SQLite Cheat Sheet

SQLite cheat sheet with real commands and snippets for setup, core workflows, debugging, and production-safe automation patterns. If you are working across tools, pair this with the Prisma Cheat Sheet and MySQL Cheat Sheet.

Setup and Connection

Goal: Connect to database shell or endpoint

# Run connection or version command
sqlite3 app.db

# Run connection or version command
sqlite3 app.db '.tables'

# Run connection or version command
sqlite3 --version

Schema and Data Modeling

Goal: Create a table/index/schema foundation

-- Create lightweight table for local development
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS notes (
  id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
  title TEXT NOT NULL,
  body TEXT NOT NULL,
  updated_at TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
);

Core Queries and Mutations

Goal: Run practical read/write operations

-- Query latest updated notes
SELECT id, title, updated_at
FROM notes
ORDER BY updated_at DESC
LIMIT 20;

Performance and Optimization

Goal: Add indexes and inspect query plans

-- Add index and inspect planner output
CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_notes_updated_at ON notes(updated_at);
EXPLAIN QUERY PLAN SELECT * FROM notes WHERE updated_at > '2026-01-01';

Automation and Backups

Goal: Create backup and restore routines

# Export data snapshot before risky migrations
pg_dump "$DATABASE_URL" > backup.sql || mysqldump appdb > backup.sql || true

# Compress backup artifact for storage
gzip -f backup.sql || true

# Verify backup file exists and has content
ls -lh backup.sql.gz || ls -lh backup.sql

Debugging and Troubleshooting

Goal: Inspect slow-query symptoms

# Check active connections/sessions
psql -c "SELECT now();" || mysql -e "SELECT NOW();" || true

# Inspect query plans for heavy statements
psql -c "EXPLAIN SELECT 1;" || mysql -e "EXPLAIN SELECT 1;" || true

# Search migration files for destructive statements
rg "DROP TABLE|TRUNCATE|DELETE FROM" prisma migrations sql -n

Common Gotchas

• Use transactions for multi-step SQLite data changes that must stay consistent.
• Create indexes for frequent WHERE and JOIN columns, then verify with query plans.
• Back up production data before schema migrations.
• Separate read-only credentials from write credentials in app environments.
• Monitor connection pool limits to avoid timeout spikes under load.

Related Sheets

• Prisma Cheat Sheet — daily Prisma commands and production-ready examples.
• MySQL Cheat Sheet — transactional SQL workflows for MySQL.
• Swift Cheat Sheet — daily Swift commands and production-ready examples.