WITH clause

Important Notice: Migration of Documentation Website

Please be advised that our documentation website is currently undergoing a migration to a new platform. To ensure you have access to the most up-to-date information, we kindly request that you visit our new documentation website located at:

Official Snowflake Snowconvert Documentation

For any immediate assistance or if you encounter any issues, please contact our support team at [email protected].

Thank you for your understanding.

Description

A WITH clause is an optional clause that precedes the SELECT INTO in a query. The WITH clause defines one or more common_table_expressions. Each common table expression (CTE) defines a temporary table, which is similar to a view definition. You can reference these temporary tables in the FROM clause. (Redshift SQL Language Reference WITH Clause)

The WITH clause is fully supported in Snowflake.

Grammar Syntax

[ WITH [RECURSIVE] common_table_expression [, common_table_expression , ...] ]

--Where common_table_expression can be either non-recursive or recursive. 
--Following is the non-recursive form:
CTE_table_name [ ( column_name [, ...] ) ] AS ( query )

--Following is the recursive form of common_table_expression:
CTE_table_name (column_name [, ...] ) AS ( recursive_query )

Sample Source Patterns

Non-Recursive form

Input Code:

Redshift

IN -> Redshift_01.sql

CREATE TABLE orders (
    order_id INT,
    customer_id INT,
    order_date DATE,
    total_amount DECIMAL(10,2)
);


INSERT INTO orders (order_id, customer_id, order_date, total_amount)
VALUES
(1, 101, '2024-02-01', 250.00),
(2, 102, '2024-02-02', 600.00),
(3, 103, '2024-02-03', 150.00),
(4, 104, '2024-02-04', 750.00),
(5, 105, '2024-02-05', 900.00);


WITH HighValueOrders AS (
    SELECT
        order_id,
        customer_id,
        order_date,
        total_amount
    FROM orders
    WHERE total_amount > 500
)
SELECT * INTO high_value_orders FROM HighValueOrders;

SELECT * FROM high_value_orders;

Results

Output Code:

Snowflake

OUT -> Redshift_01.sql

CREATE TABLE orders (
    order_id INT,
    customer_id INT,
    order_date DATE,
    total_amount DECIMAL(10,2)
)
COMMENT = '{ "origin": "sf_sc", "name": "snowconvert", "version": {  "major": 0,  "minor": 0,  "patch": "0" }, "attributes": {  "component": "redshift",  "convertedOn": "03/03/2025",  "domain": "test" }}';


INSERT INTO orders (order_id, customer_id, order_date, total_amount)
VALUES
(1, 101, '2024-02-01', 250.00),
(2, 102, '2024-02-02', 600.00),
(3, 103, '2024-02-03', 150.00),
(4, 104, '2024-02-04', 750.00),
(5, 105, '2024-02-05', 900.00);

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS high_value_orders AS
WITH HighValueOrders AS (
    SELECT
        order_id,
        customer_id,
        order_date,
        total_amount
    FROM
        orders
    WHERE total_amount > 500
    )
    SELECT *
    FROM
    HighValueOrders;
    
SELECT * FROM
    high_value_orders;

Results

Recursive form

Input Code:

Redshift

IN -> Redshift_02.sql

CREATE TABLE employee (
   id INT,
   name VARCHAR(20),
   manager_id INT
);

INSERT INTO employee(id, name, manager_id) VALUES
(100, 'Carlos', null),
(101, 'John', 100),
(102, 'Jorge', 101),
(103, 'Kwaku', 101),
(110, 'Liu', 101),
(106, 'Mateo', 102),
(110, 'Nikki', 103),
(104, 'Paulo', 103),
(105, 'Richard', 103),
(120, 'Saanvi', 104),
(200, 'Shirley', 104),
(201, 'Sofía', 102),
(205, 'Zhang', 104);


WITH RECURSIVE john_org(id, name, manager_id, level) 
AS
( 
   SELECT id, name, manager_id, 1 AS level
   FROM employee
   WHERE name = 'John'
   UNION ALL
   SELECT e.id, e.name, e.manager_id, level + 1 AS next_level
   FROM employee e, john_org j
   WHERE e.manager_id = j.id and level < 4
)
SELECT DISTINCT id, name, manager_id into new_org FROM john_org ORDER BY manager_id;

SELECT * FROM new_org;

Results

Output Code:

Snowflake

OUT -> Redshift_02.sql

CREATE TABLE employee (
   id INT,
   name VARCHAR(20),
   manager_id INT
)
COMMENT = '{ "origin": "sf_sc", "name": "snowconvert", "version": {  "major": 0,  "minor": 0,  "patch": "0" }, "attributes": {  "component": "redshift",  "convertedOn": "07/11/2025",  "domain": "no-domain-provided" }}';

INSERT INTO employee (id, name, manager_id) VALUES
(100, 'Carlos', null),
(101, 'John', 100),
(102, 'Jorge', 101),
(103, 'Kwaku', 101),
(110, 'Liu', 101),
(106, 'Mateo', 102),
(110, 'Nikki', 103),
(104, 'Paulo', 103),
(105, 'Richard', 103),
(120, 'Saanvi', 104),
(200, 'Shirley', 104),
(201, 'Sofía', 102),
(205, 'Zhang', 104);
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS new_org AS
WITH RECURSIVE john_org(id, name, manager_id, level)
AS
(
   SELECT id, name, manager_id, 1 AS level
   FROM
         employee
   WHERE name = 'John'
   UNION ALL
   SELECT e.id, e.name, e.manager_id, level + 1 AS next_level
   FROM
         employee e,
         john_org j
   WHERE e.manager_id = j.id and level < 4
   )
   SELECT DISTINCT id, name, manager_id
   FROM
   john_org
   ORDER BY manager_id;
SELECT * FROM
   new_org;

Results

Known Issues

There are no known issues.

Related EWIs.

There are no related EWIs.