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 default extension for BaseX command scripts is .bxs
. If the path to a command script is passed on to BaseX, 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 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
Both database and user names must follow the same naming constraints. Valid names may contain letters, numbers, underscores and dashes. Names must have at least one character; they also should not be longer than 128 characters, although this is not enforced. A regular expression matching valid names is [-_a-zA-Z0-9]{1,128}
.
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 the database [name] with an optional [input] and opens it. 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
|
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; 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, 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 [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|FULLTEXT]
|
XML Syntax
|
<create-index type='text|attribute|fulltext'/>
|
Permission
|
WRITE
|
Summary
|
Creates the specified database 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|FULLTEXT]
|
XML Syntax
|
<drop-index type='text|attribute|fulltext'/>
|
Permission
|
WRITE
|
Summary
|
Drops the specified database 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
|
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.
|
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. Please note that Java 7 is required to handle ZIP files larger than 4 GB.
|
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-2011-04-01-12-27-28.zip ) in the database directory.
|
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
|
DROP BACKUP abc* deletes the backups of all databases starting with the characters abc .
|
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
Syntax
|
INFO INDEX ([TAG|ATTNAME|PATH|TEXT|ATTRIBUTE|FULLTEXT])
|
XML Syntax
|
<info-index type='tag|attname|path|text|attribute|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] | [query]
|
XML Syntax
|
<info-storage>([query])</info-storage>
|
Permission
|
READ
|
Summary
|
Shows the internal main table of the currently opened database. An integer range or a query 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] .
|
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
|
XQUERY 1 to 10 returns the sequence (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) .
SET RUNS 10; XQUERY 1 to 10 runs the query 10 times, returns the result and prints the average execution time.
SET XMLPLAN true; XQUERY 1 to 10 returns the result and prints the query plan as XML.
|
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:
= 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.
|
CS
Syntax
|
CS [query]
|
XML Syntax
|
<cs>[query]</cs>
|
Permission
|
depends on query
|
Summary
|
Evaluates the specified [query] and declares the resulting nodes as new context set. In subsequent queries, the context set will be available via the context item expression of XQuery (. ).
|
Errors
|
The command fails if no database is opened, if the specified query is invalid or if it does not return nodes of the currently opened database.
|
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 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 the files, 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. If the path denotes a directory, it needs to be suffixed with a slash (/ ).
|
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.
|
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 it as a new document.
|
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
|
REPLACE one.xml input.xml replaces the document one.xml with the contents of the file input.xml .
REPLACE top.xml <xml/> replaces the document top.xml with the document <xml/> .
|
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, local users are shown.
|
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.
|
CREATE EVENT
Syntax
|
CREATE EVENT [NAME]
|
XML Syntax
|
<create-event name='...'/>
|
Permission
|
ADMIN
|
Summary
|
Creates the specified event.
|
Errors
|
The command fails if event already exists.
|
SHOW EVENTS
Syntax
|
SHOW EVENTS
|
XML Syntax
|
<show-events/>
|
Permission
|
ADMIN
|
Summary
|
Shows all events that have been registered in the database.
|
DROP EVENT
Syntax
|
DROP EVENT [NAME]
|
XML Syntax
|
<drop-event name='...'/>
|
Permission
|
ADMIN
|
Summary
|
Drops the specified event.
|
Errors
|
The command fails if the event doesn't exist.
|
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] . [name] must be a valid user name. The password must be a valid MD5 hash value. If no password is specified in the console mode, it is requested via standard input.
|
Errors
|
The command fails if the specified user already exists, or if the password is no valid MD5 hash value.
|
ALTER USER
Syntax
|
ALTER USER [name] ([password])
|
XML Syntax
|
<alter-user name='...'>([password])</alter-user>
|
Permission
|
ADMIN
|
Summary
|
Alters the [password] of the user specified by [name] . The password must be a valid MD5 hash value. If no password is specified in the console mode, it is requested via standard input.
|
Errors
|
The command fails if the specified user does not exist, or if the password is no valid MD5 hash value.
|
DROP USER
Syntax
|
DROP USER [name] (ON [database]) :
|
XML Syntax
|
<drop-user name='...' (database='...')/>
|
Permission
|
ADMIN
|
Summary
|
Drops the user with the specified [name] . If a [database] is specified, the user is only dropped locally. The Glob Syntax can be used to address more than one database or user.
|
Errors
|
The command fails if admin is specified as user name, if the specified user does not exist or is logged in, or if the optional database could not be opened for modification.
|
GRANT
Syntax
|
GRANT [NONE|READ|WRITE|CREATE|ADMIN] (ON [database]) TO [user]
|
XML Syntax
|
<grant name='...' permission='none|read|write|create|admin' (database='...')/>
|
Permission
|
ADMIN
|
Summary
|
Grants the specified permission to the specified [user] . If a [database] is specified, the permissions are only granted locally. The Glob Syntax can be used to address more than one database or user.
|
Errors
|
The command fails if admin is specified as user name, if the specified user does not exist, or if the optional database could not be opened for modification.
|
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. The password must be a valid MD5 hash value. If no password is specified in the console mode, it is requested via standard input.
|
Errors
|
The command fails if the password is no valid MD5 hash value.
|
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
|
RUN query.xq will evaluated the specified file as XQuery expression
RUN commands.bxs will evaluated 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 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
|
EXECUTE "create db db1; create db db2"
EXECUTE "<commands><create-db name='db1'/><create-db name='db2'/></commands>" both commands will create two databases db1 and db2 in a single transaction.
|
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.
|
Changelog
- 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
- Version 7.1
- Updated:
KILL
(killing sessions by specifying IP:port)
- Version 7.0