install.md

How to Install an Extension

The easiest way to try out sqlean extensions is to use the pre-bundled shell. But if you prefer to use the standard SQLite shell, IDEs or software APIs — read on.

Examples below use the stats extension; you can specify any other supported extension. To load all extensions at once, use the single-file sqlean bundle.

Download: manually

There are precompiled binaries for every OS:

• sqlean-win-x64.zip - for Windows
• sqlean-linux-x86.zip - for Linux (x86 CPU)
• sqlean-linux-arm64.zip - for Linux (ARM CPU)
• sqlean-macos-x86.zip - for Intel-based macOS
• sqlean-macos-arm64.zip - for Apple silicon (ARM-based) macOS

Binaries are 64-bit and require a 64-bit SQLite version. If you are using SQLite shell on Windows (sqlite.exe), its 64-bit version is available at https://github.com/nalgeon/sqlite.

Other extensions are available for download from sqlpkg.org.

Download: package manager

Personally, I'm not a fan of managing the extensions manually. I always tend to put them in different places and can't find them later. So I created sqlpkg — a package manager for SQLite extensions.

Use the install command to download the extension with sqlpkg:

sqlpkg install nalgeon/stats

nalgeon/stats is the ID of the extension, you can find it in the package registry. Check it out — it has plenty of extensions!

sqlpkg installs all extensions in the special folder:

• %USERPROFILE%\.sqlpkg on Windows
• ~/.sqlpkg on Linux/macOS

So for our nalgeon/stats extension it will be:

• C:\Users\anton\.sqlpkg\nalgeon\stats\stats.dll on Windows
• /home/anton/.sqlpkg/nalgeon/stats/stats.so on Linux
• /Users/anton/.sqlpkg/nalgeon/stats/stats.dylib on macOS

Be sure to change the path accordingly in the examples below.

Install: Command-line interface

SQLite CLI, also known as SQLite shell, is a console interface (sqlite3.exe on Windows, sqlite3 on Linux/macOS).

Start it and load the extension with the .load command:

Windows:

.load c:/Users/anton/Downloads/stats

Linux/macOS:

.load /Users/anton/Downloads/stats

Now you can use the extension! For example, the stats extension adds the median and generate_series functions:

select median(value) from generate_series(1, 99);

Note for macOS users. macOS may disable unsigned binaries and prevent the extension from loading. To resolve this issue, remove the extension from quarantine by running the following command in Terminal:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Users/anton/Downloads/stats.dylib

Also note that the "stock" SQLite CLI on macOS does not support extensions. Use the custom build.

Install: GUI database browser

To load extension in SQLiteStudio, SQLiteSpy, DBeaver and other similar tools, use the load_extension function.

Windows:

select load_extension('c:\Users\anton\sqlite\stats');

Linux/macOS:

select load_extension('/Users/anton/Downloads/stats');

Install: Python

Install the sqlean.py package, which is a drop-in replacement for the default sqlite3 module:

pip install sqlean.py

All extensions from the main set are already enabled:

import sqlean as sqlite3

conn = sqlite3.connect(":memory:")
conn.execute("select median(value) from generate_series(1, 99)")
conn.close()

You can also use the default sqlite3 module and load extensions manually:

import sqlite3

conn = sqlite3.connect(":memory:")
conn.enable_load_extension(True)
conn.load_extension("./stats")
conn.execute("select median(value) from generate_series(1, 99)")
conn.close()

Note for macOS users. "Stock" SQLite on macOS does not support extensions, so the default sqlite3 module won't work. Use the sqlean.py package.

Install: Node.js

Use the better-sqlite3 package.

Windows:

const sqlite3 = require("better-sqlite3");
const db = new sqlite3(":memory:");
db.loadExtension(`c:\Users\anton\sqlite\stats`);
db.exec("select median(value) from generate_series(1, 99)");
db.close();

Linux/macOS:

const sqlite3 = require("better-sqlite3");
const db = new sqlite3(":memory:");
db.loadExtension("/Users/anton/Downloads/stats");
db.exec("select median(value) from generate_series(1, 99)");
db.close();

Install: Browser JavaScript

Use the sqlean.js package:

import sqlite3Init from "./sqlean.mjs";

async function init() {
    return await sqlite3Init({
        print: console.log,
        printErr: console.error,
    });
}

init().then((sqlite3) => {
    const db = new sqlite3.oo1.DB();
    db.exec("select median(value) from generate_series(1, 99)");
});

Install: Go

Use the mattn/go-sqlite3 package.

Windows:

package main

import (
    "database/sql"
    "fmt"

    sqlite3 "github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3"
)

func main() {
    sql.Register("sqlite3_with_extensions",
        &sqlite3.SQLiteDriver{
            Extensions: []string{
                `c:\Users\anton\sqlite\stats`,
            },
        })

    db, err := sql.Open("sqlite3_with_extensions", ":memory:")
    db.Query("select median(value) from generate_series(1, 99)")
    db.Close()
}

Linux/macOS:

package main

import (
    "database/sql"
    "fmt"

    sqlite3 "github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3"
)

func main() {
    sql.Register("sqlite3_with_extensions",
        &sqlite3.SQLiteDriver{
            Extensions: []string{
                "/Users/anton/Downloads/stats",
            },
        })

    db, err := sql.Open("sqlite3_with_extensions", ":memory:")
    db.Query("select median(value) from generate_series(1, 99)")
    db.Close()
}

Note that we use the same identifier sqlite3_with_extensions in the sql.Register and sql.Open.