Import data from TSV to SQL Server via command line on Windows

Want to import data from TSV file to SQL Server via Command Line Interface (CLI) on Windows?

Using mssql-cmd, a Command Line Interface (CLI) client for SQL Server, you can import data from TSV file to SQL Server easily and fast. Direct Interaction or Scripting and Automation.

• No need to install SQL Server client library.
• Convenient to deploy to cloud. No need to run installation file, just uncompress and run, immediately.
• Commands are entered into a terminal or command prompt, accessed from local or remote (like SSH).
• Support Windows, Linux, and MacOS.

Download mssql-cmd Windows version
mssql-cmd.windows-386.zip
mssql-cmd.windows-amd64.zip

Import data from TSV file to SQL Server via command line on Windows

1. In interactive mode:

mssql-cmd> load loadtype=replace
      > table=media_messages 
      > datafile=/data/media_messages.tsv 
      > delimiter=, 
      > quote=" 
      > header=y;

2. In batch mode:

mssql-cmd dsn="pan:withdata@192.168.0.102/test" task=load loadtype=replace table=media_messages datafile=/data/media_messages.tsv delimiter=, quote=" header=y quit=y

“loadtype=replace” will delete all data in table before inserting.

See parameters detail.

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More about mssql-cmd – Command Line Interface (CLI) tool for SQL Server

Convert your data online, free

Free in-browser converters for CSV, Excel, JSON, XML and SQL: Withdata Online Data Conversion. Large files, batch conversion or scheduling? See the offline desktop apps, or browse all data conversion tools.

New to the format? Read what a TSV file is (and how it differs from CSV).