Output Info

Configure where and how FastTransfer saves exported data.

Directory

Use the -D or --directory parameter to specify where the output file(s) will be saved.

Local Paths

Windows

.\\FastTransfer.exe \
...
 --directory "C:\exports\sales\orders" \
...

Linux

./FastTransfer \
...
 --directory "/exports/sales/orders" \
...

UNC Paths

For Windows network shares, you can use UNC paths:

.\\FastTransfer.exe \
...
 --directory "\\server\share\exports\orders" \
...

Cloud Paths

FastTransfer supports direct export to cloud storage:

AWS S3

./FastTransfer \
...
 --directory "s3://my-bucket/exports/orders" \
...

Azure Blob

./FastTransfer \
...
 --directory "abs://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/container/path" \
...

Azure Data Lake Gen2

./FastTransfer \
...
 --directory "abfss://mystorageaccount.dfs.core.windows.net/container/path/to/data" \
...

Google Cloud Storage

./FastTransfer \
...
 --directory "gs://my-bucket/exports/orders" \
...

S3-Compatible (MinIO, OVH)

./FastTransfer \
...
 --directory "s3://my-bucket/exports" \
...

OneLake

./FastTransfer \
...
 --directory "onelake://myworkspace.dfs.core.windows.net/lakehouse/path/to/data" \
...

Information

See Cloud Options for authentication and configuration details.

Syntax:

• Short form: -D "path"
• Long form: --directory "path"

Output File

Use the -o or --fileoutput parameter to specify the name of the output file. The file extension determines the output format.

./FastTransfer \
...
 --fileoutput "orders.parquet" \
...

Syntax:

• Short form: -o "filename"
• Long form: --fileoutput "filename"

Supported Formats

Extension	Format	Description
.parquet	Parquet	Columnar, compressed (recommended)
.csv	CSV	Delimiter-separated values
.tsv	TSV	Tab-separated values
.json	JSON	JavaScript Object Notation
.bson	BSON	Binary JSON
.xlsx	Excel	Microsoft Excel format
.bin	Binary	PostgreSQL COPY binary format

Tokens

Use tokens in --directory and --fileoutput parameters for dynamic paths and filenames.

./FastTransfer \
...
 --directory "/exports/{sourcedatabase}/{sourceschema}" \
 --fileoutput "{sourcetable}_{startdate}.parquet" \
...

Syntax: Tokens are enclosed in curly braces {token_name}

Available Tokens

Token	Description	Example Value
{sourcedatabase}	Value from --database	AdventureWorks
{sourceschema}	Value from --sourceschema	Sales
{sourcetable}	Value from --sourcetable	Orders
{starttimestamp}	Job start (yyyyMMddHHmmss)	20260107143022
{starttimestamp:FORMAT}	Custom timestamp format	See below
{startdate}	Job start date (yyyyMMdd)	20260107
{starttime}	Job start time (HHmmss)	143022
{starthour}	Job start hour (HH)	14
{user}	Username (from --user or system)	dbuser
{filetype}	Output format extension	parquet
{datadrivencolumn}	Data-driven split value	Varies

Timestamp Format Codes

Use {starttimestamp:FORMAT} with custom format:

Format	Description	Example
yyyy	4-digit year	2026
yy	2-digit year	26
MM	Month (01-12)	01
dd	Day (01-31)	07
HH	Hour 24h (00-23)	14
mm	Minute (00-59)	30
ss	Second (00-59)	22

Examples:

# yyyyMMdd format
./FastTransfer \
...
 --fileoutput "orders_{starttimestamp:yyyyMMdd}.parquet" \
...

# yyyy-MM-dd format
./FastTransfer \
...
 --fileoutput "orders_{starttimestamp:yyyy-MM-dd}.parquet" \
...

# yyyyMMddHH format (hourly)
./FastTransfer \
...
 --fileoutput "logs_{starttimestamp:yyyyMMddHH}.parquet" \
...

Timestamped Output

Use the -x or --timestamped parameter to automatically add a timestamp to the filename.

./FastTransfer \
...
 --fileoutput "orders.parquet" \
 --timestamped \
...

Syntax:

• Short form: -x
• Long form: --timestamped

tip

--timestamped automatically appends _yyyyMMddHHmmss to the filename. For more control over format and placement, use timestamp tokens instead.

Encoding

Use the -e or --encoding parameter to specify character encoding for text formats (CSV, JSON, TSV).

./FastTransfer \
...
 --fileoutput "orders.csv" \
 --encoding "UTF-8" \
...

Syntax:

• Short form: -e "encoding"
• Long form: --encoding "encoding"

Default: UTF-8

note

Encoding is not applicable to Parquet files (they use UTF-8 internally).