Command-line options - Questdb

QuestDB may be started, stopped and passed configuration options from the command line. On Windows, the QuestDB server can also start an interactive session.

Options

The following sections describe the options that may be passed to QuestDB when starting the server from the command line.

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shell

./questdb.sh [start|stop|status] [-d dir] [-f] [-n] [-t tag]

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shell

questdb [start|stop|status] [-d dir] [-f] [-n] [-t tag]

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shell

questdb.exe [start|stop|status|install|remove] \
  [-d dir] [-f] [-j JAVA_HOME] [-t tag]

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Start

start - starts QuestDB as a service.

Option	Description
`-d`	Expects a `dir` directory value which is a folder that will be used as QuestDB's root directory. For more information and the default values, see the default root section below.
`-t`	Expects a `tag` string value which will be as a tag for the service. This option allows users to run several QuestDB services and manage them separately. If this option is omitted, the default tag will be `questdb`.
`-f`	Force re-deploying the Web Console. Without this option, the Web Console is cached and deployed only when missing.
`-n`	Do not respond to the HUP signal. This keeps QuestDB alive after you close the terminal window where you started it.
`-j`	Windows only! This option allows to specify a path to `JAVA_HOME`.

:::note

When running multiple QuestDB services, a tag must be used to disambiguate between services for start and stop commands. There will be conflicting ports and root directories if only the tag flag is specified when starting multiple services. Each new service should have its own config file or should be started with separate port and root directory options.
When running QuestDB as Windows service you can check status in both:
- Windows Event Viewer - look for events with "QuestDB" source in Windows Logs | Application .
- service log file - $dataDir\log\service-%Y-%m-%dT%H-%M-%S.txt (default is C:\Windows\System32\qdbroot\log\service-%Y-%m-%dT%H-%M-%S.txt )

:::

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shell

./questdb.sh start [-d dir] [-f] [-n] [-t tag]

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shell

questdb start [-d dir] [-f] [-n] [-t tag]

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shell

questdb.exe start [-d dir] [-f] [-j JAVA_HOME] [-t tag]

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Default root directory

By default, QuestDB's root directory will be the following:

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shell

$HOME/.questdb

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Path on Macs with Apple Silicon (M1 or M2) chip:

shell

/opt/homebrew/var/questdb

Path on Macs with Intel chip:

shell

/usr/local/var/questdb

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shell

C:\Windows\System32\qdbroot

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Stop

stop - stops a service.

Option	Description
`-t`	Expects a `tag` string value which to stop a service by tag. If this is omitted, the default tag will be `questdb`

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shell

./questdb.sh stop

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shell

questdb stop

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shell

questdb.exe stop

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Status

status - shows the status for a service.

Option	Description
`-t`	Expects a `tag` string value which to stop a service by tag. If this is omitted, the default will be `questdb`

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shell

./questdb.sh status

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shell

questdb status

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shell

questdb.exe status

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Install (Windows)

install - installs the Windows QuestDB service. The service will start automatically at startup.

shell

questdb.exe install

Remove (Windows)

remove - removes the Windows QuestDB service. It will no longer start at startup.

shell

questdb.exe remove

Interactive session (Windows)

You can start QuestDB interactively by running questdb.exe. This will launch QuestDB interactively in the active Shell window. QuestDB will be stopped when the Shell is closed.

Default root directory

When started interactively, QuestDB's root directory defaults to the current directory.

Stop

To stop, press <kbd>Ctrl</kbd>+<kbd>C</kbd> in the terminal or close it directly.