mdb-json(1)

💖 mdb-json — the manual, but make it cute 💖

okay bestie, gather round, because this is mdb-json(1) from the Executable programs or shell commands girlies, and she is serving JSON. let's get into it 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

mdb-json — export data from an MDB database table into JSON. that's it. that's the whole job. and she does it beautifully. 💅

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

mdb-json [-D fmt] [-T fmt] [-U] database table
mdb-json -h|--help
mdb-json --version

like… look at her. three little lines. so clean. so iconic. 👑

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

mdb-json is a utility program that ships with MDB Tools. no cap.

what it does: it produces JSON output for whatever table you point it at. and the way that this output is suitable for parsing in a variety of languages?? chef's kiss. drop it into Python, Node, whatever your little heart desires — she's ready. 🍓

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🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

• -D, --date-format fmt — set the date format. (for the deets, go peek at strftime(3). iykyk.)
• -T, --time-format fmt — set the date/time format. (again, strftime(3) has the full lore.)
• -U, --no-unprintable — change unprintable characters to spaces. otherwise they get escaped as \u00XX. so it's a vibe choice: spaces or escape codes. pick your fighter. ✨
• --version — print the mdbtools version and dip. that's all she does. bye. 💨

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💜 NOTES 💜

bestie… there is genuinely nothing here. the section exists, it's just empty. ghost town. we love a minimalist moment. 🙈

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🌈 ENVIRONMENT 🌈

• MDB_JET3_CHARSET — defines the charset of the input JET3 (access 97) file. default is CP1252. go see iconv(1) if you want the full tea. 🧚
• MDBICONV — defines the output charset to use for the SQL file. default is UTF-8. heads up though: mdbtools must have been compiled with iconv for this to work, so if she's not cooperating, that might be why. 😭
• MDBOPTS — a colon-separated list of options. here's the whole menu:
  • 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)
  • use_index (experimental; requires libmswstr)

ok real talk on those last two: no_memo is deprecated and does literally nothing, so don't come for me if you set it and nothing changes. and use_index is experimental and requires libmswstr — she's still in her testing era, be gentle. 💀

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

go give these sisters some love, they're all in the family:

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

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⭐ HISTORY ⭐

mdb-json first appeared in MDB Tools 0.9. a lil baby back then, now she's that girl. 🥹

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💖 AUTHORS 💖

the mdb-json utility was written by Ugo Di Girolamo. and plot twist — it's based on mdb-export(1). so yeah, she's got family roots. 🌸

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and that's the whole page, bestie!! mdb-json, brought to you by MDBTools 1.0.1, dated 13 July 2026. slay, periodt, go parse some JSON 💅✨