Standalone Server

Standalone Server

a3sql-server runs the same database engine without Arma 3. Same SQL, same save/load, same everything: it shares the code path with the in-game extension. Use it to test SQL before shipping a mission, to run a database your tools can reach across the network, or as a scratch server while developing.

Running

# Default: port 33306, localhost only, in-memory
a3sql-server

# Custom port
a3sql-server --port 33307

# Save to a file: load at start, auto-save every 30 s, save on shutdown
a3sql-server --db data.bin

# Reachable from other machines
a3sql-server --bind 0.0.0.0 --port 33306

# Interactive prompt
a3sql-server --interactive

Flag	What it does
--port, -p <PORT>	Listen port (default 33306)
--bind, -b <IP>	Bind address (default 127.0.0.1)
--db, -d <PATH>	Persist to file: load at start, auto-save every 30 s, final save on shutdown
--interactive, -i	Read SQL from the console instead of only serving TCP
--help, -h	Show options

Interactive mode

a3sql-server --interactive drops you into a REPL. Type SQL or a server command (PING, SAVE, LOAD) and press Enter; the result prints on the next line.

$ a3sql-server --interactive
a3sql> CREATE TABLE players (uid STRING PRIMARY KEY, name STRING, score INT)
[0,"OK",""]
a3sql> INSERT INTO players VALUES ('76561198000000001', 'Scarface', 1500)
[0,"OK",""]
a3sql> SELECT * FROM players
[0,"OK",[...]]
a3sql> :q

a3sql> is the prompt. :help lists the commands; :exit, :quit, :q (or plain exit / quit) leave the REPL. Ctrl+C shuts the server down cleanly and saves the database if --db is set.

Configuration

The server reads $A3SQL_CONFIG or, failing that, ./a3sql.toml in the working directory. Config is optional; a missing file is not an error.

Key	What it does
listener_require_auth	Require LOGIN on every connection. Default true (fail-closed). Set false for anonymous access on a trusted loopback deployment.
data_dir	Directory for file commands (SAVE, LOAD, export_to_file). Default ./a3sql_data/.

# a3sql.toml
listener_require_auth = true
data_dir = "./a3sql_data"

The server and the in-game extension read the same config format.

Connecting

The server speaks the same TCP protocol as the in-game listener, including LOGIN (required by default), PING, and cursor commands. See TCP Connector.

printf 'LOGIN admin secret123\nSELECT name FROM players\nQUIT\n' | nc 127.0.0.1 33306

Connecting from the game

The game extension can point at a standalone server instead of executing locally:

["connect 192.168.1.100 33306"] call a3sql_fnc_execute;
_result = ["SELECT * FROM players"] call a3sql_fnc_execute;
["disconnect"] call a3sql_fnc_execute;

While connected, SQL is forwarded to the remote server and the local database is untouched. disconnect switches back to local mode.

Building from source

For developers. Server operators should use a release binary.

cargo build --release --manifest-path extension/Cargo.toml --bin a3sql-server
./extension/target/release/a3sql-server --help