SQL Statements

CockroachDB supports the following SQL statements. Click a statement for more details.

Data Manipulation Statements

Statement	Usage
CREATE TABLE AS	Create a new table in a database using the results from a SELECT statement.
DELETE	Delete specific rows from a table.
EXPLAIN	View debugging and analysis details for a SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE statement.
INSERT	Insert rows into a table.
SELECT	Select rows from a table.
TRUNCATE	Deletes all rows from specified tables.
UPDATE	Update rows in a table.
UPSERT	Insert rows that do not violate uniqueness constraints; update rows that do.

Data Definition Statements

Statement	Usage
ADD COLUMN	Add columns to a table.
ADD CONSTRAINT	Add a constraint to a column.
ALTER COLUMN	Change a column's Default constraint or drop the Not Null constraint.
ALTER TABLE	Apply a schema change to a table.
ALTER VIEW	Rename a view.
CREATE DATABASE	Create a new database.
CREATE INDEX	Create an index for a table.
CREATE TABLE	Create a new table in a database.
CREATE TABLE AS	Create a new table in a database using the results from a SELECT statement.
CREATE VIEW	Create a new view in a database.
DROP COLUMN	Remove columns from a table.
DROP CONSTRAINT	Remove constraints from a column.
DROP DATABASE	Remove a database and all its objects.
DROP INDEX	Remove an index for a table.
DROP TABLE	Remove a table.
DROP VIEW	Remove a view.
RENAME COLUMN	Rename a column in a table.
RENAME DATABASE	Rename a database.
RENAME INDEX	Rename an index for a table.
RENAME TABLE	Rename a table or move a table between databases.
SHOW COLUMNS	View details about columns in a table.
SHOW CONSTRAINTS	List constraints on a table.
SHOW CREATE TABLE	View the CREATE TABLE statement that would create a carbon copy of the specified table.
SHOW CREATE VIEW	View the CREATE VIEW statement that would create a carbon copy of the specified view.
SHOW DATABASES	List databases in the cluster.
SHOW INDEX	View index information for a table.
SHOW TABLES	List tables in a database.

Transaction Management Statements

Statement	Usage
BEGIN	Initiate a transaction.
COMMIT	Commit the current transaction.
RELEASE SAVEPOINT	When using the CockroachDB-provided function for client-side transaction retries, commit the transaction's changes once there are no retryable errors.
ROLLBACK	Discard all updates made by the current transaction or, when using the CockroachDB-provided function for client-side transaction retries, rollback to the cockroach_restart savepoint and retry the transaction.
SAVEPOINT	When using the CockroachDB-provided function for client-side transaction retries, start a retryable transaction.
SET TRANSACTION	Set the isolation level or priority for the session or for an individual transaction.
SHOW	View the current transaction settings.

Privilege Management Statements

Statement	Usage
CREATE USER	Creates a SQL user, which lets you control privileges on your databases and tables.
GRANT	Grant privileges to users.
REVOKE	Revoke privileges from users.
SHOW GRANTS	View privileges granted to users.
SHOW USERS	Lists the users for all databases.

Session Management Statements

Statement	Usage
SET	Set the current session parameters.
SET TRANSACTION	Set the isolation level or priority for an individual transaction.
SHOW	List the current session or transaction settings.

Cluster Management Statements

Statement	Usage
SHOW ALL CLUSTER SETTINGS	List the current cluster-wide settings.
SET CLUSTER SETTING	Set a cluster-wide setting.

Backup & Restore Statements (Enterprise)

The following statements are available only to enterprise license users.

Statement	Usage
BACKUP	Create disaster recovery backups of databases and tables.
RESTORE	Restore databases and tables using your backups.