MySQL: Show list of tables with paging in Terminal

Question

I am using MySQL Ver 14.14 Distrib 5.5.44 for debian-linux-gnu.

How can I show my tables page wise in a terminal?

Answer 1

You can use the pager (see docs) command in MySQL console or use the --pager startup option (docs again) to redirect the output of your commands to an external executable.

To use the pager command and list the tables try this:

mysql> pager less
mysql> show tables

You can also start MySQL to send all your output to an external executable like this

mysql --pager=/usr/bin/less

Answer 2

You might also find the tee command to be of use.

Log all output to an operating system file mytabs.txt.

mysql> tee mytabs.txt;
Logging to file 'mytabs.txt'

Issue your show tables command as below.

mysql> show tables;
+-----------------+
| Tables_in_sport |
+-----------------+
| billy           |
| player          |
| seasons         |
| team            |
+-----------------+
4 rows in set (0.00 sec)

Examine the contents of your file from within the mysql client. \! is the handy command for that.

mysql> \! more mytabs.txt;
mysql> show tables;        <<----- file contents
+-----------------+
| Tables_in_sport |
+-----------------+
| billy           |
| player          |
| seasons         |
| team            |
+-----------------+
4 rows in set (0.00 sec)

Turn of output logging.

mysql> notee;
Outfile disabled.

You can also examine the contents of the file via the shell - or alternatively, you could have your mysql client open and a shell terminal and switch between the two. Useful if you want permanent output to which you can refer later.

mysql> exit;
Bye
[pol@localhost inst]$ more mytabs.txt 
mysql> show tables;
+-----------------+
| Tables_in_sport |
+-----------------+
| billy           |
| player          |
| seasons         |
| team            |
+-----------------+
4 rows in set (0.00 sec)