Import CSV file into SQLite

11 Mar 2026

  1. Download SQLite precompiled binaries and add them to your $PATH : https://sqlite.org/download.html
  2. Open SQLite and import the CSV file: 
    # Note: First row is used for column names, if you don't have header - create table before import
sqlite3 <db-name>
.mode csv
.import <path-your-csv-file> <db-table-name> --skip <n>
   
# Alternative with explicit separator
sqlite3 <db-name> 
.separator ,
.import <path-your-csv-file> <db-table-name> --skip 1 --csv
  3. That’s it, now you can execute any SQL query on the imported data. 
    sqlite3 <db-name>
.tables
.schema <table-name>
.mode column
SELECT * FROM <table-name> LIMIT 3;
  4. Alternatively you can use DB Browser for SQLite, it has GUI : https://sqlitebrowser.org/