Using Database Connections with gsqlcmd

gsqlcmd requires a database connection as the first positional parameter in database-related modes.

You can specify the connection using:

• Database connection strings
• Named connections
• File names

Connection String Example

Here's how to use a connection string:

gsqlcmd exec "System.Data.OleDb;Provider=MSOLEDBSQL;Data Source=.\SQLEXPRESS;Initial Catalog=master;Integrated Security=SSPI" "select name from sys.databases"

You can also pass connection strings via environment variables. For example:

set connection="Provider=MSOLEDBSQL;Data Source=.\SQLEXPRESS;Initial Catalog=master;Integrated Security=SSPI"

gsqlcmd %connection% "select name from sys.databases"

Named Connection Example

To use a named connection, you can do the following:

gsqlcmd exec master "select name from sys.databases"

File Name Example

You can also connect using a file name:

gsqlcmd exec test.xlsx "SELECT * FROM [sheet1$]"

For more details, see the connection parameter description.

Creating Named Connections

You can easily create named connections using the edit-connections command:

gsqlcmd edit-connections /local

Use the /local, /user, or /app option to edit connections in the specified configuration file.

This command launches gConnectionManager, which allows you to create, edit, copy, and delete connection strings in a visual interface:

Listing Connections

To list defined connection string names, use the show-connections mode:

gsqlcmd show-connections

You can filter connections by specifying the configuration file with the /local, /user, or /app option. For example:

gsqlcmd show-connections /user

Filtering by Platform

You can also filter connections by platform using the following options:

• /mssql
• /mysql
• /oracle
• /pgsql
• /snowflake
• /sqlite
• /dbf
• /foxpro
• /csv
• /excel

For example:

gsqlcmd show-connections /app /oracle

Showing Connection Properties

To view the properties of a specific connection, use the show-connection mode:

gsqlcmd show-connection master

You can query specific connection properties like this:

gsqlcmd show-connection test.xlsx connectionString

Showing Available Data Providers

To list available data providers, use the show-providers mode:

gsqlcmd show-providers /excel

Note that Windows has separate 32-bit and 64-bit data providers. Use gsqlcmd32.exe to work with 32-bit providers and connection strings on 64-bit Windows. For example:

gsqlcmd32 show-providers /excel