SELECT INTO

Defines 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
TEMP: If specified, the table is created as a temporary table. Refer to CREATE TABLE for details.
UNLOGGED: If specified, the table is created as an unlogged table. Refer to CREATE TABLE for details.
new_table: The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to be created.

All other parameters for SELECT INTO are described in detail on the SELECT reference page.

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. Also, 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 only of recent entries from the table films:

SELECT * INTO films_recent FROM films WHERE date_prod >= '2016-01-01';

Compatibility

The SQL standard uses SELECT INTO to represent selecting values into scalar variables of a host program, rather than creating a new table. The Greenplum Database usage of SELECT INTO to represent table creation is historical. It is best to use CREATE TABLE AS for this purpose in new applications.