abs(X)
The abs(X) function returns the absolute value of the numeric
argument X. Abs(X) returns NULL if X is NULL.
Abs(X) returns 0.0 if X is a string or blob
that cannot be converted to a numeric value. If X is the
integer -9223372036854775808 then abs(X) throws an integer overflow
error since there is no equivalent positive 64-bit two's complement value.
changes()
The changes() function returns the number of database rows that were changed
or inserted or deleted by the most recently completed INSERT, DELETE,
or UPDATE statement, exclusive of statements in lower-level triggers.
The changes() SQL function is a wrapper around the sqlite3_changes64()
C/C++ function and hence follows the same rules for counting changes.
char(X1,X2,...,XN)
The char(X1,X2,...,XN) function returns a string composed of characters having the
Unicode codepoint values of integers X1 through XN, respectively.
If any of the inputs to this function are not valid Unicode codepoints,
then the result is still a zero-terminated byte array, but that byte array might
not be a valid Unicode string according to a strict definition of "Unicode".
coalesce(X,Y,...)
The coalesce() function returns a copy of its first non-NULL argument, or
NULL if all arguments are NULL. Coalesce() must have at least
2 arguments.
concat(X,...)
The concat(...) function returns a string which is the concatenation of the
string representation of all of its non-NULL arguments. If all arguments are
NULL, then concat() returns an empty string.
concat_ws(SEP,X,...)
The concat_ws(SEP,...) function returns a string that is the concatenation of
all non-null arguments beyond the first argument, using the text value of the
first argument as a separator. If the first argument is NULL, then concat_ws()
returns NULL. If all arguments other than the first are NULL, then concat_ws()
returns an empty string.
format(FORMAT,...)
The format(FORMAT,...) SQL function works like the sqlite3_mprintf() C-language
function and the printf() function from the standard C library.
The first argument is a format string that specifies how to construct the output
string using values taken from subsequent arguments. If the FORMAT argument is
missing or NULL then the result is NULL. The %n format is silently ignored and
does not consume an argument. The %p format is an alias for %X. The %z format
is interchangeable with %s. If there are too few arguments in the argument list,
missing arguments are assumed to have a NULL value, which is translated into
0 or 0.0 for numeric formats or an empty string for %s. See the
built-in printf() documentation for additional information.
glob(X,Y)
The glob(X,Y) function is equivalent to the
expression "Y GLOB X".
Note that the X and Y arguments are reversed in the glob() function
relative to the infix GLOB operator. Y is the string and X is the
pattern. So, for example, the following expressions are equivalent:
name GLOB '*helium*'
glob('*helium*',name)
If the sqlite3_create_function() interface is used to
override the glob(X,Y) function with an alternative implementation then
the GLOB operator will invoke the alternative implementation.
hex(X)
The hex() function interprets its argument as a BLOB and returns
a string which is the upper-case hexadecimal rendering of the content of
that blob.
If the argument X in "hex(X)" is an
integer or floating point number, then "interprets its argument as a BLOB" means
that the binary number is first converted into a UTF8 text representation, then
that text is interpreted as a BLOB. Hence, "hex(12345678)" renders
as "3132333435363738" not the binary representation of the integer value
"0000000000BC614E".
See also: unhex()
ifnull(X,Y)
The ifnull() function returns a copy of its first non-NULL argument, or
NULL if both arguments are NULL. Ifnull() must have exactly 2 arguments.
The ifnull() function is equivalent to coalesce() with two arguments.
iif(B1,V1,...)
if(B1,V1,...)
The iif(B1,V1,...,BN,VN) function takes arguments in pairs. The first argument of each
pair is a Boolean and the second argument is a value to return if the Boolean is true.
The iif() function returns the value associated with the first true Boolean.
If the number of arguments to iif() is odd, then the last argument is a value that
returned if all prior Boolean arguments are false.
If the number of arguments is even and all Boolean arguments are false, then NULL
is returned.
The iif() function requires at least two arguments.
The iif() function is really a short-hand notation for a CASE expression.
For example,
the iif(X,Y,Z) function is logically equivalent to and generates the same
bytecode as the CASE expression "CASE WHEN X THEN Y ELSE Z END".
The if() function is just an alternative spelling for iif().
The iif() function uses short-circuit evaluation. Arguments are only
evaluated if necessary to compute the final result. So, for example, if one
of the value arguments involves an expensive computation (such as an elaborate
subquery) but the corresponding Boolean is false, the expensive computation never
occurs. Similarly, Boolean arguments past the first one that is true are never
evaluated.
The iif() function originally required exactly three arguments.
The two-argument version of iif() and the ability to spell the function as "if()"
were features added in SQLite version 3.48.0 (2025-01-14)
The ability to accept more than 3 arguments was added in
SQLite version 3.49.0 (2025-02-06).
instr(X,Y)
The instr(X,Y) function finds the first occurrence of string Y within
string X and returns the number of prior characters plus 1, or 0 if
Y is nowhere found within X.
Or, if X and Y are both BLOBs, then instr(X,Y) returns one
more than the number of bytes prior to the first occurrence of Y, or 0 if
Y does not occur anywhere within X.
If both arguments X and Y to instr(X,Y) are non-NULL and are not BLOBs
then both are interpreted as strings.
If either X or Y are NULL in instr(X,Y) then the result is NULL.
last_insert_rowid()
The last_insert_rowid() function returns the ROWID
of the last row insert from the database connection which invoked the
function.
The last_insert_rowid() SQL function is a wrapper around the
sqlite3_last_insert_rowid() C/C++ interface function.
length(X)
For a string value X, the length(X) function returns the number of
Unicode codepoints (not bytes) in input string X prior to the first U+0000
character.
Since SQLite strings do not normally contain NUL characters, the length(X)
function will usually return the total number of characters in the string X.
For a blob value X, length(X) returns the number of bytes in the blob.
If X is NULL then length(X) is NULL.
If X is numeric then length(X) returns the length of a string
representation of X.
Note that for strings, the length(X) function returns the character
or code-point
length of the string, not the byte length. The character length is the number
of characters in the string. The character length is always different from
the byte length for UTF-16 strings, and can be different from the byte length
for UTF-8 strings if the string contains multi-byte characters. Use the
octet_length() function to find the byte length of a string.
For BLOB values, length(X) always returns the byte-length of the BLOB.
For string values, length(X) must read the entire string into memory in order
to compute the character length. But for BLOB values, reading the whole string
into memory is not necessary as SQLite already
knows how many bytes are in the BLOB. Hence, for multi-megabyte values,
the length(X) function is usually much faster for BLOBs than for strings, since
it does not need to load the value into memory.
like(X,Y)
like(X,Y,Z)
The like() function is used to implement the
"Y LIKE X [ESCAPE Z]" expression.
If the optional ESCAPE clause is present, then the
like() function is invoked with three arguments. Otherwise, it is
invoked with two arguments only. Note that the X and Y parameters are
reversed in the like() function relative to the infix LIKE operator.
X is the pattern and Y is the string to match against that pattern.
Hence, the following expressions are equivalent:
name LIKE '%neon%'
like('%neon%',name)
The sqlite3_create_function() interface can be used to override the
like() function and thereby change the operation of the
LIKE operator. When overriding the like() function, it may be important
to override both the two and three argument versions of the like()
function. Otherwise, different code may be called to implement the
LIKE operator depending on whether or not an ESCAPE clause was
specified.
likelihood(X,Y)
The likelihood(X,Y) function returns argument X unchanged.
The value Y in likelihood(X,Y) must be a floating point constant
between 0.0 and 1.0, inclusive.
The likelihood(X) function is a no-op that the code generator
optimizes away so that it consumes no CPU cycles during run-time
(that is, during calls to sqlite3_step()).
The purpose of the likelihood(X,Y) function is to provide a hint
to the query planner that the argument X is a boolean that is
true with a probability of approximately Y.
The unlikely(X) function is short-hand for likelihood(X,0.0625).
The likely(X) function is short-hand for likelihood(X,0.9375).
likely(X)
The likely(X) function returns the argument X unchanged.
The likely(X) function is a no-op that the code generator
optimizes away so that it consumes no CPU cycles at
run-time (that is, during calls to sqlite3_step()).
The purpose of the likely(X) function is to provide a hint
to the query planner that the argument X is a boolean value
that is usually true. The likely(X) function is equivalent
to likelihood(X,0.9375). See also: unlikely(X).
load_extension(X)
load_extension(X,Y)
The load_extension(X,Y) function loads SQLite extensions out of the shared
library file named X using the entry point Y. The result of load_extension()
is always a NULL. If Y is omitted then the default entry point name is used.
The load_extension() function raises an exception if the extension fails to
load or initialize correctly.
The load_extension() function will fail if the extension attempts to
modify or delete an SQL function or collating sequence. The
extension can add new functions or collating sequences, but cannot
modify or delete existing functions or collating sequences because
those functions and/or collating sequences might be used elsewhere
in the currently running SQL statement. To load an extension that
changes or deletes functions or collating sequences, use the
sqlite3_load_extension() C-language API.
For security reasons, extension loading is disabled by default and must
be enabled by a prior call to sqlite3_enable_load_extension().
lower(X)
The lower(X) function returns a copy of string X with all ASCII characters
converted to lower case. The default built-in lower() function works
for ASCII characters only. To do case conversions on non-ASCII
characters, load the ICU extension.
ltrim(X)
ltrim(X,Y)
The ltrim(X,Y) function returns a string formed by removing any and all
characters that appear in Y from the left side of X.
If the Y argument is omitted, ltrim(X) removes spaces from the left side
of X.
max(X,Y,...)
The multi-argument max() function returns the argument with the
maximum value, or return NULL if any argument is NULL.
The multi-argument max() function searches its arguments from left to right
for an argument that defines a collating function and uses that collating
function for all string comparisons. If none of the arguments to max()
define a collating function, then the BINARY collating function is used.
Note that max() is a simple function when
it has 2 or more arguments but operates as an
aggregate function if given only a single argument.
min(X,Y,...)
The multi-argument min() function returns the argument with the
minimum value.
The multi-argument min() function searches its arguments from left to right
for an argument that defines a collating function and uses that collating
function for all string comparisons. If none of the arguments to min()
define a collating function, then the BINARY collating function is used.
Note that min() is a simple function when
it has 2 or more arguments but operates as an
aggregate function if given
only a single argument.
nullif(X,Y)
The nullif(X,Y) function returns its first argument if the arguments are
different and NULL if the arguments are the same. The nullif(X,Y) function
searches its arguments from left to right for an argument that defines a
collating function and uses that collating function for all string
comparisons. If neither argument to nullif() defines a collating function
then the BINARY collating function is used.
octet_length(X)
The octet_length(X) function returns the number of bytes in the encoding
of text string X. If X is NULL then octet_length(X) returns NULL. If X is
a BLOB value, then octet_length(X) is the same as length(X). If X is a
numeric value, then octet_length(X) returns the number of bytes in a text
rendering of that number.
Because octet_length(X) returns the number of bytes in X, not the number
of characters or code-points, the value returned depends on the database
encoding. The
octet_length() function can return different answers for the same input string
if the database encoding is UTF16 instead of UTF8.
If argument X is a table column and the value is of type text or blob,
then octet_length(X) avoids reading the content of X from disk, as the byte
length can be computed from metadata. Thus, octet_length(X) is efficient
even if X is a column containing a multi-megabyte text or blob value.
printf(FORMAT,...)
The printf() SQL function is an alias for the format() SQL function.
The format() SQL function was originally named printf(). But the name was
later changed to format() for compatibility with other database engines.
The printf() name is retained as an alias so as not to break legacy code.
quote(X)
The quote(X) function returns the text of an SQL literal which
is the value of its argument suitable for inclusion into an SQL statement.
Strings are surrounded by single-quotes with escapes on interior quotes
as needed. BLOBs are encoded as hexadecimal literals.
Strings with embedded NUL characters cannot be represented as string
literals in SQL and hence the returned string literal is truncated prior
to the first NUL.
The unistr_quote(X) function works like quote(X) except that it
also escapes control characters.
random()
The random() function returns a pseudo-random integer
between -9223372036854775807 and +9223372036854775807.
The random() function deliberately avoids generating
-9223372036854775808 so that its value can always be passed
to abs(). The random() function has behaved this way
since version 3.3.5 (circa 2006) but this documentation
incorrectly stated that -9223372036854775808 was a possible
result until 2025-07-25.
randomblob(N)
The randomblob(N) function return an N-byte blob containing pseudo-random
bytes. If N is less than 1 then a 1-byte random blob is returned.
Hint: applications can generate globally unique identifiers
using this function together with hex() and/or
lower() like this:
hex(randomblob(16))
lower(hex(randomblob(16)))
replace(X,Y,Z)
The replace(X,Y,Z) function returns a string formed by substituting
string Z for every occurrence of string Y in string X. The BINARY
collating sequence is used for comparisons. If Y is an empty
string then return X unchanged. If Z is not initially
a string, it is cast to a UTF-8 string prior to processing.
round(X)
round(X,Y)
The round(X,Y) function returns a floating-point
value X rounded to Y digits to the right of the decimal point.
If the Y argument is omitted or negative, it is taken to be 0.
rtrim(X)
rtrim(X,Y)
The rtrim(X,Y) function returns a string formed by removing any and all
characters that appear in Y from the right side of X.
If the Y argument is omitted, rtrim(X) removes spaces from the right
side of X.
sign(X)
The sign(X) function returns -1, 0, or +1 if the argument X is a numeric
value that is negative, zero, or positive, respectively. If the argument
to sign(X) is NULL or a BLOB or a string that cannot be losslessly converted
into a number, then sign(X) returns NULL.
soundex(X)
The soundex(X) function returns a string that is the soundex encoding
of the string X.
The string "?000" is returned if the argument is NULL or contains
no ASCII alphabetic characters.
This function is omitted from SQLite by default.
It is only available if the SQLITE_SOUNDEX compile-time option
is used when SQLite is built.
sqlite_compileoption_get(N)
The sqlite_compileoption_get() SQL function is a wrapper around the
sqlite3_compileoption_get() C/C++ function.
This routine returns the N-th compile-time option used to build SQLite
or NULL if N is out of range. See also the compile_options pragma.
sqlite_compileoption_used(X)
The sqlite_compileoption_used() SQL function is a wrapper around the
sqlite3_compileoption_used() C/C++ function.
When the argument X to sqlite_compileoption_used(X) is a string which
is the name of a compile-time option, this routine returns true (1) or
false (0) depending on whether or not that option was used during the
build.
sqlite_offset(X)
The sqlite_offset(X) function returns the byte offset in the database
file for the beginning of the record from which value would be read.
If X is not a column in an ordinary table, then sqlite_offset(X) returns
NULL. The value returned by sqlite_offset(X) might reference either the
original table or an index, depending on the query. If the value X would
normally be extracted from an index, the sqlite_offset(X) returns the
offset to the corresponding index record. If the value X would be
extracted from the original table, then sqlite_offset(X) returns the offset
to the table record.
The sqlite_offset(X) SQL function is only available if SQLite is built
using the -DSQLITE_ENABLE_OFFSET_SQL_FUNC compile-time option.
sqlite_source_id()
The sqlite_source_id() function returns a string that identifies the
specific version of the source code that was used to build the SQLite
library. The string returned by sqlite_source_id() is
the date and time that the source code was checked in followed by
the SHA3-256 hash for that check-in. This function is
an SQL wrapper around the sqlite3_sourceid() C interface.
sqlite_version()
The sqlite_version() function returns the version string for the SQLite
library that is running. This function is an SQL
wrapper around the sqlite3_libversion() C-interface.
substr(X,Y,Z)
substr(X,Y)
substring(X,Y,Z)
substring(X,Y)
The substr(X,Y,Z) function returns a substring of input string X that begins
with the Y-th character and which is Z characters long.
If Z is omitted then substr(X,Y) returns all characters through the end
of the string X beginning with the Y-th.
The left-most character of X is number 1. If Y is negative
then the first character of the substring is found by counting from the
right rather than the left. If Z is negative then
the abs(Z) characters preceding the Y-th character are returned.
If X is a string then indices count UTF codepoints.
If X is a BLOB then the indices count bytes.
"substring()" is an alias for "substr()" beginning with SQLite version 3.34.
total_changes()
The total_changes() function returns the number of row changes
caused by INSERT, UPDATE or DELETE
statements since the current database connection was opened.
This function is a wrapper around the sqlite3_total_changes64()
C/C++ interface.
trim(X)
trim(X,Y)
The trim(X,Y) function returns a string formed by removing any and all
characters that appear in Y from both ends of X.
If the Y argument is omitted, trim(X) removes spaces from both ends of X.
typeof(X)
The typeof(X) function returns a string that indicates the datatype of
the expression X: "null", "integer", "real", "text", or "blob".
unhex(X)
unhex(X,Y)
The unhex(X,Y) function returns a BLOB value which is the decoding of the
hexadecimal string X. If X contains any
characters that are not hexadecimal digits and which are not in Y,
then unhex(X,Y) returns NULL. If Y is omitted, it is
understood to be an empty string and hence X must be a pure hexadecimal string.
All hexadecimal digits in X must occur in pairs, with both digits of each
pair beginning immediately adjacent to one another, or else unhex(X,Y)
returns NULL.
If either parameter X or Y is NULL, then unhex(X,Y) returns NULL.
The X input may contain an arbitrary mix of upper and lower case hexadecimal
digits.
Hexadecimal digits in Y have no affect on the translation of X. Only
characters in Y that are not hexadecimal digits are ignored in X.
See also: hex()
unicode(X)
The unicode(X) function returns the numeric unicode codepoint corresponding to
the first character of the string X. If the argument to unicode(X) is not a string
then the result is unspecified.
unistr(X)
The unistr(X) function interprets backslash escapes in input string X and returns
a new string with those escapes converted into the actual Unicode codepoints that
they represent. This function, added in SQLite version 3.50.0 (2025-05-29), is
intended to work the same as in PostgreSQL, SQL Server, and Oracle.
The PostgreSQL documentation says:
"Unicode characters can be specified as \XXXX (4 hexadecimal digits), \+XXXXXX
(6 hexadecimal digits), \uXXXX (4 hexadecimal digits), or \UXXXXXXXX (8 hexadecimal
digits). To specify a backslash, write two backslashes. All other characters are
taken literally."
If any backslash escape describes a codepoint that is not valid Unicode (for example
'\uD800' or '\U00110000'), then the result might not be a valid Unicode string.
A zero-terminated byte array is created. No memory errors or other malfunctions
occur. However, no error is raised and the generated byte array might not be valid
Unicode according to a strict definition of "Unicode".
unistr_quote(X)
The unistr_quote(X) function returns the text of an SQL literal or constant
expression that encodes the value of its argument X and is suitable
for inclusion into an SQL statement. In most cases, the output of
unistr_quote(X) is identical to quote(X). However, if X is text that
contains control characters in the range U+0001 through U+001f, then those
characters and any "\" characters in X are escaped using JSON-style backslash
escapes and the entire output is enclosed within "unistr(..)".
This makes the resulting text safe for display on devices that interpret
ANSI escape codes.
unlikely(X)
The unlikely(X) function returns the argument X unchanged.
The unlikely(X) function is a no-op that the code generator
optimizes away so that it consumes no CPU cycles at
run-time (that is, during calls to sqlite3_step()).
The purpose of the unlikely(X) function is to provide a hint
to the query planner that the argument X is a boolean value
that is usually not true. The unlikely(X) function is equivalent
to likelihood(X, 0.0625).
upper(X)
The upper(X) function returns a copy of input string X in which all
lower-case ASCII characters are converted to their upper-case equivalent.
zeroblob(N)
The zeroblob(N) function returns a BLOB consisting of N bytes of 0x00.
SQLite manages these zeroblobs very efficiently. Zeroblobs can be used to
reserve space for a BLOB that is later written using
incremental BLOB I/O.
This SQL function is implemented using the sqlite3_result_zeroblob()
routine from the C/C++ interface.
