man > CREATE_TABLE_AS(7)

CREATE TABLE AS(7)                 PostgreSQL 14.23 Documentation                 CREATE TABLE AS(7)



NAME
       CREATE_TABLE_AS - define a new table from the results of a query

SYNOPSIS
       CREATE [ [ GLOBAL | LOCAL ] { TEMPORARY | TEMP } | UNLOGGED ] TABLE [ IF NOT EXISTS ] table_name
           [ (column_name [, ...] ) ]
           [ USING method ]
           [ WITH ( storage_parameter [= value] [, ... ] ) | WITHOUT OIDS ]
           [ ON COMMIT { PRESERVE ROWS | DELETE ROWS | DROP } ]
           [ TABLESPACE tablespace_name ]
           AS query
           [ WITH [ NO ] DATA ]

DESCRIPTION
       CREATE TABLE AS creates a table and fills it with data computed by a SELECT command. The
       table columns have the names and data types associated with the output columns of the SELECT
       (except that you can override the column names by giving an explicit list of new column
       names).

       CREATE TABLE AS bears some resemblance to creating a view, but it is really quite different:
       it creates a new table and evaluates the query just once to fill the new table initially. The
       new table will not track subsequent changes to the source tables of the query. In contrast, a
       view re-evaluates its defining SELECT statement whenever it is queried.

       CREATE TABLE AS requires CREATE privilege on the schema used for the table.

PARAMETERS
       GLOBAL or LOCAL
           Ignored for compatibility. Use of these keywords is deprecated; refer to CREATE TABLE
           (CREATE_TABLE(7)) for details.

       TEMPORARY or TEMP
           If specified, the table is created as a temporary table. Refer to CREATE TABLE
           (CREATE_TABLE(7)) for details.

       UNLOGGED
           If specified, the table is created as an unlogged table. Refer to CREATE TABLE
           (CREATE_TABLE(7)) for details.

       IF NOT EXISTS
           Do not throw an error if a relation with the same name already exists; simply issue a
           notice and leave the table unmodified.

       table_name
           The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to be created.

       column_name
           The name of a column in the new table. If column names are not provided, they are taken
           from the output column names of the query.

       USING method
           This optional clause specifies the table access method to use to store the contents for
           the new table; the method needs be an access method of type TABLE. See Chapter 61 for
           more information. If this option is not specified, the default table access method is
           chosen for the new table. See default_table_access_method for more information.

       WITH ( storage_parameter [= value] [, ... ] )
           This clause specifies optional storage parameters for the new table; see Storage
           Parameters in the CREATE TABLE (CREATE_TABLE(7)) documentation for more information. For
           backward-compatibility the WITH clause for a table can also include OIDS=FALSE to specify
           that rows of the new table should contain no OIDs (object identifiers), OIDS=TRUE is not
           supported anymore.

       WITHOUT OIDS
           This is backward-compatible syntax for declaring a table WITHOUT OIDS, creating a table
           WITH OIDS is not supported anymore.

       ON COMMIT
           The behavior of temporary tables at the end of a transaction block can be controlled
           using ON COMMIT. The three options are:

           PRESERVE ROWS
               No special action is taken at the ends of transactions. This is the default behavior.

           DELETE ROWS
               All rows in the temporary table will be deleted at the end of each transaction block.
               Essentially, an automatic TRUNCATE is done at each commit.

           DROP
               The temporary table will be dropped at the end of the current transaction block.

       TABLESPACE tablespace_name
           The tablespace_name is the name of the tablespace in which the new table is to be
           created. If not specified, default_tablespace is consulted, or temp_tablespaces if the
           table is temporary.

       query
           A SELECT, TABLE, or VALUES command, or an EXECUTE command that runs a prepared SELECT,
           TABLE, or VALUES query.

       WITH [ NO ] DATA
           This clause specifies whether or not the data produced by the query should be copied into
           the new table. If not, only the table structure is copied. The default is to copy the
           data.

NOTES
       This command is functionally similar to SELECT INTO (SELECT_INTO(7)), but it is preferred
       since it is less likely to be confused with other uses of the SELECT INTO syntax.
       Furthermore, CREATE TABLE AS offers a superset of the functionality offered by SELECT INTO.

EXAMPLES
       Create a new table films_recent consisting of only recent entries from the table films:

           CREATE TABLE films_recent AS
             SELECT * FROM films WHERE date_prod >= '2002-01-01';

       To copy a table completely, the short form using the TABLE command can also be used:

           CREATE TABLE films2 AS
             TABLE films;

       Create a new temporary table films_recent, consisting of only recent entries from the table
       films, using a prepared statement. The new table will be dropped at commit:

           PREPARE recentfilms(date) AS
             SELECT * FROM films WHERE date_prod > $1;
           CREATE TEMP TABLE films_recent ON COMMIT DROP AS
             EXECUTE recentfilms('2002-01-01');

COMPATIBILITY
       CREATE TABLE AS conforms to the SQL standard. The following are nonstandard extensions:

       •   The standard requires parentheses around the subquery clause; in PostgreSQL, these
           parentheses are optional.

       •   In the standard, the WITH [ NO ] DATA clause is required; in PostgreSQL it is optional.

       •   PostgreSQL handles temporary tables in a way rather different from the standard; see
           CREATE TABLE (CREATE_TABLE(7)) for details.

       •   The WITH clause is a PostgreSQL extension; storage parameters are not in the standard.

       •   The PostgreSQL concept of tablespaces is not part of the standard. Hence, the clause
           TABLESPACE is an extension.

SEE ALSO
       CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW (CREATE_MATERIALIZED_VIEW(7)), CREATE TABLE (CREATE_TABLE(7)),
       EXECUTE(7), SELECT(7), SELECT INTO (SELECT_INTO(7)), VALUES(7)



PostgreSQL 14.23                                2026                              CREATE TABLE AS(7)