Export an existing database as a SurrealQL script, either to a file or to stdout.
Before you start - make sure you’ve installed SurrealDB.
surreal export [OPTIONS] --namespace <NAMESPACE> --database <DATABASE> [FILE]Authenticate with either --username and --password, or with --token. Neither is needed against a server started with --unauthenticated.
Export options
By default an export contains everything in the database. These flags narrow it down.
Example usage
To perform a SurrealQL database export into a local file, in a terminal run the surreal export command with the required arguments.
surreal export --conn http://localhost:8000 --user root --pass secret --ns main --db main export.surqlUsing token-based authentication:
surreal export --conn http://localhost:8000 --token <token> --ns main --db main export.surqlUsing environment variables
Most of the flags above have a corresponding environment variable.
For example, the --username flag can be configured with the SURREAL_USER environment variable instead.
When using the surreal export command, you can also use environment variables to set the values for the command-line flags.
For more on the environment variables available for CLI commands or SurrealDB instances in general, see the environment variables page.
Managing a Cloud instance
To export from a SurrealDB Cloud instance by name, surrealctl resolves the endpoint and credentials for you and then runs this command. The flags and file-format notes on this page still apply.
OPTION IMPORT keyword
The output of a database export includes a line that contains the keywords OPTION IMPORT. This command is used internally to ensure that side effects do not run when the data is imported, such as events and table views.
As of SurrealDB 3.0.4, imports via the surreal import and /import HTTP endpoint require the automatically generated OPTION IMPORT line to be present in order to disable events, live queries, field processing, and result output for optimal import performance. If side effects are desired when importing data, remove the line and use the /sql endpoint instead.
Command help
To see the help information and usage instructions, in a terminal run the surreal export --help command without any further arguments. This command gives general information on the arguments, inputs, and additional options for the export command.
surreal export --helpThe output of the above command:
Export an existing database as a SurrealQL script
Usage: surreal export [OPTIONS] --namespace <NAMESPACE> --database <DATABASE> [FILE]
Arguments:
[FILE] Path to the SurrealQL file to export. Use dash - to write into stdout. [default: -]
Options:
-e, --endpoint <ENDPOINT> Database endpoint to export from [default: http://localhost:8000]
-u, --username <USERNAME> Database authentication username to use when connecting [env: SURREAL_USER=] [aliases: --user]
-p, --password <PASSWORD> Database authentication password to use when connecting [env: SURREAL_PASS=] [aliases: --pass]
-t, --token <TOKEN> Authentication token in JWT format to use when connecting [env: SURREAL_TOKEN=]
--auth-level <AUTH_LEVEL> Level on which the authenticating user is defined [env: SURREAL_AUTH_LEVEL=] [default: root] [possible
values: root, namespace, ns, database, db]
--namespace <NAMESPACE> The namespace selected for the operation [env: SURREAL_NAMESPACE=] [aliases: --ns]
--database <DATABASE> The database selected for the operation [env: SURREAL_DATABASE=] [aliases: --db]
--only Whether only specific resources should be exported
--users [<USERS>] Whether users should be exported [possible values: true, false]
--accesses [<ACCESSES>] Whether access methods should be exported [possible values: true, false]
--params [<PARAMS>] Whether params should be exported [possible values: true, false]
--functions [<FUNCTIONS>] Whether functions should be exported [possible values: true, false]
--analyzers [<ANALYZERS>] Whether analyzers should be exported [possible values: true, false]
--tables [<TABLES>] Whether tables should be exported, optionally providing a list of tables
--versions [<VERSIONS>] Whether versions should be exported [possible values: true, false]
--records [<RECORDS>] Whether records should be exported [possible values: true, false]
-h, --help Print help
Logging:
-l, --log <LOG> The logging level for the command-line tool [env: SURREAL_LOG=] [default: info] [possible
values: none, full, error, warn, info, debug, trace]
--log-format <LOG_FORMAT> The format for terminal log output [env: SURREAL_LOG_FORMAT=] [default: text] [possible
values: text, json]
--log-socket <LOG_SOCKET> Send logs to the specified host:port [env: SURREAL_LOG_SOCKET=]
--log-file-level <LOG_FILE_LEVEL> Override the logging level for file output [env: SURREAL_LOG_FILE_LEVEL=] [possible values:
none, full, error, warn, info, debug, trace]
--log-otel-level <LOG_OTEL_LEVEL> Override the logging level for OpenTelemetry output [env: SURREAL_LOG_OTEL_LEVEL=] [possible
values: none, full, error, warn, info, debug, trace]
--log-socket-level <LOG_SOCKET_LEVEL> Override the logging level for unix socket output [env: SURREAL_LOG_SOCKET_LEVEL=] [possible
values: none, full, error, warn, info, debug, trace]
--log-socket-format <LOG_SOCKET_FORMAT> The format for socket output [env: SURREAL_LOG_SOCKET_FORMAT=] [default: text] [possible
values: text, json]
--log-file-enabled Whether to enable log file output [env: SURREAL_LOG_FILE_ENABLED=]
--log-file-path <LOG_FILE_PATH> The directory where log files will be stored [env: SURREAL_LOG_FILE_PATH=] [default: logs]
--log-file-name <LOG_FILE_NAME> The name of the log file [env: SURREAL_LOG_FILE_NAME=] [default: surrealdb.log]
--log-file-format <LOG_FILE_FORMAT> The format for log file output [env: SURREAL_LOG_FILE_FORMAT=] [default: text] [possible
values: text, json]
--log-file-rotation <LOG_FILE_ROTATION> The log file rotation interval [env: SURREAL_LOG_FILE_ROTATION=] [default: daily] [possible
values: daily, hourly, never]