---
title: "Views"
sidebarTitle: "View"
description: "A saved query, evaluated when read. The non-materialized counterpart to a materialized view."
icon: eye
keywords: ["view", "create view", "sql", "catalog"]
---

<Badge color="red">Enterprise</Badge>

This page describes a LanceDB Enterprise capability. The embedded form
of LanceDB has no server to provide it -- see
[Architecture](/architecture) for what differs between the two.

A view stores a **query**, not rows. Reading it runs the query against current
data, so a view is never stale -- and never faster than the query it wraps.

It is the counterpart to a
[materialized view](/management/materialized-view), which stores rows and is
brought up to date by a refresh. Both are [catalog objects](/basics/catalog)
defined by a query; the difference is entirely when that query runs.

| | View | Materialized view |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Stores | the query | the rows |
| Freshness | always current | as of the last refresh |
| Read cost | the full query, every read | a table scan |
| Write cost | none | a refresh |

Views are created in SQL, over the [Flight SQL endpoint](/sql#connecting) --
there is no SDK method, because the thing a view stores *is* a SQL statement.
See [View](/sql/ddl/view) for `CREATE VIEW`, `DROP VIEW`, and listing.