sq

Apps & Automation

Guides use of the sq CLI to query SQL databases and tabular files with SLQ (sq's jq-like query language) or native SQL, manage sources, choose output formats, and run inspect, diff, and table commands. Use when the user mentions sq, SLQ, wrangling CSV/Excel/JSON/DB data, cross-source joins, or command-line data pipelines after installing sq from https://sq.io.

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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/neilotoole/sq/blob/HEAD/skills/sq/SKILL.md

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sq (CLI)

sq is a command-line tool for structured data: SQL databases and formats like CSV, TSV, JSON, and Excel. It combines SQL- and jq-style querying. Official documentation lives at sq.io.

This skill targets use of an already-installed sq binary rather than guidance on building from source. Prefer sq help, sq <command> --help, and sq.io over guessing flags.

Verify the install

sq --version
sq help
sq driver ls

sq driver ls lists drivers available in this build (e.g. postgres, duckdb, oracle, sqlite3, csv).

Sources and handles

Add a data source with sq add. You get a handle (e.g. @my_pg).
List sources: sq ls.
Active source: sq src shows or sets which source SLQ queries use when you omit an explicit handle.

Use @handle to target a source in queries (e.g. @my_pg.actor). Concepts: handle, sources.

Query modes

Mode	When to use
SLQ (default)	`sq`’s jq-like query language on sources and tables. See Query language.
Native SQL	Database-specific SQL via `sq sql`.

Cross-source joins (e.g. CSV to Postgres): Cross-source joins.

Ping and inspect

sq ping @handle — connectivity check (ping).
sq inspect … — schema, columns, sizes (inspect). Can emit a schema entity-relationship diagram as Markdown/HTML (--markdown/--html), Mermaid source (-f mermaid-erd), or an image file (-f svg-erd/-f png-erd).

Output formats

Results can be printed as text, JSON, CSV, HTML, Markdown, XML, XLSX, etc. See Output formats and insert for writing query results into a database.

Common flags: -j/--json, -t/--text, -o FILE; details in sq --help and the docs above.

Diff and table operations

sq diff — compare metadata or row data between sources or tables (diff).
sq tbl — copy, truncate, drop tables (tbl copy, truncate, drop).

Driver-specific help (load on demand)

When the task involves a specific driver (connection strings, options, caveats), open the matching file under references/:

Driver (as in `sq driver ls`)	Reference
`sqlite3`	references/sqlite3.md
`rqlite`	references/rqlite.md
`duckdb`	references/duckdb.md
`postgres`	references/postgres.md
`sqlserver`	references/sqlserver.md
`mysql`	references/mysql.md
`clickhouse`	references/clickhouse.md
`oracle`	references/oracle.md
`csv`	references/csv.md
`tsv`	references/tsv.md
`json`	references/json.md
`jsona`	references/jsona.md
`jsonl`	references/jsonl.md
`xlsx`	references/xlsx.md

Overview of all drivers: Drivers.

Online resources

Tutorial, Cookbook, Concepts