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PSQL(1)			 PostgreSQL 17.5 Documentation		       PSQL(1)

NAME
       psql - PostgreSQL interactive terminal

SYNOPSIS

       psql [option...]	[dbname	[username]]

DESCRIPTION
       psql is a terminal-based	front-end to PostgreSQL. It enables you	to
       type in queries interactively, issue them to PostgreSQL,	and see	the
       query results. Alternatively, input can be from a file or from command
       line arguments. In addition, psql provides a number of meta-commands
       and various shell-like features to facilitate writing scripts and
       automating a wide variety of tasks.

OPTIONS
       -a
       --echo-all
	   Print all nonempty input lines to standard output as	they are read.
	   (This does not apply	to lines read interactively.) This is
	   equivalent to setting the variable ECHO to all.

       -A
       --no-align
	   Switches to unaligned output	mode. (The default output mode is
	   aligned.) This is equivalent	to \pset format	unaligned.

       -b
       --echo-errors
	   Print failed	SQL commands to	standard error output. This is
	   equivalent to setting the variable ECHO to errors.

       -c command
       --command=command
	   Specifies that psql is to execute the given command string,
	   command. This option	can be repeated	and combined in	any order with
	   the -f option. When either -c or -f is specified, psql does not
	   read	commands from standard input; instead it terminates after
	   processing all the -c and -f	options	in sequence.

	   command must	be either a command string that	is completely parsable
	   by the server (i.e.,	it contains no psql-specific features),	or a
	   single backslash command. Thus you cannot mix SQL and psql
	   meta-commands within	a -c option. To	achieve	that, you could	use
	   repeated -c options or pipe the string into psql, for example:

	       psql -c '\x' -c 'SELECT * FROM foo;'

	   or

	       echo '\x	\\ SELECT * FROM foo;' | psql

	   (\\ is the separator	meta-command.)

	   Each	SQL command string passed to -c	is sent	to the server as a
	   single request. Because of this, the	server executes	it as a	single
	   transaction even if the string contains multiple SQL	commands,
	   unless there	are explicit BEGIN/COMMIT commands included in the
	   string to divide it into multiple transactions. (See
	   Section 53.2.2.1 for	more details about how the server handles
	   multi-query strings.)

	   If having several commands executed in one transaction is not
	   desired, use	repeated -c commands or	feed multiple commands to
	   psql's standard input, either using echo as illustrated above, or
	   via a shell here-document, for example:

	       psql <<EOF
	       \x
	       SELECT *	FROM foo;
	       EOF

       --csv
	   Switches to CSV (Comma-Separated Values) output mode. This is
	   equivalent to \pset format csv.

       -d dbname
       --dbname=dbname
	   Specifies the name of the database to connect to. This is
	   equivalent to specifying dbname as the first	non-option argument on
	   the command line. The dbname	can be a connection string. If so,
	   connection string parameters	will override any conflicting command
	   line	options.

       -e
       --echo-queries
	   Copy	all SQL	commands sent to the server to standard	output as
	   well. This is equivalent to setting the variable ECHO to queries.

       -E
       --echo-hidden
	   Echo	the actual queries generated by	\d and other backslash
	   commands. You can use this to study psql's internal operations.
	   This	is equivalent to setting the variable ECHO_HIDDEN to on.

       -f filename
       --file=filename
	   Read	commands from the file filename, rather	than standard input.
	   This	option can be repeated and combined in any order with the -c
	   option. When	either -c or -f	is specified, psql does	not read
	   commands from standard input; instead it terminates after
	   processing all the -c and -f	options	in sequence. Except for	that,
	   this	option is largely equivalent to	the meta-command \i.

	   If filename is - (hyphen), then standard input is read until	an EOF
	   indication or \q meta-command. This can be used to intersperse
	   interactive input with input	from files. Note however that Readline
	   is not used in this case (much as if	-n had been specified).

	   Using this option is	subtly different from writing psql < filename.
	   In general, both will do what you expect, but using -f enables some
	   nice	features such as error messages	with line numbers. There is
	   also	a slight chance	that using this	option will reduce the
	   start-up overhead. On the other hand, the variant using the shell's
	   input redirection is	(in theory) guaranteed to yield	exactly	the
	   same	output you would have received had you entered everything by
	   hand.

       -F separator
       --field-separator=separator
	   Use separator as the	field separator	for unaligned output. This is
	   equivalent to \pset fieldsep	or \f.

       -h hostname
       --host=hostname
	   Specifies the host name of the machine on which the server is
	   running. If the value begins	with a slash, it is used as the
	   directory for the Unix-domain socket.

       -H
       --html
	   Switches to HTML output mode. This is equivalent to \pset format
	   html	or the \H command.

       -l
       --list
	   List	all available databases, then exit. Other non-connection
	   options are ignored.	This is	similar	to the meta-command \list.

	   When	this option is used, psql will connect to the database
	   postgres, unless a different	database is named on the command line
	   (option -d or non-option argument, possibly via a service entry,
	   but not via an environment variable).

       -L filename
       --log-file=filename
	   Write all query output into file filename, in addition to the
	   normal output destination.

       -n
       --no-readline
	   Do not use Readline for line	editing	and do not use the command
	   history (see	the section called "Command-Line Editing" below).

       -o filename
       --output=filename
	   Put all query output	into file filename. This is equivalent to the
	   command \o.

       -p port
       --port=port
	   Specifies the TCP port or the local Unix-domain socket file
	   extension on	which the server is listening for connections.
	   Defaults to the value of the	PGPORT environment variable or,	if not
	   set,	to the port specified at compile time, usually 5432.

       -P assignment
       --pset=assignment
	   Specifies printing options, in the style of \pset. Note that	here
	   you have to separate	name and value with an equal sign instead of a
	   space. For example, to set the output format	to LaTeX, you could
	   write -P format=latex.

       -q
       --quiet
	   Specifies that psql should do its work quietly. By default, it
	   prints welcome messages and various informational output. If	this
	   option is used, none	of this	happens. This is useful	with the -c
	   option. This	is equivalent to setting the variable QUIET to on.

       -R separator
       --record-separator=separator
	   Use separator as the	record separator for unaligned output. This is
	   equivalent to \pset recordsep.

       -s
       --single-step
	   Run in single-step mode. That means the user	is prompted before
	   each	command	is sent	to the server, with the	option to cancel
	   execution as	well. Use this to debug	scripts.

       -S
       --single-line
	   Runs	in single-line mode where a newline terminates an SQL command,
	   as a	semicolon does.

	       Note
	       This mode is provided for those who insist on it, but you are
	       not necessarily encouraged to use it. In	particular, if you mix
	       SQL and meta-commands on	a line the order of execution might
	       not always be clear to the inexperienced	user.

       -t
       --tuples-only
	   Turn	off printing of	column names and result	row count footers,
	   etc.	This is	equivalent to \t or \pset tuples_only.

       -T table_options
       --table-attr=table_options
	   Specifies options to	be placed within the HTML table	tag. See \pset
	   tableattr for details.

       -U username
       --username=username
	   Connect to the database as the user username	instead	of the
	   default. (You must have permission to do so,	of course.)

       -v assignment
       --set=assignment
       --variable=assignment
	   Perform a variable assignment, like the \set	meta-command. Note
	   that	you must separate name and value, if any, by an	equal sign on
	   the command line. To	unset a	variable, leave	off the	equal sign. To
	   set a variable with an empty	value, use the equal sign but leave
	   off the value. These	assignments are	done during command line
	   processing, so variables that reflect connection state will get
	   overwritten later.

       -V
       --version
	   Print the psql version and exit.

       -w
       --no-password
	   Never issue a password prompt. If the server	requires password
	   authentication and a	password is not	available from other sources
	   such	as a .pgpass file, the connection attempt will fail. This
	   option can be useful	in batch jobs and scripts where	no user	is
	   present to enter a password.

	   Note	that this option will remain set for the entire	session, and
	   so it affects uses of the meta-command \connect as well as the
	   initial connection attempt.

       -W
       --password
	   Force psql to prompt	for a password before connecting to a
	   database, even if the password will not be used.

	   If the server requires password authentication and a	password is
	   not available from other sources such as a .pgpass file, psql will
	   prompt for a	password in any	case. However, psql will waste a
	   connection attempt finding out that the server wants	a password. In
	   some	cases it is worth typing -W to avoid the extra connection
	   attempt.

	   Note	that this option will remain set for the entire	session, and
	   so it affects uses of the meta-command \connect as well as the
	   initial connection attempt.

       -x
       --expanded
	   Turn	on the expanded	table formatting mode. This is equivalent to
	   \x or \pset expanded.

       -X
       --no-psqlrc
	   Do not read the start-up file (neither the system-wide psqlrc file
	   nor the user's ~/.psqlrc file).

       -z
       --field-separator-zero
	   Set the field separator for unaligned output	to a zero byte.	This
	   is equivalent to \pset fieldsep_zero.

       -0
       --record-separator-zero
	   Set the record separator for	unaligned output to a zero byte. This
	   is useful for interfacing, for example, with	xargs -0. This is
	   equivalent to \pset recordsep_zero.

       -1
       --single-transaction
	   This	option can only	be used	in combination with one	or more	-c
	   and/or -f options. It causes	psql to	issue a	BEGIN command before
	   the first such option and a COMMIT command after the	last one,
	   thereby wrapping all	the commands into a single transaction.	If any
	   of the commands fails and the variable ON_ERROR_STOP	was set, a
	   ROLLBACK command is sent instead. This ensures that either all the
	   commands complete successfully, or no changes are applied.

	   If the commands themselves contain BEGIN, COMMIT, or	ROLLBACK, this
	   option will not have	the desired effects. Also, if an individual
	   command cannot be executed inside a transaction block, specifying
	   this	option will cause the whole transaction	to fail.

       -?
       --help[=topic]
	   Show	help about psql	and exit. The optional topic parameter
	   (defaulting to options) selects which part of psql is explained:
	   commands describes psql's backslash commands; options describes the
	   command-line	options	that can be passed to psql; and	variables
	   shows help about psql configuration variables.

EXIT STATUS
       psql returns 0 to the shell if it finished normally, 1 if a fatal error
       of its own occurs (e.g.,	out of memory, file not	found),	2 if the
       connection to the server	went bad and the session was not interactive,
       and 3 if	an error occurred in a script and the variable ON_ERROR_STOP
       was set.

USAGE
   Connecting to a Database
       psql is a regular PostgreSQL client application.	In order to connect to
       a database you need to know the name of your target database, the host
       name and	port number of the server, and what database user name you
       want to connect as.  psql can be	told about those parameters via
       command line options, namely -d,	-h, -p,	and -U respectively. If	an
       argument	is found that does not belong to any option it will be
       interpreted as the database name	(or the	database user name, if the
       database	name is	already	given).	Not all	of these options are required;
       there are useful	defaults. If you omit the host name, psql will connect
       via a Unix-domain socket	to a server on the local host, or via TCP/IP
       to localhost on Windows.	The default port number	is determined at
       compile time. Since the database	server uses the	same default, you will
       not have	to specify the port in most cases. The default database	user
       name is your operating-system user name.	Once the database user name is
       determined, it is used as the default database name. Note that you
       cannot just connect to any database under any database user name. Your
       database	administrator should have informed you about your access
       rights.

       When the	defaults aren't	quite right, you can save yourself some	typing
       by setting the environment variables PGDATABASE,	PGHOST,	PGPORT and/or
       PGUSER to appropriate values. (For additional environment variables,
       see Section 32.15.) It is also convenient to have a ~/.pgpass file to
       avoid regularly having to type in passwords. See	Section	32.16 for more
       information.

       An alternative way to specify connection	parameters is in a conninfo
       string or a URI,	which is used instead of a database name. This
       mechanism give you very wide control over the connection. For example:

	   $ psql "service=myservice sslmode=require"
	   $ psql postgresql://dbmaster:5433/mydb?sslmode=require

       This way	you can	also use LDAP for connection parameter lookup as
       described in Section 32.18. See Section 32.1.2 for more information on
       all the available connection options.

       If the connection could not be made for any reason (e.g., insufficient
       privileges, server is not running on the	targeted host, etc.), psql
       will return an error and	terminate.

       If both standard	input and standard output are a	terminal, then psql
       sets the	client encoding	to "auto", which will detect the appropriate
       client encoding from the	locale settings	(LC_CTYPE environment variable
       on Unix systems). If this doesn't work out as expected, the client
       encoding	can be overridden using	the environment	variable
       PGCLIENTENCODING.

   Entering SQL	Commands
       In normal operation, psql provides a prompt with	the name of the
       database	to which psql is currently connected, followed by the string
       =>. For example:

	   $ psql testdb
	   psql	(17.5)
	   Type	"help" for help.

	   testdb=>

       At the prompt, the user can type	in SQL commands. Ordinarily, input
       lines are sent to the server when a command-terminating semicolon is
       reached.	An end of line does not	terminate a command. Thus commands can
       be spread over several lines for	clarity. If the	command	was sent and
       executed	without	error, the results of the command are displayed	on the
       screen.

       If untrusted users have access to a database that has not adopted a
       secure schema usage pattern, begin your session by removing
       publicly-writable schemas from search_path. One can add
       options=-csearch_path= to the connection	string or issue	SELECT
       pg_catalog.set_config('search_path', '',	false) before other SQL
       commands. This consideration is not specific to psql; it	applies	to
       every interface for executing arbitrary SQL commands.

       Whenever	a command is executed, psql also polls for asynchronous
       notification events generated by	LISTEN and NOTIFY.

       While C-style block comments are	passed to the server for processing
       and removal, SQL-standard comments are removed by psql.

   Meta-Commands
       Anything	you enter in psql that begins with an unquoted backslash is a
       psql meta-command that is processed by psql itself. These commands make
       psql more useful	for administration or scripting. Meta-commands are
       often called slash or backslash commands.

       The format of a psql command is the backslash, followed immediately by
       a command verb, then any	arguments. The arguments are separated from
       the command verb	and each other by any number of	whitespace characters.

       To include whitespace in	an argument you	can quote it with single
       quotes. To include a single quote in an argument, write two single
       quotes within single-quoted text. Anything contained in single quotes
       is furthermore subject to C-like	substitutions for \n (new line), \t
       (tab), \b (backspace), \r (carriage return), \f (form feed), \digits
       (octal),	and \xdigits (hexadecimal). A backslash	preceding any other
       character within	single-quoted text quotes that single character,
       whatever	it is.

       If an unquoted colon (:)	followed by a psql variable name appears
       within an argument, it is replaced by the variable's value, as
       described in SQL	Interpolation below. The forms :'variable_name'	and
       :"variable_name"	described there	work as	well. The :{?variable_name}
       syntax allows testing whether a variable	is defined. It is substituted
       by TRUE or FALSE. Escaping the colon with a backslash protects it from
       substitution.

       Within an argument, text	that is	enclosed in backquotes (`) is taken as
       a command line that is passed to	the shell. The output of the command
       (with any trailing newline removed) replaces the	backquoted text.
       Within the text enclosed	in backquotes, no special quoting or other
       processing occurs, except that appearances of :variable_name where
       variable_name is	a psql variable	name are replaced by the variable's
       value. Also, appearances	of :'variable_name' are	replaced by the
       variable's value	suitably quoted	to become a single shell command
       argument. (The latter form is almost always preferable, unless you are
       very sure of what is in the variable.) Because carriage return and line
       feed characters cannot be safely	quoted on all platforms, the
       :'variable_name'	form prints an error message and does not substitute
       the variable value when such characters appear in the value.

       Some commands take an SQL identifier (such as a table name) as
       argument. These arguments follow	the syntax rules of SQL: Unquoted
       letters are forced to lowercase,	while double quotes (")	protect
       letters from case conversion and	allow incorporation of whitespace into
       the identifier. Within double quotes, paired double quotes reduce to a
       single double quote in the resulting name. For example, FOO"BAR"BAZ is
       interpreted as fooBARbaz, and "A	weird""	name" becomes A	weird" name.

       Parsing for arguments stops at the end of the line, or when another
       unquoted	backslash is found. An unquoted	backslash is taken as the
       beginning of a new meta-command.	The special sequence \\	(two
       backslashes) marks the end of arguments and continues parsing SQL
       commands, if any. That way SQL and psql commands	can be freely mixed on
       a line. But in any case,	the arguments of a meta-command	cannot
       continue	beyond the end of the line.

       Many of the meta-commands act on	the current query buffer. This is
       simply a	buffer holding whatever	SQL command text has been typed	but
       not yet sent to the server for execution. This will include previous
       input lines as well as any text appearing before	the meta-command on
       the same	line.

       The following meta-commands are defined:

       \a
	   If the current table	output format is unaligned, it is switched to
	   aligned. If it is not unaligned, it is set to unaligned. This
	   command is kept for backwards compatibility.	See \pset for a	more
	   general solution.

       \bind [ parameter ] ...
	   Sets	query parameters for the next query execution, with the
	   specified parameters	passed for any parameter placeholders ($1
	   etc.).

	   Example:

	       INSERT INTO tbl1	VALUES ($1, $2)	\bind 'first value' 'second value' \g

	   This	also works for query-execution commands	besides	\g, such as
	   \gx and \gset.

	   This	command	causes the extended query protocol (see
	   Section 53.1.2) to be used, unlike normal psql operation, which
	   uses	the simple query protocol. So this command can be useful to
	   test	the extended query protocol from psql. (The extended query
	   protocol is used even if the	query has no parameters	and this
	   command specifies zero parameters.) This command affects only the
	   next	query executed;	all subsequent queries will use	the simple
	   query protocol by default.

       \c or \connect [	-reuse-previous=on|off ] [ dbname [ username ] [ host
       ] [ port	] | conninfo ]
	   Establishes a new connection	to a PostgreSQL	server.	The connection
	   parameters to use can be specified either using a positional	syntax
	   (one	or more	of database name, user,	host, and port), or using a
	   conninfo connection string as detailed in Section 32.1.1. If	no
	   arguments are given,	a new connection is made using the same
	   parameters as before.

	   Specifying any of dbname, username, host or port as - is equivalent
	   to omitting that parameter.

	   The new connection can re-use connection parameters from the
	   previous connection;	not only database name,	user, host, and	port,
	   but other settings such as sslmode. By default, parameters are
	   re-used in the positional syntax, but not when a conninfo string is
	   given. Passing a first argument of -reuse-previous=on or
	   -reuse-previous=off overrides that default. If parameters are
	   re-used, then any parameter not explicitly specified	as a
	   positional parameter	or in the conninfo string is taken from	the
	   existing connection's parameters. An	exception is that if the host
	   setting is changed from its previous	value using the	positional
	   syntax, any hostaddr	setting	present	in the existing	connection's
	   parameters is dropped. Also,	any password used for the existing
	   connection will be re-used only if the user,	host, and port
	   settings are	not changed. When the command neither specifies	nor
	   reuses a particular parameter, the libpq default is used.

	   If the new connection is successfully made, the previous connection
	   is closed. If the connection	attempt	fails (wrong user name,	access
	   denied, etc.), the previous connection will be kept if psql is in
	   interactive mode. But when executing	a non-interactive script, the
	   old connection is closed and	an error is reported. That may or may
	   not terminate the script; if	it does	not, all database-accessing
	   commands will fail until another \connect command is	successfully
	   executed. This distinction was chosen as a user convenience against
	   typos on the	one hand, and a	safety mechanism that scripts are not
	   accidentally	acting on the wrong database on	the other hand.	Note
	   that	whenever a \connect command attempts to	re-use parameters, the
	   values re-used are those of the last	successful connection, not of
	   any failed attempts made subsequently. However, in the case of a
	   non-interactive \connect failure, no	parameters are allowed to be
	   re-used later, since	the script would likely	be expecting the
	   values from the failed \connect to be re-used.

	   Examples:

	       => \c mydb myuser host.dom 6432
	       => \c service=foo
	       => \c "host=localhost port=5432 dbname=mydb connect_timeout=10 sslmode=disable"
	       => \c -reuse-previous=on	sslmode=require	   -- changes only sslmode
	       => \c postgresql://tom@localhost/mydb?application_name=myapp

       \C [ title ]
	   Sets	the title of any tables	being printed as the result of a query
	   or unset any	such title. This command is equivalent to \pset	title
	   title. (The name of this command derives from "caption", as it was
	   previously only used	to set the caption in an HTML table.)

       \cd [ directory ]
	   Changes the current working directory to directory. Without
	   argument, changes to	the current user's home	directory.

	       Tip
	       To print	your current working directory,	use \! pwd.

       \conninfo
	   Outputs information about the current database connection.

       \copy { table [ ( column_list ) ] } from	{ 'filename' | program
       'command' | stdin | pstdin } [ [	with ] ( option	[, ...]	) ] [ where
       condition ]
       \copy { table [ ( column_list ) ] | ( query ) } to { 'filename' |
       program 'command' | stdout | pstdout } [	[ with ] ( option [, ...] ) ]
	   Performs a frontend (client)	copy. This is an operation that	runs
	   an SQL COPY command,	but instead of the server reading or writing
	   the specified file, psql reads or writes the	file and routes	the
	   data	between	the server and the local file system. This means that
	   file	accessibility and privileges are those of the local user, not
	   the server, and no SQL superuser privileges are required.

	   When	program	is specified, command is executed by psql and the data
	   passed from or to command is	routed between the server and the
	   client. Again, the execution	privileges are those of	the local
	   user, not the server, and no	SQL superuser privileges are required.

	   For \copy ... from stdin, data rows are read	from the same source
	   that	issued the command, continuing until \.	 is read or the	stream
	   reaches EOF.	This option is useful for populating tables in-line
	   within an SQL script	file. For \copy	... to stdout, output is sent
	   to the same place as	psql command output, and the COPY count
	   command status is not printed (since	it might be confused with a
	   data	row). To read/write psql's standard input or output regardless
	   of the current command source or \o option, write from pstdin or to
	   pstdout.

	   The syntax of this command is similar to that of the	SQL COPY
	   command. All	options	other than the data source/destination are as
	   specified for COPY. Because of this,	special	parsing	rules apply to
	   the \copy meta-command. Unlike most other meta-commands, the	entire
	   remainder of	the line is always taken to be the arguments of	\copy,
	   and neither variable	interpolation nor backquote expansion are
	   performed in	the arguments.

	       Tip
	       Another way to obtain the same result as	\copy ... to is	to use
	       the SQL COPY ...	TO STDOUT command and terminate	it with	\g
	       filename	or \g |program.	Unlike \copy, this method allows the
	       command to span multiple	lines; also, variable interpolation
	       and backquote expansion can be used.

	       Tip
	       These operations	are not	as efficient as	the SQL	COPY command
	       with a file or program data source or destination, because all
	       data must pass through the client/server	connection. For	large
	       amounts of data the SQL command might be	preferable. Also,
	       because of this pass-through method, \copy ... from in CSV mode
	       will erroneously	treat a	\.  data value alone on	a line as an
	       end-of-input marker.

       \copyright
	   Shows the copyright and distribution	terms of PostgreSQL.

       \crosstabview [ colV [ colH [ colD [ sortcolH ] ] ] ]
	   Executes the	current	query buffer (like \g) and shows the results
	   in a	crosstab grid. The query must return at	least three columns.
	   The output column identified	by colV	becomes	a vertical header and
	   the output column identified	by colH	becomes	a horizontal header.
	   colD	identifies the output column to	display	within the grid.
	   sortcolH identifies an optional sort	column for the horizontal
	   header.

	   Each	column specification can be a column number (starting at 1) or
	   a column name. The usual SQL	case folding and quoting rules apply
	   to column names. If omitted,	colV is	taken as column	1 and colH as
	   column 2.  colH must	differ from colV. If colD is not specified,
	   then	there must be exactly three columns in the query result, and
	   the column that is neither colV nor colH is taken to	be colD.

	   The vertical	header,	displayed as the leftmost column, contains the
	   values found	in column colV,	in the same order as in	the query
	   results, but	with duplicates	removed.

	   The horizontal header, displayed as the first row, contains the
	   values found	in column colH,	with duplicates	removed. By default,
	   these appear	in the same order as in	the query results. But if the
	   optional sortcolH argument is given,	it identifies a	column whose
	   values must be integer numbers, and the values from colH will
	   appear in the horizontal header sorted according to the
	   corresponding sortcolH values.

	   Inside the crosstab grid, for each distinct value x of colH and
	   each	distinct value y of colV, the cell located at the intersection
	   (x,y) contains the value of the colD	column in the query result row
	   for which the value of colH is x and	the value of colV is y.	If
	   there is no such row, the cell is empty. If there are multiple such
	   rows, an error is reported.

       \d[S+] [	pattern	]
	   For each relation (table, view, materialized	view, index, sequence,
	   or foreign table) or	composite type matching	the pattern, show all
	   columns, their types, the tablespace	(if not	the default) and any
	   special attributes such as NOT NULL or defaults. Associated
	   indexes, constraints, rules,	and triggers are also shown. For
	   foreign tables, the associated foreign server is shown as well.
	   ("Matching the pattern" is defined in Patterns below.)

	   For some types of relation, \d shows	additional information for
	   each	column:	column values for sequences, indexed expressions for
	   indexes, and	foreign	data wrapper options for foreign tables.

	   The command form \d+	is identical, except that more information is
	   displayed: any comments associated with the columns of the table
	   are shown, as is the	presence of OIDs in the	table, the view
	   definition if the relation is a view, a non-default replica
	   identity setting and	the access method name if the relation has an
	   access method.

	   By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a pattern
	   or the S modifier to	include	system objects.

	       Note
	       If \d is	used without a pattern argument, it is equivalent to
	       \dtvmsE which will show a list of all visible tables, views,
	       materialized views, sequences and foreign tables. This is
	       purely a	convenience measure.

       \da[S] [	pattern	]
	   Lists aggregate functions, together with their return type and the
	   data	types they operate on. If pattern is specified,	only
	   aggregates whose names match	the pattern are	shown. By default,
	   only	user-created objects are shown;	supply a pattern or the	S
	   modifier to include system objects.

       \dA[+] [	pattern	]
	   Lists access	methods. If pattern is specified, only access methods
	   whose names match the pattern are shown. If + is appended to	the
	   command name, each access method is listed with its associated
	   handler function and	description.

       \dAc[+] [access-method-pattern [input-type-pattern]]
	   Lists operator classes (see Section 36.16.1). If
	   access-method-pattern is specified, only operator classes
	   associated with access methods whose	names match that pattern are
	   listed. If input-type-pattern is specified, only operator classes
	   associated with input types whose names match that pattern are
	   listed. If +	is appended to the command name, each operator class
	   is listed with its associated operator family and owner.

       \dAf[+] [access-method-pattern [input-type-pattern]]
	   Lists operator families (see	Section	36.16.5). If
	   access-method-pattern is specified, only operator families
	   associated with access methods whose	names match that pattern are
	   listed. If input-type-pattern is specified, only operator families
	   associated with input types whose names match that pattern are
	   listed. If +	is appended to the command name, each operator family
	   is listed with its owner.

       \dAo[+] [access-method-pattern [operator-family-pattern]]
	   Lists operators associated with operator families (see
	   Section 36.16.2). If	access-method-pattern is specified, only
	   members of operator families	associated with	access methods whose
	   names match that pattern are	listed.	If operator-family-pattern is
	   specified, only members of operator families	whose names match that
	   pattern are listed. If + is appended	to the command name, each
	   operator is listed with its sort operator family (if	it is an
	   ordering operator).

       \dAp[+] [access-method-pattern [operator-family-pattern]]
	   Lists support functions associated with operator families (see
	   Section 36.16.3). If	access-method-pattern is specified, only
	   functions of	operator families associated with access methods whose
	   names match that pattern are	listed.	If operator-family-pattern is
	   specified, only functions of	operator families whose	names match
	   that	pattern	are listed. If + is appended to	the command name,
	   functions are displayed verbosely, with their actual	parameter
	   lists.

       \db[+] [	pattern	]
	   Lists tablespaces. If pattern is specified, only tablespaces	whose
	   names match the pattern are shown. If + is appended to the command
	   name, each tablespace is listed with	its associated options,
	   on-disk size, permissions and description.

       \dc[S+] [ pattern ]
	   Lists conversions between character-set encodings. If pattern is
	   specified, only conversions whose names match the pattern are
	   listed. By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a
	   pattern or the S modifier to	include	system objects.	If + is
	   appended to the command name, each object is	listed with its
	   associated description.

       \dconfig[+] [ pattern ]
	   Lists server	configuration parameters and their values. If pattern
	   is specified, only parameters whose names match the pattern are
	   listed. Without a pattern, only parameters that are set to
	   non-default values are listed. (Use \dconfig	* to see all
	   parameters.)	If + is	appended to the	command	name, each parameter
	   is listed with its data type, context in which the parameter	can be
	   set,	and access privileges (if non-default access privileges	have
	   been	granted).

       \dC[+] [	pattern	]
	   Lists type casts. If	pattern	is specified, only casts whose source
	   or target types match the pattern are listed. If + is appended to
	   the command name, each object is listed with	its associated
	   description.

       \dd[S] [	pattern	]
	   Shows the descriptions of objects of	type constraint, operator
	   class, operator family, rule, and trigger. All other	comments may
	   be viewed by	the respective backslash commands for those object
	   types.

	   \dd displays	descriptions for objects matching the pattern, or of
	   visible objects of the appropriate type if no argument is given.
	   But in either case, only objects that have a	description are
	   listed. By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a
	   pattern or the S modifier to	include	system objects.

	   Descriptions	for objects can	be created with	the COMMENT SQL
	   command.

       \dD[S+] [ pattern ]
	   Lists domains. If pattern is	specified, only	domains	whose names
	   match the pattern are shown.	By default, only user-created objects
	   are shown; supply a pattern or the S	modifier to include system
	   objects. If + is appended to	the command name, each object is
	   listed with its associated permissions and description.

       \ddp [ pattern ]
	   Lists default access	privilege settings. An entry is	shown for each
	   role	(and schema, if	applicable) for	which the default privilege
	   settings have been changed from the built-in	defaults. If pattern
	   is specified, only entries whose role name or schema	name matches
	   the pattern are listed.

	   The ALTER DEFAULT PRIVILEGES	command	is used	to set default access
	   privileges. The meaning of the privilege display is explained in
	   Section 5.8.

       \dE[S+] [ pattern ]
       \di[S+] [ pattern ]
       \dm[S+] [ pattern ]
       \ds[S+] [ pattern ]
       \dt[S+] [ pattern ]
       \dv[S+] [ pattern ]
	   In this group of commands, the letters E, i,	m, s, t, and v stand
	   for foreign table, index, materialized view,	sequence, table, and
	   view, respectively. You can specify any or all of these letters, in
	   any order, to obtain	a listing of objects of	these types. For
	   example, \dti lists tables and indexes. If +	is appended to the
	   command name, each object is	listed with its	persistence status
	   (permanent, temporary, or unlogged),	physical size on disk, and
	   associated description if any. If pattern is	specified, only
	   objects whose names match the pattern are listed. By	default, only
	   user-created	objects	are shown; supply a pattern or the S modifier
	   to include system objects.

       \des[+] [ pattern ]
	   Lists foreign servers (mnemonic: "external servers"). If pattern is
	   specified, only those servers whose name matches the	pattern	are
	   listed. If the form \des+ is	used, a	full description of each
	   server is shown, including the server's access privileges, type,
	   version, options, and description.

       \det[+] [ pattern ]
	   Lists foreign tables	(mnemonic: "external tables"). If pattern is
	   specified, only entries whose table name or schema name matches the
	   pattern are listed. If the form \det+ is used, generic options and
	   the foreign table description are also displayed.

       \deu[+] [ pattern ]
	   Lists user mappings (mnemonic: "external users"). If	pattern	is
	   specified, only those mappings whose	user names match the pattern
	   are listed. If the form \deu+ is used, additional information about
	   each	mapping	is shown.

	       Caution
	       \deu+ might also	display	the user name and password of the
	       remote user, so care should be taken not	to disclose them.

       \dew[+] [ pattern ]
	   Lists foreign-data wrappers (mnemonic: "external wrappers").	If
	   pattern is specified, only those foreign-data wrappers whose	name
	   matches the pattern are listed. If the form \dew+ is	used, the
	   access privileges, options, and description of the foreign-data
	   wrapper are also shown.

       \df[anptwS+] [ pattern [	arg_pattern ...	] ]
	   Lists functions, together with their	result data types, argument
	   data	types, and function types, which are classified	as "agg"
	   (aggregate),	"normal", "procedure", "trigger", or "window". To
	   display only	functions of specific type(s), add the corresponding
	   letters a, n, p, t, or w to the command. If pattern is specified,
	   only	functions whose	names match the	pattern	are shown. Any
	   additional arguments	are type-name patterns,	which are matched to
	   the type names of the first,	second,	and so on arguments of the
	   function. (Matching functions can have more arguments than what you
	   specify. To prevent that, write a dash - as the last	arg_pattern.)
	   By default, only user-created objects are shown; supply a pattern
	   or the S modifier to	include	system objects.	If the form \df+ is
	   used, additional information	about each function is shown,
	   including volatility, parallel safety, owner, security
	   classification, access privileges, language,	internal name (for C
	   and internal	functions only), and description. Source code for a
	   specific function can be seen using \sf.

       \dF[+] [	pattern	]
	   Lists text search configurations. If	pattern	is specified, only
	   configurations whose	names match the	pattern	are shown. If the form
	   \dF+	is used, a full	description of each configuration is shown,
	   including the underlying text search	parser and the dictionary list
	   for each parser token type.

       \dFd[+] [ pattern ]
	   Lists text search dictionaries. If pattern is specified, only
	   dictionaries	whose names match the pattern are shown. If the	form
	   \dFd+ is used, additional information is shown about	each selected
	   dictionary, including the underlying	text search template and the
	   option values.

       \dFp[+] [ pattern ]
	   Lists text search parsers. If pattern is specified, only parsers
	   whose names match the pattern are shown. If the form	\dFp+ is used,
	   a full description of each parser is	shown, including the
	   underlying functions	and the	list of	recognized token types.

       \dFt[+] [ pattern ]
	   Lists text search templates.	If pattern is specified, only
	   templates whose names match the pattern are shown. If the form
	   \dFt+ is used, additional information is shown about	each template,
	   including the underlying function names.

       \dg[S+] [ pattern ]
	   Lists database roles. (Since	the concepts of	"users"	and "groups"
	   have	been unified into "roles", this	command	is now equivalent to
	   \du.) By default, only user-created roles are shown;	supply the S
	   modifier to include system roles. If	pattern	is specified, only
	   those roles whose names match the pattern are listed. If the	form
	   \dg+	is used, additional information	is shown about each role;
	   currently this adds the comment for each role.

       \dl[+]
	   This	is an alias for	\lo_list, which	shows a	list of	large objects.
	   If +	is appended to the command name, each large object is listed
	   with	its associated permissions, if any.

       \dL[S+] [ pattern ]
	   Lists procedural languages. If pattern is specified,	only languages
	   whose names match the pattern are listed. By	default, only
	   user-created	languages are shown; supply the	S modifier to include
	   system objects. If +	is appended to the command name, each language
	   is listed with its call handler, validator, access privileges, and
	   whether it is a system object.

       \dn[S+] [ pattern ]
	   Lists schemas (namespaces). If pattern is specified,	only schemas
	   whose names match the pattern are listed. By	default, only
	   user-created	objects	are shown; supply a pattern or the S modifier
	   to include system objects. If + is appended to the command name,
	   each	object is listed with its associated permissions and
	   description,	if any.

       \do[S+] [ pattern [ arg_pattern [ arg_pattern ] ] ]
	   Lists operators with	their operand and result types.	If pattern is
	   specified, only operators whose names match the pattern are listed.
	   If one arg_pattern is specified, only prefix	operators whose	right
	   argument's type name	matches	that pattern are listed. If two
	   arg_patterns	are specified, only binary operators whose argument
	   type	names match those patterns are listed. (Alternatively, write -
	   for the unused argument of a	unary operator.) By default, only
	   user-created	objects	are shown; supply a pattern or the S modifier
	   to include system objects. If + is appended to the command name,
	   additional information about	each operator is shown,	currently just
	   the name of the underlying function.

       \dO[S+] [ pattern ]
	   Lists collations. If	pattern	is specified, only collations whose
	   names match the pattern are listed. By default, only	user-created
	   objects are shown; supply a pattern or the S	modifier to include
	   system objects. If +	is appended to the command name, each
	   collation is	listed with its	associated description,	if any.	Note
	   that	only collations	usable with the	current	database's encoding
	   are shown, so the results may vary in different databases of	the
	   same	installation.

       \dp[S] [	pattern	]
	   Lists tables, views and sequences with their	associated access
	   privileges. If pattern is specified,	only tables, views and
	   sequences whose names match the pattern are listed. By default only
	   user-created	objects	are shown; supply a pattern or the S modifier
	   to include system objects.

	   The GRANT and REVOKE	commands are used to set access	privileges.
	   The meaning of the privilege	display	is explained in	Section	5.8.

       \dP[itn+] [ pattern ]
	   Lists partitioned relations.	If pattern is specified, only entries
	   whose name matches the pattern are listed. The modifiers t (tables)
	   and i (indexes) can be appended to the command, filtering the kind
	   of relations	to list. By default, partitioned tables	and indexes
	   are listed.

	   If the modifier n ("nested")	is used, or a pattern is specified,
	   then	non-root partitioned relations are included, and a column is
	   shown displaying the	parent of each partitioned relation.

	   If +	is appended to the command name, the sum of the	sizes of each
	   relation's partitions is also displayed, along with the relation's
	   description.	If n is	combined with +, two sizes are shown: one
	   including the total size of directly-attached leaf partitions, and
	   another showing the total size of all partitions, including
	   indirectly attached sub-partitions.

       \drds [ role-pattern [ database-pattern ] ]
	   Lists defined configuration settings. These settings	can be
	   role-specific, database-specific, or	both.  role-pattern and
	   database-pattern are	used to	select specific	roles and databases to
	   list, respectively. If omitted, or if * is specified, all settings
	   are listed, including those not role-specific or database-specific,
	   respectively.

	   The ALTER ROLE and ALTER DATABASE commands are used to define
	   per-role and	per-database configuration settings.

       \drg[S] [ pattern ]
	   Lists information about each	granted	role membership, including
	   assigned options (ADMIN, INHERIT and/or SET)	and grantor. See the
	   GRANT command for information about role memberships.

	   By default, only grants to user-created roles are shown; supply the
	   S modifier to include system	roles. If pattern is specified,	only
	   grants to those roles whose names match the pattern are listed.

       \dRp[+] [ pattern ]
	   Lists replication publications. If pattern is specified, only those
	   publications	whose names match the pattern are listed. If + is
	   appended to the command name, the tables and	schemas	associated
	   with	each publication are shown as well.

       \dRs[+] [ pattern ]
	   Lists replication subscriptions. If pattern is specified, only
	   those subscriptions whose names match the pattern are listed. If +
	   is appended to the command name, additional properties of the
	   subscriptions are shown.

       \dT[S+] [ pattern ]
	   Lists data types. If	pattern	is specified, only types whose names
	   match the pattern are listed. If + is appended to the command name,
	   each	type is	listed with its	internal name and size,	its allowed
	   values if it	is an enum type, and its associated permissions. By
	   default, only user-created objects are shown; supply	a pattern or
	   the S modifier to include system objects.

       \du[S+] [ pattern ]
	   Lists database roles. (Since	the concepts of	"users"	and "groups"
	   have	been unified into "roles", this	command	is now equivalent to
	   \dg.) By default, only user-created roles are shown;	supply the S
	   modifier to include system roles. If	pattern	is specified, only
	   those roles whose names match the pattern are listed. If the	form
	   \du+	is used, additional information	is shown about each role;
	   currently this adds the comment for each role.

       \dx[+] [	pattern	]
	   Lists installed extensions. If pattern is specified,	only those
	   extensions whose names match	the pattern are	listed.	If the form
	   \dx+	is used, all the objects belonging to each matching extension
	   are listed.

       \dX [ pattern ]
	   Lists extended statistics. If pattern is specified, only those
	   extended statistics whose names match the pattern are listed.

	   The status of each kind of extended statistics is shown in a	column
	   named after its statistic kind (e.g.	Ndistinct).  defined means
	   that	it was requested when creating the statistics, and NULL	means
	   it wasn't requested.	You can	use pg_stats_ext if you'd like to know
	   whether ANALYZE was run and statistics are available	to the
	   planner.

       \dy[+] [	pattern	]
	   Lists event triggers. If pattern is specified, only those event
	   triggers whose names	match the pattern are listed. If + is appended
	   to the command name,	each object is listed with its associated
	   description.

       \e or \edit [ filename ]	[ line_number ]
	   If filename is specified, the file is edited; after the editor
	   exits, the file's content is	copied into the	current	query buffer.
	   If no filename is given, the	current	query buffer is	copied to a
	   temporary file which	is then	edited in the same fashion. Or,	if the
	   current query buffer	is empty, the most recently executed query is
	   copied to a temporary file and edited in the	same fashion.

	   If you edit a file or the previous query, and you quit the editor
	   without modifying the file, the query buffer	is cleared. Otherwise,
	   the new contents of the query buffer	are re-parsed according	to the
	   normal rules	of psql, treating the whole buffer as a	single line.
	   Any complete	queries	are immediately	executed; that is, if the
	   query buffer	contains or ends with a	semicolon, everything up to
	   that	point is executed and removed from the query buffer. Whatever
	   remains in the query	buffer is redisplayed. Type semicolon or \g to
	   send	it, or \r to cancel it by clearing the query buffer.

	   Treating the	buffer as a single line	primarily affects
	   meta-commands: whatever is in the buffer after a meta-command will
	   be taken as argument(s) to the meta-command,	even if	it spans
	   multiple lines. (Thus you cannot make meta-command-using scripts
	   this	way. Use \i for	that.)

	   If a	line number is specified, psql will position the cursor	on the
	   specified line of the file or query buffer. Note that if a single
	   all-digits argument is given, psql assumes it is a line number, not
	   a file name.

	       Tip
	       See Environment,	below, for how to configure and	customize your
	       editor.

       \echo text [ ...	]
	   Prints the evaluated	arguments to standard output, separated	by
	   spaces and followed by a newline. This can be useful	to intersperse
	   information in the output of	scripts. For example:

	       => \echo	`date`
	       Tue Oct 26 21:40:57 CEST	1999

	   If the first	argument is an unquoted	-n the trailing	newline	is not
	   written (nor	is the first argument).

	       Tip
	       If you use the \o command to redirect your query	output you
	       might wish to use \qecho	instead	of this	command. See also
	       \warn.

       \ef [ function_description [ line_number	] ]
	   This	command	fetches	and edits the definition of the	named function
	   or procedure, in the	form of	a CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION or	CREATE
	   OR REPLACE PROCEDURE	command. Editing is done in the	same way as
	   for \edit. If you quit the editor without saving, the statement is
	   discarded. If you save and exit the editor, the updated command is
	   executed immediately	if you added a semicolon to it.	Otherwise it
	   is redisplayed; type	semicolon or \g	to send	it, or \r to cancel.

	   The target function can be specified	by name	alone, or by name and
	   arguments, for example foo(integer, text). The argument types must
	   be given if there is	more than one function of the same name.

	   If no function is specified,	a blank	CREATE FUNCTION	template is
	   presented for editing.

	   If a	line number is specified, psql will position the cursor	on the
	   specified line of the function body.	(Note that the function	body
	   typically does not begin on the first line of the file.)

	   Unlike most other meta-commands, the	entire remainder of the	line
	   is always taken to be the argument(s) of \ef, and neither variable
	   interpolation nor backquote expansion are performed in the
	   arguments.

	       Tip
	       See Environment,	below, for how to configure and	customize your
	       editor.

       \encoding [ encoding ]
	   Sets	the client character set encoding. Without an argument,	this
	   command shows the current encoding.

       \errverbose
	   Repeats the most recent server error	message	at maximum verbosity,
	   as though VERBOSITY were set	to verbose and SHOW_CONTEXT were set
	   to always.

       \ev [ view_name [ line_number ] ]
	   This	command	fetches	and edits the definition of the	named view, in
	   the form of a CREATE	OR REPLACE VIEW	command. Editing is done in
	   the same way	as for \edit. If you quit the editor without saving,
	   the statement is discarded. If you save and exit the	editor,	the
	   updated command is executed immediately if you added	a semicolon to
	   it. Otherwise it is redisplayed; type semicolon or \g to send it,
	   or \r to cancel.

	   If no view is specified, a blank CREATE VIEW	template is presented
	   for editing.

	   If a	line number is specified, psql will position the cursor	on the
	   specified line of the view definition.

	   Unlike most other meta-commands, the	entire remainder of the	line
	   is always taken to be the argument(s) of \ev, and neither variable
	   interpolation nor backquote expansion are performed in the
	   arguments.

       \f [ string ]
	   Sets	the field separator for	unaligned query	output.	The default is
	   the vertical	bar (|). It is equivalent to \pset fieldsep.

       \g [ (option=value [...]) ] [ filename ]
       \g [ (option=value [...]) ] [ |command ]
	   Sends the current query buffer to the server	for execution.

	   If parentheses appear after \g, they	surround a space-separated
	   list	of option=value	formatting-option clauses, which are
	   interpreted in the same way as \pset	option value commands, but
	   take	effect only for	the duration of	this query. In this list,
	   spaces are not allowed around = signs, but are required between
	   option clauses. If =value is	omitted, the named option is changed
	   in the same way as for \pset	option with no explicit	value.

	   If a	filename or |command argument is given,	the query's output is
	   written to the named	file or	piped to the given shell command,
	   instead of displaying it as usual. The file or command is written
	   to only if the query	successfully returns zero or more tuples, not
	   if the query	fails or is a non-data-returning SQL command.

	   If the current query	buffer is empty, the most recently sent	query
	   is re-executed instead. Except for that behavior, \g	without	any
	   arguments is	essentially equivalent to a semicolon. With arguments,
	   \g provides a "one-shot" alternative	to the \o command, and
	   additionally	allows one-shot	adjustments of the output formatting
	   options normally set	by \pset.

	   When	the last argument begins with |, the entire remainder of the
	   line	is taken to be the command to execute, and neither variable
	   interpolation nor backquote expansion are performed in it. The rest
	   of the line is simply passed	literally to the shell.

       \gdesc
	   Shows the description (that is, the column names and	data types) of
	   the result of the current query buffer. The query is	not actually
	   executed; however, if it contains some type of syntax error,	that
	   error will be reported in the normal	way.

	   If the current query	buffer is empty, the most recently sent	query
	   is described	instead.

       \getenv psql_var	env_var
	   Gets	the value of the environment variable env_var and assigns it
	   to the psql variable	psql_var. If env_var is	not defined in the
	   psql	process's environment, psql_var	is not changed.	Example:

	       => \getenv home HOME
	       => \echo	:home
	       /home/postgres

       \gexec
	   Sends the current query buffer to the server, then treats each
	   column of each row of the query's output (if	any) as	an SQL
	   statement to	be executed. For example, to create an index on	each
	   column of my_table:

	       => SELECT format('create	index on my_table(%I)',	attname)
	       -> FROM pg_attribute
	       -> WHERE	attrelid = 'my_table'::regclass	AND attnum > 0
	       -> ORDER	BY attnum
	       -> \gexec
	       CREATE INDEX
	       CREATE INDEX
	       CREATE INDEX
	       CREATE INDEX

	   The generated queries are executed in the order in which the	rows
	   are returned, and left-to-right within each row if there is more
	   than	one column. NULL fields	are ignored. The generated queries are
	   sent	literally to the server	for processing,	so they	cannot be psql
	   meta-commands nor contain psql variable references. If any
	   individual query fails, execution of	the remaining queries
	   continues unless ON_ERROR_STOP is set. Execution of each query is
	   subject to ECHO processing. (Setting	ECHO to	all or queries is
	   often advisable when	using \gexec.) Query logging, single-step
	   mode, timing, and other query execution features apply to each
	   generated query as well.

	   If the current query	buffer is empty, the most recently sent	query
	   is re-executed instead.

       \gset [ prefix ]
	   Sends the current query buffer to the server	and stores the query's
	   output into psql variables (see Variables below). The query to be
	   executed must return	exactly	one row. Each column of	the row	is
	   stored into a separate variable, named the same as the column. For
	   example:

	       => SELECT 'hello' AS var1, 10 AS	var2
	       -> \gset
	       => \echo	:var1 :var2
	       hello 10

	   If you specify a prefix, that string	is prepended to	the query's
	   column names	to create the variable names to	use:

	       => SELECT 'hello' AS var1, 10 AS	var2
	       -> \gset	result_
	       => \echo	:result_var1 :result_var2
	       hello 10

	   If a	column result is NULL, the corresponding variable is unset
	   rather than being set.

	   If the query	fails or does not return one row, no variables are
	   changed.

	   If the current query	buffer is empty, the most recently sent	query
	   is re-executed instead.

       \gx [ (option=value [...]) ] [ filename ]
       \gx [ (option=value [...]) ] [ |command ]
	   \gx is equivalent to	\g, except that	it forces expanded output mode
	   for this query, as if expanded=on were included in the list of
	   \pset options. See also \x.

       \h or \help [ command ]
	   Gives syntax	help on	the specified SQL command. If command is not
	   specified, then psql	will list all the commands for which syntax
	   help	is available. If command is an asterisk	(*), then syntax help
	   on all SQL commands is shown.

	   Unlike most other meta-commands, the	entire remainder of the	line
	   is always taken to be the argument(s) of \help, and neither
	   variable interpolation nor backquote	expansion are performed	in the
	   arguments.

	       Note
	       To simplify typing, commands that consists of several words do
	       not have	to be quoted. Thus it is fine to type \help alter
	       table.

       \H or \html
	   Turns on HTML query output format. If the HTML format is already
	   on, it is switched back to the default aligned text format. This
	   command is for compatibility	and convenience, but see \pset about
	   setting other output	options.

       \i or \include filename
	   Reads input from the	file filename and executes it as though	it had
	   been	typed on the keyboard.

	   If filename is - (hyphen), then standard input is read until	an EOF
	   indication or \q meta-command. This can be used to intersperse
	   interactive input with input	from files. Note that Readline
	   behavior will be used only if it is active at the outermost level.

	       Note
	       If you want to see the lines on the screen as they are read you
	       must set	the variable ECHO to all.

       \if expression
       \elif expression
       \else
       \endif
	   This	group of commands implements nestable conditional blocks. A
	   conditional block must begin	with an	\if and	end with an \endif. In
	   between there may be	any number of \elif clauses, which may
	   optionally be followed by a single \else clause. Ordinary queries
	   and other types of backslash	commands may (and usually do) appear
	   between the commands	forming	a conditional block.

	   The \if and \elif commands read their argument(s) and evaluate them
	   as a	Boolean	expression. If the expression yields true then
	   processing continues	normally; otherwise, lines are skipped until a
	   matching \elif, \else, or \endif is reached.	Once an	\if or \elif
	   test	has succeeded, the arguments of	later \elif commands in	the
	   same	block are not evaluated	but are	treated	as false. Lines
	   following an	\else are processed only if no earlier matching	\if or
	   \elif succeeded.

	   The expression argument of an \if or	\elif command is subject to
	   variable interpolation and backquote	expansion, just	like any other
	   backslash command argument. After that it is	evaluated like the
	   value of an on/off option variable. So a valid value	is any
	   unambiguous case-insensitive	match for one of: true,	false, 1, 0,
	   on, off, yes, no. For example, t, T,	and tR will all	be considered
	   to be true.

	   Expressions that do not properly evaluate to	true or	false will
	   generate a warning and be treated as	false.

	   Lines being skipped are parsed normally to identify queries and
	   backslash commands, but queries are not sent	to the server, and
	   backslash commands other than conditionals (\if, \elif, \else,
	   \endif) are ignored.	Conditional commands are checked only for
	   valid nesting. Variable references in skipped lines are not
	   expanded, and backquote expansion is	not performed either.

	   All the backslash commands of a given conditional block must	appear
	   in the same source file. If EOF is reached on the main input	file
	   or an \include-ed file before all local \if-blocks have been
	   closed, then	psql will raise	an error.

	   Here	is an example:

	       -- check	for the	existence of two separate records in the database and store
	       -- the results in separate psql variables
	       SELECT
		   EXISTS(SELECT 1 FROM	customer WHERE customer_id = 123) as is_customer,
		   EXISTS(SELECT 1 FROM	employee WHERE employee_id = 456) as is_employee
	       \gset
	       \if :is_customer
		   SELECT * FROM customer WHERE	customer_id = 123;
	       \elif :is_employee
		   \echo 'is not a customer but	is an employee'
		   SELECT * FROM employee WHERE	employee_id = 456;
	       \else
		   \if yes
		       \echo 'not a customer or	employee'
		   \else
		       \echo 'this will	never print'
		   \endif
	       \endif

       \ir or \include_relative	filename
	   The \ir command is similar to \i, but resolves relative file	names
	   differently.	When executing in interactive mode, the	two commands
	   behave identically. However,	when invoked from a script, \ir
	   interprets file names relative to the directory in which the	script
	   is located, rather than the current working directory.

       \l[+] or	\list[+] [ pattern ]
	   List	the databases in the server and	show their names, owners,
	   character set encodings, and	access privileges. If pattern is
	   specified, only databases whose names match the pattern are listed.
	   If +	is appended to the command name, database sizes, default
	   tablespaces,	and descriptions are also displayed. (Size information
	   is only available for databases that	the current user can connect
	   to.)

       \lo_export loid filename
	   Reads the large object with OID loid	from the database and writes
	   it to filename. Note	that this is subtly different from the server
	   function lo_export, which acts with the permissions of the user
	   that	the database server runs as and	on the server's	file system.

	       Tip
	       Use \lo_list to find out	the large object's OID.

       \lo_import filename [ comment ]
	   Stores the file into	a PostgreSQL large object. Optionally, it
	   associates the given	comment	with the object. Example:

	       foo=> \lo_import	'/home/peter/pictures/photo.xcf' 'a picture of me'
	       lo_import 152801

	   The response	indicates that the large object	received object	ID
	   152801, which can be	used to	access the newly-created large object
	   in the future. For the sake of readability, it is recommended to
	   always associate a human-readable comment with every	object.	Both
	   OIDs	and comments can be viewed with	the \lo_list command.

	   Note	that this command is subtly different from the server-side
	   lo_import because it	acts as	the local user on the local file
	   system, rather than the server's user and file system.

       \lo_list[+]
	   Shows a list	of all PostgreSQL large	objects	currently stored in
	   the database, along with any	comments provided for them. If + is
	   appended to the command name, each large object is listed with its
	   associated permissions, if any.

       \lo_unlink loid
	   Deletes the large object with OID loid from the database.

	       Tip
	       Use \lo_list to find out	the large object's OID.

       \o or \out [ filename ]
       \o or \out [ |command ]
	   Arranges to save future query results to the	file filename or pipe
	   future results to the shell command command.	If no argument is
	   specified, the query	output is reset	to the standard	output.

	   If the argument begins with |, then the entire remainder of the
	   line	is taken to be the command to execute, and neither variable
	   interpolation nor backquote expansion are performed in it. The rest
	   of the line is simply passed	literally to the shell.

	   "Query results" includes all	tables,	command	responses, and notices
	   obtained from the database server, as well as output	of various
	   backslash commands that query the database (such as \d); but	not
	   error messages.

	       Tip
	       To intersperse text output in between query results, use
	       \qecho.

       \p or \print
	   Print the current query buffer to the standard output. If the
	   current query buffer	is empty, the most recently executed query is
	   printed instead.

       \password [ username ]
	   Changes the password	of the specified user (by default, the current
	   user). This command prompts for the new password, encrypts it, and
	   sends it to the server as an	ALTER ROLE command. This makes sure
	   that	the new	password does not appear in cleartext in the command
	   history, the	server log, or elsewhere.

       \prompt [ text ]	name
	   Prompts the user to supply text, which is assigned to the variable
	   name. An optional prompt string, text, can be specified. (For
	   multiword prompts, surround the text	with single quotes.)

	   By default, \prompt uses the	terminal for input and output.
	   However, if the -f command line switch was used, \prompt uses
	   standard input and standard output.

       \pset [ option [	value ]	]
	   This	command	sets options affecting the output of query result
	   tables.  option indicates which option is to	be set.	The semantics
	   of value vary depending on the selected option. For some options,
	   omitting value causes the option to be toggled or unset, as
	   described under the particular option. If no	such behavior is
	   mentioned, then omitting value just results in the current setting
	   being displayed.

	   \pset without any arguments displays	the current status of all
	   printing options.

	   Adjustable printing options are:

	   border
	       The value must be a number. In general, the higher the number
	       the more	borders	and lines the tables will have,	but details
	       depend on the particular	format.	In HTML	format,	this will
	       translate directly into the border=...  attribute. In most
	       other formats only values 0 (no border),	1 (internal dividing
	       lines), and 2 (table frame) make	sense, and values above	2 will
	       be treated the same as border = 2. The latex and
	       latex-longtable formats additionally allow a value of 3 to add
	       dividing	lines between data rows.

	   columns
	       Sets the	target width for the wrapped format, and also the
	       width limit for determining whether output is wide enough to
	       require the pager or switch to the vertical display in expanded
	       auto mode. Zero (the default) causes the	target width to	be
	       controlled by the environment variable COLUMNS, or the detected
	       screen width if COLUMNS is not set. In addition,	if columns is
	       zero then the wrapped format only affects screen	output.	If
	       columns is nonzero then file and	pipe output is wrapped to that
	       width as	well.

	   csv_fieldsep
	       Specifies the field separator to	be used	in CSV output format.
	       If the separator	character appears in a field's value, that
	       field is	output within double quotes, following standard	CSV
	       rules. The default is a comma.

	   expanded (or	x)
	       If value	is specified it	must be	either on or off, which	will
	       enable or disable expanded mode,	or auto. If value is omitted
	       the command toggles between the on and off settings. When
	       expanded	mode is	enabled, query results are displayed in	two
	       columns,	with the column	name on	the left and the data on the
	       right. This mode	is useful if the data wouldn't fit on the
	       screen in the normal "horizontal" mode. In the auto setting,
	       the expanded mode is used whenever the query output has more
	       than one	column and is wider than the screen; otherwise,	the
	       regular mode is used. The auto setting is only effective	in the
	       aligned and wrapped formats. In other formats, it always
	       behaves as if the expanded mode is off.

	   fieldsep
	       Specifies the field separator to	be used	in unaligned output
	       format. That way	one can	create,	for example, tab-separated
	       output, which other programs might prefer. To set a tab as
	       field separator,	type \pset fieldsep '\t'. The default field
	       separator is '|'	(a vertical bar).

	   fieldsep_zero
	       Sets the	field separator	to use in unaligned output format to a
	       zero byte.

	   footer
	       If value	is specified it	must be	either on or off which will
	       enable or disable display of the	table footer (the (n rows)
	       count). If value	is omitted the command toggles footer display
	       on or off.

	   format
	       Sets the	output format to one of	aligned, asciidoc, csv,	html,
	       latex, latex-longtable, troff-ms, unaligned, or wrapped.	Unique
	       abbreviations are allowed.

	       aligned format is the standard, human-readable, nicely
	       formatted text output; this is the default.

	       unaligned format	writes all columns of a	row on one line,
	       separated by the	currently active field separator. This is
	       useful for creating output that might be	intended to be read in
	       by other	programs, for example, tab-separated or
	       comma-separated format. However,	the field separator character
	       is not treated specially	if it appears in a column's value; so
	       CSV format may be better	suited for such	purposes.

	       csv format

	       writes column values separated by commas, applying the quoting
	       rules described in RFC 4180. This output	is compatible with the
	       CSV format of the server's COPY command.	A header line with
	       column names is generated unless	the tuples_only	parameter is
	       on. Titles and footers are not printed. Each row	is terminated
	       by the system-dependent end-of-line character, which is
	       typically a single newline (\n) for Unix-like systems or	a
	       carriage	return and newline sequence (\r\n) for Microsoft
	       Windows.	Field separator	characters other than comma can	be
	       selected	with \pset csv_fieldsep.

	       wrapped format is like aligned but wraps	wide data values
	       across lines to make the	output fit in the target column	width.
	       The target width	is determined as described under the columns
	       option. Note that psql will not attempt to wrap column header
	       titles; therefore, wrapped format behaves the same as aligned
	       if the total width needed for column headers exceeds the
	       target.

	       The asciidoc, html, latex, latex-longtable, and troff-ms
	       formats put out tables that are intended	to be included in
	       documents using the respective mark-up language.	They are not
	       complete	documents! This	might not be necessary in HTML,	but in
	       LaTeX you must have a complete document wrapper.	The latex
	       format uses LaTeX's tabular environment.	The latex-longtable
	       format requires the LaTeX longtable and booktabs	packages.

	   linestyle
	       Sets the	border line drawing style to one of ascii, old-ascii,
	       or unicode. Unique abbreviations	are allowed. (That would mean
	       one letter is enough.) The default setting is ascii. This
	       option only affects the aligned and wrapped output formats.

	       ascii style uses	plain ASCII characters.	Newlines in data are
	       shown using a + symbol in the right-hand	margin.	When the
	       wrapped format wraps data from one line to the next without a
	       newline character, a dot	(.) is shown in	the right-hand margin
	       of the first line, and again in the left-hand margin of the
	       following line.

	       old-ascii style uses plain ASCII	characters, using the
	       formatting style	used in	PostgreSQL 8.4 and earlier. Newlines
	       in data are shown using a : symbol in place of the left-hand
	       column separator. When the data is wrapped from one line	to the
	       next without a newline character, a ; symbol is used in place
	       of the left-hand	column separator.

	       unicode style uses Unicode box-drawing characters. Newlines in
	       data are	shown using a carriage return symbol in	the right-hand
	       margin. When the	data is	wrapped	from one line to the next
	       without a newline character, an ellipsis	symbol is shown	in the
	       right-hand margin of the	first line, and	again in the left-hand
	       margin of the following line.

	       When the	border setting is greater than zero, the linestyle
	       option also determines the characters with which	the border
	       lines are drawn.	Plain ASCII characters work everywhere,	but
	       Unicode characters look nicer on	displays that recognize	them.

	   null
	       Sets the	string to be printed in	place of a null	value. The
	       default is to print nothing, which can easily be	mistaken for
	       an empty	string.	For example, one might prefer \pset null
	       '(null)'.

	   numericlocale
	       If value	is specified it	must be	either on or off which will
	       enable or disable display of a locale-specific character	to
	       separate	groups of digits to the	left of	the decimal marker. If
	       value is	omitted	the command toggles between regular and
	       locale-specific numeric output.

	   pager
	       Controls	use of a pager program for query and psql help output.
	       When the	pager option is	off, the pager program is not used.
	       When the	pager option is	on, the	pager is used when
	       appropriate, i.e., when the output is to	a terminal and will
	       not fit on the screen. The pager	option can also	be set to
	       always, which causes the	pager to be used for all terminal
	       output regardless of whether it fits on the screen.  \pset
	       pager without a value toggles pager use on and off.

	       If the environment variable PSQL_PAGER or PAGER is set, output
	       to be paged is piped to the specified program. Otherwise	a
	       platform-dependent default program (such	as more) is used.

	       When using the \watch command to	execute	a query	repeatedly,
	       the environment variable	PSQL_WATCH_PAGER is used to find the
	       pager program instead, on Unix systems. This is configured
	       separately because it may confuse traditional pagers, but can
	       be used to send output to tools that understand psql's output
	       format (such as pspg --stream).

	   pager_min_lines
	       If pager_min_lines is set to a number greater than the page
	       height, the pager program will not be called unless there are
	       at least	this many lines	of output to show. The default setting
	       is 0.

	   recordsep
	       Specifies the record (line) separator to	use in unaligned
	       output format. The default is a newline character.

	   recordsep_zero
	       Sets the	record separator to use	in unaligned output format to
	       a zero byte.

	   tableattr (or T)
	       In HTML format, this specifies attributes to be placed inside
	       the table tag. This could for example be	cellpadding or
	       bgcolor.	Note that you probably don't want to specify border
	       here, as	that is	already	taken care of by \pset border. If no
	       value is	given, the table attributes are	unset.

	       In latex-longtable format, this controls	the proportional width
	       of each column containing a left-aligned	data type. It is
	       specified as a whitespace-separated list	of values, e.g., '0.2
	       0.2 0.6'. Unspecified output columns use	the last specified
	       value.

	   title (or C)
	       Sets the	table title for	any subsequently printed tables. This
	       can be used to give your	output descriptive tags. If no value
	       is given, the title is unset.

	   tuples_only (or t)
	       If value	is specified it	must be	either on or off which will
	       enable or disable tuples-only mode. If value is omitted the
	       command toggles between regular and tuples-only output. Regular
	       output includes extra information such as column	headers,
	       titles, and various footers. In tuples-only mode, only actual
	       table data is shown.

	   unicode_border_linestyle
	       Sets the	border drawing style for the unicode line style	to one
	       of single or double.

	   unicode_column_linestyle
	       Sets the	column drawing style for the unicode line style	to one
	       of single or double.

	   unicode_header_linestyle
	       Sets the	header drawing style for the unicode line style	to one
	       of single or double.

	   xheader_width
	       Sets the	maximum	width of the header for	expanded output	to one
	       of full (the default value), column, page, or an	integer	value.

	       full: the expanded header is not	truncated, and will be as wide
	       as the widest output line.

	       column: truncate	the header line	to the width of	the first
	       column.

	       page: truncate the header line to the terminal width.

	       integer value: specify the exact	maximum	width of the header
	       line.

	   Illustrations of how	these different	formats	look can be seen in
	   Examples, below.

	       Tip
	       There are various shortcut commands for \pset. See \a, \C, \f,
	       \H, \t, \T, and \x.

       \q or \quit
	   Quits the psql program. In a	script file, only execution of that
	   script is terminated.

       \qecho text [ ... ]
	   This	command	is identical to	\echo except that the output will be
	   written to the query	output channel,	as set by \o.

       \r or \reset
	   Resets (clears) the query buffer.

       \s [ filename ]
	   Print psql's	command	line history to	filename. If filename is
	   omitted, the	history	is written to the standard output (using the
	   pager if appropriate). This command is not available	if psql	was
	   built without Readline support.

       \set [ name [ value [ ... ] ] ]
	   Sets	the psql variable name to value, or if more than one value is
	   given, to the concatenation of all of them. If only one argument is
	   given, the variable is set to an empty-string value.	To unset a
	   variable, use the \unset command.

	   \set	without	any arguments displays the names and values of all
	   currently-set psql variables.

	   Valid variable names	can contain letters, digits, and underscores.
	   See Variables below for details. Variable names are case-sensitive.

	   Certain variables are special, in that they control psql's behavior
	   or are automatically	set to reflect connection state. These
	   variables are documented in Variables, below.

	       Note
	       This command is unrelated to the	SQL command SET.

       \setenv name [ value ]
	   Sets	the environment	variable name to value,	or if the value	is not
	   supplied, unsets the	environment variable. Example:

	       testdb=>	\setenv	PAGER less
	       testdb=>	\setenv	LESS -imx4F

       \sf[+] function_description
	   This	command	fetches	and shows the definition of the	named function
	   or procedure, in the	form of	a CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION or	CREATE
	   OR REPLACE PROCEDURE	command. The definition	is printed to the
	   current query output	channel, as set	by \o.

	   The target function can be specified	by name	alone, or by name and
	   arguments, for example foo(integer, text). The argument types must
	   be given if there is	more than one function of the same name.

	   If +	is appended to the command name, then the output lines are
	   numbered, with the first line of the	function body being line 1.

	   Unlike most other meta-commands, the	entire remainder of the	line
	   is always taken to be the argument(s) of \sf, and neither variable
	   interpolation nor backquote expansion are performed in the
	   arguments.

       \sv[+] view_name
	   This	command	fetches	and shows the definition of the	named view, in
	   the form of a CREATE	OR REPLACE VIEW	command. The definition	is
	   printed to the current query	output channel,	as set by \o.

	   If +	is appended to the command name, then the output lines are
	   numbered from 1.

	   Unlike most other meta-commands, the	entire remainder of the	line
	   is always taken to be the argument(s) of \sv, and neither variable
	   interpolation nor backquote expansion are performed in the
	   arguments.

       \t
	   Toggles the display of output column	name headings and row count
	   footer. This	command	is equivalent to \pset tuples_only and is
	   provided for	convenience.

       \T table_options
	   Specifies attributes	to be placed within the	table tag in HTML
	   output format. This command is equivalent to	\pset tableattr
	   table_options.

       \timing [ on | off ]
	   With	a parameter, turns displaying of how long each SQL statement
	   takes on or off. Without a parameter, toggles the display between
	   on and off. The display is in milliseconds; intervals longer	than 1
	   second are also shown in minutes:seconds format, with hours and
	   days	fields added if	needed.

       \unset name
	   Unsets (deletes) the	psql variable name.

	   Most	variables that control psql's behavior cannot be unset;
	   instead, an \unset command is interpreted as	setting	them to	their
	   default values. See Variables below.

       \w or \write filename
       \w or \write |command
	   Writes the current query buffer to the file filename	or pipes it to
	   the shell command command. If the current query buffer is empty,
	   the most recently executed query is written instead.

	   If the argument begins with |, then the entire remainder of the
	   line	is taken to be the command to execute, and neither variable
	   interpolation nor backquote expansion are performed in it. The rest
	   of the line is simply passed	literally to the shell.

       \warn text [ ...	]
	   This	command	is identical to	\echo except that the output will be
	   written to psql's standard error channel, rather than standard
	   output.

       \watch [	i[nterval]=seconds ] [ c[ount]=times ] [ m[in_rows]=rows ] [
       seconds ]
	   Repeatedly execute the current query	buffer (as \g does) until
	   interrupted,	or the query fails, or the execution count limit (if
	   given) is reached, or the query no longer returns the minimum
	   number of rows. Wait	the specified number of	seconds	(default 2)
	   between executions. For backwards compatibility, seconds can	be
	   specified with or without an	interval= prefix. Each query result is
	   displayed with a header that	includes the \pset title string	(if
	   any), the time as of	query start, and the delay interval.

	   If the current query	buffer is empty, the most recently sent	query
	   is re-executed instead.

       \x [ on | off | auto ]
	   Sets	or toggles expanded table formatting mode. As such it is
	   equivalent to \pset expanded.

       \z[S] [ pattern ]
	   Lists tables, views and sequences with their	associated access
	   privileges. If a pattern is specified, only tables, views and
	   sequences whose names match the pattern are listed. By default only
	   user-created	objects	are shown; supply a pattern or the S modifier
	   to include system objects.

	   This	is an alias for	\dp ("display privileges").

       \! [ command ]
	   With	no argument, escapes to	a sub-shell; psql resumes when the
	   sub-shell exits. With an argument, executes the shell command
	   command.

	   Unlike most other meta-commands, the	entire remainder of the	line
	   is always taken to be the argument(s) of \!,	and neither variable
	   interpolation nor backquote expansion are performed in the
	   arguments. The rest of the line is simply passed literally to the
	   shell.

       \? [ topic ]
	   Shows help information. The optional	topic parameter	(defaulting to
	   commands) selects which part	of psql	is explained: commands
	   describes psql's backslash commands;	options	describes the
	   command-line	options	that can be passed to psql; and	variables
	   shows help about psql configuration variables.

       \;
	   Backslash-semicolon is not a	meta-command in	the same way as	the
	   preceding commands; rather, it simply causes	a semicolon to be
	   added to the	query buffer without any further processing.

	   Normally, psql will dispatch	an SQL command to the server as	soon
	   as it reaches the command-ending semicolon, even if more input
	   remains on the current line.	Thus for example entering

	       select 1; select	2; select 3;

	   will	result in the three SQL	commands being individually sent to
	   the server, with each one's results being displayed before
	   continuing to the next command. However, a semicolon	entered	as \;
	   will	not trigger command processing,	so that	the command before it
	   and the one after are effectively combined and sent to the server
	   in one request. So for example

	       select 1\; select 2\; select 3;

	   results in sending the three	SQL commands to	the server in a	single
	   request, when the non-backslashed semicolon is reached. The server
	   executes such a request as a	single transaction, unless there are
	   explicit BEGIN/COMMIT commands included in the string to divide it
	   into	multiple transactions. (See Section 53.2.2.1 for more details
	   about how the server	handles	multi-query strings.)

       Patterns

	   The various \d commands accept a pattern parameter to specify the
	   object name(s) to be	displayed. In the simplest case, a pattern is
	   just	the exact name of the object. The characters within a pattern
	   are normally	folded to lower	case, just as in SQL names; for
	   example, \dt	FOO will display the table named foo. As in SQL	names,
	   placing double quotes around	a pattern stops	folding	to lower case.
	   Should you need to include an actual	double quote character in a
	   pattern, write it as	a pair of double quotes	within a double-quote
	   sequence; again this	is in accord with the rules for	SQL quoted
	   identifiers.	For example, \dt "FOO""BAR" will display the table
	   named FOO"BAR (not foo"bar).	Unlike the normal rules	for SQL	names,
	   you can put double quotes around just part of a pattern, for
	   instance \dt	FOO"FOO"BAR will display the table named fooFOObar.

	   Whenever the	pattern	parameter is omitted completely, the \d
	   commands display all	objects	that are visible in the	current	schema
	   search path -- this is equivalent to	using *	as the pattern.	(An
	   object is said to be	visible	if its containing schema is in the
	   search path and no object of	the same kind and name appears earlier
	   in the search path. This is equivalent to the statement that	the
	   object can be referenced by name without explicit schema
	   qualification.) To see all objects in the database regardless of
	   visibility, use *.*	as the pattern.

	   Within a pattern, * matches any sequence of characters (including
	   no characters) and ?	 matches any single character. (This notation
	   is comparable to Unix shell file name patterns.) For	example, \dt
	   int*	displays tables	whose names begin with int. But	within double
	   quotes, * and ?  lose these special meanings	and are	just matched
	   literally.

	   A relation pattern that contains a dot (.) is interpreted as	a
	   schema name pattern followed	by an object name pattern. For
	   example, \dt	foo*.*bar* displays all	tables whose table name
	   includes bar	that are in schemas whose schema name starts with foo.
	   When	no dot appears,	then the pattern matches only objects that are
	   visible in the current schema search	path. Again, a dot within
	   double quotes loses its special meaning and is matched literally. A
	   relation pattern that contains two dots (.) is interpreted as a
	   database name followed by a schema name pattern followed by an
	   object name pattern.	The database name portion will not be treated
	   as a	pattern	and must match the name	of the currently connected
	   database, else an error will	be raised.

	   A schema pattern that contains a dot	(.) is interpreted as a
	   database name followed by a schema name pattern. For	example, \dn
	   mydb.*foo* displays all schemas whose schema	name includes foo. The
	   database name portion will not be treated as	a pattern and must
	   match the name of the currently connected database, else an error
	   will	be raised.

	   Advanced users can use regular-expression notations such as
	   character classes, for example [0-9]	to match any digit. All
	   regular expression special characters work as specified in
	   Section 9.7.3, except for .	which is taken as a separator as
	   mentioned above, * which is translated to the regular-expression
	   notation .*,	?  which is translated to ., and $ which is matched
	   literally. You can emulate these pattern characters at need by
	   writing ?  for ., (R+|) for R*, or (R|) for R?.  $ is not needed as
	   a regular-expression	character since	the pattern must match the
	   whole name, unlike the usual	interpretation of regular expressions
	   (in other words, $ is automatically appended	to your	pattern).
	   Write * at the beginning and/or end if you don't wish the pattern
	   to be anchored. Note	that within double quotes, all regular
	   expression special characters lose their special meanings and are
	   matched literally. Also, the	regular	expression special characters
	   are matched literally in operator name patterns (i.e., the argument
	   of \do).

   Advanced Features
       Variables

	   psql	provides variable substitution features	similar	to common Unix
	   command shells. Variables are simply	name/value pairs, where	the
	   value can be	any string of any length. The name must	consist	of
	   letters (including non-Latin	letters), digits, and underscores.

	   To set a variable, use the psql meta-command	\set. For example,

	       testdb=>	\set foo bar

	   sets	the variable foo to the	value bar. To retrieve the content of
	   the variable, precede the name with a colon,	for example:

	       testdb=>	\echo :foo
	       bar

	   This	works in both regular SQL commands and meta-commands; there is
	   more	detail in SQL Interpolation, below.

	   If you call \set without a second argument, the variable is set to
	   an empty-string value. To unset (i.e., delete) a variable, use the
	   command \unset. To show the values of all variables,	call \set
	   without any argument.

	       Note

	       The arguments of	\set are subject to the	same substitution
	       rules as	with other commands. Thus you can construct
	       interesting references such as \set :foo	'something' and	get
	       "soft links" or "variable variables" of Perl or PHP fame,
	       respectively. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), there is no way
	       to do anything useful with these	constructs. On the other hand,
	       \set bar	:foo is	a perfectly valid way to copy a	variable.

	   A number of these variables are treated specially by	psql. They
	   represent certain option settings that can be changed at run	time
	   by altering the value of the	variable, or in	some cases represent
	   changeable state of psql. By	convention, all	specially treated
	   variables' names consist of all upper-case ASCII letters (and
	   possibly digits and underscores). To	ensure maximum compatibility
	   in the future, avoid	using such variable names for your own
	   purposes.

	   Variables that control psql's behavior generally cannot be unset or
	   set to invalid values. An \unset command is allowed but is
	   interpreted as setting the variable to its default value. A \set
	   command without a second argument is	interpreted as setting the
	   variable to on, for control variables that accept that value, and
	   is rejected for others. Also, control variables that	accept the
	   values on and off will also accept other common spellings of
	   Boolean values, such	as true	and false.

	   The specially treated variables are:

	   AUTOCOMMIT
	       When on (the default), each SQL command is automatically
	       committed upon successful completion. To	postpone commit	in
	       this mode, you must enter a BEGIN or START TRANSACTION SQL
	       command.	When off or unset, SQL commands	are not	committed
	       until you explicitly issue COMMIT or END. The autocommit-off
	       mode works by issuing an	implicit BEGIN for you,	just before
	       any command that	is not already in a transaction	block and is
	       not itself a BEGIN or other transaction-control command,	nor a
	       command that cannot be executed inside a	transaction block
	       (such as	VACUUM).

		   Note
		   In autocommit-off mode, you must explicitly abandon any
		   failed transaction by entering ABORT	or ROLLBACK. Also keep
		   in mind that	if you exit the	session	without	committing,
		   your	work will be lost.

		   Note
		   The autocommit-on mode is PostgreSQL's traditional
		   behavior, but autocommit-off	is closer to the SQL spec. If
		   you prefer autocommit-off, you might	wish to	set it in the
		   system-wide psqlrc file or your ~/.psqlrc file.

	   COMP_KEYWORD_CASE
	       Determines which	letter case to use when	completing an SQL key
	       word. If	set to lower or	upper, the completed word will be in
	       lower or	upper case, respectively. If set to preserve-lower or
	       preserve-upper (the default), the completed word	will be	in the
	       case of the word	already	entered, but words being completed
	       without anything	entered	will be	in lower or upper case,
	       respectively.

	   DBNAME
	       The name	of the database	you are	currently connected to.	This
	       is set every time you connect to	a database (including program
	       start-up), but can be changed or	unset.

	   ECHO
	       If set to all, all nonempty input lines are printed to standard
	       output as they are read.	(This does not apply to	lines read
	       interactively.) To select this behavior on program start-up,
	       use the switch -a. If set to queries, psql prints each query to
	       standard	output as it is	sent to	the server. The	switch to
	       select this behavior is -e. If set to errors, then only failed
	       queries are displayed on	standard error output. The switch for
	       this behavior is	-b. If set to none (the	default), then no
	       queries are displayed.

	   ECHO_HIDDEN
	       When this variable is set to on and a backslash command queries
	       the database, the query is first	shown. This feature helps you
	       to study	PostgreSQL internals and provide similar functionality
	       in your own programs. (To select	this behavior on program
	       start-up, use the switch	-E.) If	you set	this variable to the
	       value noexec, the queries are just shown	but are	not actually
	       sent to the server and executed.	The default value is off.

	   ENCODING
	       The current client character set	encoding. This is set every
	       time you	connect	to a database (including program start-up),
	       and when	you change the encoding	with \encoding,	but it can be
	       changed or unset.

	   ERROR
	       true if the last	SQL query failed, false	if it succeeded. See
	       also SQLSTATE.

	   FETCH_COUNT
	       If this variable	is set to an integer value greater than	zero,
	       the results of SELECT queries are fetched and displayed in
	       groups of that many rows, rather	than the default behavior of
	       collecting the entire result set	before display.	Therefore only
	       a limited amount	of memory is used, regardless of the size of
	       the result set. Settings	of 100 to 1000 are commonly used when
	       enabling	this feature. Keep in mind that	when using this
	       feature,	a query	might fail after having	already	displayed some
	       rows.

		   Tip
		   Although you	can use	any output format with this feature,
		   the default aligned format tends to look bad	because	each
		   group of FETCH_COUNT	rows will be formatted separately,
		   leading to varying column widths across the row groups. The
		   other output	formats	work better.

	   HIDE_TABLEAM
	       If this variable	is set to true,	a table's access method
	       details are not displayed. This is mainly useful	for regression
	       tests.

	   HIDE_TOAST_COMPRESSION
	       If this variable	is set to true,	column compression method
	       details are not displayed. This is mainly useful	for regression
	       tests.

	   HISTCONTROL
	       If this variable	is set to ignorespace, lines which begin with
	       a space are not entered into the	history	list. If set to	a
	       value of	ignoredups, lines matching the previous	history	line
	       are not entered.	A value	of ignoreboth combines the two
	       options.	If set to none (the default), all lines	read in
	       interactive mode	are saved on the history list.

		   Note
		   This	feature	was shamelessly	plagiarized from Bash.

	   HISTFILE
	       The file	name that will be used to store	the history list. If
	       unset, the file name is taken from the PSQL_HISTORY environment
	       variable. If that is not	set either, the	default	is
	       ~/.psql_history,	or %APPDATA%\postgresql\psql_history on
	       Windows.	For example, putting:

		   \set	HISTFILE ~/.psql_history-:DBNAME

	       in ~/.psqlrc will cause psql to maintain	a separate history for
	       each database.

		   Note
		   This	feature	was shamelessly	plagiarized from Bash.

	   HISTSIZE
	       The maximum number of commands to store in the command history
	       (default	500). If set to	a negative value, no limit is applied.

		   Note
		   This	feature	was shamelessly	plagiarized from Bash.

	   HOST
	       The database server host	you are	currently connected to.	This
	       is set every time you connect to	a database (including program
	       start-up), but can be changed or	unset.

	   IGNOREEOF
	       If set to 1 or less, sending an EOF character (usually
	       Control+D) to an	interactive session of psql will terminate the
	       application. If set to a	larger numeric value, that many
	       consecutive EOF characters must be typed	to make	an interactive
	       session terminate. If the variable is set to a non-numeric
	       value, it is interpreted	as 10. The default is 0.

		   Note
		   This	feature	was shamelessly	plagiarized from Bash.

	   LASTOID
	       The value of the	last affected OID, as returned from an INSERT
	       or \lo_import command. This variable is only guaranteed to be
	       valid until after the result of the next	SQL command has	been
	       displayed.  PostgreSQL servers since version 12 do not support
	       OID system columns anymore, thus	LASTOID	will always be 0
	       following INSERT	when targeting such servers.

	   LAST_ERROR_MESSAGE
	   LAST_ERROR_SQLSTATE
	       The primary error message and associated	SQLSTATE code for the
	       most recent failed query	in the current psql session, or	an
	       empty string and	00000 if no error has occurred in the current
	       session.

	   ON_ERROR_ROLLBACK
	       When set	to on, if a statement in a transaction block generates
	       an error, the error is ignored and the transaction continues.
	       When set	to interactive,	such errors are	only ignored in
	       interactive sessions, and not when reading script files.	When
	       set to off (the default), a statement in	a transaction block
	       that generates an error aborts the entire transaction. The
	       error rollback mode works by issuing an implicit	SAVEPOINT for
	       you, just before	each command that is in	a transaction block,
	       and then	rolling	back to	the savepoint if the command fails.

	   ON_ERROR_STOP
	       By default, command processing continues	after an error.	When
	       this variable is	set to on, processing will instead stop
	       immediately. In interactive mode, psql will return to the
	       command prompt; otherwise, psql will exit, returning error code
	       3 to distinguish	this case from fatal error conditions, which
	       are reported using error	code 1.	In either case,	any currently
	       running scripts (the top-level script, if any, and any other
	       scripts which it	may have in invoked) will be terminated
	       immediately. If the top-level command string contained multiple
	       SQL commands, processing	will stop with the current command.

	   PORT
	       The database server port	to which you are currently connected.
	       This is set every time you connect to a database	(including
	       program start-up), but can be changed or	unset.

	   PROMPT1
	   PROMPT2
	   PROMPT3
	       These specify what the prompts psql issues should look like.
	       See Prompting below.

	   QUIET
	       Setting this variable to	on is equivalent to the	command	line
	       option -q. It is	probably not too useful	in interactive mode.

	   ROW_COUNT
	       The number of rows returned or affected by the last SQL query,
	       or 0 if the query failed	or did not report a row	count.

	   SERVER_VERSION_NAME
	   SERVER_VERSION_NUM
	       The server's version number as a	string,	for example 9.6.2,
	       10.1 or 11beta1,	and in numeric form, for example 90602 or
	       100001. These are set every time	you connect to a database
	       (including program start-up), but can be	changed	or unset.

	   SHELL_ERROR
	       true if the last	shell command failed, false if it succeeded.
	       This applies to shell commands invoked via the \!, \g, \o, \w,
	       and \copy meta-commands,	as well	as backquote (`) expansion.
	       Note that for \o, this variable is updated when the output pipe
	       is closed by the	next \o	command. See also SHELL_EXIT_CODE.

	   SHELL_EXIT_CODE
	       The exit	status returned	by the last shell command. 0-127
	       represent program exit codes, 128-255 indicate termination by a
	       signal, and -1 indicates	failure	to launch a program or to
	       collect its exit	status.	This applies to	shell commands invoked
	       via the \!, \g, \o, \w, and \copy meta-commands,	as well	as
	       backquote (`) expansion.	Note that for \o, this variable	is
	       updated when the	output pipe is closed by the next \o command.
	       See also	SHELL_ERROR.

	   SHOW_ALL_RESULTS
	       When this variable is set to off, only the last result of a
	       combined	query (\;) is shown instead of all of them. The
	       default is on. The off behavior is for compatibility with older
	       versions	of psql.

	   SHOW_CONTEXT
	       This variable can be set	to the values never, errors, or	always
	       to control whether CONTEXT fields are displayed in messages
	       from the	server.	The default is errors (meaning that context
	       will be shown in	error messages,	but not	in notice or warning
	       messages). This setting has no effect when VERBOSITY is set to
	       terse or	sqlstate. (See also \errverbose, for use when you want
	       a verbose version of the	error you just got.)

	   SINGLELINE
	       Setting this variable to	on is equivalent to the	command	line
	       option -S.

	   SINGLESTEP
	       Setting this variable to	on is equivalent to the	command	line
	       option -s.

	   SQLSTATE
	       The error code (see Appendix A) associated with the last	SQL
	       query's failure,	or 00000 if it succeeded.

	   USER
	       The database user you are currently connected as. This is set
	       every time you connect to a database (including program
	       start-up), but can be changed or	unset.

	   VERBOSITY
	       This variable can be set	to the values default, verbose,	terse,
	       or sqlstate to control the verbosity of error reports. (See
	       also \errverbose, for use when you want a verbose version of
	       the error you just got.)

	   VERSION
	   VERSION_NAME
	   VERSION_NUM
	       These variables are set at program start-up to reflect psql's
	       version,	respectively as	a verbose string, a short string
	       (e.g., 9.6.2, 10.1, or 11beta1),	and a number (e.g., 90602 or
	       100001).	They can be changed or unset.

       SQL Interpolation

	   A key feature of psql variables is that you can substitute
	   ("interpolate") them	into regular SQL statements, as	well as	the
	   arguments of	meta-commands. Furthermore, psql provides facilities
	   for ensuring	that variable values used as SQL literals and
	   identifiers are properly quoted. The	syntax for interpolating a
	   value without any quoting is	to prepend the variable	name with a
	   colon (:). For example,

	       testdb=>	\set foo 'my_table'
	       testdb=>	SELECT * FROM :foo;

	   would query the table my_table. Note	that this may be unsafe: the
	   value of the	variable is copied literally, so it can	contain
	   unbalanced quotes, or even backslash	commands. You must make	sure
	   that	it makes sense where you put it.

	   When	a value	is to be used as an SQL	literal	or identifier, it is
	   safest to arrange for it to be quoted. To quote the value of	a
	   variable as an SQL literal, write a colon followed by the variable
	   name	in single quotes. To quote the value as	an SQL identifier,
	   write a colon followed by the variable name in double quotes. These
	   constructs deal correctly with quotes and other special characters
	   embedded within the variable	value. The previous example would be
	   more	safely written this way:

	       testdb=>	\set foo 'my_table'
	       testdb=>	SELECT * FROM :"foo";

	   Variable interpolation will not be performed	within quoted SQL
	   literals and	identifiers. Therefore,	a construction such as ':foo'
	   doesn't work	to produce a quoted literal from a variable's value
	   (and	it would be unsafe if it did work, since it wouldn't correctly
	   handle quotes embedded in the value).

	   One example use of this mechanism is	to copy	the contents of	a file
	   into	a table	column.	First load the file into a variable and	then
	   interpolate the variable's value as a quoted	string:

	       testdb=>	\set content `cat my_file.txt`
	       testdb=>	INSERT INTO my_table VALUES (:'content');

	   (Note that this still won't work if my_file.txt contains NUL	bytes.
	   psql	does not support embedded NUL bytes in variable	values.)

	   Since colons	can legally appear in SQL commands, an apparent
	   attempt at interpolation (that is, :name, :'name', or :"name") is
	   not replaced	unless the named variable is currently set. In any
	   case, you can escape	a colon	with a backslash to protect it from
	   substitution.

	   The :{?name}	special	syntax returns TRUE or FALSE depending on
	   whether the variable	exists or not, and is thus always substituted,
	   unless the colon is backslash-escaped.

	   The colon syntax for	variables is standard SQL for embedded query
	   languages, such as ECPG. The	colon syntaxes for array slices	and
	   type	casts are PostgreSQL extensions, which can sometimes conflict
	   with	the standard usage. The	colon-quote syntax for escaping	a
	   variable's value as an SQL literal or identifier is a psql
	   extension.

       Prompting

	   The prompts psql issues can be customized to	your preference. The
	   three variables PROMPT1, PROMPT2, and PROMPT3 contain strings and
	   special escape sequences that describe the appearance of the
	   prompt. Prompt 1 is the normal prompt that is issued	when psql
	   requests a new command. Prompt 2 is issued when more	input is
	   expected during command entry, for example because the command was
	   not terminated with a semicolon or a	quote was not closed. Prompt 3
	   is issued when you are running an SQL COPY FROM STDIN command and
	   you need to type in a row value on the terminal.

	   The value of	the selected prompt variable is	printed	literally,
	   except where	a percent sign (%) is encountered. Depending on	the
	   next	character, certain other text is substituted instead. Defined
	   substitutions are:

	   %M
	       The full	host name (with	domain name) of	the database server,
	       or [local] if the connection is over a Unix domain socket, or
	       [local:/dir/name], if the Unix domain socket is not at the
	       compiled	in default location.

	   %m
	       The host	name of	the database server, truncated at the first
	       dot, or [local] if the connection is over a Unix	domain socket.

	   %>
	       The port	number at which	the database server is listening.

	   %n
	       The database session user name. (The expansion of this value
	       might change during a database session as the result of the
	       command SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION.)

	   %/
	       The name	of the current database.

	   %~
	       Like %/,	but the	output is ~ (tilde) if the database is your
	       default database.

	   %#
	       If the session user is a	database superuser, then a #,
	       otherwise a >. (The expansion of	this value might change	during
	       a database session as the result	of the command SET SESSION
	       AUTHORIZATION.)

	   %p
	       The process ID of the backend currently connected to.

	   %R
	       In prompt 1 normally =, but @ if	the session is in an inactive
	       branch of a conditional block, or ^ if in single-line mode, or
	       !  if the session is disconnected from the database (which can
	       happen if \connect fails). In prompt 2 %R is replaced by	a
	       character that depends on why psql expects more input: -	if the
	       command simply wasn't terminated	yet, but * if there is an
	       unfinished /* ... */ comment, a single quote if there is	an
	       unfinished quoted string, a double quote	if there is an
	       unfinished quoted identifier, a dollar sign if there is an
	       unfinished dollar-quoted	string,	or ( if	there is an unmatched
	       left parenthesis. In prompt 3 %R	doesn't	produce	anything.

	   %x
	       Transaction status: an empty string when	not in a transaction
	       block, or * when	in a transaction block,	or !  when in a	failed
	       transaction block, or ?	when the transaction state is
	       indeterminate (for example, because there is no connection).

	   %l
	       The line	number inside the current statement, starting from 1.

	   %digits
	       The character with the indicated	octal code is substituted.

	   %:name:
	       The value of the	psql variable name. See	Variables, above, for
	       details.

	   %`command`
	       The output of command, similar to ordinary "back-tick"
	       substitution.

	   %[ ... %]
	       Prompts can contain terminal control characters which, for
	       example,	change the color, background, or style of the prompt
	       text, or	change the title of the	terminal window. In order for
	       the line	editing	features of Readline to	work properly, these
	       non-printing control characters must be designated as invisible
	       by surrounding them with	%[ and %]. Multiple pairs of these can
	       occur within the	prompt.	For example:

		   testdb=> \set PROMPT1 '%[%033[1;33;40m%]%n@%/%R%[%033[0m%]%#	'

	       results in a boldfaced (1;) yellow-on-black (33;40) prompt on
	       VT100-compatible, color-capable terminals.

	   %w
	       Whitespace of the same width as the most	recent output of
	       PROMPT1.	This can be used as a PROMPT2 setting, so that
	       multi-line statements are aligned with the first	line, but
	       there is	no visible secondary prompt.
	   To insert a percent sign into your prompt, write %%.	The default
	   prompts are '%/%R%x%# ' for prompts 1 and 2,	and '>>	' for prompt
	   3.

	       Note

	       This feature was	shamelessly plagiarized	from tcsh.

       Command-Line Editing

	   psql	uses the Readline or libedit library, if available, for
	   convenient line editing and retrieval. The command history is
	   automatically saved when psql exits and is reloaded when psql
	   starts up. Type up-arrow or control-P to retrieve previous lines.

	   You can also	use tab	completion to fill in partially-typed keywords
	   and SQL object names	in many	(by no means all) contexts. For
	   example, at the start of a command, typing ins and pressing TAB
	   will	fill in	insert into. Then, typing a few	characters of a	table
	   or schema name and pressing TAB will	fill in	the unfinished name,
	   or offer a menu of possible completions when	there's	more than one.
	   (Depending on the library in	use, you may need to press TAB more
	   than	once to	get a menu.)

	   Tab completion for SQL object names requires	sending	queries	to the
	   server to find possible matches. In some contexts this can
	   interfere with other	operations. For	example, after BEGIN it	will
	   be too late to issue	SET TRANSACTION	ISOLATION LEVEL	if a
	   tab-completion query	is issued in between. If you do	not want tab
	   completion at all, you can turn it off permanently by putting this
	   in a	file named .inputrc in your home directory:

	       $if psql
	       set disable-completion on
	       $endif

	   (This is not	a psql but a Readline feature. Read its	documentation
	   for further details.)

	   The -n (--no-readline) command line option can also be useful to
	   disable use of Readline for a single	run of psql. This prevents tab
	   completion, use or recording	of command line	history, and editing
	   of multi-line commands. It is particularly useful when you need to
	   copy-and-paste text that contains TAB characters.

ENVIRONMENT
       COLUMNS
	   If \pset columns is zero, controls the width	for the	wrapped	format
	   and width for determining if	wide output requires the pager or
	   should be switched to the vertical format in	expanded auto mode.

       PGDATABASE
       PGHOST
       PGPORT
       PGUSER
	   Default connection parameters (see Section 32.15).

       PG_COLOR
	   Specifies whether to	use color in diagnostic	messages. Possible
	   values are always, auto and never.

       PSQL_EDITOR
       EDITOR
       VISUAL
	   Editor used by the \e, \ef, and \ev commands. These variables are
	   examined in the order listed; the first that	is set is used.	If
	   none	of them	is set,	the default is to use vi on Unix systems or
	   notepad.exe on Windows systems.

       PSQL_EDITOR_LINENUMBER_ARG
	   When	\e, \ef, or \ev	is used	with a line number argument, this
	   variable specifies the command-line argument	used to	pass the
	   starting line number	to the user's editor. For editors such as
	   Emacs or vi,	this is	a plus sign. Include a trailing	space in the
	   value of the	variable if there needs	to be space between the	option
	   name	and the	line number. Examples:

	       PSQL_EDITOR_LINENUMBER_ARG='+'
	       PSQL_EDITOR_LINENUMBER_ARG='--line '

	   The default is + on Unix systems (corresponding to the default
	   editor vi, and useful for many other	common editors); but there is
	   no default on Windows systems.

       PSQL_HISTORY
	   Alternative location	for the	command	history	file. Tilde (~)
	   expansion is	performed.

       PSQL_PAGER
       PAGER
	   If a	query's	results	do not fit on the screen, they are piped
	   through this	command. Typical values	are more or less. Use of the
	   pager can be	disabled by setting PSQL_PAGER or PAGER	to an empty
	   string, or by adjusting the pager-related options of	the \pset
	   command. These variables are	examined in the	order listed; the
	   first that is set is	used. If neither of them is set, the default
	   is to use more on most platforms, but less on Cygwin.

       PSQL_WATCH_PAGER
	   When	a query	is executed repeatedly with the	\watch command,	a
	   pager is not	used by	default. This behavior can be changed by
	   setting PSQL_WATCH_PAGER to a pager command,	on Unix	systems. The
	   pspg	pager (not part	of PostgreSQL but available in many open
	   source software distributions) can display the output of \watch if
	   started with	the option --stream.

       PSQLRC
	   Alternative location	of the user's .psqlrc file. Tilde (~)
	   expansion is	performed.

       SHELL
	   Command executed by the \!  command.

       TMPDIR
	   Directory for storing temporary files. The default is /tmp.

       This utility, like most other PostgreSQL	utilities, also	uses the
       environment variables supported by libpq	(see Section 32.15).

FILES
       psqlrc and ~/.psqlrc
	   Unless it is	passed an -X option, psql attempts to read and execute
	   commands from the system-wide startup file (psqlrc) and then	the
	   user's personal startup file	(~/.psqlrc), after connecting to the
	   database but	before accepting normal	commands. These	files can be
	   used	to set up the client and/or the	server to taste, typically
	   with	\set and SET commands.

	   The system-wide startup file	is named psqlrc. By default it is
	   sought in the installation's	"system	configuration" directory,
	   which is most reliably identified by	running	pg_config
	   --sysconfdir. Typically this	directory will be ../etc/ relative to
	   the directory containing the	PostgreSQL executables.	The directory
	   to look in can be set explicitly via	the PGSYSCONFDIR environment
	   variable.

	   The user's personal startup file is named .psqlrc and is sought in
	   the invoking	user's home directory. On Windows the personal startup
	   file	is instead named %APPDATA%\postgresql\psqlrc.conf. In either
	   case, this default file path	can be overridden by setting the
	   PSQLRC environment variable.

	   Both	the system-wide	startup	file and the user's personal startup
	   file	can be made psql-version-specific by appending a dash and the
	   PostgreSQL major or minor release identifier	to the file name, for
	   example ~/.psqlrc-17	or ~/.psqlrc-17.5. The most specific
	   version-matching file will be read in preference to a
	   non-version-specific	file. These version suffixes are added after
	   determining the file	path as	explained above.

       .psql_history
	   The command-line history is stored in the file ~/.psql_history, or
	   %APPDATA%\postgresql\psql_history on	Windows.

	   The location	of the history file can	be set explicitly via the
	   HISTFILE psql variable or the PSQL_HISTORY environment variable.

NOTES
          psql	works best with	servers	of the same or an older	major version.
	   Backslash commands are particularly likely to fail if the server is
	   of a	newer version than psql	itself.	However, backslash commands of
	   the \d family should	work with servers of versions back to 9.2,
	   though not necessarily with servers newer than psql itself. The
	   general functionality of running SQL	commands and displaying	query
	   results should also work with servers of a newer major version, but
	   this	cannot be guaranteed in	all cases.

	   If you want to use psql to connect to several servers of different
	   major versions, it is recommended that you use the newest version
	   of psql. Alternatively, you can keep	around a copy of psql from
	   each	major version and be sure to use the version that matches the
	   respective server. But in practice, this additional complication
	   should not be necessary.

          Before PostgreSQL 9.6, the -c option	implied	-X (--no-psqlrc); this
	   is no longer	the case.

          Before PostgreSQL 8.4, psql allowed the first argument of a
	   single-letter backslash command to start directly after the
	   command, without intervening	whitespace. Now, some whitespace is
	   required.

NOTES FOR WINDOWS USERS
       psql is built as	a "console application". Since the Windows console
       windows use a different encoding	than the rest of the system, you must
       take special care when using 8-bit characters within psql. If psql
       detects a problematic console code page,	it will	warn you at startup.
       To change the console code page,	two things are necessary:

          Set the code	page by	entering cmd.exe /c chcp 1252. (1252 is	a code
	   page	that is	appropriate for	German;	replace	it with	your value.)
	   If you are using Cygwin, you	can put	this command in	/etc/profile.

          Set the console font	to Lucida Console, because the raster font
	   does	not work with the ANSI code page.

EXAMPLES
       The first example shows how to spread a command over several lines of
       input. Notice the changing prompt:

	   testdb=> CREATE TABLE my_table (
	   testdb(>  first integer not null default 0,
	   testdb(>  second text)
	   testdb-> ;
	   CREATE TABLE

       Now look	at the table definition	again:

	   testdb=> \d my_table
			 Table "public.my_table"
	    Column |  Type   | Collation | Nullable | Default
	   --------+---------+-----------+----------+---------
	    first  | integer |		 | not null | 0
	    second | text    |		 |	    |

       Now we change the prompt	to something more interesting:

	   testdb=> \set PROMPT1 '%n@%m	%~%R%# '
	   peter@localhost testdb=>

       Let's assume you	have filled the	table with data	and want to take a
       look at it:

	   peter@localhost testdb=> SELECT * FROM my_table;
	    first | second
	   -------+--------
		1 | one
		2 | two
		3 | three
		4 | four
	   (4 rows)

       You can display tables in different ways	by using the \pset command:

	   peter@localhost testdb=> \pset border 2
	   Border style	is 2.
	   peter@localhost testdb=> SELECT * FROM my_table;
	   +-------+--------+
	   | first | second |
	   +-------+--------+
	   |	 1 | one    |
	   |	 2 | two    |
	   |	 3 | three  |
	   |	 4 | four   |
	   +-------+--------+
	   (4 rows)

	   peter@localhost testdb=> \pset border 0
	   Border style	is 0.
	   peter@localhost testdb=> SELECT * FROM my_table;
	   first second
	   ----- ------
	       1 one
	       2 two
	       3 three
	       4 four
	   (4 rows)

	   peter@localhost testdb=> \pset border 1
	   Border style	is 1.
	   peter@localhost testdb=> \pset format csv
	   Output format is csv.
	   peter@localhost testdb=> \pset tuples_only
	   Tuples only is on.
	   peter@localhost testdb=> SELECT second, first FROM my_table;
	   one,1
	   two,2
	   three,3
	   four,4
	   peter@localhost testdb=> \pset format unaligned
	   Output format is unaligned.
	   peter@localhost testdb=> \pset fieldsep '\t'
	   Field separator is "	   ".
	   peter@localhost testdb=> SELECT second, first FROM my_table;
	   one	   1
	   two	   2
	   three   3
	   four	   4

       Alternatively, use the short commands:

	   peter@localhost testdb=> \a \t \x
	   Output format is aligned.
	   Tuples only is off.
	   Expanded display is on.
	   peter@localhost testdb=> SELECT * FROM my_table;
	   -[ RECORD 1 ]-
	   first  | 1
	   second | one
	   -[ RECORD 2 ]-
	   first  | 2
	   second | two
	   -[ RECORD 3 ]-
	   first  | 3
	   second | three
	   -[ RECORD 4 ]-
	   first  | 4
	   second | four

       Also, these output format options can be	set for	just one query by
       using \g:

	   peter@localhost testdb=> SELECT * FROM my_table
	   peter@localhost testdb-> \g (format=aligned tuples_only=off expanded=on)
	   -[ RECORD 1 ]-
	   first  | 1
	   second | one
	   -[ RECORD 2 ]-
	   first  | 2
	   second | two
	   -[ RECORD 3 ]-
	   first  | 3
	   second | three
	   -[ RECORD 4 ]-
	   first  | 4
	   second | four

       Here is an example of using the \df command to find only	functions with
       names matching int*pl and whose second argument is of type bigint:

	   testdb=> \df	int*pl * bigint
				     List of functions
	      Schema   |  Name	 | Result data type | Argument data types | Type
	   ------------+---------+------------------+---------------------+------
	    pg_catalog | int28pl | bigint	    | smallint,	bigint	  | func
	    pg_catalog | int48pl | bigint	    | integer, bigint	  | func
	    pg_catalog | int8pl	 | bigint	    | bigint, bigint	  | func
	   (3 rows)

       When suitable, query results can	be shown in a crosstab representation
       with the	\crosstabview command:

	   testdb=> SELECT first, second, first	> 2 AS gt2 FROM	my_table;
	    first | second | gt2
	   -------+--------+-----
		1 | one	   | f
		2 | two	   | f
		3 | three  | t
		4 | four   | t
	   (4 rows)

	   testdb=> \crosstabview first	second
	    first | one	| two |	three |	four
	   -------+-----+-----+-------+------
		1 | f	|     |	      |
		2 |	| f   |	      |
		3 |	|     |	t     |
		4 |	|     |	      |	t
	   (4 rows)

       This second example shows a multiplication table	with rows sorted in
       reverse numerical order and columns with	an independent,	ascending
       numerical order.

	   testdb=> SELECT t1.first as "A", t2.first+100 AS "B", t1.first*(t2.first+100) as "AxB",
	   testdb-> row_number() over(order by t2.first) AS ord
	   testdb-> FROM my_table t1 CROSS JOIN	my_table t2 ORDER BY 1 DESC
	   testdb-> \crosstabview "A" "B" "AxB"	ord
	    A |	101 | 102 | 103	| 104
	   ---+-----+-----+-----+-----
	    4 |	404 | 408 | 412	| 416
	    3 |	303 | 306 | 309	| 312
	    2 |	202 | 204 | 206	| 208
	    1 |	101 | 102 | 103	| 104
	   (4 rows)

PostgreSQL 17.5			     2025			       PSQL(1)

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