connect to psql and run SQL command from command line

Question

I'm trying to write a quick line in bash that will use psql to connect to a database and delete all entries in two tables:

\connect some_db
DELETE from some_table
DELETE from another_table

I'd like to do this in one line of bash scripting like so:

psql -U <username> -c "\c some_db; DELETE from some_table; DELETE from another_table"

but it seems like I can't do that because the \c command creates a new context that the subsequent commands don't apply towards.

What's the right way to do this in a line or two from the CLI?

" psql .... <<EOF your command ... EOF ". You should read topic: stackoverflow.com/questions/28803651/… (your answer) and document: postgresql.org/docs/9.3/static/app-psql.html — Luan Huynh, Dec 8, 2015 at 1:31

user1822user1822 · Accepted Answer · 2015-12-08 08:00:42Z

6

You don't need the \c in the command specified with -c, you can specify the database as a parameter to psql:

psql -U <username> -d some_db -c "DELETE from some_table; DELETE from another_table"

answered Dec 8, 2015 at 8:00

user1822

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