querySimple

Command: querySimple
Category: Developer Tools
Status: Production Ready

Description

Execute any single SQL statement and display or export the results. This command supports SELECT queries (returning result sets), DML statements (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE — returning rows-affected counts), and DDL statements (CREATE, DROP, ALTER — returning success confirmation). Results can be saved to a file or displayed in the terminal.

Syntax

hana-cli querySimple [options]

Aliases

• qs
• querysimple

Command Diagram

Parameters

Options

Option	Alias	Type	Default	Description
--query	-q	string	-	SQL statement to execute
--folder	-f	string	./	Folder path for output file (when saving to file)
--filename	-n	string	-	Output filename (when saving to file)
--output	-o	string	table	Output format. Choices: table, json, excel, csv
--profile	-p	string	-	CDS Profile for connection

Connection Parameters

Option	Alias	Type	Default	Description
--admin	-a	boolean	false	Connect via admin (default-env-admin.json)
--conn	-	string	-	Connection filename to override default-env.json

Troubleshooting

Option	Alias	Type	Default	Description
--disableVerbose	--quiet	boolean	false	Disable verbose output - removes all extra output that is only helpful to human readable interface
--debug	-d	boolean	false	Debug hana-cli itself by adding output of LOTS of intermediate details

Output Behavior by Statement Type

Statement Type	Default Output	JSON Output (--output json)
SELECT	Formatted table	[{...}, {...}] (array of row objects)
INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE	Rows affected: N	{"rowsAffected": N}
CREATE/DROP/ALTER	Statement executed successfully	{"success": true, "message": "..."}

All statement types exit with code 0 on success, making this command safe for scripting and automation.

Examples

SELECT Queries

# Display results as a formatted table (default)
hana-cli querySimple --query "SELECT TOP 10 * FROM ORDERS"

# Output as JSON for programmatic use
hana-cli querySimple --query "SELECT * FROM CUSTOMERS" --output json --quiet

# Export to CSV file
hana-cli querySimple --query "SELECT * FROM SALES" --output csv --folder ./exports --filename sales

# Export to Excel file
hana-cli querySimple --query "SELECT * FROM PRODUCTS" --output excel --folder ./exports --filename products

DML Statements (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE)

# Insert a row
hana-cli querySimple --query "INSERT INTO CONFIG (KEY, VALUE) VALUES ('timeout', '30')"
# Output: Rows affected: 1

# Update rows
hana-cli querySimple --query "UPDATE CONFIG SET VALUE = '60' WHERE KEY = 'timeout'" --output json --quiet
# Output: {"rowsAffected": 1}

# Delete rows
hana-cli querySimple --query "DELETE FROM LOGS WHERE CREATED_AT < ADD_DAYS(CURRENT_DATE, -90)"
# Output: Rows affected: 1542

DDL Statements (CREATE, DROP, ALTER)

# Create a table
hana-cli querySimple --query "CREATE TABLE T1 (ID INT PRIMARY KEY, NAME NVARCHAR(100))" --output json --quiet
# Output: {"success": true, "message": "Statement executed successfully (no result set)."}

# Drop a table
hana-cli querySimple --query "DROP TABLE T1"
# Output: Statement executed successfully (no result set).

Use Alias

hana-cli qs --query "SELECT COUNT(*) as TOTAL FROM ORDERS"

Same functionality using the short alias qs.

Related Commands

See the Commands Reference for other commands in this category.

See Also

• Category: Developer Tools
• All Commands A-Z
• hdbsql - Launch interactive SQL client
• callProcedure - Execute stored procedures