SELECT_INTO(7pg15)

💖 SELECT_INTO(7pg15) 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to the PostgreSQL 15.19 Documentation page for SELECT_INTO — the “make a whole new table from a query” move. It’s giving builder energy, and we’re gonna get into every single detail, no cap. 🫶

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🌸 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 💫

So SELECT INTO creates a new table and fills it with data computed by a query. It does not return the data to the client like a normal SELECT does — nope, it’s off making a table instead. The new table’s columns have the names and data types associated with the output columns of the SELECT. Slay. 💅

🎀 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). iykyk 🔥

🧠 NOTES 🧠

CREATE TABLE AS is functionally similar to SELECT INTO. And real talk: 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.

🚨 bestie warning: if you need those extra table properties, SELECT INTO is not the one — use CREATE TABLE AS. Periodt.

🍓 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))

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okay bye bestie, mwah 💋 — this page is from PostgreSQL 15.19, dated 2026, and that’s the whole SELECT INTO(7) footer vibe. 🫶🎀