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Dot Commands

Dot commands control the shell's behavior. They start with a . and do not require a trailing semicolon.

TurboLynx >> .mode box
TurboLynx >> .tables

Output Format

.mode <format>

Set the result output format. See Output Formats for details.

TurboLynx >> .mode box
Output mode: box

TurboLynx >> .mode csv
Output mode: csv

With no argument, prints the current mode.

.headers <on|off>

Show or hide the header row in results. Default: on.

TurboLynx >> .headers off

.nullvalue <string>

Set the display string for NULL values. Default: empty string.

TurboLynx >> .nullvalue NULL
TurboLynx >> .nullvalue N/A

.separator <col>

Set the column separator used in list and csv modes. Default: ,.

TurboLynx >> .separator |
TurboLynx >> .separator \t

.maxrows <n>

Limit the number of rows displayed. 0 means unlimited (default).

TurboLynx >> .maxrows 100

.width <n>

Set the minimum column display width in table, box, and column modes. 0 means automatic (default).

TurboLynx >> .width 20

File Redirection

.output [file]

Redirect all subsequent query results to a file. Call with no argument to revert to stdout.

TurboLynx >> .output results.csv
TurboLynx >> .mode csv
TurboLynx >> MATCH (n:Person) RETURN n.firstName;

TurboLynx >> .output
Output: stdout

.once <file>

Redirect the next query result only to a file, then automatically revert to stdout.

TurboLynx >> .once snapshot.json
TurboLynx >> .mode json
TurboLynx >> MATCH (n:Person) RETURN n LIMIT 10;

.log [file]

Append all executed queries and their timing to a log file. Call with no argument to stop logging.

TurboLynx >> .log queries.log

Log format: 

-- MATCH (n:Person) RETURN count(*)
-- compile: 12.3 ms, execute: 45.6 ms

Schema Inspection

.tables

List all vertex labels and edge types in the current graph.

TurboLynx >> .tables
Vertex labels (4):
  Person
  Comment
  Post
  Forum

Edge types (3):
  KNOWS
  LIKES
  HAS_CREATOR

.schema <label|type>

Show the property schema (column names and types) for a vertex label or edge type.

TurboLynx >> .schema Person
Vertex label: Person
  graphlets: 1
  columns:
    id            BIGINT
    firstName     VARCHAR
    lastName      VARCHAR
    birthday      DATE
    creationDate  TIMESTAMP

.indexes

Show index information. (Not yet implemented — stub for future use.)

Execution

.read <file>

Execute Cypher queries and dot commands from a file. Queries must end with ;; dot commands do not.

TurboLynx >> .read /path/to/script.cypher

Example script (script.cypher): 

.mode box
.timer on

MATCH (n:Person)
RETURN n.firstName, n.lastName
LIMIT 10;

.analyze

Rebuild column statistics (histograms) for the cost-based optimizer. Run this after loading data or making significant schema changes.

TurboLynx >> .analyze

.timer <on|off>

Toggle query timing display. Default: on.

TurboLynx >> .timer off
TurboLynx >> .timer on
Time: compile 12.1 ms, execute 34.5 ms, total 46.6 ms

.echo <on|off>

Print each query to stdout before executing it. Useful when running scripts with .read. Default: off.

TurboLynx >> .echo on

.bail <on|off>

Stop execution on the first error when running a script via .read. Default: off.

TurboLynx >> .bail on

.profile <on|off>

Print a detailed query execution profile after each query. When enabled, the profiler reports time spent in each pipeline stage. Default: off.

TurboLynx >> .profile on
Profile: on

TurboLynx >> MATCH (n:Person) RETURN count(n);
┌──────────┐
│ count(n) │
├──────────┤
│    92000 │
└──────────┘
Query Profile:
  Pipeline 0   [Scan → Aggregate]   42.3 ms
  Total: 42.3 ms

TurboLynx >> .profile off
Profile: off

Note: Profiling adds a small overhead. Disable it for benchmarking with .profile off.

Shell

.shell <command> / .system <command>

Execute an OS shell command.

TurboLynx >> .shell clear
TurboLynx >> .shell ls -lh /path/to/db
TurboLynx >> .system date

.print <text>

Print literal text. Useful in scripts.

TurboLynx >> .print === Loading complete ===
=== Loading complete ===

.prompt <string>

Change the shell prompt.

TurboLynx >> .prompt mydb
mydb >>

.show

Display all current shell settings.

TurboLynx >> .show
Current settings:
  mode:      box
  headers:   on
  nullvalue: ""
  separator: ","
  maxrows:   unlimited
  width:     auto
  output:    stdout
  log:       off
  timer:     on
  echo:      off
  bail:      off
  prompt:    "TurboLynx"
  workspace: /path/to/db

.help

Print the built-in command reference.

.exit / .quit / :exit

Exit the shell.

Quick Reference

Command Description
.mode <fmt> Set output format
.headers <on\|off> Toggle header row
.nullvalue <str> NULL display string
.separator <col> Column separator
.maxrows <n> Limit output rows
.width <n> Minimum column width
.output [file] Redirect all output
.once <file> Redirect next result only
.log [file] Log queries to file
.tables List labels and edge types
.schema <name> Show property schema
.read <file> Execute script file
.analyze Rebuild statistics
.timer <on\|off> Toggle timing
.echo <on\|off> Echo queries
.bail <on\|off> Stop on error
.profile <on\|off> Print execution profile
.shell <cmd> Run OS command
.print <text> Print text
.prompt <str> Change prompt
.show Show all settings
.help Show help
.exit / .quit Exit