psql2csv is just a wrapper around what you're describing. The point is that you don't have to write the "boilerplate" when all you need is a single query. Plus,

psql2csv is just a wrapper around what you're describing. The point is that you don't have to write the "boilerplate" when all you need is a single query. Plus, it works nice with stdin and stdout, making it handy for queries stored in a file, or for piping the CSV to another program.