docs/sql-ref-syntax-dml-insert-table.md

---
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title: INSERT TABLE
displayTitle: INSERT TABLE
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---

### Description

The `INSERT` statement inserts new rows into a table or overwrites the existing data in the table. The inserted rows can be specified by value expressions or result from a query.

### Syntax

```sql
INSERT [ INTO | OVERWRITE ] [ TABLE ] table_identifier [ partition_spec ] [ ( column_list ) | [BY NAME] ]
    { VALUES ( { value | NULL } [ , ... ] ) [ , ( ... ) ] | query }

INSERT INTO [ TABLE ] table_identifier REPLACE WHERE boolean_expression query
```

### Parameters

* **table_identifier**

    Specifies a table name, which may be optionally qualified with a database name.

    **Syntax:** `[ database_name. ] table_name`

* **partition_spec**

    An optional parameter that specifies a comma-separated list of key and value pairs
    for partitions. Note that one can use a typed literal (e.g., date'2019-01-02') in the partition spec.

    **Syntax:** `PARTITION ( partition_col_name  = partition_col_val [ , ... ] )`

* **column_list**

    An optional parameter that specifies a comma-separated list of columns belonging to the `table_identifier` table. Spark will reorder the columns of the input query to match the table schema according to the specified column list.

    **Note:**The current behaviour has some limitations:
    - All specified columns should exist in the table and not be duplicated from each other. It includes all columns except the static partition columns.
    - The size of the column list should be exactly the size of the data from `VALUES` clause or query.

* **VALUES ( { value `|` NULL } [ , ... ] ) [ , ( ... ) ]**

    Specifies the values to be inserted. Either an explicitly specified value or a NULL can be inserted.
    A comma must be used to separate each value in the clause. More than one set of values can be specified to insert multiple rows.

* **boolean_expression**

  Specifies any expression that evaluates to a result type `boolean`. Two or
  more expressions may be combined together using the logical
  operators ( `AND`, `OR` ).

* **query**

    A query that produces the rows to be inserted. It can be in one of following formats:
    * a [SELECT](sql-ref-syntax-qry-select.html) statement
    * a [Inline Table](sql-ref-syntax-qry-select-inline-table.html) statement
    * a `FROM` statement

### Examples

#### Insert Into

##### Single Row Insert Using a VALUES Clause

```sql
CREATE TABLE students (name VARCHAR(64), address VARCHAR(64))
    USING PARQUET PARTITIONED BY (student_id INT);

INSERT INTO students VALUES
    ('Amy Smith', '123 Park Ave, San Jose', 111111);

SELECT * FROM students;
+---------+----------------------+----------+
|     name|               address|student_id|
+---------+----------------------+----------+
|Amy Smith|123 Park Ave, San Jose|    111111|
+---------+----------------------+----------+
```

##### Multi-Row Insert Using a VALUES Clause

```sql
INSERT INTO students VALUES
    ('Bob Brown', '456 Taylor St, Cupertino', 222222),
    ('Cathy Johnson', '789 Race Ave, Palo Alto', 333333);

SELECT * FROM students;
+-------------+------------------------+----------+
|         name|                 address|student_id|
+-------------+------------------------+----------+
|    Amy Smith|  123 Park Ave, San Jose|    111111|
+-------------+------------------------+----------+
|    Bob Brown|456 Taylor St, Cupertino|    222222|
+-------------+------------------------+----------+
|Cathy Johnson| 789 Race Ave, Palo Alto|    333333|
+--------------+-----------------------+----------+
```

##### Insert Using a SELECT Statement

```sql
-- Assuming the persons table has already been created and populated.
SELECT * FROM persons;
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+
|         name|                   address|      ssn|
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+
|Dora Williams|134 Forest Ave, Menlo Park|123456789|
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+
|  Eddie Davis|   245 Market St, Milpitas|345678901|
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+

INSERT INTO students PARTITION (student_id = 444444)
    SELECT name, address FROM persons WHERE name = "Dora Williams";

SELECT * FROM students;
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|         name|                   address|student_id|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|    Amy Smith|    123 Park Ave, San Jose|    111111|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|    Bob Brown|  456 Taylor St, Cupertino|    222222|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|Cathy Johnson|   789 Race Ave, Palo Alto|    333333|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|Dora Williams|134 Forest Ave, Menlo Park|    444444|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
```

##### Insert Using a TABLE Statement

```sql
-- Assuming the visiting_students table has already been created and populated.
SELECT * FROM visiting_students;
+-------------+---------------------+----------+
|         name|              address|student_id|
+-------------+---------------------+----------+
|Fleur Laurent|345 Copper St, London|    777777|
+-------------+---------------------+----------+
|Gordon Martin| 779 Lake Ave, Oxford|    888888|
+-------------+---------------------+----------+

INSERT INTO students TABLE visiting_students;

SELECT * FROM students;
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|         name|                   address|student_id|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|    Amy Smith|    123 Park Ave, San Jose|    111111|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|    Bob Brown|  456 Taylor St, Cupertino|    222222|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|Cathy Johnson|   789 Race Ave, Palo Alto|    333333|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|Dora Williams|134 Forest Ave, Menlo Park|    444444|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|Fleur Laurent|     345 Copper St, London|    777777|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|Gordon Martin|      779 Lake Ave, Oxford|    888888|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
```

##### Insert Using a FROM Statement

```sql
-- Assuming the applicants table has already been created and populated.
SELECT * FROM applicants;
+-----------+--------------------------+----------+---------+
|       name|                   address|student_id|qualified|
+-----------+--------------------------+----------+---------+
|Helen Davis| 469 Mission St, San Diego|    999999|     true|
+-----------+--------------------------+----------+---------+
|   Ivy King|367 Leigh Ave, Santa Clara|    101010|    false|
+-----------+--------------------------+----------+---------+
| Jason Wang|     908 Bird St, Saratoga|    121212|     true|
+-----------+--------------------------+----------+---------+

INSERT INTO students
     FROM applicants SELECT name, address, student_id WHERE qualified = true;

SELECT * FROM students;
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|         name|                   address|student_id|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|    Amy Smith|    123 Park Ave, San Jose|    111111|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|    Bob Brown|  456 Taylor St, Cupertino|    222222|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|Cathy Johnson|   789 Race Ave, Palo Alto|    333333|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|Dora Williams|134 Forest Ave, Menlo Park|    444444|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|Fleur Laurent|     345 Copper St, London|    777777|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|Gordon Martin|      779 Lake Ave, Oxford|    888888|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|  Helen Davis| 469 Mission St, San Diego|    999999|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|   Jason Wang|     908 Bird St, Saratoga|    121212|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
```

##### Insert Using a Typed Date Literal for a Partition Column Value
```sql
CREATE TABLE students (name STRING, address  STRING) PARTITIONED BY (birthday DATE);

INSERT INTO students PARTITION (birthday = date'2019-01-02')
    VALUES ('Amy Smith', '123 Park Ave, San Jose');

SELECT * FROM students;
+-------------+-------------------------+-----------+
|         name|                  address|   birthday|
+-------------+-------------------------+-----------+
|    Amy Smith|   123 Park Ave, San Jose| 2019-01-02|
+-------------+-------------------------+-----------+
```

#### Insert with a column list

```sql
INSERT INTO students (address, name, student_id) VALUES
    ('Hangzhou, China', 'Kent Yao', 11215016);

SELECT * FROM students WHERE name = 'Kent Yao';
+---------+----------------------+----------+
|     name|               address|student_id|
+---------+----------------------+----------+
|Kent Yao |       Hangzhou, China|  11215016|
+---------+----------------------+----------+
```

##### Insert with both a partition spec and a column list

```sql
INSERT INTO students PARTITION (student_id = 11215017) (address, name) VALUES
    ('Hangzhou, China', 'Kent Yao Jr.');

SELECT * FROM students WHERE student_id = 11215017;
+------------+----------------------+----------+
|        name|               address|student_id|
+------------+----------------------+----------+
|Kent Yao Jr.|       Hangzhou, China|  11215017|
+------------+----------------------+----------+
```

#### Insert Overwrite

##### Insert Using a VALUES Clause

```sql
-- Assuming the students table has already been created and populated.
SELECT * FROM students;
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|         name|                   address|student_id|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|    Amy Smith|    123 Park Ave, San Jose|    111111|
|    Bob Brown|  456 Taylor St, Cupertino|    222222|
|Cathy Johnson|   789 Race Ave, Palo Alto|    333333|
|Dora Williams|134 Forest Ave, Menlo Park|    444444|
|Fleur Laurent|     345 Copper St, London|    777777|
|Gordon Martin|      779 Lake Ave, Oxford|    888888|
|  Helen Davis| 469 Mission St, San Diego|    999999|
|   Jason Wang|     908 Bird St, Saratoga|    121212|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+

INSERT OVERWRITE students VALUES
    ('Ashua Hill', '456 Erica Ct, Cupertino', 111111),
    ('Brian Reed', '723 Kern Ave, Palo Alto', 222222);

SELECT * FROM students;
+----------+-----------------------+----------+
|      name|                address|student_id|
+----------+-----------------------+----------+
|Ashua Hill|456 Erica Ct, Cupertino|    111111|
|Brian Reed|723 Kern Ave, Palo Alto|    222222|
+----------+-----------------------+----------+
```

##### Insert Using a SELECT Statement

```sql
-- Assuming the persons table has already been created and populated.
SELECT * FROM persons;
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+
|         name|                   address|      ssn|
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+
|Dora Williams|134 Forest Ave, Menlo Park|123456789|
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+
|  Eddie Davis|   245 Market St, Milpitas|345678901|
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+

INSERT OVERWRITE students PARTITION (student_id = 222222)
    SELECT name, address FROM persons WHERE name = "Dora Williams";

SELECT * FROM students;
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|         name|                   address|student_id|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|   Ashua Hill|   456 Erica Ct, Cupertino|    111111|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|Dora Williams|134 Forest Ave, Menlo Park|    222222|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
```

##### Insert By Name Using a SELECT Statement

```sql
-- Assuming the persons table has already been created and populated.
SELECT * FROM persons;
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+
|         name|                   address|      ssn|
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+
|Dora Williams|134 Forest Ave, Menlo Park|123456789|
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+
|  Eddie Davis|   245 Market St, Milpitas|345678901|
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+

-- Spark will reorder the fields of the query according to the order of the fields in the table,
-- so don't worry about the field order mismatch
INSERT INTO students PARTITION (student_id = 222222) BY NAME
    SELECT address, name FROM persons WHERE name = "Dora Williams";

SELECT * FROM students;
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|         name|                   address|student_id|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|   Ashua Hill|   456 Erica Ct, Cupertino|    111111|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|Dora Williams|134 Forest Ave, Menlo Park|    222222|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
    
INSERT OVERWRITE students PARTITION (student_id = 222222) BY NAME
    SELECT 'Unknown' as address, name FROM persons WHERE name = "Dora Williams";

SELECT * FROM students;
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|         name|                   address|student_id|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|   Ashua Hill|   456 Erica Ct, Cupertino|    111111|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
|Dora Williams|                   Unknown|    222222|
+-------------+--------------------------+----------+
```

##### Insert Using a REPLACE WHERE Statement

```sql
-- Assuming the persons and persons2 table has already been created and populated.
SELECT * FROM persons;
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+
|         name|                   address|      ssn|
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+
|Dora Williams|134 Forest Ave, Menlo Park|123456789|
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+
|  Eddie Davis|   245 Market St, Milpitas|345678901|
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+
    
SELECT * FROM persons2;
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+
|         name|                   address|      ssn|
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+
|   Ashua Hill|   456 Erica Ct, Cupertino|432795921|
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+

-- in an atomic operation, 1) delete rows with ssn = 123456789 and 2) insert rows from persons2 
INSERT INTO persons REPLACE WHERE ssn = 123456789 SELECT * FROM persons2

SELECT * FROM persons;
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+
|         name|                   address|      ssn|
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+
|  Eddie Davis|   245 Market St, Milpitas|345678901|
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+
|   Ashua Hill|   456 Erica Ct, Cupertino|432795921|
+-------------+--------------------------+---------+
```

##### Insert Using a TABLE Statement

```sql
-- Assuming the visiting_students table has already been created and populated.
SELECT * FROM visiting_students;
+-------------+---------------------+----------+
|         name|              address|student_id|
+-------------+---------------------+----------+
|Fleur Laurent|345 Copper St, London|    777777|
+-------------+---------------------+----------+
|Gordon Martin| 779 Lake Ave, Oxford|    888888|
+-------------+---------------------+----------+

INSERT OVERWRITE students TABLE visiting_students;

SELECT * FROM students;
+-------------+---------------------+----------+
|         name|              address|student_id|
+-------------+---------------------+----------+
|Fleur Laurent|345 Copper St, London|    777777|
+-------------+---------------------+----------+
|Gordon Martin| 779 Lake Ave, Oxford|    888888|
+-------------+---------------------+----------+
```

##### Insert Using a FROM Statement

```sql
-- Assuming the applicants table has already been created and populated.
SELECT * FROM applicants;
+-----------+--------------------------+----------+---------+
|       name|                   address|student_id|qualified|
+-----------+--------------------------+----------+---------+
|Helen Davis| 469 Mission St, San Diego|    999999|     true|
+-----------+--------------------------+----------+---------+
|   Ivy King|367 Leigh Ave, Santa Clara|    101010|    false|
+-----------+--------------------------+----------+---------+
| Jason Wang|     908 Bird St, Saratoga|    121212|     true|
+-----------+--------------------------+----------+---------+

INSERT OVERWRITE students
    FROM applicants SELECT name, address, student_id WHERE qualified = true;

SELECT * FROM students;
+-----------+-------------------------+----------+
|       name|                  address|student_id|
+-----------+-------------------------+----------+
|Helen Davis|469 Mission St, San Diego|    999999|
+-----------+-------------------------+----------+
| Jason Wang|    908 Bird St, Saratoga|    121212|
+-----------+-------------------------+----------+
```

##### Insert Using a Typed Date Literal for a Partition Column Value

```sql
CREATE TABLE students (name STRING, address  STRING) PARTITIONED BY (birthday DATE);

INSERT INTO students PARTITION (birthday = date'2019-01-02')
    VALUES ('Amy Smith', '123 Park Ave, San Jose');

SELECT * FROM students;
+-------------+-------------------------+-----------+
|         name|                  address|   birthday|
+-------------+-------------------------+-----------+
|    Amy Smith|   123 Park Ave, San Jose| 2019-01-02|
+-------------+-------------------------+-----------+

INSERT OVERWRITE students PARTITION (birthday = date'2019-01-02')
    VALUES('Jason Wang', '908 Bird St, Saratoga');

SELECT * FROM students;
+-----------+-------------------------+-----------+
|       name|                  address|   birthday|
+-----------+-------------------------+-----------+
| Jason Wang|    908 Bird St, Saratoga| 2019-01-02|
+-----------+-------------------------+-----------+
```

##### Insert with a column list

```sql
INSERT OVERWRITE students (address, name, student_id) VALUES
    ('Hangzhou, China', 'Kent Yao', 11215016);

SELECT * FROM students WHERE name = 'Kent Yao';
+---------+----------------------+----------+
|     name|               address|student_id|
+---------+----------------------+----------+
|Kent Yao |       Hangzhou, China|  11215016|
+---------+----------------------+----------+
```

##### Insert with both a partition spec and a column list

```sql
INSERT OVERWRITE students PARTITION (student_id = 11215016) (address, name) VALUES
    ('Hangzhou, China', 'Kent Yao Jr.');

SELECT * FROM students WHERE student_id = 11215016;
+------------+----------------------+----------+
|        name|               address|student_id|
+------------+----------------------+----------+
|Kent Yao Jr.|       Hangzhou, China|  11215016|
+------------+----------------------+----------+
```

### Related Statements

* [INSERT OVERWRITE DIRECTORY statement](sql-ref-syntax-dml-insert-overwrite-directory.html)