SHOW EXTERNAL TABLES¶

Syntax¶

SHOW [ TERSE ] EXTERNAL TABLES [ LIKE '<pattern>' ]
                               [ IN { ACCOUNT | DATABASE [ <db_name> ] | [ SCHEMA ] [ <schema_name> ] } ]
                               [ STARTS WITH '<name_string>' ]
                               [ LIMIT <rows> [ FROM '<name_string>' ] ]

Parameters¶

TERSE

Returns only a subset of the output columns:

• created_on

• name

• kind

• database_name

• schema_name

LIKE 'pattern'

Filters the command output by object name. The filter uses case-insensitive pattern matching, with support for SQL wildcard characters (% and _).

For example, the following patterns return the same results:

... LIKE '%testing%' ...

... LIKE '%TESTING%' ...

IN ACCOUNT | [ DATABASE ] db_name | [ SCHEMA ] schema_name

Specifies the scope of the command, which determines whether the command lists records only for the current/specified database or schema, or across your entire account:

The DATABASE or SCHEMA keyword is not required; you can set the scope by specifying only the database or schema name. Likewise, the database or schema name is not required if the session currently has a database in use.

• If DATABASE or SCHEMA is specified without a name and the session does not currently have a database in use, the parameter has no effect on the output.

• If SCHEMA is specified with a name and the session does not currently have a database in use, the schema name must be fully qualified with the database name (e.g. testdb.testschema).

Default: Depends on whether the session currently has a database in use:

• Database: DATABASE is the default (i.e. the command returns the objects you have privileges to view in the database).

• No database: ACCOUNT is the default (i.e. the command returns the objects you have privileges to view in your account).

STARTS WITH 'name_string'

Filters the command output based on the string of characters that appear at the beginning of the object name. The string must be enclosed in single quotes and is case-sensitive. For example, the following return different results:

... STARTS WITH 'B' ...

... STARTS WITH 'b' ...

LIMIT rows [ FROM 'name_string' ]

Optionally limits the maximum number of rows returned, while also enabling “pagination” of the results. Note that the actual number of rows returned might be less than the specified limit (e.g. the number of existing objects is less than the specified limit).

The optional FROM 'name_string' subclause effectively serves as a “cursor” for the results. This enables fetching the specified number of rows following the first row whose object name matches the specified string:

• The string must be enclosed in single quotes and is case-sensitive.

• The string does not have to include the full object name; partial names are supported.

Default: No value (no limit is applied to the output)

Note

Both FROM 'name_string' and STARTS WITH 'name_string' can be combined in the same statement; however, both conditions must be met or they cancel out each other and no results are returned.

In addition, objects are returned in lexicographic order by name, so FROM 'name_string' only returns rows with a higher lexicographic value than the rows returned by STARTS WITH 'name_string'.

For example:

• ... STARTS WITH 'A' LIMIT ... FROM 'B' would return no results.

• ... STARTS WITH 'B' LIMIT ... FROM 'A' would return no results.

• ... STARTS WITH 'A' LIMIT ... FROM 'AB' would return results (if any rows match the input strings).

Usage Notes¶

• This command does not list external tables that have been dropped.

• The command does not require a running warehouse to execute.

• The value for LIMIT rows cannot exceed 10000. If LIMIT rows is omitted, the command results in an error if the result set is larger than 10K rows.

  To view results for which more than 10K records exist, either include LIMIT rows or query the corresponding view in the Snowflake Information Schema.

• To post-process the output of this command, you can use the RESULT_SCAN function, which treats the output as a table that can be queried.

Output¶

The command output provides table properties and metadata in the following columns:

| created_on | name | database_name | schema_name | invalid | invalid_reason | owner | comment | stage | location | file_format_name | file_format_name | cloud | region | notification_channel | table_format | last_refresh_details |

For more information about the properties that can be specified for a external table, see CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE.

Examples¶

Show all the external tables whose name starts with line that you have privileges to view in the tpch.public schema:

SHOW EXTERNAL TABLES LIKE 'line%' IN tpch.public;

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