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GET_DDL

Returns a DDL statement that can be used to recreate the specified object. For databases and schemas, GET_DDL is recursive (that is, it returns the DDL statements for recreating all supported objects within the specified database/schema).

GET_DDL currently supports the following object types:

Syntax

GET_DDL( '<object_type>' , '[<namespace>.]<object_name>' [ , <use_fully_qualified_names_for_recreated_objects> ] )
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Arguments

Required:

'object_type'

Specifies the type of object for which the DDL is returned. Valid values (corresponding to the supported object types) are:

  • DATABASE

  • DYNAMIC_TABLE

  • EVENT_TABLE

  • FILE_FORMAT

  • FUNCTION (for UDFs, including data metric functions and external functions)

  • ICEBERG_TABLE

  • INTEGRATION (storage)

  • PIPE

  • POLICY (aggregation, authentication, join, masking, password, projection, row access, and session policies)

  • PROCEDURE (for stored procedures)

  • SCHEMA

  • SEMANTIC VIEW

  • SEQUENCE

  • STREAM

  • TABLE (for tables, external tables, and hybrid tables)

  • TAG (object tagging)

  • TASK

  • VIEW (for views and materialized views)

  • WAREHOUSE

'namespace.object_name'

Specifies the fully-qualified name of the object for which the DDL is returned.

Namespace is the database and/or schema in which the object resides:

  • Not used for databases.

  • For schemas, takes the form of database.

  • For schema objects (tables, views, streams, tasks, sequences, file formats, pipes, policies, and UDFs), takes the form of database.schema or schema.

Namespace is optional if a database and schema are currently in use within the user session; otherwise, it is required.

Optional:

use_fully_qualified_names_for_recreated_objects

If TRUE, the generated DDL statements use fully-qualified names for the objects to be recreated.

Default: FALSE.

Note

This does not affect the names of other objects referenced in the DDL statement (e.g. the name of a table referenced in a view definition).

Returns

Returns a string (a VARCHAR value) containing the text of the DDL statement that created the object.

For UDFs and stored procedures, the output might be slightly different from the original DDL. For example, if the UDF or stored procedure contains JavaScript code, the delimiter characters around the JavaScript code might be different.

In addition, note that the DDL statement returned by the function might include default values for properties. For example, even if the original CREATE PROCEDURE statement did not specify EXECUTE AS OWNER, the DDL statement returned by the function includes EXECUTE AS OWNER, which is the default.

Usage notes

The following notes apply to all supported objects:

  • object_type and object_name (including namespace if specified) must be enclosed in single quotes.

  • For object_type, TABLE and VIEW are interchangeable. If a TABLE object type is specified, and the object specified by name is a view, the function returns the DDL for the view and vice-versa.

  • If object_type is FUNCTION (i.e. UDF) and the UDF has arguments, you must include the argument data types as part of the function name, in the form of 'function_name( [ arg_data_type [ , ... ] ] )', where function_name is the name of the function and arg_data_type is the data type of the argument.

  • If object_type is PROCEDURE and the stored procedure has arguments, then you must include the argument data types as part of the function name, in the form of 'procedure_name( [ arg_data_type [ , ... ] ] )'.

  • For Iceberg tables:

    • If you specify a TABLE object that’s an Iceberg table, the function returns the DDL for the Iceberg table.

    • If BASE_LOCATION was specified in the original CREATE ICEBERG TABLE statement, the function returns the original user input. Otherwise, the function returns the Snowflake-constructed file path (including the random 8-character string). For more information, see Data and metadata directories.

  • Querying this function for most Snowflake object types requires the same minimum permissions needed to view the object (using DESCRIBE <object> or SHOW <objects>). Snowflake restricts viewing special objects such as secure views to the owner (i.e. the role with the OWNERSHIP privilege on the object).

The following notes are specific to view objects. The query result always:

  • Returns lowercase SQL text for create or replace view, even if the casing in the original SQL statement used to create the view was uppercase or mixed case.

  • Includes the OR REPLACE clause.

  • Includes the SECURE property, if the view is secure.

  • Excludes the COPY GRANTS view parameter, even if the original CREATE VIEW statement specifies the COPY GRANTS parameter.

  • Generates the column list.

    If a masking policy is set on a column, the result specifies the masking policy for the column.

  • Removes in-line SQL comments before the view body (that is, before AS). For example, in the following code, the comment immediately prior to the AS clause is removed:

    CREATE VIEW view_t1
  -- GET_DDL() removes this comment.
  AS SELECT * FROM t1;
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The following notes apply specifically to table and view objects with a tag or policy:

  • The role executing the GET_DDL query must have the global APPLY MASKING POLICY, APPLY ROW ACCESS POLICY, APPLY AGGREGATION POLICY, APPLY JOIN POLICY, APPLY PROJECTION POLICY, or APPLY TAG privilege and the USAGE privilege on the database and schema containing the policy or tag. Otherwise, Snowflake replaces the policy with #UNKNOWN_POLICY and the tag with #UNKNOWN_TAG='#UNKNOWN_VALUE. This text indicates that the column or the object is protected by a policy and a tag is set on the object or column. If this text is not removed prior to recreating the object, the CREATE OR REPLACE <object> statement fails.

    If this text is present in the GET_DDL query result, prior to recreating the object, consult with your internal governance administrator to determine which policies and tags are necessary for the columns or object. Finally, edit the GET_DDL query result and then recreate the object.

    Without the mentioned privileges, this table function does not return the corresponding row for the policy and tag assignments in the output of calling the function.

  • When multiple tags are set on the object or column, the GET_DDL output sorts the tags alphabetically by tag name.

  • Dropping a tag removes the tag from the GET_DDL output.

  • If a tag is set on the table or view, the GET_DDL output for the table or view includes the tag assignments in the CREATE OR REPLACE statement.

  • If a masking policy is set on the column or a row access policy is set on the table, the GET_DDL output includes the policy assignments using the WITH keyword.

When a tag is set on the database or the schema, the GET_DDL output includes:

  • An ALTER DATABASE statement when the tag is set on the database.

  • An ALTER DATABASE statement and an ALTER SCHEMA statement when the tag is set on both the database and schema.

  • An ALTER SCHEMA statement when the tag is set on the schema.

  • A CREATE OR REPLACE statement to generate the tag, if the tag exists in the database or schema.

The following apply to storage integrations:

  • The command always returns the CREATE OR REPLACE STORAGE INTEGRATION syntax.

  • If a STORAGE_AWS_EXTERNAL_ID was not specified during storage integration creation, this command returns the ID that was automatically generated during storage integration creation.

Collation details

  • Collation information is included in the input.

Examples

The following examples demonstrate how to use this function to retrieve the DDL statement for an object:

Views

Return the DDL used to create a view named books_view:

SELECT GET_DDL('VIEW', 'books_view');
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 
| GET_DDL('VIEW', 'BOOKS_VIEW')                                               |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                             |
| CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW BOOKS_VIEW as select title, author from books_table; |
|                                                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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Semantic views

See Getting the SQL statement for a semantic view.

Schemas

Return the DDL used to create a schema named books_schema and the objects in the schema (the table books_table and the view books_view):

SELECT GET_DDL('SCHEMA', 'books_schema');
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 
| GET_DDL('SCHEMA', 'BOOKS_SCHEMA')                                           |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| CREATE OR REPLACE SCHEMA BOOKS_SCHEMA;                                      |
|                                                                             |
| CREATE OR REPLACE TABLE BOOKS_TABLE (                                       |
| 	ID NUMBER(38,0),                                                          |
| 	TITLE VARCHAR(255),                                                       |
| 	AUTHOR VARCHAR(255)                                                       |
| );                                                                          |
|                                                                             |
| CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW BOOKS_VIEW as select title, author from books_table; |
|                                                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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Return the DDL that uses fully-qualified names for the objects to be recreated:

SELECT GET_DDL('SCHEMA', 'books_schema', true);
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| GET_DDL('SCHEMA', 'BOOKS_SCHEMA', TRUE)                                                           |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| CREATE OR REPLACE SCHEMA BOOKS_DB.BOOKS_SCHEMA;                                                   |
|                                                                                                   |
| CREATE OR REPLACE TABLE BOOKS_DB.BOOKS_SCHEMA.BOOKS_TABLE (                                       |
| 	ID NUMBER(38,0),                                                                                |
| 	TITLE VARCHAR(255),                                                                             |
| 	AUTHOR VARCHAR(255)                                                                             |
| );                                                                                                |
|                                                                                                   |
| CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW BOOKS_DB.BOOKS_SCHEMA.BOOKS_VIEW as select title, author from books_table; |
|                                                                                                   |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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Note

As demonstrated in the example above, the DDL statement doesn’t use a fully-qualified name for the table used to create the view. To resolve the name of this table, Snowflake uses the name of the database and the name of the schema for the view.

UDFs and stored procedures

Return the DDL used to create a UDF named multiply that has two arguments with the data type NUMBER:

SELECT GET_DDL('FUNCTION', 'multiply(number, number)');

+--------------------------------------------------+
| GET_DDL('FUNCTION', 'MULTIPLY(NUMBER, NUMBER)')  |
+--------------------------------------------------+
| CREATE OR REPLACE "MULTIPLY"(A NUMBER, B NUMBER) |
| RETURNS NUMBER(38,0)                             |
| COMMENT='multiply two numbers'                   |
| AS 'a * b';                                      |
+--------------------------------------------------+
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Return the DDL to create a stored procedure named stproc_1 that has one argument with the data type FLOAT:

SELECT GET_DDL('procedure', 'stproc_1(float)');
+---------------------------------------------------+
| GET_DDL('PROCEDURE', 'STPROC_1(FLOAT)')           |
|---------------------------------------------------|
| CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE "STPROC_1"("F" FLOAT) |
| RETURNS FLOAT                                     |
| LANGUAGE JAVASCRIPT                               |
| EXECUTE AS OWNER                                  |
| AS '                                              |
| ''return F;''                                     |
| ';                                                |
+---------------------------------------------------+
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Masking policies

Return the DDL to create a masking policy named employee_ssn_mask to mask social security numbers. Masked values are seen unless the user’s current role is payroll.

SELECT GET_DDL('POLICY', 'employee_ssn_mask');

+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                   GET_DDL('POLICY', 'EMPLOYEE_SSN_MASK')                   |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| CREATE MASKING POLICY employee_ssn_mask AS (val string) RETURNS string ->  |
| case                                                                       |
|   when current_role() in ('PAYROLL')                                       |
|   then val                                                                 |
|   else '******'                                                            |
| end;                                                                       |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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Storage integrations

Return the DDL to create a storage integration named s3_int that creates an external AWS stage.

SELECT GET_DDL('INTEGRATION', s3_int);

+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| GET_DDL('INTEGRATION', 's3_int')                                           |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| CREATE OR REPLACE STORAGE INTEGRATION s3_int                               |
|   TYPE = EXTERNAL_STAGE                                                    |
|   STORAGE_PROVIDER = 'S3'                                                  |
|   STORAGE_AWS_ROLE_ARN = 'arn:aws:iam::001234567890:role/myrole'           |
|   STORAGE_AWS_EXTERNAL_ID='ACCOUNT_SFCRole=2_kztjogs3W9S18I+iWapHpIz/wq4=' |
|   ENABLED = TRUE                                                           |
|   STORAGE_ALLOWED_LOCATIONS = ('s3://mybucket1/path1/');                   |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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Warehouses

Suppose that you execute the following statement to create a warehouse named my_wh:

CREATE OR REPLACE WAREHOUSE my_wh
  WAREHOUSE_SIZE=LARGE
  INITIALLY_SUSPENDED=TRUE;
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The following call to the GET_DDL function returns the DDL statement to recreate this warehouse:

SELECT GET_DDL('WAREHOUSE', 'my_wh');
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+-------------------------------------------+
| GET_DDL('WAREHOUSE', 'MY_WH')             |
|-------------------------------------------|
| create or replace warehouse MY_WH         |
| with                                      |
|     warehouse_type='STANDARD'             |
|     warehouse_size='Large'                |
|     max_cluster_count=1                   |
|     min_cluster_count=1                   |
|     scaling_policy=STANDARD               |
|     auto_suspend=600                      |
|     auto_resume=TRUE                      |
|     initially_suspended=TRUE              |
|     enable_query_acceleration=FALSE       |
|     query_acceleration_max_scale_factor=8 |
|     max_concurrency_level=8               |
|     statement_queued_timeout_in_seconds=0 |
|     statement_timeout_in_seconds=172800   |
| ;                                         |
+-------------------------------------------+

Note that the statement returned by the GET_DDL function includes default values for the properties not specified in the CREATE WAREHOUSE statement. For example, the CREATE WAREHOUSE statement did not specify the AUTO_RESUME property, so the returned statement includes AUTO_RESUME=TRUE, which is the default value for this property.

Hybrid tables

The following example shows the DDL that is returned for a hybrid table named ht_weather, which has a PRIMARY KEY constraint on the id column.

CREATE OR REPLACE HYBRID TABLE ht_weather
 (id INT PRIMARY KEY,
  start_time TIMESTAMP,
  precip NUMBER(3,2),
  city VARCHAR(20),
  county VARCHAR(20));
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Note that the first argument to the function uses the TABLE type for hybrid tables.

SELECT GET_DDL('TABLE','ht_weather');
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The PRIMARY KEY constraint takes an out-of-line position in the output, after the column definitions. See also Constraints in GET_DDL.

+---------------------------------------------+
| GET_DDL('TABLE','HT_WEATHER')               |
|---------------------------------------------|
| create or replace HYBRID TABLE HT_WEATHER ( |
|   ID NUMBER(38,0) NOT NULL,                 |
|   START_TIME TIMESTAMP_NTZ(9),              |
|   PRECIP NUMBER(3,2),                       |
|   CITY VARCHAR(20),                         |
|   COUNTY VARCHAR(20),                       |
|   primary key (ID)                          |
| );                                          |
+---------------------------------------------+
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