dbcli-interactive
Interactive SQL mode for 30+ databases using DbCli. Provides REPL environment for exploratory queries, rapid prototyping, and database administration. Includes safety prompts before dangerous operations (UPDATE/DELETE/DROP). Use when user wants interactive database session.
allowed_tools: dbcli
$ Instalar
git clone https://github.com/tteamtm/dbcli /tmp/dbcli && cp -r /tmp/dbcli/skills/dbcli-interactive ~/.claude/skills/dbcli// tip: Run this command in your terminal to install the skill
SKILL.md
name: dbcli-interactive description: Interactive SQL mode for 30+ databases using DbCli. Provides REPL environment for exploratory queries, rapid prototyping, and database administration. Includes safety prompts before dangerous operations (UPDATE/DELETE/DROP). Use when user wants interactive database session. license: MIT compatibility: Requires DbCli CLI tool (based on .NET 10 and SqlSugar). Supports Windows, Linux, macOS. metadata: tool: dbcli version: "1.0.0" category: database mode: interactive-repl safety-prompts: enabled supported-databases: "30+" allowed-tools: dbcli
Command Style (Use PATH)
All examples use the plain command name dbcli (no directory prefix).
Ensure dbcli is on PATH instead of hardcoding paths like .\.claude\skills\dbcli\dbcli.exe.
DbCli Interactive Skill
Interactive SQL mode (REPL) for database exploration and administration with built-in safety prompts.
When to Use This Skill
- User wants to explore database interactively
- User needs to run multiple ad-hoc queries
- User prefers REPL environment over one-off commands
- User wants to prototype SQL statements
- User needs database administration session
- Learning/teaching SQL on real databases
⚠️ Safety Features
Interactive mode includes:
- Safety prompts before UPDATE/DELETE/DROP operations
- Automatic backup suggestions for dangerous operations
- Query preview before execution
- Confirmation dialogs for destructive commands
- Transaction rollback support (where available)
Command Syntax
dbcli -c "CONNECTION_STRING" [-t DATABASE_TYPE] interactive
Aliases
dbcli -c "CONNECTION_STRING" i # Short form
dbcli -c "CONNECTION_STRING" -i # Alternative
Global Options
-c, --connection: Database connection string (required)-t, --db-type: Database type (default: sqlite)
Starting Interactive Mode
Basic Usage
# SQLite
dbcli -c "Data Source=app.db" interactive
# Welcome to DbCli Interactive Mode
# Type .help for commands, .exit to quit
# dbcli>
Different Databases
# SQL Server
dbcli -c "Server=localhost;Database=mydb;Trusted_Connection=True" -t sqlserver interactive
# MySQL
dbcli -c "Server=localhost;Database=mydb;Uid=root;Pwd=xxxxxxxxxx" -t mysql interactive
# PostgreSQL
dbcli -c "Host=localhost;Database=mydb;Username=postgres;Password=xxxxxxxxxx" -t postgresql interactive
# DaMeng (达梦)
dbcli -c "Server=localhost;User Id=SYSDBA;PWD=xxxxxxxxxx;DATABASE=mydb" -t dm interactive
# GaussDB
dbcli -c "Host=localhost;Port=8000;Database=mydb;Username=gaussdb;Password=xxxxxxxxxx" -t gaussdb interactive
Interactive Commands
Meta Commands (Dot Commands)
.help - Show help message
.tables - List all tables
.columns <table> - Show table structure
.format <type> - Change output format (json/table/csv)
.exit / .quit - Exit interactive mode
.clear - Clear screen
.history - Show command history
SQL Execution
dbcli> SELECT * FROM Users LIMIT 5;
-- Results displayed immediately
dbcli> SELECT COUNT(*) as user_count FROM Users;
-- Returns: { "user_count": 42 }
Interactive Session Examples
Exploration Session
$ dbcli -c "Data Source=app.db" interactive
dbcli> .tables
Users
Orders
Products
dbcli> .columns Users
ColumnName | DataType | IsNullable | IsPrimaryKey
-------------------------------------------------------
Id | INTEGER | False | True
Name | TEXT | False | False
Email | TEXT | True | False
CreatedAt | TIMESTAMP| True | False
dbcli> SELECT * FROM Users LIMIT 3;
+----+-------+-------------------+
| Id | Name | Email |
+----+-------+-------------------+
| 1 | Alice | alice@example.com |
| 2 | Bob | bob@example.com |
| 3 | Carol | carol@example.com |
+----+-------+-------------------+
dbcli> .format json
Output format changed to: json
dbcli> SELECT Name, Email FROM Users WHERE Id = 1;
[{"Name":"Alice","Email":"alice@example.com"}]
dbcli> .exit
Goodbye!
Data Analysis Session
dbcli> -- Check total records
dbcli> SELECT COUNT(*) as total FROM Orders;
{"total": 1547}
dbcli> -- Find top customers
dbcli> SELECT CustomerId, COUNT(*) as order_count, SUM(Total) as total_spent
FROM Orders
GROUP BY CustomerId
ORDER BY total_spent DESC
LIMIT 5;
+------------+-------------+-------------+
| CustomerId | order_count | total_spent |
+------------+-------------+-------------+
| 42 | 23 | 15420.50 |
| 17 | 19 | 12350.00 |
...
dbcli> -- Analyze by month
dbcli> SELECT strftime('%Y-%m', OrderDate) as month,
COUNT(*) as orders,
SUM(Total) as revenue
FROM Orders
GROUP BY month
ORDER BY month DESC
LIMIT 6;
Safety Prompts for Dangerous Operations
UPDATE with Safety Prompt
dbcli> UPDATE Users SET status = 'verified' WHERE email_confirmed = 1;
⚠️ WARNING: UPDATE operation detected
This will modify records in table: Users
Preview affected records? (yes/no): yes
Records to be updated:
+----+--------+----------------------+
| Id | Name | Email |
+----+--------+----------------------+
| 5 | John | john@example.com |
| 8 | Sarah | sarah@example.com |
+----+--------+----------------------+
Estimated affected records: 2
Recommended actions:
1. Create backup: .export Users Users_backup_20250127_143022.sql
2. Create table copy: CREATE TABLE Users_copy_20250127_143022 AS SELECT * FROM Users
Create automatic backup before UPDATE? (yes/no): yes
Creating backup: Users_backup_20250127_143022.sql... Done.
Proceed with UPDATE? (yes/no): yes
Executing UPDATE...
Updated 2 rows.
Backup saved: Users_backup_20250127_143022.sql
DELETE with Safety Prompt
dbcli> DELETE FROM Orders WHERE status = 'cancelled' AND created_at < date('now', '-365 days');
⚠️ DANGER: DELETE operation detected
This will permanently remove records from table: Orders
Preview records to be deleted? (yes/no): yes
Records to be deleted:
+----+-----------+------------+
| Id | Status | CreatedAt |
+----+-----------+------------+
| 23 | cancelled | 2023-05-10 |
| 45 | cancelled | 2023-08-22 |
...
+----+-----------+------------+
Estimated affected records: 37
⚠️ This operation CANNOT BE UNDONE without backup!
Create automatic backup before DELETE? (yes/no): yes
Creating backup: Orders_backup_20250127_143022.sql... Done.
Type 'DELETE' to confirm deletion: DELETE
Executing DELETE...
Deleted 37 rows.
Backup saved: Orders_backup_20250127_143022.sql
DROP TABLE with Critical Warning
dbcli> DROP TABLE TempData;
🛑 CRITICAL WARNING: DROP TABLE operation detected
This will PERMANENTLY DESTROY table: TempData
Table information:
- Records: 1,245
- Columns: 7
- Indexes: 2
- Size: ~450 KB
This operation is IRREVERSIBLE!
Recommended actions:
1. Export data: .export TempData TempData_backup.sql
2. Export schema: .columns TempData > TempData_schema.txt
3. Create table copy: CREATE TABLE TempData_copy AS SELECT * FROM TempData
Create complete backup (data + schema)? (yes/no): yes
Creating backups...
✓ Data exported: TempData_backup_20250127_143022.sql
✓ Schema saved: TempData_schema_20250127_143022.txt
✓ Table copy created: TempData_copy_20250127_143022
Type 'DROP TABLE TempData' exactly to confirm: DROP TABLE TempData
Executing DROP TABLE...
Table 'TempData' has been dropped.
Recovery files available in: backups/
Special Interactive Features
Auto-Completion (Planned)
dbcli> SELECT * FROM Us<TAB>
-- Auto-completes to: SELECT * FROM Users
dbcli> SELECT Na<TAB>, Em<TAB> FROM Users
-- Auto-completes column names
Command History
dbcli> .history
1. SELECT * FROM Users LIMIT 5
2. .tables
3. .columns Orders
4. SELECT COUNT(*) FROM Orders
5. UPDATE Users SET status = 'active'
dbcli> !3
-- Re-executes: .columns Orders
Multi-Line Queries
dbcli> SELECT u.Name,
...> o.OrderDate,
...> o.Total
...> FROM Users u
...> JOIN Orders o ON u.Id = o.UserId
...> WHERE o.Total > 100
...> ORDER BY o.OrderDate DESC;
-- (Press Enter on empty line or end with ';' to execute)
Transaction Support
dbcli> BEGIN TRANSACTION;
Transaction started.
dbcli> UPDATE Users SET balance = balance - 100 WHERE Id = 5;
Updated 1 row.
dbcli> UPDATE Users SET balance = balance + 100 WHERE Id = 8;
Updated 1 row.
dbcli> -- Check balances
dbcli> SELECT Id, Name, balance FROM Users WHERE Id IN (5, 8);
+----+-------+---------+
| Id | Name | balance |
+----+-------+---------+
| 5 | Alice | 400 |
| 8 | Bob | 600 |
+----+-------+---------+
dbcli> COMMIT;
Transaction committed.
-- Or rollback if something wrong:
dbcli> ROLLBACK;
Transaction rolled back.
Configuration in Interactive Mode
Set Output Format
dbcli> .format table
Output format: table
dbcli> SELECT * FROM Users LIMIT 2;
+----+-------+-------------------+
| Id | Name | Email |
+----+-------+-------------------+
...
dbcli> .format json
Output format: json
dbcli> SELECT * FROM Users LIMIT 2;
[{"Id":1,"Name":"Alice","Email":"alice@example.com"}...]
dbcli> .format csv
Output format: csv
dbcli> SELECT * FROM Users LIMIT 2;
Id,Name,Email
1,Alice,alice@example.com
Session Variables (Future Feature)
dbcli> .set safety_prompts on
Safety prompts enabled
dbcli> .set auto_backup on
Auto-backup before dangerous operations: enabled
dbcli> .set
Current settings:
safety_prompts: on
auto_backup: on
output_format: table
max_rows: 100
Use Cases
1. Database Development
# Test query iterations
dbcli> SELECT * FROM Products WHERE price > 100;
-- Review results
dbcli> SELECT * FROM Products WHERE price > 100 AND stock > 0;
-- Refine query
dbcli> SELECT name, price, stock FROM Products WHERE price > 100 AND stock > 0 ORDER BY price;
-- Final query for application
2. Data Cleanup
# Find duplicates
dbcli> SELECT email, COUNT(*) as count
FROM Users
GROUP BY email
HAVING count > 1;
# Review duplicate records
dbcli> SELECT * FROM Users WHERE email = 'duplicate@example.com';
# Remove duplicates (with safety prompt)
dbcli> DELETE FROM Users WHERE Id IN (SELECT MAX(Id) FROM Users GROUP BY email HAVING COUNT(*) > 1);
⚠️ Safety prompt triggered...
3. Database Migration Testing
# Test migration script step by step
dbcli> BEGIN TRANSACTION;
dbcli> ALTER TABLE Users ADD COLUMN age INTEGER;
dbcli> .columns Users
-- Verify new column added
dbcli> UPDATE Users SET age = 25 WHERE Id = 1;
-- Test update
dbcli> SELECT * FROM Users WHERE Id = 1;
-- Verify data
dbcli> COMMIT;
-- Or ROLLBACK if issues found
4. Quick Data Inspection
# Explore unfamiliar database
dbcli> .tables
-- See what tables exist
dbcli> .columns Users
-- Check structure
dbcli> SELECT * FROM Users LIMIT 3;
-- Sample data
dbcli> SELECT COUNT(*) FROM Users;
-- Record count
Scripting with Interactive Mode
Pipe SQL from File
# Execute script in interactive mode
cat migration.sql | dbcli -c "Data Source=app.db" interactive
Heredoc Script
dbcli -c "Data Source=app.db" interactive <<EOF
.format table
.tables
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM Users;
SELECT * FROM Users LIMIT 5;
.exit
EOF
Best Practices
- Enable safety prompts - Never disable for production databases
- Use transactions - Wrap multiple updates in BEGIN/COMMIT
- Test on backup first - Clone database for dangerous operations
- Keep command history - Reference previous successful queries
- Use .format table for review, json for programmatic use
- Create backups before DELETE/UPDATE/DROP
- Exit cleanly with .exit (ensures connection cleanup)
Keyboard Shortcuts (Future)
Ctrl+C - Cancel current query
Ctrl+D - Exit interactive mode
Ctrl+L - Clear screen
Up/Down - Navigate command history
Tab - Auto-complete table/column names
Ctrl+R - Reverse search history
Integration with Other Skills
Interactive mode can call other skills internally:
dbcli> .export Users
-- Internally calls: dbcli export Users
dbcli> .import backup.sql
-- Internally calls: dbcli exec -F backup.sql
Exit Codes
0 - Normal exit
1 - Connection error
2 - Syntax error in SQL
3 - User cancelled dangerous operation
Comparison with Other Skills
| Feature | Interactive | One-Off Commands |
|---|---|---|
| Speed for single query | Slower (startup overhead) | Faster |
| Multiple queries | Much faster | Slower (reconnect each time) |
| Exploration | Excellent | Poor |
| Safety prompts | Built-in | Manual |
| Automation | Limited | Excellent |
| Learning curve | Low | Medium |
Use interactive mode when: Exploring, testing, multiple queries Use one-off commands when: Automation, scripts, single operations
