Usage

sqlite3mysql transfers SQLite 3 schema and data to MySQL or MariaDB. It reads the source schema from SQLite, creates equivalent MySQL/MariaDB tables, indexes, foreign keys, and views where possible, then transfers table data into the target database.

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.9 or newer, unless you use the Docker image.

  • A readable SQLite 3 database file.

  • A reachable MySQL or MariaDB server.

  • A MySQL user that can connect, create the target database when it does not exist, create tables and views, insert data, add indexes, and add foreign keys.

See the GitHub Actions CI matrix for the current MySQL and MariaDB versions tested by the project. Very old server versions are more likely to differ in type, default-value, JSON, FULLTEXT, or authentication behavior.

Installation

Install from PyPI:

pip install sqlite3-to-mysql
sqlite3mysql --help

On macOS, you can also install with Homebrew:

brew install sqlite3-to-mysql
sqlite3mysql --help

Or run the published Docker image:

docker run --rm ghcr.io/techouse/sqlite3-to-mysql:latest --help

Quick start

Use -p / --prompt-mysql-password for interactive password entry. This avoids putting the password in shell history or process listings.

sqlite3mysql \
    --sqlite-file ./app.sqlite3 \
    --mysql-database app_db \
    --mysql-user app_user \
    --prompt-mysql-password \
    --mysql-host 127.0.0.1 \
    --mysql-port 3306

Short options are equivalent:

sqlite3mysql -f ./app.sqlite3 -d app_db -u app_user -p -h 127.0.0.1 -P 3306

For automation, --mysql-password is available, but prefer a secret manager or environment-expanded value rather than typing the password directly into your shell history. The password is still passed as a command-line argument and may be visible through process listings or logs.

Common recipes

Run with Docker

Use host.docker.internal when the MySQL or MariaDB server is running on the host machine and the Docker container needs to reach it. On Linux Docker Engine, add --add-host=host.docker.internal:host-gateway before the image name if host.docker.internal is not resolvable.

docker run -it \
    --rm \
    --workdir "$PWD" \
    --volume "$PWD:$PWD" \
    ghcr.io/techouse/sqlite3-to-mysql:latest \
    -f ./app.sqlite3 \
    -d app_db \
    -u app_user \
    -p \
    -h host.docker.internal

Files inside the mounted working directory are shared with the host.

Transfer schema only

Create the MySQL tables, indexes, views, and foreign keys without transferring table rows.

sqlite3mysql -f ./schema.sqlite3 -d app_db -u app_user -p --mysql-skip-transfer-data

Transfer data into existing MySQL tables

--mysql-skip-create-tables skips DDL creation and only inserts data. The MySQL tables must already exist and be compatible with the SQLite source schema.

sqlite3mysql -f ./app.sqlite3 -d app_db -u app_user -p --mysql-skip-create-tables

Transfer only some tables

Table names are space-separated and are consumed until the next CLI option.

sqlite3mysql -f ./subset.sqlite3 -d app_db -u app_user -p --sqlite-tables users orders invoices

Transfer everything except selected tables:

sqlite3mysql -f ./subset.sqlite3 -d app_db -u app_user -p --exclude-sqlite-tables audit_log temp_imports

Selecting or excluding tables disables foreign key transfer because the referenced tables may not be present.

Refresh existing target tables

--mysql-truncate-tables deletes rows from matching target tables before inserting data.

sqlite3mysql -f ./app.sqlite3 -d app_db -u app_user -p --mysql-truncate-tables

Use --mysql-insert-method UPDATE to update existing rows when inserts hit duplicate keys.

sqlite3mysql -f ./app.sqlite3 -d app_db -u app_user -p --mysql-insert-method UPDATE

Use a Unix socket

Use a socket instead of TCP when the MySQL server is local and configured for socket connections.

sqlite3mysql -f ./app.sqlite3 -d app_db -u app_user -p --mysql-socket /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock

Use SSL certificates

Verify the server certificate with a CA file:

sqlite3mysql -f ./app.sqlite3 -d app_db -u app_user -p --mysql-ssl-ca /path/to/ca.pem

Use a client certificate and key:

sqlite3mysql \
    -f ./app.sqlite3 \
    -d app_db \
    -u app_user \
    -p \
    --mysql-ssl-ca /path/to/ca.pem \
    --mysql-ssl-cert /path/to/client-cert.pem \
    --mysql-ssl-key /path/to/client-key.pem

Use --skip-ssl only when you explicitly need to disable MySQL connection encryption.

Tune large transfers and logs

Use --chunk to tune the number of SQLite rows read at a time. Use --quiet to suppress progress output and --log-file to write logs to a file.

sqlite3mysql -f ./app.sqlite3 -d app_db -u app_user -p --chunk 50000 --quiet --log-file transfer.log

Options at a glance

Option

Purpose

-f, --sqlite-file PATH

Source SQLite database file. Required.

-d, --mysql-database TEXT

Target MySQL/MariaDB database name. Required.

-u, --mysql-user TEXT

MySQL/MariaDB user. Required.

-p, --prompt-mysql-password

Prompt for the MySQL password. Preferred for interactive use.

--mysql-password TEXT

Provide the MySQL password directly. Useful for automation, but handle carefully.

-h, --mysql-host TEXT

MySQL host. Defaults to localhost.

-P, --mysql-port INTEGER

MySQL port. Defaults to 3306.

-k, --mysql-socket PATH

MySQL Unix socket path. Cannot be combined with SSL certificate options.

-t, --sqlite-tables TUPLE

Transfer only the listed tables. Implies no foreign key transfer.

-e, --exclude-sqlite-tables TUPLE

Transfer every table except the listed tables. Implies no foreign key transfer.

-A, --sqlite-views-as-tables

Materialize SQLite views as MySQL tables instead of creating MySQL views.

-X, --without-foreign-keys

Do not create foreign keys in MySQL.

-W, --ignore-duplicate-keys

Skip duplicate SQLite index names instead of renaming them with a numeric suffix.

-E, --mysql-truncate-tables

Truncate matching target tables before inserting data.

-K, --mysql-skip-create-tables

Skip table/view creation and transfer data only.

-J, --mysql-skip-transfer-data

Create schema only and skip table data.

-i, --mysql-insert-method [DEFAULT|IGNORE|UPDATE]

Choose duplicate-row insert behavior. Defaults to IGNORE.

--mysql-integer-type TEXT

MySQL default integer column type. Defaults to INT(11).

--mysql-string-type TEXT

MySQL default string column type. Defaults to VARCHAR(255).

--mysql-text-type [LONGTEXT|MEDIUMTEXT|TEXT|TINYTEXT]

MySQL default text column type. Defaults to TEXT.

--mysql-charset TEXT

MySQL database and table character set. Defaults to utf8mb4.

--mysql-collation TEXT

MySQL database and table collation. Must belong to the selected charset.

--mysql-ssl-ca PATH

Path to an SSL CA certificate file.

--mysql-ssl-cert PATH

Path to an SSL client certificate file. Must be paired with --mysql-ssl-key.

--mysql-ssl-key PATH

Path to an SSL client key file. Must be paired with --mysql-ssl-cert.

-S, --skip-ssl

Disable MySQL connection encryption. Cannot be used with SSL certificate options.

-T, --use-fulltext

Use FULLTEXT indexes on text columns when the target server supports InnoDB FULLTEXT.

--with-rowid

Transfer SQLite rowid columns for tables that have rowids.

-c, --chunk INTEGER

Read and write SQL records in batches.

-l, --log-file PATH

Write logs to a file.

-q, --quiet

Show only errors after the initial command banner.

--debug

Re-raise exceptions for debugging instead of printing friendly errors.

--version

Show environment and dependency versions.

--help

Show CLI help.

Combinations and caveats

  • --sqlite-tables and --exclude-sqlite-tables are mutually exclusive.

  • Either table filter (--sqlite-tables or --exclude-sqlite-tables) automatically disables foreign key transfer.

  • --mysql-skip-create-tables and --mysql-skip-transfer-data cannot be used together because there would be nothing to do.

  • --mysql-skip-create-tables requires compatible target MySQL tables to already exist.

  • --mysql-truncate-tables deletes rows from matching target tables before inserting data.

  • --mysql-socket cannot be combined with --mysql-ssl-ca, --mysql-ssl-cert, or --mysql-ssl-key.

  • --skip-ssl cannot be combined with --mysql-ssl-ca, --mysql-ssl-cert, or --mysql-ssl-key.

  • --mysql-ssl-cert and --mysql-ssl-key must be provided together.

  • --mysql-collation must be valid for the selected --mysql-charset.

  • --use-fulltext fails before transfer starts when the target server does not support InnoDB FULLTEXT indexes.

  • Native MySQL views are created by default. If a target table has the same name as a SQLite view, that target table is dropped before the MySQL view is created. Use --sqlite-views-as-tables for the older materialized-table behavior.

  • Table, view, column, index, and constraint names are truncated to MySQL’s 64-character identifier limit.

  • --mysql-password passes the password as a command-line argument. Prefer --prompt-mysql-password for interactive use and inject secrets through a secret manager or CI secret store for automation.

MySQL SSL note: when --mysql-ssl-ca is provided, MySQL Connector/Python verifies the server certificate chain. --mysql-ssl-cert and --mysql-ssl-key enable client certificate authentication. These options do not enable hostname identity verification. If you provide only the client certificate and key without --mysql-ssl-ca, the server certificate is not verified.

MySQL, MariaDB, and SQLite notes

  • MySQL and MariaDB are similar but not identical. JSON behavior, expression defaults, duplicate-key update SQL, timestamp defaults, fractional seconds, and FULLTEXT support can differ by server family and version.

  • SQLite JSONB maps to MySQL/MariaDB JSON only when the target supports JSON: MySQL >= 5.7.8 and MariaDB >= 10.2.7. Otherwise it maps to the configured text type.

  • SQLite JSONB value conversion requires SQLite 3.45 or newer. With older SQLite versions, JSONB columns can still be selected, but the SQLite json() conversion function is not used during transfer.

  • --mysql-insert-method UPDATE uses the MySQL VALUES (...) AS __new__ alias only on MySQL >= 8.0.19; MariaDB keeps the older duplicate-key update form.

  • Expression defaults are supported on MySQL >= 8.0.13 and MariaDB >= 10.2.0; older servers may require defaults to be omitted or simplified.

  • CURRENT_TIMESTAMP defaults on DATETIME require MySQL >= 5.6.5 or MariaDB >= 10.0.1.

  • Fractional seconds require MySQL >= 5.6.4 or MariaDB >= 10.1.2.

  • InnoDB FULLTEXT indexes require MySQL >= 5.6.0 or MariaDB >= 10.0.5.

  • After transfer, verify schema details that are important to your application, especially defaults, collations, JSONB columns, views, and foreign keys.