---
title: "Namespace"
sidebarTitle: "Namespace"
description: "CREATE SCHEMA and DROP SCHEMA — the SQL spelling of namespace DDL."
icon: folder-tree
keywords: ["namespace", "schema", "create schema", "drop schema", "sql"]
---

<Badge color="red">Enterprise</Badge> [SQL runs in LanceDB Enterprise.](/sql)

A [namespace](/management/namespace) is addressed in SQL as a `SCHEMA` -- the
standard's name for the same concept.

## CREATE SCHEMA {#create}

```sql
CREATE SCHEMA analytics
CREATE SCHEMA db1.`ns1$ns2`
CREATE SCHEMA IF NOT EXISTS `ns1$ns2`
```

A nested namespace is one backtick-quoted name with `$` between its
components: `` db1.`ns1$ns2` `` creates `ns2` inside `ns1` in database `db1`,
provided `ns1` already exists. The part before the dot is the database, so a
three-part path such as `db1.ns1.ns2` is rejected. `public` is the database's
root namespace, which is never created or dropped.

`IF NOT EXISTS` makes the statement a no-op rather than an error when the
namespace is already there.

## DROP SCHEMA {#drop}

```sql
DROP SCHEMA db1.analytics
DROP SCHEMA IF EXISTS `a$b`
DROP SCHEMA `a$b` RESTRICT
```

<Warning>
`CASCADE` is rejected: **"DROP SCHEMA CASCADE is not supported; drop the
objects inside first."** A namespace's tables, views and other objects must be
dropped explicitly before the namespace itself can go. `RESTRICT` -- the
default -- states that requirement rather than changing it.
</Warning>

## What to read next {#next}

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Namespace" icon="folder-tree" href="/management/namespace">
    The SDK equivalent, and how a namespace fits the catalog hierarchy.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Table" icon="table" href="/sql/ddl/table">
    Creating tables inside a namespace.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>