Commands

This page lists all commands that are supported by BaseX. Commands can be either run from command line or from the input field in the GUI. Commands, which are triggered by the GUI itself, will show up in the Info View.

A short version exists for some command arguments. For example, you may replace the DATABASE keyword with DB.

ADD

Signature	ADD (AS [name]) (TO [target]) [input]
Summary	Adds the files, directory or XML string specified by [input] to the database, using an optional [target] path and an optional file [name]. The input may either be a single XML document, a directory, a remote URL or a plain XML string. The optional name is ignored if the input is a directory.

ALTER

Signature	ALTER [USER|DATABASE] [...]
Summary	Alters the password of a user, or the name of a database: USER [name] ([password]): Alters the [password] of the user specified with [name]. If no password is specified in the console mode, it is requested via standard input. DATABASE [name] [newname] Alters the [name] of a database to [newname].

BACKUP

Signature	BACKUP [name]
Summary	Creates a zipped backup of the specified database. The backup file will be suffixed with the current timestamp.

CHECK

Signature	CHECK [input]
Summary	Opens an existing database for the specified [input] or creates a new instance.

CLOSE

Signature	CLOSE
Summary	Closes the currently opened database.

COPY

Signature	COPY [name] [newname]
Summary	Creates a copy of the database specified by [name].

CREATE

Signature

CREATE [DATABASE|INDEX|USER] [...]

Summary

Creates a new database, index or user: DATABASE [name] ([input]): Creates the database [name] with an optional [input]. The input may either be a single XML document, a directory, a remote URL or a plain XML string. INDEX [TEXT|ATTRIBUTE|FULLTEXT|PATH]: Creates the specified index USER [name] ([password]): Creates a user with the specified [name] and [password]. If no password is specified in the console mode, it is requested via standard input.

CS

Signature	CS [query]
Summary	Evaluates the specified [query] and sets the result as new context set.

DELETE

Signature	DELETE [path]
Summary	Deletes all documents from the currently opened database that start with the specified [path].

DROP

Signature	DROP [DATABASE|INDEX|USER] [...]
Summary	Drops a database, index or user: DATABASE [name]: Drops the database with the specified [name]. INDEX [PATH|TEXT|ATTRIBUTE|FULLTEXT]: Drops the specified index. USER [name] (ON [database]): Drops the user with the specified [name]. If a [database] is specified, the user is only dropped locally. BACKUP [name]: Drops all backups for the database with the specified [name].

EXIT

Signature	EXIT
Summary	Exits the console mode.

EXPORT

Signature	EXPORT [path]
Summary	Exports all documents in the database to the specified [path].

FIND

Signature	FIND [keywords]
Summary	Builds and runs a query for the specified [keywords]. The following modifiers can be used to further limit search: = : looks for exact text nodes @= : looks for exact attributes @ : looks for attributes

GET

Signature	GET [option]
Summary	Returns the value of the specified [option]. A list of all options is available here.

GRANT

Signature	GRANT [NONE|READ|WRITE|CREATE|ADMIN] (ON [database]) TO [user]
Summary	Grants the specified permission to the specified [user]. If a [database] is specified, the permissions are only granted locally.

HELP

Signature	HELP ([command])
Summary	If [command] is specified, information on the specific command is printed; otherwise, all commands are listed.

INFO

Signature	INFO ([DATABASE|INDEX|STORAGE])
Summary	Shows information on the currently opened database: no argument: Shows global information on the DBMS DATABASE: Shows general database information INDEX: Shows information on the existing index structures STORAGE [start end] | [query]: Shows the main table of the internal storage

KILL

Signature	KILL [name]
Summary	Kills all sessions of the user specified by [name].

LIST

Signature	LIST ([path])
Summary	Lists all available databases, or the documents in a database. [path] is the name of the database, optionally followed by a path to the requested documents.

OPEN

Signature	OPEN [path]
Summary	Opens the documents in a database. [path] is the name of the database, optionally followed by a path to the requested documents.

OPTIMIZE

Signature	OPTIMIZE (ALL)
Summary	Optimizes the current database structures. If the ALL flag is specified, the size of all database files is minimized.

PASSWORD

Signature	PASSWORD ([password])
Summary	Changes the [password] of the current user. If no password is specified in the console mode, it is requested via standard input.

RESTORE

Signature	RESTORE [name]
Summary	Restores a database with the specified [name]. The name may include the timestamp of the backup file.

RUN

Signature	RUN [path]
Summary	Runs the query file specified by [path] and prints the result.

SET

Signature	SET [option] ([value])
Summary	Sets an [option] to the specified [value]. A list of all options is available here.

SHOW

Signature	SHOW [DATABASES|SESSIONS|USERS|BACKUPS]
Summary	Shows server information: DATABASES: Shows the currently opened databases. SESSIONS: Shows the currently active database sessions. USERS (ON [database]): Shows all known users. If a [database] is specified, local users are shown. BACKUPS: Shows all database backups.

XQUERY

Signature	XQUERY [query]
Summary	Runs the specified [query] and prints the result.