SELECT_INTO(7) - man - phpMan

SELECT INTO(7)                     PostgreSQL 14.23 Documentation                     SELECT INTO(7)



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

SYNOPSIS
       [ WITH [ RECURSIVE ] with_query [, ...] ]
       SELECT [ ALL | DISTINCT [ ON ( expression [, ...] ) ] ]
           [ { * | expression [ [ AS ] output_name ] } [, ...] ]
           INTO [ TEMPORARY | TEMP | UNLOGGED ] [ TABLE ] new_table
           [ FROM from_item [, ...] ]
           [ WHERE condition ]
           [ GROUP BY expression [, ...] ]
           [ HAVING condition ]
           [ WINDOW window_name AS ( window_definition ) [, ...] ]
           [ { UNION | INTERSECT | EXCEPT } [ ALL | DISTINCT ] select ]
           [ ORDER BY expression [ ASC | DESC | USING operator ] [ NULLS { FIRST | LAST } ] [, ...] ]
           [ LIMIT { count | ALL } ]
           [ OFFSET start [ ROW | ROWS ] ]
           [ FETCH { FIRST | NEXT } [ count ] { ROW | ROWS } ONLY ]
           [ FOR { UPDATE | SHARE } [ OF table_name [, ...] ] [ NOWAIT ] [...] ]

DESCRIPTION
       SELECT INTO creates a new table and fills it with data computed by a query. The data is not
       returned to the client, as it is with a normal SELECT. The new table's columns have the names
       and data types associated with the output columns of the SELECT.

PARAMETERS
       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.

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

       All other parameters are described in detail under SELECT(7).

NOTES
       CREATE TABLE AS is functionally similar to SELECT INTO.  CREATE TABLE AS is the recommended
       syntax, since this form of SELECT INTO is not available in ECPG or PL/pgSQL, because they
       interpret the INTO clause differently. Furthermore, CREATE TABLE AS offers a superset of the
       functionality provided by SELECT INTO.

       In contrast to CREATE TABLE AS, SELECT INTO does not allow specifying properties like a
       table's access method with USING method or the table's tablespace with TABLESPACE
       tablespace_name. Use CREATE TABLE AS if necessary. Therefore, the default table access method
       is chosen for the new table. See default_table_access_method for more information.

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

           SELECT * INTO films_recent FROM films WHERE date_prod >= '2002-01-01';

COMPATIBILITY
       The SQL standard uses SELECT INTO to represent selecting values into scalar variables of a
       host program, rather than creating a new table. This indeed is the usage found in ECPG (see
       Chapter 36) and PL/pgSQL (see Chapter 43). The PostgreSQL usage of SELECT INTO to represent
       table creation is historical. Some other SQL implementations also use SELECT INTO in this way
       (but most SQL implementations support CREATE TABLE AS instead). Apart from such compatibility
       considerations, it is best to use CREATE TABLE AS for this purpose in new code.

SEE ALSO
       CREATE TABLE AS (CREATE_TABLE_AS(7))



PostgreSQL 14.23                                2026                                  SELECT INTO(7)