Command line

pyaccesskit [--version] COMMAND [OPTIONS]
python -m pyaccesskit COMMAND [OPTIONS]

Exit codes: 0 success, 1 error, 2 usage error, 3 environment unusable. With --json, output is ASCII-safe JSON on stdout; errors go to stderr.

doctor

pyaccesskit doctor [--json] [--probe]

Reports Python, Windows, pywin32 and Access versions and bitness, and whether in-process DAO and Microsoft Access can be used. It also shows what engine="auto" will choose and any orphaned Access processes. --probe builds a scratch database with each available engine, starting and closing an owned, hidden Access. The exit code is 3 when nothing is usable or a probe failed.

JSON fields: usable, auto_engine, engines[{engine, available, detail}], access{version, bits, executable, click_to_run, products}, ace_oledb, probes[{engine, ok, seconds, detail}], owned_processes, problems, notes, plus version facts.

inspect

pyaccesskit inspect DATABASE [--json] [--counts] [--password PW] [--engine auto|dao|access]

Describes tables (columns, types, defaults, indexes), relationships, queries (kind and SQL), and the names of forms, reports, macros and modules. It opens the database read-only in shared mode, so it works while the file is open in Access. It never runs startup code. --counts adds row counts. The password can also come from PYACCESSKIT_PASSWORD. Passwords inside connection strings are shown as ***.

JSON: {path, format_version, transport, tables[{name, linked, rows, spec}], relationships[...], queries[{kind, name, sql, description, pass_through}], forms, reports, macros, modules, warnings}. Each tables[].spec is a TableSpec in JSON form (TableSpec.model_validate(entry["spec"])).

cleanup

pyaccesskit cleanup [--dry-run] [--json]

Ends Access processes started by PyAccessKit sessions whose Python process has exited, usually after a crash. Only processes recorded in PyAccessKit's ownership ledger are considered, and their identity (PID, creation time, executable) is re-checked first. Access windows you opened yourself are never touched. The exit code is 1 if a process could not be ended.

guide

pyaccesskit guide [--path]

Prints the guide for AI coding agents that ships with the installed version, or its file path with --path.

schema

pyaccesskit schema [all|table|column|index|relationship|query|form]

Prints the JSON Schema of the spec models. Editors and AI agents can use it to validate specs written as JSON before touching Access.