> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ellomas.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Output Formats

> Supported output formats and their use cases.

# Output Formats

Seedling supports multiple output formats for different use cases.

## SQL Dump

Default format. Produces `INSERT INTO ...` statements.

```bash theme={null}
seedling generate --count 10000 --output seed.sql
```

**Use cases:** CI pipelines, staging refresh, database seeding.

## Direct Database Insert

Writes directly to a live database with batched INSERTs.

```bash theme={null}
seedling generate --count 500000 --db postgres://localhost:5432/staging
```

**Use cases:** One-shot staging population, integration tests.

## Postgres COPY Protocol

Maximum throughput. Uses pgx COPY protocol for row streaming.

```bash theme={null}
seedling generate --count 1000000 --db postgres://localhost:5432/staging --copy
```

**Use cases:** Large-scale data generation where speed matters.

## CSV

One file per table.

```bash theme={null}
seedling generate --count 10000 --output data/ --format csv
```

**Use cases:** Data analysis, spreadsheets, external tool import.

## JSON Lines

One JSON object per row, streaming per table.

```bash theme={null}
seedling generate --count 10000 --output data/ --format jsonl
```

**Use cases:** Event streams, NoSQL databases, log simulation.

## Parquet

Tabular columnar output.

```bash theme={null}
seedling generate --count 10000 --output data/ --format parquet
```

**Note:** Parquet support is currently a TSV placeholder. Full Parquet implementation is pending.

## Format Summary

| Format     | Flag                  | Use Case                    |
| ---------- | --------------------- | --------------------------- |
| SQL dump   | `--output seed.sql`   | CI, staging refresh         |
| Direct DB  | `--db postgres://...` | One-shot population         |
| COPY       | `--db ... --copy`     | Max throughput              |
| CSV        | `--format csv`        | Analysis, spreadsheets      |
| JSON Lines | `--format jsonl`      | Event streams               |
| Parquet    | `--format parquet`    | Data lake (TSV placeholder) |