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.
IMPORT	New in v1.1: Import an entire table's data via CSV files.
INSERT	Insert rows into a table.
SELECT	Select rows from a table.
SHOW TRACE	New in v1.1: Execute a statement and then return a trace of its actions through all of CockroachDB's software layers.
TRUNCATE	Delete 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 DATABASE	Apply a schema change to a database.
ALTER INDEX	Apply a schema change to an index.
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	Create SQL users, which lets you control privileges on your databases and tables.
DROP USER	New in v1.1: Remove SQL users.
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
RESET	New in v1.1: Reset a session variable to its default value.
SET	Set a current session variable.
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
RESET CLUSTER SETTING	New in v1.1: Reset a cluster setting to its default value.
SET CLUSTER SETTING	Set a cluster-wide setting.
SHOW ALL CLUSTER SETTINGS	List the current cluster-wide settings.
SHOW SESSIONS	List details about currently active sessions.

Query Management Statements

Statement	Usage
CANCEL QUERY	New in v1.1: Cancel a running SQL query.
SHOW QUERIES	New in v1.1: List details about current active SQL queries.

Job Management Statements

Jobs in CockroachDB represent tasks that might not complete immediately, such as schema changes or enterprise backups or restores.

Statement	Usage
CANCEL JOB	New in v1.1: Cancel a BACKUP or RESTORE job.
PAUSE JOB	New in v1.1: Pause a BACKUP or RESTORE job.
RESUME JOB	New in v1.1: Resume paused BACKUP or RESTORE jobs.
SHOW JOBS	New in v1.1: View information on jobs.

Backup & Restore Statements (Enterprise)

The following statements are available only to enterprise users.

Statement	Usage
BACKUP	Create disaster recovery backups of databases and tables.
RESTORE	Restore databases and tables using your backups.
SHOW BACKUP	New in v1.1: List the contents of a backup.