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Getting Started

Make sure to first set up your PlanetScale developer environment. Once you’ve installed the pscale CLI, you can interact with PlanetScale and manage your databases straight from the command line.

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The shell command

This command opens a secure shell instance to your database so that you can manipulate it from the command line. For MySQL databases, it uses the MySQL command-line client (mysql). For Postgres databases, it uses the Postgres command-line client (psql). The appropriate client must be installed prior to use.
If your Managed cluster has public connectivity disabled, you must connect over PrivateLink. Set up the VPC endpoint using the service name we provide, make sure your DNS resolves your PlanetScale hostnames to that PrivateLink endpoint, and then run pscale shell mydatabase mybranch.If you use a VPN such as Tailscale, do not override psdb.cloud DNS in your VPN configuration. Split‑DNS misconfiguration can point hostnames at the wrong place and break shell connectivity.
Usage: 
pscale shell <DATABASE_NAME> <BRANCH_NAME> <FLAG>
By default, if no branch names are given and there is only one branch, it automatically opens a shell to that branch. If there are multiple branches for the given database, you’ll be prompted to choose one.

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Available flags

FlagDescription
-h, --helpHelp for shell command
--local-addr <ADDRESS>Local address to bind and listen for connections. By default the proxy binds to 127.0.0.1 with a random port.
--org <ORGANIZATION_NAME>The organization for the current user
--remote-addr <ADDRESS>PlanetScale Database remote network address. By default the remote address is populated automatically from the PlanetScale API
--replicaWhen enabled, the password will route all reads to the branch’s primary replicas and all read-only regions
--role <ROLE>Role defines the access level, allowed values are: reader, writer, readwriter, admin. Defaults to ‘reader’ for replica passwords, otherwise defaults to ‘admin’
Available roles for the --role flag are:
  • reader - Read-only access
  • writer - Write-only access
  • readwriter - Read and write access
  • admin - Full administrative access
For replica connections (--replica flag), the default role is reader. For regular connections, the default role is admin.

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Global flags

CommandDescription
--api-token <TOKEN>The API token to use for authenticating against the PlanetScale API
--api-url <URL>The base URL for the PlanetScale API (default https://api.planetscale.com/)
--config <CONFIG_FILE>Config file (default is $HOME/.config/planetscale/pscale.yml)
--debugEnable debug mode
-f, --format <FORMAT>Show output in a specific format. Possible values: human (default), json, csv
--no-colorDisable color output
--service-token <TOKEN>Service Token for authenticating
--service-token-id <TOKEN_ID>The Service Token ID for authenticating

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Examples

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Basic shell usage

Open a shell to a database (auto-selects branch if only one exists): 
pscale shell mydatabase
Open a shell to a specific branch: 
pscale shell mydatabase mybranch
Once the shell is opened, you can run SQL as expected. Example MySQL session: 
DATABASE_NAME/BRANCH_NAME >
DATABASE_NAME/BRANCH_NAME > show tables;
+---------------+
| Tables_in_db |
+---------------+
| users       |
+---------------+
DATABASE_NAME/BRANCH_NAME > exit;
Example Postgres session: 
psql-17 (17.5 (Homebrew))
SSL connection (protocol: TLSv1.3, cipher: TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256, compression: off, ALPN: postgresql)
Type "help" for help.

pg/|⚠ main ⚠|> \dt
                   List of relations
 Schema |    Name     | Type  |          Owner
--------+-------------+-------+-------------------------
 public | users | table | pscale_api_2e2o0t28kd0v
(1 row)

pg/|⚠ main ⚠|> \q
Type exit (MySQL) or \q (Postgres) to exit the shell.

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Using replica connections

Connect to a read-only replica: 
pscale shell mydatabase mybranch --replica
Replica connections route all reads to the branch’s primary replicas, and defaults to reader role.

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Using specific roles

Connect with a specific role: 
pscale shell mydatabase mybranch --role reader

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Import an existing .sql file using the shell command

Command: The following example assumes you have already ran the pscale shell command and you have the shell open to run a MySQL command. To import an existing .sql file you may have available you would want to use the MySQL source command and provide it the path to your file: 
DATABASE_NAME/BRANCH_NAME > source <YOUR_DUMP_FILE>.sql;
Output: Your file should be imported as expected.
NoteWhen importing .sql dump files there are a few caveats to be aware of as sometimes the .sql file may have everything wrapped in a START TRANSACTION; / COMMIT; transaction which will result in the import timing out if it takes more than 20 seconds to complete due to our 20 second transaction timeout limit so you will want to make sure those are removed prior to beginning an import of the file.Additionally, if your current schema requires our Vitess foreign key constraints support you may need to ensure it has been enabled within your database Settings area first before proceeding with your import.

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Need help?

Get help from the PlanetScale Support team, or join our GitHub discussion board to see how others are using PlanetScale.