Config Level Reference

Various dbc subcommands (like install, sync) take a --level argument which gives you control over where dbc searches for drivers.

Default Behavior

When the --level argument is not explicitly set for the command you are running, dbc defaults to searching a list of environment variables before searching the User and System levels. When --level is provided, dbc searches only the provided level and will also ignore any environment variables that may be set.

The following environment variables are searched, in order:

1. ADBC_DRIVER_PATH: When set, installs drivers at $ADBC_DRIVER_PATH.
2. VIRTUAL_ENV: When set, installs drivers at $VIRTUAL_ENV/etc/adbc/drivers. This variable is automatically set when you have activated a Python virtual environment.
3. CONDA_PREFIX: When set, installs drivers at $CONDA_PREFIX/etc/adbc/drivers. This variable is automatically set when you have activated a Conda environment.

Note that dbc will stop searching for a driver when one is found. For example, if you are in a Python virtual environment, you can still override the location where dbc installs drivers by setting $ADBC_DRIVER_PATH to a directory of your choice.

User

--level value user.

• On Linux (and other Unix-like platforms), this is $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/adbc/drivers (if $XDG_CONFIG_HOME is set) or ~/.config/adbc/drivers.
• On macOS, this is ~/Library/Application Support/ADBC/Drivers.
• On Windows, this is either the registry under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\ADBC\Drivers\ or %LOCAL_APPDATA%\ADBC\drivers.

System

--level value system.

Note

Depending on your environment, you may need elevated privileges to use the --level system option (such as sudo on Unix-likes and Administrator on Windows).

• On Linux (and other Unix-like platforms), this is /etc/adbc/drivers.
• On macOS, this is /Library/Application Support/ADBC/Drivers.
• On Windows, this is in the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ADBC\Drivers\

More Info

See ADBC Driver Manager and Manifests for more detail.