CREATE_SCHEMA(7pg13)

💖 CREATE SCHEMA 💖

okay bestie, welcome to CREATE SCHEMA from the PostgreSQL 13.23 Documentation — yes this is the 7pg13 one, the PostgreSQL 13 flavor, and it's genuinely one of the most underrated little commands ever. it's giving "let me organize my whole life" energy. let's get into it 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

CREATE_SCHEMA — define a new schema 🦋

like, literally just: make a new schema. that's the whole vibe.

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

CREATE SCHEMA schema_name [ AUTHORIZATION role_specification ] [ schema_element [ ... ] ]
CREATE SCHEMA AUTHORIZATION role_specification [ schema_element [ ... ] ]
CREATE SCHEMA IF NOT EXISTS schema_name [ AUTHORIZATION role_specification ]
CREATE SCHEMA IF NOT EXISTS AUTHORIZATION role_specification

and role_specification can be, and I quote:

    user_name
  | CURRENT_USER
  | SESSION_USER

so you got four shapes of this command and three ways to say who's in charge. pick your fighter 💅

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👑 DESCRIPTION 👑

okay so CREATE SCHEMA enters a new schema into the current database. that's the whole job. and here's the thing — the schema name must be distinct from the name of any existing schema in the current database. no duplicates, no cap, the database will simply not let you 🙈

now why do we care? because a schema is essentially a namespace: it contains named objects (tables, data types, functions, and operators) whose names can duplicate those of other objects existing in other schemas. so like, you can have films in this schema and films in that schema and nobody fights. iconic behavior honestly.

you access those named objects either by "qualifying" their names with the schema name as a prefix, or by setting a search path that includes the desired schema(s). and a CREATE command specifying an unqualified object name creates the object in the current schema (the one at the front of the search path, which can be determined with the function current_schema). so bestie, if you're confused where your table went, check current_schema. that's your main character diagnostic right there 🫶

optionally, CREATE SCHEMA can include subcommands to create objects within the new schema. the subcommands are treated essentially the same as separate commands issued after creating the schema, except that if the AUTHORIZATION clause is used, all the created objects will be owned by that user. one clause, whole squad owned. obsessed ✨

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💅 PARAMETERS 💅

• schema_name — the name of a schema to be created. if this is omitted, the user_name is used as the schema name instead. and heads up: the name cannot begin with pg_, because those names are reserved for system schemas. that prefix is not yours, bestie, it belongs to the system 👑
• user_name — the role name of the user who will own the new schema. if omitted, it defaults to the user executing the command. now, to create a schema owned by another role, you must be a direct or indirect member of that role, or be a superuser. no sneaking around the ownership rules, i don't make them 💀
• schema_element — an SQL statement defining an object to be created within the schema. currently, only CREATE TABLE, CREATE VIEW, CREATE INDEX, CREATE SEQUENCE, CREATE TRIGGER and GRANT are accepted as clauses within CREATE SCHEMA. that's the guest list, it is not expanding tonight. other kinds of objects may be created in separate commands after the schema is created. slay, do it separately 🔥
• IF NOT EXISTS — do nothing (except issuing a notice) if a schema with the same name already exists. lowkey graceful, honestly. but schema_element subcommands cannot be included when this option is used. so it's "watch and wait" mode, not "watch, wait, and also build stuff" mode. pick one 🙈

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🎀 NOTES 🎀

to create a schema, the invoking user must have the CREATE privilege for the current database. (of course, superusers bypass this check.) like, obviously. superusers don't wait in line 💅

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⭐ EXAMPLES ⭐

create a schema:

CREATE SCHEMA myschema;

create a schema for user joe; the schema will also be named joe:

CREATE SCHEMA AUTHORIZATION joe;

create a schema named test that will be owned by user joe, unless there already is a schema named test. (it does not matter whether joe owns the pre-existing schema.)

CREATE SCHEMA IF NOT EXISTS test AUTHORIZATION joe;

create a schema and create a table and view within it:

CREATE SCHEMA hollywood
    CREATE TABLE films (title text, release date, awards text[])
    CREATE VIEW winners AS
        SELECT title, release FROM films WHERE awards IS NOT NULL;

notice that the individual subcommands do not end with semicolons. that's the whole trick, don't add them, i'm serious, the vibe check fails if you add them 🧚

the following is an equivalent way of accomplishing the same result:

CREATE SCHEMA hollywood;
CREATE TABLE hollywood.films (title text, release date, awards text[]);
CREATE VIEW hollywood.winners AS
    SELECT title, release FROM hollywood.films WHERE awards IS NOT NULL;

same result, different outfit. both ate 🌈

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🔥 COMPATIBILITY 🔥

• the SQL standard allows a DEFAULT CHARACTER SET clause in CREATE SCHEMA, as well as more subcommand types than are presently accepted by PostgreSQL. we're doing our own thing, respectfully ✨
• the SQL standard specifies that the subcommands in CREATE SCHEMA can appear in any order. the present PostgreSQL implementation does not handle all cases of forward references in subcommands; it might sometimes be necessary to reorder the subcommands in order to avoid forward references. so like, order matters here whether we like it or not 😭
• according to the SQL standard, the owner of a schema always owns all objects within it. PostgreSQL allows schemas to contain objects owned by users other than the schema owner. this can happen only if the schema owner grants the CREATE privilege on their schema to someone else, or a superuser chooses to create objects in it. shared custody, we love to see it 💜
• the IF NOT EXISTS option is a PostgreSQL extension. not standard, ours, homegrown, iconic 👑

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💖 SEE ALSO 💖

• ALTER SCHEMA (ALTER_SCHEMA(7))
• DROP SCHEMA (DROP_SCHEMA(7))

go read those next, they're the sequel and the villain origin story respectively 🦋

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okay that's the whole page, you're now a schema expert, no cap 💅 PostgreSQL 13.23, dated 2025 — that's CREATE SCHEMA(7), signed off with love, go make some namespaces bestie 🎀💖