---
title: "SUMMARIZE"
description: "SUMMARIZE is a powerful DuckDB command that automatically generates descriptive statistics and metadata about your data."
canonical: "https://motherduck.com/glossary/summarize/"
related:
  - title: "Aggregate functions | MotherDuck Docs"
    url: "https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/duckdb-sql-reference/aggregate-functions/"
  - title: "DuckLake Architecture Deep Dive"
    url: "https://motherduck.com/blog/ducklake-architecture-deep-dive/"
  - title: "DESCRIBE SHARE | MotherDuck Docs"
    url: "https://motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/describe-share/"
gated_asset:
  title: "DuckLake on MotherDuck"
  url: "https://motherduck.com/product/ducklake/"
---

# SUMMARIZE

> SUMMARIZE is a powerful DuckDB command that automatically generates descriptive statistics and metadata about your data.

## Overview
`SUMMARIZE` is a powerful DuckDB command that automatically generates descriptive statistics and metadata about your data. Unlike traditional SQL databases where you'd need to write multiple aggregation queries, `SUMMARIZE` gives you a comprehensive overview of your data in a single command.

## Basic Usage
The simplest way to use `SUMMARIZE` is to apply it directly to a table or query:

```sql
SUMMARIZE SELECT * FROM my_table;
```

This generates statistics including:
- Count of rows
- Number of null values
- Approximate count of unique values
- Minimum and maximum values
- Average and standard deviation (for numeric columns)
- 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles (for numeric columns)

## Advanced Usage
You can also `SUMMARIZE` specific columns or expressions:

```sql
SUMMARIZE (SELECT age, income FROM customers WHERE region = 'West');
```

Since DuckDB 0.10.0, `SUMMARIZE` can be used as a source for a `SELECT` statement, allowing you to filter or transform the summary statistics:

```sql
SELECT column_name, min, max, approx_unique 
FROM SUMMARIZE my_table 
WHERE null_percentage > 0;
```

## Performance Considerations
`SUMMARIZE` is optimized to scan data only once while computing multiple statistics, making it much more efficient than running separate aggregate queries. However, for very large datasets, it may take longer than simpler aggregations since it computes comprehensive statistics for all columns by default.

## Differences from Other Databases
`SUMMARIZE` is unique to DuckDB - most other databases require you to write multiple separate queries to get the same information. While some databases like PostgreSQL have similar functions (like `pg_stats`), they typically only show basic statistics and require administrator privileges to access.