Data Export

Flash ORM provides powerful export capabilities to extract your database data in various formats for backup, migration, analysis, or sharing.

Export Formats
Basic Export
Advanced Export
Filtering & Querying
Performance Considerations
Use Cases
Troubleshooting

Export Formats

JSON Format

bash

flash export --format json

Creates a structured JSON file:

json

{
  "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "version": "1.0",
  "tables": {
    "users": [
      {
        "id": 1,
        "name": "John Doe",
        "email": "john@example.com",
        "created_at": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z"
      }
    ],
    "posts": [
      {
        "id": 1,
        "user_id": 1,
        "title": "My First Post",
        "content": "Hello world!",
        "created_at": "2024-01-02T00:00:00Z"
      }
    ]
  }
}

CSV Format

bash

flash export --format csv

Creates separate CSV files for each table:

users.csv
posts.csv
comments.csv

Each CSV includes headers and properly escaped data.

SQLite Format

bash

flash export --format sqlite

Creates a new SQLite database file with the same schema and data. Perfect for:

Creating portable database copies
Testing with SQLite locally
Sharing data without requiring PostgreSQL/MySQL

Basic Export

Export All Data

bash

# Export to default location (db/export/)
flash export

# Export to specific directory
flash export --output ./backups/

# Export with custom filename
flash export --output ./backup.json

Export Specific Tables

bash

# Export only users and posts tables
flash export --tables users,posts

# Export all except certain tables
flash export --exclude _flash_migrations,sessions

Export Options

bash

flash export \
  --format json \
  --output ./data/ \
  --tables users,posts \
  --compress  # Create .gz compressed files

Advanced Export

Schema-Only Export

bash

# Export schema without data
flash export --schema-only

# Useful for creating empty database templates
flash export --schema-only --format sqlite --output template.db

Data-Only Export

bash

# Export data without schema
flash export --data-only

# Useful for seeding databases
flash export --data-only --format json --output seeds/

Incremental Export

bash

# Export only records modified after a date
flash export --since "2024-01-01"

# Export only records modified in the last 24 hours
flash export --since "24 hours ago"

Parallel Export

For large databases, Flash ORM automatically uses parallel processing:

Concurrent Table Export: Multiple tables exported simultaneously
Batch Processing: Large tables processed in chunks
Memory Management: Controlled memory usage for large exports

Filtering & Querying

Custom WHERE Clauses

bash

# Export only active users
flash export --where "users.is_active = true"

# Export posts from specific user
flash export --where "posts.user_id = 123"

# Export recent data
flash export --where "created_at > '2024-01-01'"

JOIN-Based Filtering

bash

# Export users who have posts
flash export \
  --query "SELECT DISTINCT u.* FROM users u JOIN posts p ON u.id = p.user_id"

# Export with related data
flash export \
  --query "SELECT u.*, COUNT(p.id) as post_count FROM users u LEFT JOIN posts p ON u.id = p.user_id GROUP BY u.id"

Limit & Offset

bash

# Export first 1000 records from each table
flash export --limit 1000

# Export records 1000-2000 from each table
flash export --limit 1000 --offset 1000

Performance Considerations

Large Database Export

For databases with millions of records:

bash

# Use parallel processing (automatic)
flash export --parallel 4

# Export in batches
flash export --batch-size 10000

# Compress output
flash export --compress

Memory Optimization

bash

# Control memory usage
flash export --memory-limit 512MB

# Use streaming for large exports
flash export --stream

Index Usage

Flash ORM automatically uses appropriate indexes for filtering:

Date Filters: Uses date indexes when available
ID Filters: Uses primary key indexes
Foreign Key Filters: Uses foreign key indexes

Use Cases

Database Backup

bash

# Daily backup
flash export --format json --compress --output ./backups/daily/

# Schema backup
flash export --schema-only --format sql --output schema.sql

Data Migration

bash

# Export from production
flash export --format json --output migration_data.json

# Import to staging
flash import --file migration_data.json

Development Seeding

bash

# Export sample data
flash export --limit 100 --format json --output seeds/

# Create development fixtures
flash export --where "environment = 'development'" --output fixtures/

Analytics & Reporting

bash

# Export user behavior data
flash export \
  --tables users,sessions,events \
  --where "created_at >= '2024-01-01'" \
  --format csv \
  --output analytics/

# Export for BI tools
flash export --format json --compress --output bi_data.json

Testing

bash

# Create test fixtures
flash export --limit 50 --format json --output tests/fixtures/

# Export test database state
flash export --format sqlite --output tests/test.db

Export Configuration

flash.config.json

json

{
  "export": {
    "default_format": "json",
    "output_dir": "db/export",
    "compress": true,
    "parallel": true,
    "batch_size": 1000,
    "exclude_tables": ["_flash_migrations", "sessions"]
  }
}

Environment Variables

bash

# Override config with environment
EXPORT_FORMAT=json
EXPORT_COMPRESS=true
EXPORT_PARALLEL=4

Import Functionality

While primarily an export tool, Flash ORM also supports basic import:

bash

# Import JSON data
flash import --file backup.json

# Import CSV data
flash import --file data.csv --table users

# Import SQLite database
flash import --file backup.db

Monitoring & Logging

Export Progress

bash

# Verbose output
flash export --verbose

# Progress bar (default)
flash export

# Quiet mode
flash export --quiet

Export Logs

bash

# Log export operations
flash export --log export.log

# Log errors only
flash export --log errors.log --log-level error

Performance Metrics

bash

# Show timing information
flash export --metrics

# Output:
# Export completed in 45.2 seconds
# Tables processed: 15
# Total records: 1,234,567
# Average speed: 27,300 records/second

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Export fails with "permission denied"

bash

# Check output directory permissions
ls -la db/export/

# Create directory if needed
mkdir -p db/export/

# Change permissions
chmod 755 db/export/

Memory errors on large exports

bash

# Reduce batch size
flash export --batch-size 1000

# Use streaming
flash export --stream

# Increase memory limit
flash export --memory-limit 1GB

Slow exports

bash

# Check database indexes
flash status --indexes

# Add missing indexes
CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY idx_users_created_at ON users(created_at);

# Use parallel processing
flash export --parallel 8

Incomplete exports

bash

# Check export logs
cat export.log

# Verify table counts
flash export --count-only

# Resume interrupted export
flash export --resume

Validation

bash

# Validate export file
flash export --validate backup.json

# Check data integrity
flash export --checksum backup.json

Recovery

bash

# List available backups
flash export --list

# Restore from backup
flash import --file backup.json

# Compare with current database
flash export --diff backup.json

Best Practices

Backup Strategy

Regular Backups: Schedule daily/weekly backups
Multiple Formats: Keep JSON for flexibility, SQLite for testing
Compression: Always compress large exports
Verification: Regularly test backup restoration

Security

Encrypt Sensitive Data: Encrypt exports containing PII
Access Control: Restrict access to export files
Secure Storage: Store backups in secure locations
Retention Policy: Define backup retention periods

Performance

Off-Peak Hours: Run large exports during low-traffic periods
Resource Monitoring: Monitor database and system resources
Incremental Backups: Use --since for frequent small backups
Parallel Processing: Use multiple cores for large exports

Organization

Naming Convention: Use timestamps in filenames
```
backup_20240115_143000.json.gz
```

Directory Structure:

backups/
├── daily/
├── weekly/
├── monthly/
└── schema/

Documentation: Keep backup logs and metadata

Data export is a critical part of database management. Flash ORM's export system ensures your data is safely extracted, properly formatted, and ready for any use case - from simple backups to complex data migrations.

Data Export ​

Table of Contents ​

Export Formats ​

JSON Format ​

CSV Format ​

SQLite Format ​

Basic Export ​

Export All Data ​

Export Specific Tables ​

Export Options ​

Advanced Export ​

Schema-Only Export ​

Data-Only Export ​

Incremental Export ​

Parallel Export ​

Filtering & Querying ​

Custom WHERE Clauses ​

JOIN-Based Filtering ​

Limit & Offset ​

Performance Considerations ​

Large Database Export ​

Memory Optimization ​

Index Usage ​

Use Cases ​

Database Backup ​

Data Migration ​

Development Seeding ​

Analytics & Reporting ​

Testing ​

Export Configuration ​

flash.config.json ​

Environment Variables ​

Import Functionality ​

Monitoring & Logging ​

Export Progress ​

Export Logs ​

Performance Metrics ​

Troubleshooting ​

Common Issues ​

Validation ​

Recovery ​

Best Practices ​

Backup Strategy ​

Security ​

Performance ​

Organization ​

Data Export

Table of Contents

Export Formats

JSON Format

CSV Format

SQLite Format

Basic Export

Export All Data

Export Specific Tables

Export Options

Advanced Export

Schema-Only Export

Data-Only Export

Incremental Export

Parallel Export

Filtering & Querying

Custom WHERE Clauses

JOIN-Based Filtering

Limit & Offset

Performance Considerations

Large Database Export

Memory Optimization

Index Usage

Use Cases

Database Backup

Data Migration

Development Seeding

Analytics & Reporting

Testing

Export Configuration

flash.config.json

Environment Variables

Import Functionality

Monitoring & Logging

Export Progress

Export Logs

Performance Metrics

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Validation

Recovery

Best Practices

Backup Strategy

Security

Performance

Organization