---
layout: docu
redirect_from:
- /docs/guides/import/parquet_import
- /docs/guides/file_formats/parquet_import
title: Parquet Import
---

To read data from a Parquet file, use the `read_parquet` function in the `FROM` clause of a query:

```sql
SELECT * FROM read_parquet('input.parquet');
```

Alternatively, you can omit the `read_parquet` function and let DuckDB infer it from the extension:

```sql
SELECT * FROM 'input.parquet';
```

To create a new table using the result from a query, use the [`CREATE TABLE ... AS SELECT` statement]({% link docs/stable/sql/statements/create_table.md %}#create-table--as-select-ctas):

```sql
CREATE TABLE new_tbl AS
    SELECT * FROM read_parquet('input.parquet');
```

To load data into an existing table from a query, use `INSERT INTO` from a `SELECT` statement:

```sql
INSERT INTO tbl
    SELECT * FROM read_parquet('input.parquet');
```

Alternatively, use the `COPY` statement to load data from a Parquet file into an existing table:

```sql
COPY tbl FROM 'input.parquet' (FORMAT parquet);
```

## Adjusting the Schema on the Fly

You can load a Parquet file into a slightly different schema (e.g., different number of columns, more relaxed types) using the following trick.

Suppose you have a Parquet file with two columns, `c1` and `c2`:

```sql
COPY (FROM (VALUES (42, 43)) t(c1, c2))
TO 'f.parquet';
```

To add another column `c3` that is not present in the file, run:

```sql
FROM (VALUES (NULL::VARCHAR, NULL, NULL)) t(c1, c2, c3)
WHERE false
UNION ALL BY NAME
FROM 'f.parquet';
```

The first `FROM` clause generates an empty table with *three* columns where `c1` is a `VARCHAR`.
Then, use `UNION ALL BY NAME` to union the Parquet file. The result is:

```text
┌─────────┬───────┬───────┐
│   c1    │  c2   │  c3   │
│ varchar │ int32 │ int32 │
├─────────┼───────┼───────┤
│ 42      │  43   │ NULL  │
└─────────┴───────┴───────┘
```

For additional options, see the [Parquet loading reference]({% link docs/stable/data/parquet/overview.md %}).