Switches used in the command line

Last modified: March 28, 2025

This topic gives detailed description of command-line switches and examples of their usage.

You can select the required options while setting the comparison in the Data Comparison Wizard and generate a file with command-line arguments by clicking Save settings to a file.

Note

To run the Command Line in Windows 10:

From the Desktop Mode

Move the mouse cursor to the exact lower left corner until the desktop shortcuts menu appears.

Right-click to see the shortcut menu and than click Run.

From the Charms Bar

Move your mouse to the upper right corner until the Charms Bar appears.

Select Apps from the list and type ‘run’ in the search box.

Click Run from the search results.

Use Windows + R Shortcut Keys

In desktop mode, press the Windows + R keys, to show the Run command line.

In the window that opens, type cmd and press Enter.

Command-line usage

datacompare [/argfile:filepath] [/operation_switch] [/switch1[:value | [parameter1:value parameter2:value ..]] /switch2 ..]

The first argument for datacompare is usually an operation switch that corresponds to the operation that you want to perform with the application.

Available command-line switches

Switch	Usage
`/argfile`	Specifies the path to the command-line arguments file. Options specified in the command line have higher priority than the options that were given in the argfile.
`/activate`	Activates a product using the activation key.
`/deactivate`	Deactivates a product.
`/backup`	Backs up a database.
`/datacompare`	Launches data comparison.
`/execute`	Executes a script.
`/restore`	Restores a database.
`/scriptsfolder`	Creates a scripts folder of the target schema.
`/quiet` (`/q`)	Hides the console window in console mode. It should be used after the main operation switch.

Switches details

/activate

Activate a product using the activation key.

Parameter	Description
`exitcodes`	Lists possible exit codes that can be returned by the command-line process.
`key`	Specifies a product activation key.

/deactivate

Deactivate a product

Parameter	Description
`exitcodes`	Lists possible exit codes that can be returned by the command-line process.

/backup

Backup a database.

Parameter	Description
`connection`	Specifies a connection string.
`database`	Defines a database to backup.
`errormode`	Specifies the application behavior when there is an error.
`exitcodes`	Lists possible exit codes that can be returned by the command-line process.
`outputfile`	Specifies a file name for storing the backup. The parameter overrides a file name specified in a backup project.
`password`	Defines a server password. The parameter overrides a password specified in the connection string.
`projectfile`	Specifies a backup project to use. Switches can override some project options.
`treatwarningaserror`	Defines the application behavior when there is a warning.

/datacompare

Launch data comparison.

Parameter	Description
`/source`	Connects to a live database by specified parameters with the following options: `host:\<name> database:\<db> [port:\<port>] user:\<yourusername> [password:\<yourpassword>] [charset:\<charset>]`. Also, it allows specifying the full connection string with additional parameters: `connection:<connection_string>`. To specify the file path to a SQL Server backup file (.bak) or backup files taken from the differential backup: `backup:<filepath> [backup:<filepath> ...]`
`/target`	Connects to a live database by specified parameters with the following options: `host:\<name> database:\<db> [port:\<port>] user:\<yourusername> [password:\<yourpassword>] [charset:\<charset>]`. And it allows specifying the full connection string with additional parameters: `connection:<connection_string>`. To specify the file path to a SQL Server backup file (.bak) or backup files taken from the differential backup: `backup:<filepath> [backup:<filepath> ...]`
`/compfile`	Loads command-line settings from the comparison project file - *.dcomp.
`/meobjmask`	Excludes objects from comparison if they match a given expression. To exclude objects from the comparison, specify a mask expression. To turn the option off, specify `No`, `N`, `Off`, `False`, or `F`.
`/micolmask`	Excludes columns from the comparison if they match a given expression. To exclude columns from the comparison, specify a mask expression. To turn the option off, specify `No`, `N`, `Off`, `False`, or `F`.
`/miobjmask`	Includes objects to comparison if they match a given expression. To include objects to the comparison, specify a mask expression. To turn the option off, specify `No`, `N`, `Off`, `False`, or `F`.
`/options`	Specifies some comparison or synchronization options directly in the command-line interface. See the list of available options and learn how to use them in Options Used in Command Line for /datacompare. To turn the option off, specify `No`, `N`, `Off`, `False`, or `F`.
`/sync`	Launches database synchronization. If an output file path is specified, the program will generate only a synchronization script.
`/report`	Generates a data comparison report file. If the output file name has a .html, .xls or .xml extension, it is not necessary to specify the file format - it will be chosen depending on the extension.For more information, refer to Options used in the command line.
`/reportformat`	Generates the comparison report in the following foramts: `HTML`: A simple HTML file `XLS`: A simple Microsoft Excel file `XML`: A simple XML file `XMLFOREXCEL`: A simple XML file for XML Spreadsheet 2003 When a format is not explicitly specified, it is automatically determined based on the file extension of the report
`/includeobjects`	`/includeobjects:<All\|Filtered\|Diff\|SelectForSync` Specify objects for the report: * `All` - all objects; * `Filtered` - filtered objects; * `Diff` - objects with differences; * `SelectForSync` - objects selected for synchronization. The option refers specifically to the report generation in the HTML/XLS/XML formats and does not work separately from the `/report:<filepath>` key.
`/log`	Writes a comparison log to the specified file.
`/exitcodes`	Lists possible exit codes that can be returned by the command-line process.

/execute

Execute a script.

Parameter	Description
`connection`	Specifies a connection string: `/connection:\<connection_string>`.
`password`	Defines a server password or override the password specified in the connection string: `/password:\<yourpassword>`.
`database`	Specifies a database to script or override the database specified in a template or in a connection string.
`encoding`	Sets the encoding which should be applied to open and execute the script: `/encoding:<codepage\\|encoding name>`.
`inputfile`	Defines an SQL or ZIP file with a script to execute.
`zippassword`	Enters a password for a protected archive that contains the script: `/zippassword:\<zip password>`.
`exitcodes`	Lists possible exit codes that can be returned by the command-line process.

/restore

Restore a database.

Parameter	Description
`connection`	Specifies a connection string.
`createdatabase`	Creates a database specified in the /database switch if it does not exist.
`database`	Defines a database to restore. The parameter overrides a database specified in the connection string. Databases specified in the script will be ignored.
`encoding`	Specifies the encoding which should be applied to open and execute the script.
`exitcodes`	Lists possible exit codes that can be returned by the command-line process.
`inputfile`	Specifies an SQL or ZIP file with a script to execute.
`password`	Enters a server password. The parameter overrides a password specified in the connection string.
`zippassword`	Defines a password for a protected archive that contains the script.

/scriptsfolder

Create a scripts folder of the target schema.

Parameter	Description
`connection`	Specifies a connection string.
`password`	Specifies a server password. The parameter overrides a password specified in the connection string.
`database`	Defines a database to create a scripts folder for.
`exitcodes`	Lists possible exit codes that can be returned by the command-line process.
`includedata`	Defines whether to include data.
`path`	Defines a scripts folder path.

Usage examples

1. Compare data using settings from the file saved earlier:

C:\Program Files\Devart\dbForge Compare Bundle for MySQL Standard\dbForge Data Compare for MySQL Server>datacompare.com /datacompare / compfile:"D:\workDir\sakilavssakila1.dcomp"

2. Compare schemas using settings from the file and write log to a specified file:

C:\Program Files\Devart\dbForge Compare Bundle for MySQL Standard\dbForge Data Compare for MySQL Server>datacompare.com /datacompare / compfile:"sakilavssakila1.dcomp" /log:"D:\sync/log"

3. Compare data using settings from the file, generate a report to the specified file in the HTML format:

C:\Program Files\Devart\dbForge Compare Bundle for MySQL Standard\dbForge Data Compare for MySQL Server>datacompare.com /datacompare / compfile:"sakilavssakila1" /report:"D:\report.txt" /reportformat:HTML

4. Compare schemas using using settings from the file saved before, and save a synchronization script:

C:\Program Files\Devart\dbForge Compare Bundle for MySQL Standard\dbForge Data Compare for MySQL Server>datacompare.com /datacompare / compfile:"sakilavssakila1" /sync:"D:\compare_result.sql"

5. To compare data of the specified databases and save the synchronization script to the file, use: /sync:"D:\compare_result.sql"

C:\Program Files\Devart\dbForge Compare Bundle for MySQL Standard\dbForge Data Compare for MySQL Server>datacompare.com /datacompare /source connection:"Host=ServerB;Port=3306;Database=sakila;User Id=yourusername;Password=yourpassword;Character Set=utf8" /target connection:"Host=ServerA;Port=3306;Database=sakila1;User Id=yourusername;Password=yourpassword;Character Set=utf8" /sync:"D:\compare_result.sql"

6. Compare data and generate data report using settings from a file. Comparison and data writing settings of the different objects will be included into the report.

C:\Program Files\Devart\dbForge Compare Bundle for MySQL Standard\dbForge Data Compare for MySQL Server>datacompare.com /datacompare /compfile:"sakilavssakila1.dcomp" /report:"report.html" /incdata:Yes /incsettings:Yes