MySQL Cookbook

Canceling a Partially Entered Query

Problem

You start to enter a query, then decide not to issue it after all.

Solution

Cancel the query using your line kill character or the \c sequence.

Discussion

If you change your mind about issuing a query that you’re entering, cancel it. If the query is on a single line, use your line kill character to erase the entire line. (The particular character to use depends on your terminal setup; for me, the character is Ctrl-U.) If you’ve entered a statement over multiple lines, the line kill character will erase only the last line. To cancel the statement completely, enter \c and type Return. This will return you to the mysql> prompt:

mysql> SELECT *
    -> FROM limbs
    -> ORDER BY\c
mysql>

Sometimes \c appears to do nothing (that is, the mysql> prompt does not reappear), which leads to the sense that you’re “trapped” in a query and can’t escape. If \c is ineffective, the cause usually is that you began typing a quoted string and haven’t yet entered the matching end quote that terminates the string. Let mysql’s prompt help you figure out what to do here. If the prompt has changed from mysql> to ">, That means mysql is looking for a terminating double quote. If the prompt is '> instead, mysql is looking for a terminating single quote. Type the appropriate matching quote to end the string, then enter \c followed by Return and you should be okay.