Explore your database with DuckDB CLI

The DuckDB CLI is the reference way to open a DuckDB database: a single binary, no setup, the latest DuckDB features as soon as they are released. Type SQL, get nicely formatted tables back.

It is also what the other tools build on: the DuckDB UI and the Claude integration both start from it.

Runs on: macOS, Windows, Linux
Price: Free, open source
Website: duckdb.org

Get started

Install the DuckDB CLI

Pick the command for your system.

# macOS
brew install duckdb

# Windows
winget install DuckDB.cli

# Linux
curl https://install.duckdb.org | sh

Open the database
From the folder holding your database. -readonly guarantees nothing gets modified.
```
duckdb -readonly selfsync-db.duckdb
```

Explore the tables

.tables lists the tables, DESCRIBE their columns. Every column carries a comment explaining what it holds.

.tables
DESCRIBE z_fit_session_mesgs;
SELECT column_name, comment
FROM duckdb_columns()
WHERE table_name = 'z_fit_session_mesgs';

Run a first query

Every statement ends with a semicolon.

SELECT z_sport AS sport,
       count(*) AS sessions,
       round(sum(z_total_distance) / 1000, 1) AS km
FROM z_fit_session_mesgs
GROUP BY ALL
ORDER BY km DESC;

Export the results
Need the data in a spreadsheet? Export any query to CSV, Parquet or JSON.
```
COPY (FROM z_fit_session_mesgs) TO 'sessions.csv';
```

Good to know

Type .help to list the dot commands and .mode line to display wide rows one column per line.
Press Ctrl + D or type .quit to exit.

Other tools

Wondering what a table or a column holds? Browse the FIT file reference.