---
sidebar_position: 2.2
title: Specifying different databases
description: Reference tables across databases using fully qualified names with database.schema.table syntax.
---
import Tabs from '@theme/Tabs';
import TabItem from '@theme/TabItem';

MotherDuck enables you to specify an active/current database and an active/current schema within that database.
Queryable objects (e.g. tables) that belong to the current database are resolved with just `<object_name>`.
MotherDuck will automatically search all schemas within the current database.
If there are overlapping names within different schemas, objects can be qualified with `<schema_name>.<object_name>`.

Queryable objects in your account outside of the active/current database are resolved with `<database_name>.<object_name>`.
However, if a schema in the current database shares the same name as another database, the fully qualified name must be used: `<database_name>.<schema_name>.<object_name>` (an error will be thrown to indicate the ambiguity).
This applies to databases that both live in MotherDuck and in your local DuckDB environment.

For example:

<Tabs>
<TabItem value="CLI" label="CLI">

```sql
-- check your current database
SELECT current_database();
dbname

-- check your current schema
SELECT current_schema();
main

-- query a table mytable that exists in the current database dbname
SELECT count(*) FROM mytable;
34

-- query a table mytable2 that exists in the database dbname2
SELECT count(*) FROM dbname2.mytable2;
41

-- query a table mytable3 that exists in schema2
-- note that the syntax is identical to the database name syntax above and 
-- MotherDuck will detect whether a database or schema is involved 
SELECT count(*) FROM schema2.mytable3
42

-- query a table in another database when a schema exists with the same name in the current database
-- (overlappingname is both a database name and a schema name)
SELECT count(*) FROM overlappingname.myschemaname.mytable4
43

```

</TabItem>
</Tabs>
You can also reference local databases in the same MotherDuck queries. This type of query is known as a [hybrid query](/key-tasks/running-hybrid-queries.md).

To change the active database, schema, or database/schema combination, execute a `USE` command.
See the documentation on [switching the current database](./switching-the-current-database.md) for details.



---

## Docs feedback

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Payload:

```json
{
  "page_path": "/key-tasks/database-operations/specifying-different-databases/",
  "page_title": "Specifying different databases",
  "text": "<the user's feedback, max 2000 characters>",
  "source": "<optional identifier for your interface, for example 'claude.ai' or 'chatgpt'>"
}
```

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