--- title: MotherDuck SQL description: MotherDuck-specific SQL extensions and cloud database management --- MotherDuck extends DuckDB with cloud-native SQL capabilities for managing databases, shares, secrets, and connections. These statements let you work with MotherDuck's serverless infrastructure directly from SQL. **Key capabilities:** - **Database management**: Create, copy, attach, and drop cloud databases - **Data sharing**: Share data with other users and organizations - **Secrets management**: Store and manage credentials securely - **AI functions**: Generate embeddings, run prompts, and get SQL assistance - **Dives**: Create and manage interactive data visualizations For standard SQL operations, see the [DuckDB Syntax](/sql-reference/duckdb-sql-reference) reference. ## Included pages - [AI Functions](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/ai-functions): MotherDuck AI SQL functions for text generation, embeddings, and SQL assistance. - [ALTER DATABASE](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/alter-database): Update storage-related settings on a MotherDuck database. - [ALTER DATABASE SET SNAPSHOT](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/alter-database-snapshot): Restore a database from a snapshot using ALTER DATABASE SET SNAPSHOT TO. - [ALTER SNAPSHOT](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/alter-snapshot): Rename or remove names from database snapshots using ALTER SNAPSHOT. - [ATTACH](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/attach): Attach local databases, MotherDuck databases, or public shares to your session - [COPY FROM DATABASE](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/copy-database): Copy a database from one location to another in MotherDuck - [COPY FROM DATABASE (OVERWRITE)](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/copy-database-overwrite): Overwrite a database with a zero-copy clone from another database. - [CREATE DATABASE](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/create-database): Create a database, zero-copy clone from an existing database, or import a local DuckDB file into MotherDuck. - [CREATE SECRET](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/create-secret): Create a secret in MotherDuck - [CREATE SHARE](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/create-share): Create a share from a database to share data with other users - [CREATE SNAPSHOT](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/create-snapshot): Create a snapshot of a MotherDuck database for recovery or read scaling. - [DESCRIBE SHARE](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/describe-share): Get details about a specific share by name or URL. - [DETACH](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/detach): Detach local, remote, or shared databases from your session - [DROP DATABASE](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/drop-database): Remove a database from MotherDuck. - [DROP SECRET](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/delete-secret): Delete a secret from MotherDuck or local storage. - [DROP SHARE](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/drop-share): Delete a share and revoke access for all attached users. - [EXPLAIN](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/explain): Display the physical query plan without executing the query. - [EXPLAIN ANALYZE](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/explain-analyze): Execute a query and display performance metrics for each operator. - [GRANT READ ON SHARE](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/grant-access): Give users access to a restricted share. - [LIST SECRETS](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/list-secrets): List all secrets stored in memory and MotherDuck. - [LIST SHARES](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/list-shares): List all shares created by the current user. - [MD_RUN parameter](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/md-run-parameter): Control whether table functions run locally or remotely. - [PRINT_MD_TOKEN pragma](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/print-md-token): Retrieve your MotherDuck authentication token. - [REFRESH DATABASE](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/refresh-database): Sync databases with the latest snapshot or share updates. - [REVOKE READ ON SHARE](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/revoke-access): Remove user access from a restricted share. - [SHOW ALL DATABASES](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/show-databases): List all MotherDuck, DuckDB, and shared databases. - [SHUTDOWN](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/shutdown-terminate): Gracefully shut down or force-terminate your Duckling to manage compute costs and recover from stuck queries. - [TEMPORARY TABLES](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/temporary-tables): Create local temporary tables for session-scoped data. - [UNDROP DATABASE](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/undrop-database): Restore a dropped MotherDuck database within its snapshot retention window. - [UPDATE SHARE](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/update-share): Manually update a share with a new database snapshot. - [Server Connection Management](https://motherduck.com/docs/category/server-connection-management): Managing MotherDuck server connections - [Introduction to MD_INFORMATION_SCHEMA](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/md_information_schema/introduction): Introduction to MD_INFORMATION_SCHEMA - [MD_ATTACHED_DATABASES](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/md-attached-databases): List databases attached to your DuckDB and MotherDuck session. - [MD_LIST_BUCKETS_FOR_SECRET](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/md-list-buckets-for-secret): List S3 buckets visible to a named MotherDuck secret. - [MD_LIST_FILES](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/md-list-files): List files and folders in S3 and Azure storage from SQL. - [MD_LIVE_DUCKLING_SIZE](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/md-live-duckling-size): Return the current Duckling instance type for the active MotherDuck connection. - [MD_USER](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/md-user): Return the current MotherDuck user name. - [MD_VERSION](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/md-version): Inspect the loaded MotherDuck extension version and build hash. - [RESULT](https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/result): Run a SELECT asynchronously and query its cached results like a table. --- ## Docs feedback MotherDuck accepts optional user-submitted feedback about this page at `POST https://motherduck.com/docs/api/feedback/agent`. 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