PostgreSQL export result as CSV from remote server

Question

I have read all other solutions and none adapts to my needs, I do not use Java, I do not have super user rights and I do not have API's installed in my server.

I have select rights on a remote PostgreSQL server and I want to run a query in it remotely and export its results into a .csv file in my local server.

Once I manage to establish the connection to the server I first have to define the DB, then the schema and then the table, fact that makes the following lines of code not work:

\copy schema.products TO '/home/localfolder/products.csv' CSV DELIMITER ','

copy (Select * From schema.products) To '/home/localfolder/products.csv' With CSV;

I have also tried the following bash command:

 psql -d DB -c "select * from schema.products;" > /home/localfolder/products.csv

and logging it with the following result:

-bash: home/localfolder/products.csv: No such file or directory

I would really appreciate if someone can show a light on this.

Answer 1

Have you tried this? I do not have psql right now to test it.

echo “COPY (SELECT * from schema.products) TO STDOUT with CSV HEADER” | psql -o '/home/localfolder/products.csv'

Details:

-o filename   Put  all  output into file filename.  The path must be writable by the client.
echo builtin + piping (|) pass command to psql

Answer 2

From http://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/static/sql-copy.html:

Files named in a COPY command are read or written directly by the server, not by the client application.

So, you'll always want to use psql's \copy meta command.

The following should do the trick:

\copy (SELECT * FROM schema.products) to 'products.csv' with csv

If the above doesn't work, we'll need an error/warning message to work with.

Answer 3

You mentioned that the server is remote, however you are connecting to a localhost. Add the -h [server here] or set the ENV variable

export PGHOST='[server here]' 

The database name should be the last argument, and not with -d. And finally that command should have not failed, my guess is that that directory does not exist. Either create it or try writing to tmp.

I would ask you to try the following command:

psql -h [server here] -c "copy (select * from schema.products) to STDOUT csv header" DB > /tmp/products.csv

Answer 4

Aftr a while a good colleague deviced this solution which worked perfectly for my needs, hope this can help someone.

'ssh -l user [remote host] -p [port] \'psql -c "copy (select * from schema.table_name') to STDOUT csv header" -d DB\' > /home/localfolder/products.csv'

Very similar to idobr's answer.