How to export data as CSV format from SQL Server using sqlcmd?

Question

I can quite easily dump data into a text file such as:

sqlcmd -S myServer -d myDB -E -Q \"select col1, col2, col3 from SomeTable\" 
     -o \"MyData.txt\"


        

Answer 1

With PowerShell you can solve the problem neatly by piping Invoke-Sqlcmd into Export-Csv.

#Requires -Module SqlServer
Invoke-Sqlcmd -Query "SELECT * FROM DimDate;" `
              -Database AdventureWorksDW2012 `
              -Server localhost |
Export-Csv -NoTypeInformation `
           -Path "DimDate.csv" `
           -Encoding UTF8

SQL Server 2016 includes the SqlServer module, which contains the Invoke-Sqlcmd cmdlet, which you'll have even if you just install SSMS 2016. Prior to that, SQL Server 2012 included the old SQLPS module, which would change the current directory to SQLSERVER:\ when the module was first used (among other bugs) so for it, you'll need to change the #Requires line above to:

Push-Location $PWD
Import-Module -Name SQLPS
# dummy query to catch initial surprise directory change
Invoke-Sqlcmd -Query "SELECT 1" `
              -Database  AdventureWorksDW2012 `
              -Server localhost |Out-Null
Pop-Location
# actual Invoke-Sqlcmd |Export-Csv pipeline

To adapt the example for SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2, remove the #Requires line entirely and use the sqlps.exe utility instead of the standard PowerShell host.

Invoke-Sqlcmd is the PowerShell equivalent of sqlcmd.exe. Instead of text it outputs System.Data.DataRow objects.

The -Query parameter works like the -Q parameter of sqlcmd.exe. Pass it a SQL query that describes the data you want to export.

The -Database parameter works like the -d parameter of sqlcmd.exe. Pass it the name of the database that contains the data to be exported.

The -Server parameter works like the -S parameter of sqlcmd.exe. Pass it the name of the server that contains the data to be exported.

Export-CSV is a PowerShell cmdlet that serializes generic objects to CSV. It ships with PowerShell.

The -NoTypeInformation parameter suppresses extra output that is not part of the CSV format. By default the cmdlet writes a header with type information. It lets you know the type of the object when you deserialize it later with Import-Csv, but it confuses tools that expect standard CSV.

The -Path parameter works like the -o parameter of sqlcmd.exe. A full path for this value is safest if you are stuck using the old SQLPS module.

The -Encoding parameter works like the -f or -u parameters of sqlcmd.exe. By default Export-Csv outputs only ASCII characters and replaces all others with question marks. Use UTF8 instead to preserve all characters and stay compatible with most other tools.

The main advantage of this solution over sqlcmd.exe or bcp.exe is that you don't have to hack the command to output valid CSV. The Export-Csv cmdlet handles it all for you.

The main disadvantage is that Invoke-Sqlcmd reads the whole result set before passing it along the pipeline. Make sure you have enough memory for the whole result set you want to export.

It may not work smoothly for billions of rows. If that's a problem, you could try the other tools, or roll your own efficient version of Invoke-Sqlcmd using System.Data.SqlClient.SqlDataReader class.

Answer 2

Alternate option with BCP:

exec master..xp_cmdshell 'BCP "sp_who" QUERYOUT C:\av\sp_who.txt -S MC0XENTC -T -c '

Answer 3

An answer above almost solved it for me but it does not correctly create a parsed CSV.

Here's my version:

sqlcmd -S myurl.com -d MyAzureDB -E -s, -W -i mytsql.sql | findstr /V /C:"-" /B > parsed_correctly.csv

Someone saying that sqlcmd is outdated in favor of some PowerShell alternative is forgetting that sqlcmd isn't just for Windows. I'm on Linux (and when on Windows I avoid PS anyway).

Having said all that, I do find bcp easier.

Answer 4

sqlcmd -S myServer -d myDB -E -o "MyData.txt" ^
    -Q "select bar from foo" ^
    -W -w 999 -s","

The last line contains CSV-specific options.

• -W   remove trailing spaces from each individual field
• -s","   sets the column seperator to the comma (,)
• -w 999   sets the row width to 999 chars

scottm's answer is very close to what I use, but I find the -W to be a really nice addition: I needn't trim whitespace when I consume the CSV elsewhere.

Also see the MSDN sqlcmd reference. It puts the /? option's output to shame.

Answer 5

You can do it in a hackish way. Careful using the sqlcmd hack. If the data has double quotes or commas you will run into trouble.

You can use a simple script to do it properly:

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
' Data Exporter                                                 '
'                                                               '
' Description: Allows the output of data to CSV file from a SQL '
'       statement to either Oracle, SQL Server, or MySQL        '
' Author: C. Peter Chen, http://dev-notes.com                   '
' Version Tracker:                                              '
'       1.0   20080414 Original version                         '
'   1.1   20080807 Added email functionality                '
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
option explicit
dim dbType, dbHost, dbName, dbUser, dbPass, outputFile, email, subj, body, smtp, smtpPort, sqlstr

'''''''''''''''''
' Configuration '
'''''''''''''''''
dbType = "oracle"                 ' Valid values: "oracle", "sqlserver", "mysql"
dbHost = "dbhost"                 ' Hostname of the database server
dbName = "dbname"                 ' Name of the database/SID
dbUser = "username"               ' Name of the user
dbPass = "password"               ' Password of the above-named user
outputFile = "c:\output.csv"      ' Path and file name of the output CSV file
email = "email@me.here"           ' Enter email here should you wish to email the CSV file (as attachment); if no email, leave it as empty string ""
  subj = "Email Subject"          ' The subject of your email; required only if you send the CSV over email
  body = "Put a message here!"    ' The body of your email; required only if you send the CSV over email
  smtp = "mail.server.com"        ' Name of your SMTP server; required only if you send the CSV over email
  smtpPort = 25                   ' SMTP port used by your server, usually 25; required only if you send the CSV over email
sqlStr = "select user from dual"  ' SQL statement you wish to execute
'''''''''''''''''''''
' End Configuration '
'''''''''''''''''''''



dim fso, conn

'Create filesystem object 
set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

'Database connection info
set Conn = CreateObject("ADODB.connection")
Conn.ConnectionTimeout = 30
Conn.CommandTimeout = 30
if dbType = "oracle" then
    conn.open("Provider=MSDAORA.1;User ID=" & dbUser & ";Password=" & dbPass & ";Data Source=" & dbName & ";Persist Security Info=False")
elseif dbType = "sqlserver" then
    conn.open("Driver={SQL Server};Server=" & dbHost & ";Database=" & dbName & ";Uid=" & dbUser & ";Pwd=" & dbPass & ";")
elseif dbType = "mysql" then
    conn.open("DRIVER={MySQL ODBC 3.51 Driver}; SERVER=" & dbHost & ";PORT=3306;DATABASE=" & dbName & "; UID=" & dbUser & "; PASSWORD=" & dbPass & "; OPTION=3")
end if

' Subprocedure to generate data.  Two parameters:
'   1. fPath=where to create the file
'   2. sqlstr=the database query
sub MakeDataFile(fPath, sqlstr)
    dim a, showList, intcount
    set a = fso.createtextfile(fPath)

    set showList = conn.execute(sqlstr)
    for intcount = 0 to showList.fields.count -1
        if intcount <> showList.fields.count-1 then
            a.write """" & showList.fields(intcount).name & ""","
        else
            a.write """" & showList.fields(intcount).name & """"
        end if
    next
    a.writeline ""

    do while not showList.eof
        for intcount = 0 to showList.fields.count - 1
            if intcount <> showList.fields.count - 1 then
                a.write """" & showList.fields(intcount).value & ""","
            else
                a.write """" & showList.fields(intcount).value & """"
            end if
        next
        a.writeline ""
        showList.movenext
    loop
    showList.close
    set showList = nothing

    set a = nothing
end sub

' Call the subprocedure
call MakeDataFile(outputFile,sqlstr)

' Close
set fso = nothing
conn.close
set conn = nothing

if email <> "" then
    dim objMessage
    Set objMessage = CreateObject("CDO.Message")
    objMessage.Subject = "Test Email from vbs"
    objMessage.From = email
    objMessage.To = email
    objMessage.TextBody = "Please see attached file."
    objMessage.AddAttachment outputFile

    objMessage.Configuration.Fields.Item ("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/sendusing") = 2
    objMessage.Configuration.Fields.Item ("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpserver") = smtp
    objMessage.Configuration.Fields.Item ("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpserverport") = smtpPort

objMessage.Configuration.Fields.Update

    objMessage.Send
end if

'You're all done!!  Enjoy the file created.
msgbox("Data Writer Done!")

^{Source: Writing SQL output to CSV with VBScript.}

Answer 6

Is this not bcp was meant for?

bcp "select col1, col2, col3 from database.schema.SomeTable" queryout  "c:\MyData.txt"  -c -t"," -r"\n" -S ServerName -T

Run this from your command line to check the syntax.

bcp /?

For example:

usage: bcp {dbtable | query} {in | out | queryout | format} datafile
  [-m maxerrors]            [-f formatfile]          [-e errfile]
  [-F firstrow]             [-L lastrow]             [-b batchsize]
  [-n native type]          [-c character type]      [-w wide character type]
  [-N keep non-text native] [-V file format version] [-q quoted identifier]
  [-C code page specifier]  [-t field terminator]    [-r row terminator]
  [-i inputfile]            [-o outfile]             [-a packetsize]
  [-S server name]          [-U username]            [-P password]
  [-T trusted connection]   [-v version]             [-R regional enable]
  [-k keep null values]     [-E keep identity values]
  [-h "load hints"]         [-x generate xml format file]
  [-d database name]

Please, note that bcp can not output column headers.

See: bcp Utility docs page.

Example from the above page:

bcp.exe MyTable out "D:\data.csv" -T -c -C 65001 -t , ...