Export Command

Usage

Export data from your SQLite database back to Excel files. You can export entire tables or run custom SQL queries to create filtered reports.

excel-to-sql export --table TABLE --output FILE

Options

Choose between exporting an entire table or running a custom SQL query. The output path is always required.

--table TEXT      Export entire table
--query TEXT      Custom SQL query
--output, -o TEXT  Output Excel file path (required)

Examples

Export Entire Table

Export all rows and columns from a table to an Excel file.

excel-to-sql export --table products --output products_export.xlsx

Export Query Results

Run a SQL query and export only the filtered results.

excel-to-sql export --query "SELECT * FROM products WHERE price > 100" --output expensive_products.xlsx

Export with Full Path

Specify an absolute path to save the file in a specific directory.

excel-to-sql export --table customers --output /path/to/export/customers.xlsx

Export Complex Query

Join multiple tables and export a consolidated report with specific columns.

excel-to-sql export --query "
  SELECT
    p.name,
    c.name as customer,
    o.order_date
  FROM orders o
  JOIN products p ON o.product_id = p.id
  JOIN customers c ON o.customer_id = c.id
  WHERE o.order_date >= '2025-01-01'
" --output recent_orders.xlsx

Output Location

You can specify relative or absolute paths. Relative paths are resolved from your current working directory.

Files are saved to the specified path. Common locations:

# Export to exports directory
excel-to-sql export --table products --output exports/products.xlsx

# Export to custom location
excel-to-sql export --table products --output /path/to/reports/products.xlsx

Multi-Sheet Export (Python SDK)

The CLI only exports single-sheet files. For multi-sheet workbooks, use the Python SDK which can create multiple sheets in one file.

For multi-sheet export, use the Python SDK:

from excel_to_sql import ExcelToSqlite

sdk = ExcelToSqlite()
sdk.export_to_excel(
    output="report.xlsx",
    sheet_mapping={
        "Products": "products",
        "Customers": "customers",
        "Orders": "SELECT * FROM orders WHERE status = 'complete'"
    }
)

Output Format

Exported files use standard Excel format with proper encoding and type preservation.

Format: Excel (.xlsx)
Encoding: UTF-8
Dates: ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS)
Numbers: Preserved as-is from database

Large Exports

For very large datasets, consider limiting results with SQL queries to improve performance and avoid memory issues.

For large datasets:

# Export query with LIMIT
excel-to-sql export --query "SELECT * FROM large_table LIMIT 10000" --output sample.xlsx

Common Use Cases

Backup Data

Create timestamped backups of your data for safekeeping and disaster recovery.

excel-to-sql export --table products --output backups/products_$(date +%Y%m%d).xlsx

Generate Reports

Create analytical reports by aggregating and summarizing data with SQL queries.

excel-to-sql export --query "
  SELECT
    category,
    COUNT(*) as count,
    AVG(price) as avg_price
  FROM products
  GROUP BY category
" --output category_report.xlsx

Export data in Excel format for easy sharing with business users who prefer spreadsheets over databases.

excel-to-sql export --table inventory --output reports/inventory_snapshot.xlsx