> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://mariadb.com/docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://mariadb.com/docs/tools/community/mariadb-shell/getting-started/starting-mariadb-shell.md). # Starting MariaDB Shell Start MariaDB Shell, connect to a server when it starts, choose SQL or Python mode, get help, and exit. ## Start the Shell Run `mariadb-shell`, or its short alias `msh`, from a terminal: ```sh mariadb-shell ``` The shell prints a welcome message and an SQL prompt. Without connection data, the shell starts without a session, and the prompt shows only the vendor name and the current mode: ``` Welcome to the MariaDB Shell 26.9.5. Copyright (c) 2016, 2026, Oracle, MariaDB plc and others. Type '\help' or '\?' for help; '\quit' to exit. MariaDB SQL > ``` To suppress the welcome message, start the shell with `--quiet-start`. With `--quiet-start=2`, the shell prints only errors at startup. ## Connect When the Shell Starts To open a session at startup, pass a connection URI as the first argument. The URI has the form `[scheme://][user[:password]@]host[:port][/schema]`, and the `mariadb://` scheme is optional: ```sh mariadb-shell mariadb://app_user@db1.example.com:3306/shop ``` You can also use individual options: ```sh mariadb-shell --user=app_user --host=db1.example.com --port=3306 --schema=shop ``` When the connection data has no password, the shell prompts for it: ``` Please provide the password for 'app_user@db1.example.com:3306': ``` After a successful login, the shell can offer to save the password in the platform's credential store, so that later connections to the same account don't prompt again. See [Credential Store](/docs/tools/community/mariadb-shell/connecting/credential-store.md). The following options control how the shell obtains the password: | Option | Description | | ------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `-p`, `--password` | Prompt for the password. | | `--password=` | Use the given password. Other users of the system may be able to see it in the process list, so prefer a prompt, the credential store, or an option file. | | `--no-password` | Connect with an empty password and don't prompt. | | `--passwords-from-stdin` | Read passwords from standard input instead of the terminal, for example in scripts. | The shell also reads connection options from the `[mariadb-shell]`, `[mysqlsh]`, and `[client]` groups of your option files. See [Option Files and Login Paths](/docs/tools/community/mariadb-shell/connecting/option-files-and-login-paths.md). For all connection methods, including sockets, TLS, and SSH tunnels, see [Connecting to a Server](/docs/tools/community/mariadb-shell/connecting.md). For working with the session once it is open, see [Sessions](/docs/tools/community/mariadb-shell/getting-started/sessions.md). ## Choose SQL or Python Mode MariaDB Shell has two modes: * **SQL mode** sends what you type to the server as SQL statements. This is the default mode. * **Python mode** runs Python code that uses the shell's [global objects](/docs/tools/community/mariadb-shell/getting-started/global-objects.md), such as `session`, `shell`, and `util`. To choose the mode at startup, use `--sql` or `--py`: ```sh mariadb-shell --py root@localhost ``` To change the default mode for every start, set the `defaultMode` configuration option to `sql` or `py` and save it in your configuration. In the shell, run: ``` MariaDB SQL > \option --persist defaultMode py ``` From the operating system shell, the same setting is: ```sh mariadb-shell -- shell options set-persist defaultMode py ``` See [Configuration Options](/docs/tools/community/mariadb-shell/customizing/configuration-options.md). To switch modes in a running shell, use the `\sql` and `\py` commands. The prompt shows the active mode: ``` MariaDB localhost:3306 ssl SQL > \py Switching to Python mode... MariaDB localhost:3306 ssl Py > session.server_vendor MariaDB MariaDB localhost:3306 ssl Py > \sql Switching to SQL mode... Commands end with ; MariaDB localhost:3306 ssl SQL > ``` In Python mode, `\sql` followed by a statement runs that one statement without switching modes: ``` MariaDB localhost:3306 ssl Py > \sql SELECT COUNT(*) FROM sakila.film; ``` For more about the modes, see [SQL and Python Modes](/docs/tools/community/mariadb-shell/using-mariadb-shell/sql-and-python-modes.md). To run commands or script files without an interactive session, see [Batch Execution](/docs/tools/community/mariadb-shell/using-mariadb-shell/batch-execution.md). ## Get Help The built-in help describes every shell command, global object, function, and option of this build. Use `\help`, or its shortcuts `\?` and `\h`: | Command | Shows | | ------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `\?` | The help categories, the shell commands, and the global objects. | | `\? ` | Help for a shell command, for example `\? \connect`. | | `\? ` | Help for a global object or class, for example `\? util` or `\? ClassicSession`. | | `\? .` | Help for a function, for example `\? util.dump_schemas`. | | `\? ` | Help for an SQL statement or function, read from the connected server's help tables, for example `\? CREATE SEQUENCE`. | | `\? cmdline` | The rules for calling the shell's APIs from the operating system command line. | The pattern after `\?` can contain the wildcards `*` (any sequence of characters) and `?` (one character). In Python mode, every object also has a `help()` method, for example `util.help("dump_schemas")`. The `mariadb-shell --help` command lists the command-line options. On Linux and macOS, the `mariadb-shell(1)` manual page describes the options, files, and environment variables. All command-line options are listed in the [CLI Reference](/docs/tools/community/mariadb-shell/cli-reference.md). ## Exit the Shell To exit, use `\quit`, its shortcut `\q`, or `\exit`. On Linux and macOS, you can also press Ctrl+D on an empty line. The shell closes its sessions and prints `Bye!`. *This page is licensed: GPLv2*