# phpman > man > CREATE_FOREIGN_TABLE(7) CREATE FOREIGN [TABLE(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/TABLE/7/markdown) PostgreSQL 14.23 Documentation CREATE FOREIGN [TABLE(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/TABLE/7/markdown) ## NAME CREATE_FOREIGN_TABLE - define a new foreign table ## SYNOPSIS CREATE FOREIGN TABLE [ IF NOT EXISTS ] _table_name_ ( [ { _column_name_ _data_type_ [ OPTIONS ( _option_ '_value_' [, ... ] ) ] [ COLLATE _collation_ ] [ _column_constraint_ [ ... ] ] | _table_constraint_ } [, ... ] ] ) [ INHERITS ( _parent_table_ [, ... ] ) ] SERVER _server_name_ [ OPTIONS ( _option_ '_value_' [, ... ] ) ] CREATE FOREIGN TABLE [ IF NOT EXISTS ] _table_name_ PARTITION OF _parent_table_ [ ( { _column_name_ [ WITH OPTIONS ] [ _column_constraint_ [ ... ] ] | _table_constraint_ } [, ... ] ) ] { FOR VALUES _partition_bound_spec_ | DEFAULT } SERVER _server_name_ [ OPTIONS ( _option_ '_value_' [, ... ] ) ] where _column_constraint_ is: [ CONSTRAINT _constraint_name_ ] { NOT NULL | NULL | CHECK ( _expression_ ) [ NO INHERIT ] | DEFAULT _default_expr_ | GENERATED ALWAYS AS ( _generation_expr_ ) STORED } and _table_constraint_ is: [ CONSTRAINT _constraint_name_ ] CHECK ( _expression_ ) [ NO INHERIT ] and _partition_bound_spec_ is: IN ( _partition_bound_expr_ [, ...] ) | FROM ( { _partition_bound_expr_ | MINVALUE | MAXVALUE } [, ...] ) TO ( { _partition_bound_expr_ | MINVALUE | MAXVALUE } [, ...] ) | WITH ( MODULUS _numeric_literal_, REMAINDER _numeric_literal_ ) ## DESCRIPTION **CREATE** **FOREIGN** **TABLE** creates a new foreign table in the current database. The table will be owned by the user issuing the command. If a schema name is given (for example, CREATE FOREIGN TABLE myschema.mytable ...) then the table is created in the specified schema. Otherwise it is created in the current schema. The name of the foreign table must be distinct from the name of any other foreign table, table, sequence, index, view, or materialized view in the same schema. **CREATE** **FOREIGN** **TABLE** also automatically creates a data type that represents the composite type corresponding to one row of the foreign table. Therefore, foreign tables cannot have the same name as any existing data type in the same schema. If PARTITION OF clause is specified then the table is created as a partition of parent_table with specified bounds. To be able to create a foreign table, you must have USAGE privilege on the foreign server, as well as USAGE privilege on all column types used in the table. ## PARAMETERS IF NOT EXISTS Do not throw an error if a relation with the same name already exists. A notice is issued in this case. Note that there is no guarantee that the existing relation is anything like the one that would have been created. _table_name_ The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to be created. _column_name_ The name of a column to be created in the new table. _data_type_ The data type of the column. This can include array specifiers. For more information on the data types supported by PostgreSQL, refer to Chapter 8. COLLATE _collation_ The COLLATE clause assigns a collation to the column (which must be of a collatable data type). If not specified, the column data type's default collation is used. INHERITS ( _parent_table_ [, ... ] ) The optional INHERITS clause specifies a list of tables from which the new foreign table automatically inherits all columns. Parent tables can be plain tables or foreign tables. See the similar form of **CREATE** **TABLE** for more details. PARTITION OF _parent_table_ { FOR VALUES _partition_bound_spec_ | DEFAULT } This form can be used to create the foreign table as partition of the given parent table with specified partition bound values. See the similar form of **CREATE** **TABLE** for more details. Note that it is currently not allowed to create the foreign table as a partition of the parent table if there are UNIQUE indexes on the parent table. (See also **ALTER** **TABLE** **ATTACH** **PARTITION**.) CONSTRAINT _constraint_name_ An optional name for a column or table constraint. If the constraint is violated, the constraint name is present in error messages, so constraint names like col must be positive can be used to communicate helpful constraint information to client applications. (Double-quotes are needed to specify constraint names that contain spaces.) If a constraint name is not specified, the system generates a name. NOT NULL The column is not allowed to contain null values. NULL The column is allowed to contain null values. This is the default. This clause is only provided for compatibility with non-standard SQL databases. Its use is discouraged in new applications. CHECK ( _expression_ ) [ NO INHERIT ] The CHECK clause specifies an expression producing a Boolean result which each row in the foreign table is expected to satisfy; that is, the expression should produce TRUE or UNKNOWN, never FALSE, for all rows in the foreign table. A check constraint specified as a column constraint should reference that column's value only, while an expression appearing in a table constraint can reference multiple columns. Currently, CHECK expressions cannot contain subqueries nor refer to variables other than columns of the current row. The system column tableoid may be referenced, but not any other system column. A constraint marked with NO INHERIT will not propagate to child tables. DEFAULT _default_expr_ The DEFAULT clause assigns a default data value for the column whose column definition it appears within. The value is any variable-free expression (subqueries and cross-references to other columns in the current table are not allowed). The data type of the default expression must match the data type of the column. The default expression will be used in any insert operation that does not specify a value for the column. If there is no default for a column, then the default is null. GENERATED ALWAYS AS ( _generation_expr_ ) STORED This clause creates the column as a generated column. The column cannot be written to, and when read the result of the specified expression will be returned. The keyword STORED is required to signify that the column will be computed on write. (The computed value will be presented to the foreign-data wrapper for storage and must be returned on reading.) The generation expression can refer to other columns in the table, but not other generated columns. Any functions and operators used must be immutable. References to other tables are not allowed. _server_name_ The name of an existing foreign server to use for the foreign table. For details on defining a server, see CREATE SERVER (**CREATE**___**[SERVER**(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/SERVER/7/markdown)). OPTIONS ( _option_ '_value_' [, ...] ) Options to be associated with the new foreign table or one of its columns. The allowed option names and values are specific to each foreign data wrapper and are validated using the foreign-data wrapper's validator function. Duplicate option names are not allowed (although it's OK for a table option and a column option to have the same name). ## NOTES Constraints on foreign tables (such as CHECK or NOT NULL clauses) are not enforced by the core PostgreSQL system, and most foreign data wrappers do not attempt to enforce them either; that is, the constraint is simply assumed to hold true. There would be little point in such enforcement since it would only apply to rows inserted or updated via the foreign table, and not to rows modified by other means, such as directly on the remote server. Instead, a constraint attached to a foreign table should represent a constraint that is being enforced by the remote server. Some special-purpose foreign data wrappers might be the only access mechanism for the data they access, and in that case it might be appropriate for the foreign data wrapper itself to perform constraint enforcement. But you should not assume that a wrapper does that unless its documentation says so. Although PostgreSQL does not attempt to enforce constraints on foreign tables, it does assume that they are correct for purposes of query optimization. If there are rows visible in the foreign table that do not satisfy a declared constraint, queries on the table might produce errors or incorrect answers. It is the user's responsibility to ensure that the constraint definition matches reality. **Caution** When a foreign table is used as a partition of a partitioned table, there is an implicit constraint that its contents must satisfy the partitioning rule. Again, it is the user's responsibility to ensure that that is true, which is best done by installing a matching constraint on the remote server. Within a partitioned table containing foreign-table partitions, an **UPDATE** that changes the partition key value can cause a row to be moved from a local partition to a foreign-table partition, provided the foreign data wrapper supports tuple routing. However, it is not currently possible to move a row from a foreign-table partition to another partition. An **UPDATE** that would require doing that will fail due to the partitioning constraint, assuming that that is properly enforced by the remote server. Similar considerations apply to generated columns. Stored generated columns are computed on insert or update on the local PostgreSQL server and handed to the foreign-data wrapper for writing out to the foreign data store, but it is not enforced that a query of the foreign table returns values for stored generated columns that are consistent with the generation expression. Again, this might result in incorrect query results. ## EXAMPLES Create foreign table films, which will be accessed through the server film_server: CREATE FOREIGN TABLE films ( code [char(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/char/5/markdown) NOT NULL, title [varchar(40)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/varchar/40/markdown) NOT NULL, did integer NOT NULL, date_prod date, kind [varchar(10)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/varchar/10/markdown), len interval hour to minute ) SERVER film_server; Create foreign table measurement_y2016m07, which will be accessed through the server server_07, as a partition of the range partitioned table measurement: CREATE FOREIGN TABLE measurement_y2016m07 PARTITION OF measurement FOR VALUES FROM ('2016-07-01') TO ('2016-08-01') SERVER server_07; ## COMPATIBILITY The **CREATE** **FOREIGN** **TABLE** command largely conforms to the SQL standard; however, much as with **CREATE** **TABLE**, NULL constraints and zero-column foreign tables are permitted. The ability to specify column default values is also a PostgreSQL extension. Table inheritance, in the form defined by PostgreSQL, is nonstandard. ## SEE ALSO ALTER FOREIGN TABLE (**ALTER**___**FOREIGN**___**[TABLE**(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/TABLE/7/markdown)), DROP FOREIGN TABLE (**DROP**___**FOREIGN**___**[TABLE**(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/TABLE/7/markdown)), CREATE TABLE (**CREATE**___**[TABLE**(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/TABLE/7/markdown)), CREATE SERVER (**CREATE**___**[SERVER**(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/SERVER/7/markdown)), IMPORT FOREIGN SCHEMA (**IMPORT**___**FOREIGN**___**[SCHEMA**(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/SCHEMA/7/markdown)) PostgreSQL 14.23 2026 CREATE FOREIGN [TABLE(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/TABLE/7/markdown)