Renaming a table in Snowflake is a common and easy task to undertake by using the alter table command, here is the simplest example of how to rename a table:
alter table old_name rename to new_name
Rename table in Snowflake if it exists already
We can build upon the simple example we showed previously by adding an if exists constraint, which checks first if the table exists before renaming the table. This is helpful as it stops potential errors being returned.
alter table if exists old_name rename to new_name
Renaming a table in Snowflake, things to watch out for
When renaming a table, there are two things to keep in mind:
- The new table name must not be currently in use by another table in the same schema, but having the same table name across different schemas is fine
- Renaming the table does not update references to that table in other objects (such as view definitions), so this must be updated to the new name manually
Other alter table commands
The alter table command is the key to modifying the properties, columns, or constraints of a table in Snowflake. Other commands that you might want to work with are:
Related articles
Create table in Snowflake
Create or replace table in Snowflake
Swap Snowflake tables
Drop table in Snowflake
Delete table in Snowflake
