---
title: "SELECT statement"
description: "The SELECT statement is the workhorse of SQL, used to retrieve and transform data from tables, views, or other data sources."
canonical: "https://motherduck.com/glossary/select-statement/"
related:
  - title: "SELECT | MotherDuck Docs"
    url: "https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/duckdb-sql-reference/duckdb-statements/select/"
  - title: "DuckDB SQL | MotherDuck Docs"
    url: "https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/duckdb-sql-reference/"
  - title: "Query syntax | MotherDuck Docs"
    url: "https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/duckdb-sql-reference/query-syntax/"
gated_asset:
  title: "DuckLake: The Lakehouse Table Format"
  url: "https://motherduck.com/lp/ducklake-lakehouse-table-format-book-full/"
---

# SELECT statement

> The SELECT statement is the workhorse of SQL, used to retrieve and transform data from tables, views, or other data sources.

## Overview
The `SELECT` statement is the workhorse of SQL, used to retrieve and transform data from tables, views, or other data sources. It forms the foundation of data analysis by allowing you to specify exactly which data you want to examine and how you want it structured.

<glossary-callout guide="duckdb-cheatsheet-full" />

## Basic Syntax
The simplest form retrieves all columns from a table:

`SELECT * FROM employees;`

Or specific columns:

`SELECT first_name, last_name, salary FROM employees;`

## DuckDB-Specific Features
DuckDB extends the standard `SELECT` syntax with several powerful features. You can omit the `SELECT` keyword entirely when starting with `FROM`:

`FROM employees;` 

DuckDB also offers enhanced column selection with `EXCLUDE` and `REPLACE`:

`SELECT * EXCLUDE (password, api_key) FROM users;`

`SELECT * REPLACE (price / 100 AS price_dollars) FROM orders;`

## Common Clauses
The `SELECT` statement supports many clauses that modify its behavior:

- `WHERE` filters rows: 
`SELECT * FROM orders WHERE total > 100;`

- `GROUP BY` aggregates data: 
`SELECT department, AVG(salary) FROM employees GROUP BY department;`

- `ORDER BY` sorts results:
`SELECT * FROM products ORDER BY price DESC;`

- `LIMIT` restricts number of rows:
`SELECT * FROM logs LIMIT 100;`

## Working with Multiple Tables
`SELECT` can combine data from multiple tables using joins:

`SELECT orders.id, customers.name, orders.total
FROM orders 
JOIN customers ON orders.customer_id = customers.id;`

## Computed Columns
You can perform calculations or transformations in the `SELECT` clause:

`SELECT 
  product_name,
  price,
  price * 0.9 AS discounted_price,
  UPPER(category) AS category_uppercase
FROM products;`

## Subqueries
`SELECT` statements can be nested within other queries:

`SELECT department, employee_count
FROM (
  SELECT department, COUNT(*) as employee_count
  FROM employees
  GROUP BY department
) dept_counts
WHERE employee_count > 10;`