Cursor keys not working when using sqlite3 from adb shell

A workaround would be to use a local version of SQLite with readline support.

  1. Copy a database file from your device to your local machine:
    adb pull <database-file-on-device>

  2. Use your local version of SQLite to access the database file:
    sqlite3 <database-file-on-local>

  3. If you made changes you can transfer them to the device. Copy your local database file from your local machine to your device:
    sqlite3 <database-file-on-local> <database-file-on-device>


To allow editing and history in the input of a console program, that program must be linked with the readline library.

The sqlite3 tool does support readline, but on Android, readline support has been disabled. (Probably because readline is licensed only under the GPL.)