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lancedb/docs/web/sql/ddl/materialized-view.mdx
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Brendan Clement e920dad55b docs: correct view listing cost and say what an expression may use
Two pages said list_materialized_views reads every table's schema and
that SHOW MATERIALIZED VIEWS is cheaper. That is the local
implementation; on a db:// connection the SDK asks the deployment for
its views, as SHOW MATERIALIZED VIEWS does.

The computed-column page now says that a literal must fit the column it
meets, and that a deployment's refresh can fail on an expression reading
a struct field, which the embedded library computes, so an expression
for a deployment should use top-level columns.
2026-10-09 13:42:32 -07:00

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---
title: "Materialized View"
sidebarTitle: "Materialized View"
description: "CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW and SHOW MATERIALIZED VIEWS; refreshing is a REFRESH statement."
icon: table
keywords: ["materialized view", "create materialized view", "show materialized views", "sql"]
---
<Badge color="red">Enterprise</Badge> [SQL runs on a deployment.](/sql)
A materialized view stores a query's result as rows, kept current by a refresh
-- the counterpart to a [view](/sql/ddl/view), which stores only the query.
<Note>
Materialized views are off by default on a deployment and have to be enabled
there. Which statements and query shapes a deployment accepts, whether it needs
the source table to have stable row ids, and how it refreshes a view depend on
its LanceDB Enterprise version and configuration.
</Note>
## CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW {#create}
```sql
CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW <name> AS SELECT ...
```
On a `db://` connection, the SDK's
[`create_materialized_view`](/management/materialized-view#create) sends this
statement. Once created, a view is queried like a table, refreshed with SQL and
listed with SQL.
## SHOW MATERIALIZED VIEWS {#show}
```sql
SHOW MATERIALIZED VIEWS
```
<Note>
This asks the server for its views, as the SDK's `list_materialized_views` does
on a `db://` connection.
</Note>
## Refreshing one {#refresh}
```sql
REFRESH MATERIALIZED VIEW chunks
```
See [REFRESH](/sql/dml/refresh#refresh-materialized-view) for the full syntax,
including `CASCADE` and `full = true`.
## Dropping one {#drop}
A materialized view **is** a table, so it is dropped with
[`DROP TABLE`](/sql/ddl/table#drop) -- which is also why dropping one removes
stored rows, unlike dropping a [view](/sql/ddl/view#drop).
<Note>
**Enterprise job type:** `mat_view_refresh` for a refresh, or `sql` on a
deployment that rebuilds views through SQL; `drop_table` for dropping one, same
as any table.
</Note>
## What to read next {#next}
<CardGroup cols={2}>
<Card title="Materialized View" icon="table" href="/management/materialized-view">
Creating one from the SDK.
</Card>
<Card title="Refresh a materialized view" icon="arrows-rotate" href="/feature-engineering/materialized-views">
How a refresh works, locally and on a deployment.
</Card>
</CardGroup>