format

The .format command sets the output format for query results in rsql. This allows you to tailor the display for readability, data export, or integration with other tools. The default format is psql, but many formats are available for different use cases.

Usage

.format [format]

Available Formats

Format	Description
`ascii`	ASCII characters to draw a table
`csv`	Comma Separated Values (CSV)
`expanded`	PostgreSQL Expanded Format
`html`	HyperText Markup Language (HTML)
`json`	JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)
`jsonl`	JSON Lines (JSONL)
`markdown`	Markdown
`plain`	Column based layout
`psql`	PostgreSQL Standard Format
`sqlite`	SQLite formatted table
`tsv`	Tab Separated Values (TSV)
`unicode`	Unicode characters to draw a table
`xml`	Extensible Markup Language (XML)
`yaml`	YAML Ain’t Markup Language (YAML)

When to use

Use unicode, ascii, or psql for interactive exploration.
Use csv, tsv, json, jsonl, xml, or yaml for exporting data or integrating with other tools.
Use markdown or html for documentation or reporting.
Use expanded for wide tables or when you want each row displayed vertically.

Examples

Show the current format mode:

.format

Set the format mode to ascii:

.format ascii

Set the format mode to json for machine-readable output:

.format json

Troubleshooting

If output looks garbled in your terminal, try switching to ascii or plain.
For large exports, prefer csv, tsv, or jsonl for best performance.

See the format option in rsql.toml configuration.
For header/footer control, see header and footer.