Errors ("invalid command") when opening a .sql file-CodePudding

I am trying to open a random .sql file off the internet using the following command:

psql -h localhost -d database_name -U postgres < file_name.sql

But when I run this command I just get errors like the following:

invalid command 's

invalid command 'll

invalid command 'Moving

invalid command 's

invalid command "frequently

It just continuously prints out these invalid command error messages. I thought it might be an encoding problem but I confirmed the file is UTF-8 encoded.

Any suggestions on how I can open this file

CodePudding user response：

To expand and clarify on a_horse_with_no_name's comment - the psql command you are running should be run directly in your shell, not inside pgadmin4.

youruser@yourmachine:~$ psql -h localhost -d database_name -U postgres < file_name.sql

That command should load the contents of file_name.sql in to database_name. Once it's complete, you can use pgadmin4 as normal to interact with the database.

CodePudding user response：

One possibility is that the file contains tabulator keys, which are expanded if you read redirect standard input to the SQL script.

Try using the -f option:

psql -h localhost -d database_name -U postgres -f file_name.sql