Getting Started

The Turso CLI (tursodb) is an interactive SQL shell for working with Turso databases. It supports in-memory and file-based databases, multiple output modes, CSV import, database cloning, and built-in documentation.

Quick Start

In-Memory Database

Launch the shell with a transient in-memory database:

bash

tursodb

Open a Database File

bash

tursodb mydata.db

Run a Query Directly

Pass SQL as a command-line argument to run it and exit:

bash

tursodb mydata.db "SELECT * FROM users;"

Pipe SQL from stdin

bash

echo "SELECT sqlite_version();" | tursodb -q

Interactive Shell

When launched without a SQL argument, the shell provides an interactive REPL with command history and syntax highlighting.

Multi-line Input

Unfinished statements (missing semicolons, unbalanced parentheses) automatically continue on the next line. The prompt indicates nesting depth:

tursodb> SELECT *
   ...>   FROM employees
   ...>   WHERE department = 'Engineering';

Command History

Command history is saved automatically to ~/.limbo_history and accessible with up/down arrow keys.

Exiting

Use .quit or .exit to leave the shell. Pressing Ctrl+C twice also exits.

Output Modes

Turso supports three output modes, selectable with the -m flag or the .mode dot command.

Pretty (Default)

Human-readable table with borders:

bash

tursodb -q -m pretty

┌────┬─────────┬─────────────┬─────────┐
│ id │ name    │ department  │ salary  │
├────┼─────────┼─────────────┼─────────┤
│  1 │ Alice   │ Engineering │ 95000.0 │
├────┼─────────┼─────────────┼─────────┤
│  2 │ Bob     │ Marketing   │ 72000.0 │
└────┴─────────┴─────────────┴─────────┘

List

Pipe-delimited values suitable for scripting:

bash

tursodb -q -m list

1|Alice|Engineering|95000.0
2|Bob|Marketing|72000.0

Line

One column per line, with column names:

bash

tursodb -q -m line

        id = 1
      name = Alice
department = Engineering
    salary = 95000.0

Non-Interactive Mode

When input is piped (not a terminal), the shell runs in non-interactive mode:

Output defaults to list mode (override with -m)
No startup banner, history, or syntax highlighting
Exits with code 1 on query errors

bash

echo "SELECT 1 + 2;" | tursodb -q

Server Modes

The CLI can also run as a server instead of an interactive shell.

MCP Server

Start a Model Context Protocol server, allowing AI assistants to interact with the database:

bash

tursodb --mcp mydata.db

Sync Server

Start a sync server for database replication:

bash

tursodb --sync-server 0.0.0.0:8080 mydata.db