mdb-export(1)

📦
version 1.0.1 · 9 versions
, in fedora 43, fedora 44

💖 mdb-export 💖

okay bestie, so this is mdb-export(1), one of the Executable programs or shell commands, and it is literally the moment your dusty old Access database finally gets to leave the house. she exports tables to CSV, she does SQL, she's versatile. we love her. 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

mdb-export — export the data living inside an MDB database table, straight into CSV format. periodt. 💅

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

mdb-export [--no-header] [--delimiter delim] [--row-delimiter delim] [[--no-quote] | [--quote char [--escape char]]] [--escape-invisible] [--date-format fmt] [--datetime-format fmt] [--bin strip|raw|octal|hex] [--boolean-words] database table
mdb-export --insert backend [--namespace prefix] [--batch-size int] database table
mdb-export -h|--help
mdb-export --version

like, that's the whole vibe right there. database and table, always. 👑

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

mdb-export is a utility program distributed with MDB Tools. she's part of the family 🫶

So what she does: she produces a CSV (comma separated value) output for the table you asked for. And that output? It's suitable for importation into databases or spreadsheets. so like, you can just... take it places. it's giving portable. 💖

And then — plot twist — when you use her with --insert, she outputs SQL specific to your chosen backend dialect, and she's not lazy about it either. she includes some constraints like NOT NULL and foreign keys. highkey thorough. 🔥

💅 OPTIONS 💅

  • -H, --no-header — suppresses the header row. no labels, just vibes. 🙈
  • -d, --delimiter delim — pick a different column delimiter. default is , (comma), as the universe intended.
  • -R, --row-delimiter delim — set a row delimiter. default is \n (ASCII value 10). classic.
  • -Q, --no-quote — don't wrap text-like fields (text, memo, date) in quotes. if you don't specify this, those text fields get surrounded by " (double quote) characters. so it's a whole either/or situation, iykyk.
  • -q, --quote char — use char to wrap text-like fields. default is " (double quote).
  • -X, --escape char — use char to escape quoted characters within a field. default is doubling. that's just what she does. ✨
  • -e, --escape-invisible — use C-style escaping for return (\r), tab (\t), line-feed (\n), and back-slash (\\) characters. default is to leave as they are. no touchy.
  • -I, --insert backend — outputs INSERT statements instead of CSV. you must specify which SQL backend dialect to use. allowed values are: access, sybase, oracle, postgres, mysql and sqlite. pick your fighter. 🥊
  • -N, --namespace prefix — prefix identifiers with prefix. cute little name tag for everything. 🏷️
  • -S, --batch-size int — size of insert batches on supported platforms. know your limits bestie.
  • -D, --date-format fmt — set the date format (see strftime(3) for details.
  • -T, --datetime-format fmt — set the date/time format (see strftime(3) for details.
  • -0, --null char — use char to represent a NULL value. the void, but make it a character. 💀
  • -b, --bin strip|raw|octal|hex — binary export mode: strip binaries, export as-is, output \ooo style octal data or output \xx style hexadecimal data. four whole personalities.
  • -B, --boolean-words — use TRUE/FALSE in Boolean fields (default is 0/1). yes, she'll spell it out for you. 💖
  • --version — print the mdbtools version and exit. quick little hello, then she's gone. 👋

📝 NOTES 📝

Most of the formatting options actually also works with --insert. so like, don't gatekeep them to CSV only. they're flexible. 💫

🌈 ENVIRONMENT 🌈

  • MDB_JET3_CHARSET — defines the charset of the input JET3 (access 97) file. default is CP1252. see iconv(1). she's multilingual, obviously. 🦋
  • MDBICONV — defines the output charset to use for the SQL file. default is UTF-8. mdbtools must have been compiled with iconv. if she wasn't built with it... yeah. no iconv for you. 😭
  • MDBOPTS — colon-separated list of options:
    • debug_like
    • debug_write
    • debug_usage
    • debug_ole
    • debug_row
    • debug_props
    • debug_all is a shortcut for all debug_* options
    • no_memo (deprecated; has no effect) — she's retired, don't call her. ⚰️
    • use_index (experimental; requires libmswstr) — experimental!! handle with care bestie. 🧪

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

mdb-array(1) mdb-count(1) mdb-header(1) mdb-hexdump(1) mdb-import(1) mdb-json(1) mdb-parsecsv(1) mdb-prop(1) mdb-queries(1) mdb-schema(1) mdb-sql(1) mdb-tables(1) mdb-ver(1)

the whole friend group. go say hi. 🫶

⭐ HISTORY ⭐

mdb-export first appeared in MDB Tools 0.1. an icon from the very beginning. 💅

💜 AUTHORS 💜

The mdb-export utility was written by Brian Bruns. king behavior. 👑

💀 BUGS 💀

Memo fields are allowed to contain a newline characters, and the current program does nothing about this. not me finding out the hard way 😭 like she simply does not care. she will not be fixing it in this manual page. forewarned is forearmed, bestie. 🍓

and that's the whole page!! this was written for MDBTools 1.0.1, dated 13 July 2026, and honestly? she ate. now go export something, you main character. 🧚✨💖

📦 where this page comes from