Getting started

Crash is the official interactive SQL shell for CrateDB. You can use it to connect to your CrateDB cluster, run queries, and explore data with a user-friendly command-line experience.

Option 1: Install via Python (Recommended)

Crash is published on PyPI, and the easiest way to install it is with pipx, which ensures it runs in an isolated environment.

Install

pipx install crash

Don’t have pipx? Install it with: python -m pip install --user pipx && python -m pipx ensurepath

Run

crash

Option 2: Download Standalone Executable

If you prefer not to use Python environments, you can download a pre-packaged executable that includes all dependencies.

Download and Run

curl -o crash https://cdn.crate.io/downloads/releases/crash_standalone_latest
chmod +x crash
./crash

To make it globally accessible (no ./ required), move it into a directory that’s on your PATH.

Running Crash

Start Crash with:

crash

By default, it connects to localhost:4200. To connect to a remote CrateDB instance:

crash --host "198.51.100.1"

Troubleshooting

Use the --verbose flag to get more detailed output (e.g., connection attempts, errors):

crash --verbose

Querying with Crash

When you start Crash, you’ll see a prompt like:

cr>

Type any CrateDB SQL statement, and terminate it with a semicolon ;. Press Enter to run the query.

cr> SELECT name, temperature FROM weather_data LIMIT 10;

Features

• Auto-completion as you type

• Query history

• Neatly formatted result tables