# CREATE TABLE: MySQL source table
Create a read-only table from a MySQL source (new syntax).
In Materialize, you can create read-only tables from [MySQL sources created
using the new syntax](/sql/create-source/mysql-v2/).

> **Note:** You must be on **v26.25+** to use the new syntax.


## Syntax

> **Note:** Source-populated tables are **read-only** tables. Users **cannot** perform write
> operations
> ([`INSERT`](/sql/insert/)/[`UPDATE`](/sql/update/)/[`DELETE`](/sql/delete/)) on
> these tables.


To create a read-only table from a [source](/sql/create-source/) connected
(via native connector) to an external MySQL database:


```mzsql
CREATE TABLE [IF NOT EXISTS] <table_name> FROM SOURCE <source_name> (REFERENCE <upstream_schema>.<upstream_table>)
[WITH (
    TEXT COLUMNS (<column_name> [, ...])
  | EXCLUDE COLUMNS (<column_name> [, ...])
  | PARTITION BY (<column_name> [, ...])
  [, ...]
)]
;

```

| Syntax element | Description |
| --- | --- |
| **IF NOT EXISTS** | *Optional.* If specified, do not throw an error if the table with the same name already exists. Instead, issue a notice and skip the table creation.  {{< include-md file="content/headless/create-table-if-not-exists-tip.md" >}}  |
| `<table_name>` |  The name of the table to create. Names for tables must follow the [naming guidelines](/sql/identifiers/#naming-restrictions).  |
| `<source_name>` |  The name of the [source](/sql/create-source/) associated with the reference object from which to create the table.  |
| **(REFERENCE <upstream_schema>.<upstream_table>)** |  The fully-qualified name of the upstream MySQL table from which to create the table. You can create multiple tables from the same upstream table.  To find the upstream tables available in your [source](/sql/create-source/), you can use the following query, substituting your source name for `<source_name>`:  <br>  ```mzsql SELECT refs.* FROM mz_internal.mz_source_references refs, mz_sources s WHERE s.name = '<source_name>' -- substitute with your source name AND refs.source_id = s.id; ```  |
| **WITH (<with_option>[,...])** | The following `<with_option>`s are supported:  \| Option \| Description \| \|--------\|-------------\| \| `TEXT COLUMNS (<column_name> [, ...])` \| *Optional.* If specified, decode data as `text` for the listed column(s), such as for unsupported data types. See also [supported types](#supported-data-types). \| \| `EXCLUDE COLUMNS (<column_name> [, ...])` \| *Optional.* If specified, exclude the listed column(s) from the table, such as for unsupported data types. See also [supported types](#supported-data-types). \| \| `PARTITION BY (<column_name> [, ...])` \| {{< include-md file="content/headless/partition-by-option-description.md" >}} \|  |


## Details

### DDL transaction block

For performance, when issuing multiple `CREATE TABLE FROM SOURCE...` statements,
use within a [transaction block](/sql/begin/#ddl-only-transactions).

### Source-populated tables and snapshotting

Creating the tables from sources starts the [snapshotting](/ingest-data/#snapshotting) process. Snapshotting syncs the
currently available data into Materialize. Because the initial snapshot is
persisted in the storage layer atomically (i.e., at the same ingestion
timestamp), you are not able to query the table until snapshotting is complete.

> **Note:** During the snapshotting, the data ingestion for the existing tables for the same
> source is temporarily blocked. As such, if possible, you can resize the cluster
> to speed up the snapshotting process and once the process finishes, resize the
> cluster for steady-state. You can monitor the snapshot progress on the overview
> page for the source in the Materialize console.

### Supported data types

<p>Materialize natively supports the following MySQL types:</p>
<ul style="column-count: 3"><li><code>bigint</code></li><li><code>binary</code></li><li><code>bit</code></li><li><code>blob</code></li><li><code>boolean</code></li><li><code>char</code></li><li><code>date</code></li><li><code>datetime</code></li><li><code>decimal</code></li><li><code>double</code></li><li><code>float</code></li><li><code>int</code></li><li><code>json</code></li><li><code>longblob</code></li><li><code>longtext</code></li><li><code>mediumblob</code></li><li><code>mediumint</code></li><li><code>mediumtext</code></li><li><code>numeric</code></li><li><code>real</code></li><li><code>smallint</code></li><li><code>text</code></li><li><code>time</code></li><li><code>timestamp</code></li><li><code>tinyblob</code></li><li><code>tinyint</code></li><li><code>tinytext</code></li><li><code>varbinary</code></li><li><code>varchar</code></li></ul>

When replicating tables that contain the **unsupported [data
types](/sql/types/)**, you can:

- Use [`TEXT COLUMNS`
  option](/sql/create-source/mysql/#handling-unsupported-types) for the
  following unsupported  MySQL types:

  - `enum`
  - `year`

  The specified columns will be treated as `text` and will not offer the
  expected MySQL type features.

- Use the [`EXCLUDE COLUMNS`](/sql/create-source/mysql/#excluding-columns)
option to exclude any columns that contain unsupported data types.

#### Zero values for `date`, `datetime`, and `timestamp`

MySQL allows the special "zero" values `0000-00-00`, `0000-00-00
00:00:00` in `date`, `datetime`, and `timestamp` columns when the server
`sql_mode` does not include `NO_ZERO_DATE` or `NO_ZERO_IN_DATE`. These
values are not representable in Materialize's corresponding native types,
so they will cause ingestion to fail for the affected column.

To ingest columns that contain zero values, use [`TEXT
COLUMNS`](/sql/create-source/mysql/#handling-unsupported-types) to
decode the affected columns as `text`. The zero values for `date`,
`datetime`, `timestamp`, and `year` are preserved verbatim as strings
(e.g. `"0000-00-00 00:00:00"`, `"0000"`).


### Handling table schema changes

The use of `CREATE SOURCE` (new syntax) with `CREATE TABLE FROM SOURCE` allows
for the handling of the upstream DDL changes, specifically adding or dropping
columns in the upstream tables, without downtime. For details, see [MySQL:
Handling upstream schema changes with zero
downtime](/ingest-data/mysql/source-versioning/).

## Privileges

The privileges required to execute this statement are:

- `CREATE` privileges on the containing schema.
- `USAGE` privileges on all types used in the table definition.
- `USAGE` privileges on the schemas that all types in the statement are
  contained in.

## Examples

### Create a table


To create new **read-only** tables from a source table, use the `CREATE
TABLE ... FROM SOURCE ... (REFERENCE <upstream_schema>.<upstream_table>)`
statement in a [DDL transaction
block](/sql/begin/#ddl-only-transactions). The following example creates
**read-only** tables `items` and `orders` from the MySQL source's
`mydb.items` and `mydb.orders` tables.

{{< note >}}

- Although the example creates the tables with the same names as the
upstream tables, the tables in Materialize can have names that differ from
the referenced table names.

- For supported MySQL data types, refer to [supported
types](/sql/create-table/mysql/#supported-data-types).

{{< /note >}}
```mzsql
/* This example assumes:
  - In the upstream MySQL, you have configured:
    - GTID-based binary log replication.
    - `binlog_row_metadata = FULL`.
    - A replication user and password with the appropriate access.
  - In Materialize:
    - You have created a secret for the MySQL password.
    - You have defined the connection to the upstream MySQL.
    - You have used the connection to create a source.

   For example (substitute with your configuration):
      CREATE SECRET mysqlpass AS '<replication user password>'; -- substitute
      CREATE CONNECTION mysql_connection TO MYSQL (
        HOST '<hostname>',          -- substitute
        PORT 3306,
        USER <replication user>,    -- substitute
        PASSWORD SECRET mysqlpass
        -- [, <network security configuration> ]
      );

      CREATE SOURCE mysql_source
      FROM MYSQL CONNECTION mysql_connection;
*/

BEGIN;
CREATE TABLE items
FROM SOURCE mysql_source (REFERENCE mydb.items)
;
CREATE TABLE orders
FROM SOURCE mysql_source (REFERENCE mydb.orders)
;
COMMIT;

```
{{< include-md
file="content/headless/create-table-from-source-snapshotting.md" >}}

{{< include-md file="content/headless/create-table-if-not-exists-tip.md" >}}


## Related pages

- [`CREATE SOURCE: MySQL (New Syntax)`](/sql/create-source/mysql-v2/)
- [`DROP TABLE`](/sql/drop-table)