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7.13. mysqlshowDisplay Database, Table, and Column Information

The mysqlshow client can be used to quickly see which databases exist, their tables, or a table's columns or indexes.

mysqlshow provides a command-line interface to several SQL SHOW statements. The same information can be obtained by using those statements directly. For example, you can issue them from the mysql client program.

Invoke mysqlshow like this:

shell> mysqlshow [options] [db_name [tbl_name [col_name]]]

  • If no database is given, a list of database names is shown.

  • If no table is given, all matching tables in the database are shown.

  • If no column is given, all matching columns and column types in the table are shown.

The output displays only the names of those databases, tables, or columns for which you have some privileges.

If the last argument contains shell or SQL wildcard characters ('*', '?', '%', or '_'), only those names that are matched by the wildcard are shown. If a database name contains any underscores, those should be escaped with a backslash (some Unix shells require two) to get a list of the proper tables or columns. '*' and '?' characters are converted into SQL '%' and '_' wildcard characters. This might cause some confusion when you try to display the columns for a table with a '_' in the name, because in this case, mysqlshow shows you only the table names that match the pattern. This is easily fixed by adding an extra '%' last on the command line as a separate argument.

mysqlshow supports the following options:

  • --help, -?

    Display a help message and exit.

  • --character-sets-dir=path

    The directory where character sets are installed. See Section 4.11.1, "The Character Set Used for Data and Sorting."

  • --compress, -C

    Compress all information sent between the client and the server if both support compression.

  • --count

    Show the number of rows per table. This can be slow for non-MyISAM tables. This option was added in MySQL 5.0.6.

  • --debug[=debug_options], -# [debug_options]

    Write a debugging log. The debug_options string often is 'd:t:o, file_name'.

  • --default-character-set=charset_name

    Use charset_name as the default character set. See Section 4.11.1, "The Character Set Used for Data and Sorting."

  • --host=host_name, -h host_name

    Connect to the MySQL server on the given host.

  • --keys, -k

    Show table indexes.

  • --password[=password], -p[password]

    The password to use when connecting to the server. If you use the short option form (-p), you cannot have a space between the option and the password. If you omit the password value following the --password or -p option on the command line, you are prompted for one.

    Specifying a password on the command line should be considered insecure. See Section 4.9.6, "Keeping Your Password Secure."

  • --port=port_num, -P port_num

    The TCP/IP port number to use for the connection.

  • --protocol={TCP|SOCKET|PIPE|MEMORY}

    The connection protocol to use.

  • --show-table-type, -t

    Show a column indicating the table type, as in SHOW FULL TABLES. The type is BASE TABLE or VIEW. This option was added in MySQL 5.0.4.

  • --socket=path, -S path

    For connections to localhost, the Unix socket file to use, or, on Windows, the name of the named pipe to use.

  • --status, -i

    Display extra information about each table.

  • --user=user_name, -u user_name

    The MySQL username to use when connecting to the server.

  • --verbose, -v

    Verbose mode. Print more information about what the program does. This option can be used multiple times to increase the amount of information.

  • --version, -V

    Display version information and exit.


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