^_`{}~
. The following characters are reserved for other features:
,?*
: glob syntax;
: Separator for multiple database commands on the command line\/
: Directory path separators.
: hidden folders (e.g. the .logs directory):*?\"<>|}
: invalid filename characters on Windows
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 may either be a reference to a single XML document, a directory, a remote URL, or a string containing XML:
|
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 |
|
OPEN
Syntax | OPEN [name] ([path])
|
XML Syntax | <open name='...' (path='...')/>
|
Permission | READ |
Summary | Opens the database specified by name . The documents to be opened can be specified by the [path] argument.
|
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, it 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. |
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
Template:Mark Token index added.
Syntax | CREATE INDEX [TEXT|ATTRIBUTE|TOKEN|FULLTEXT]
|
XML Syntax | <create-index type='text|attribute|token|fulltext'/> |
Permission | WRITE |
Summary | Creates the specified Value 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
Template:Mark Token index added.
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. |
Administration
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 target database already exists, if the source database does not exist or is currently locked, or if it could not be renamed for some other reason. |
Examples |
|
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. |
CREATE BACKUP
Syntax | CREATE BACKUP [name]
|
XML Syntax | <create-backup name='...'/> |
Permission | CREATE |
Summary | Creates a zipped backup of the database specified by name . 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 |
|
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.
|
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. |
INSPECT
Syntax | INSPECT
|
XML Syntax | <inspect/>
|
Permission | READ |
Summary | Performs some integrity checks on the opened database and returns a brief summary. |
DROP BACKUP
Syntax | DROP BACKUP [name]
|
XML Syntax | <drop-backup name='...'/> |
Permission | CREATE |
Summary | Drops all backups of the database with the specified name . The Glob Syntax can be used to address more than one database.
|
Examples |
|
SHOW BACKUPS
Syntax | SHOW BACKUPS
|
XML Syntax | <show-backups/> |
Permission | CREATE |
Summary | Shows all database backups. |
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 target database already exists, or if the source database does not exist. |
INFO DB
Syntax | INFO DB
|
XML Syntax | <info-db/> |
Permission | READ |
Summary | Shows information on the currently opened database. |
Errors | The command fails if no database is opened. |
INFO INDEX
Template:Mark Token index added.
Syntax | INFO INDEX ([TAG|ATTNAME|PATH|TEXT|ATTRIBUTE|TOKEN|FULLTEXT])
|
XML Syntax | <info-index type='tag|attname|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
Template:Mark: Query argument removed, start/end added to XML syntax.
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. |
Querying
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. |
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 |
|
RETRIEVE
Syntax | RETRIEVE [path]
|
XML Syntax | <retrieve path='...'/> |
Permission | READ |
Summary | Retrieves a raw file from the opened database at the specified path .
|
Errors | The command fails if no database is opened, if the source path is invalid or if the data cannot not be retrieved for some other reason. |
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:
|
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 |
|
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:
|
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 package with name name , optionally followed by a version.
|
Errors | The command fails if the package to be deleted participates in a dependency. |
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 :
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 |
|
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 |
|
REPLACE
Syntax | REPLACE [path] [input]
|
XML Syntax | <replace path='...'>[input]</replace> |
Permission | WRITE |
Summary | Replaces a document in the currently opened database, addressed by path , with the file or XML string specified by input , or adds a new document if the resource does not exist yet.
|
Errors | The command fails if no database is opened, if the specified path points to a database directory, or if the input is not found. |
Examples |
|
STORE
Syntax | STORE (TO [path]) [input]
|
XML Syntax | <store (path='...')>[input]</store> |
Permission | WRITE |
Summary | Stores a raw file in the opened database to the specified path . 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 (/ ).
|
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, meta data and statistics of the currently opened database. If the ALL flag is specified, the internal database structures are completely rebuilt; this often leads to a reduction of the total database size.
|
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. |
Server Administration
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 registered in the database. If a database is specified, all user 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. |
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 pattern will be removed.
|
Errors | The command fails if admin is specified as user name, 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 user name or if the specified user does not exist.
|
Examples |
|
PASSWORD
Syntax | PASSWORD ([password])
|
XML Syntax | <password>([password])</password> |
Permission | NONE |
Summary | Changes the password of the current user. If no password is specified, it is requested via the chosen frontend (GUI or bash).
|
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 content will be evaluated as command script. This command can be used to run several commands in a single transaction.
|
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 |
|
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 single transaction.
|
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 |
|
GET
Syntax | GET [option]
|
XML Syntax | <get (option='...')/> |
Permission | NONE |
Summary | Returns the current value of the Option specified via option . Global options can only be requested by users with ADMIN permissions.
|
Errors | The command fails if the specified option is unknown. |
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 8.4
- Updated:
CREATE INDEX
,DROP INDEX
,INFO INDEX
: token index added - Updated:
INFO STORAGE
: Query argument removed, start/end added to XML syntax.
- Version 8.2
- Removed:
CREATE EVENT
,DROP EVENT
andSHOW 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 bySHOW 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
andLIST
are now specified as separate arguments.
- Version 7.2.1
- 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
andREPO LIST
.
- Version 7.1
- Updated:
KILL
(killing sessions by specifying IP:port)
- Version 7.0